U.S. Rep. Steve King stood on the floor of the House and claimed President Barack Obama was ACORN's leader, but he also passed appropriation bills that funded the organization he's now attacking.

On Monday, he told the American Spectator, a conservative political magazine, that the problems associated  with ACORN are “thousands of times bigger than Watergate because Watergate was only a little break-in by a couple of guys.” He added that “by the time we pull ACORN out by its roots America’s going to understand just how big this is.”

Media Matters, an organization that plays watchdog for conservative talking points in news reporting, latched on to King’s statement and distributed a group of votes by the Iowa congressman that, at least in part, supported ACORN:

• FY 2005 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, HR 4818, included a $140,000 teen delinquency prevention earmark for ACORN along with appropriations for foreign operations, export financing and other related programs.
• FY 2006 Department of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development appropriations, HR 3058, included $61 million for the Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program, which provides ACORN with funding.
• The same bill, HR 3058, also included nearly $2 billion for the HOME investment partnerships program. Of that amount, $42 million was earmarked for housing counseling, which ACORN employs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development trains and certifies.

Despite the tongue-in-cheek headline above, these votes do not make King a supporter of ACORN or their programs. Mostly, they simply add up to a Congressman who approved a very large slate of appropriations. It is, however, notable that King and other members of Congress now scrutinizing ACORN have made it a point to strip the organization of as many streams of federal funding as possible.

King’s recently piqued interest in ACORN’s funding, however, does follow a pattern outlined by Dr. Christopher R. Martin, a professor at the University of Northern Iowa and co-author of a study on the media’s coverage of ACORN. Martin and Dr. Peter Dreier, a professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles, found that prior to 2008 few Americans had any real knowledge about the organization, despite the fact that it was the largest community organizing group in the nation.

Within the study the two men present their case that the news stories about ACORN, which were predominantly focused on possible wrongdoing by the organization, were crafted and tested within the right-wing echo chamber before being pushed into the mainstream media during October 2008, just weeks ahead of the November presidential election. It was, in their estimation, a classic “October surprise” that would have garnered more reaction had it not been for the economic downturn — something the strategists, according to the two researchers, tried to link to ACORN via the foreclosure crisis.

“ACORN has become this huge kind of proxy for going after [President Barack] Obama,” Martin told The Iowa Independent in September.

Just days before, King stood on the floor of House with a Soviet-styled depiction of Obama behind him. With a metal pointer, King made the point that he believed Obama was ACORN’s “lead, chief organizer.”

“We have a long way to go, but I’m certain we’re on the right path,” said Biden at the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner.

The event took place against a backdrop of sagging poll numbers for Democrats nationwide. Gov. Chet Culver’s approval rating is at an all-time low, and Iowa Democrats have reportedly grown more dissatisfied with President Barack Obama since he took office in January.

Biden seemed to address those growing concerns directly. “This is no time to be frustrated,” he said. “We never thought change would be easy. All of you knew it would be hard.”

Even though political commentators have dwelled on the slow pace of health care reform over the past several months, he said, Democrats have already made achievements that would be considered landmark in any other year — confirming Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, passing the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and withdrawing U.S. troops from major cities in Iraq, among other things.

Shortly after the event began, before Biden took the stage, Democrats in the U.S. Senate overcame a key hurdle for passing their sweeping health care reform package, winning 60 votes to begin a floor debate on the measure.

“Tonight, we have more momentum than we’ve ever had in the history of the discussion of health care in America,” Biden said.

He also told the crowd that though there is still much more work to do to turn the economy around, he expects job growth to begin early next year. (That’s good news for incumbents up for reelection in 2010, though he didn’t put it in those terms.)

Before Biden spoke, Gov. Chet Culver addressed the crowd. “I will always, always stand up to fear and injustice, and I will always make the tough decisions,” he said. “I will never, ever back down.”

Democrats also heard speeches from U.S. Reps. Bruce Braley and Leonard Boswell, who said Democrats were “combat-ready” ahead of the 2010 campaign.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin taped a video message for the event so that he could be in Washington, D.C., for the health care vote.

The Des Moines Register reported Monday afternoon that “criminal charges could be forthcoming” in the investigation, citing comments from Jenkins. However, in an interview with the Iowa Independent, Jenkins said his statement was more hypothetical than a prediction.

“When I was talking to the reporter from The Register, we had been involved in this for probably all of two hours,” he said. “The reporter was asking me ‘Where could this go? Could there be criminal charges?’ Basically, I said based upon not really knowing anything about this yet and what is involved, I wouldn’t take criminal charges off the table.”

The idea of criminal prosecution is always on the table when the auditor’s office gets involved in an investigation, Jenkins said.

“If we find something that could be criminal, we will refer it to the county attorney, and the county attorney will make a determination as to whether criminal charges would be filed,” he said. “I certainly would not say it is likely in this situation, but as we go into any investigation, we keep our eyes open and we look for all possibilities.”

Gov. Chet Culver asked Auditor David Vaudt and Attorney General Tom Miller to assist in an investigation of the Film, Television and Video Promotion Program after allegations of misconduct and lax oversight emerged last week.

Jenkins said at this early stage, it is still unclear exactly where the investigation will go and how long it will take to finalize. To start, staff at the auditor’s office will organize a meeting with the attorney general’s office and the Department of Revenue.

“One of the first things is to figure out what has already been done,” he said. “As far as any details, we haven’t been involved long enough to know what’s already been done and figure out where to go from there.”

The problem, critics say, is that Grassley recently backed those industries in his opposition to legislation allowing judges to renegotiate mortgages.

File photo: Sen Charles Grassley. (Lauren Victoria Burke/wdcpix.com)

“The lobbyists and PAC hosting this event have made it clear that they will continue to fight against the types of financial market reforms now under discussion in Washington,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director of Public Campaign Action Fund. “In the weeks to come, will Sen. Grassley again listen to them and their campaign money, or to constituents back home who are hurting because of the failures of Wall Street, the banks, regulators, and Congress?”

In April, Grassley fought against legislation that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to renegotiate the terms of mortgages as part of bankruptcy proceedings, a procedure known as “cramdown.” The Mortgage Bankers Association led the successful charge against the legislation, which led sponsoring Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to say of the banks “frankly they own the place.”

Now, critics say the industries who benefited from Grassley’s opposition are thanking him with campaign cash.

Donations ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per person to Grassley’s re-election committee were required for attendance. According to research by Public Campaign, the event was organized by key members of the mortgage and private equity industries, including Pace Bradshaw of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America; Smith W. “Smitty” Davis, head of the financial institutions policy practice of lobbying firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld; Suzanne Hutchinson, executive vice president and a registered lobbyist for the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America; and the political action committee of Aflac Insurance.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Sen. Grassley has raised nearly $2.8 million from the finance, insurance, and real estate sector over his career for his campaign and leadership political action committee.

(h/t Huffington Post)

Arthur H. Miller

The search for Arthur H. Miller in Iowa City’s Hickory Hill Park was suspended by the Iowa City Police Department tonight at 6 p.m. Although Miller’s whereabouts are still unknown, the ICPD reopened the park to the public.

Miller, the University of Iowa political science professor who was charged with four counts of soliciting bribes, was last seen Tuesday morning and was subsequently reported missing the following morning by his wife. According to police records, Miller allegedly offered female students better grades in exchange for sexual favors.

Based on a “cryptic” note he left behind police have said they suspect Miller is already dead, the Press-Citizen reported. Moreover, Miller removed a passport from a safety deposit box and updated his will in the days leading up to his disappearance, Iowa City Police Sgt. Mike Brotherton told the Press-Citizen.

Based on a formal statement released by Miller’s family tonight, it appears they are losing hope in his return as well:

Dear Iowans:

Today’s rain is not only slowing the search of our husband and father, it is also washing away our last hopes for Arthur’s return. It’s been a long way for him and, sadly, a very lonely way. During all these months he was trying to protect his family by not sharing all the pain and sorrow which were filling his heart. He was looking for some help outside but, unfortunately, did not find enough compassion and willingness to hear his story.

Arthur will always remain in the hearts of his wife, children, and family. Our memories of him would bring us to the library, where he was taking his son for Saturday’s story time, to the farmers market, where we would enjoy outdoor music performances and eat some freshly baked muffins, to all the wonderful games which he played with his sons at home, to daytrips which we took together with our children to see and teach them to appreciate a bigger world.

Professor Arthur Herbert Miller will be remembered as one of the most distinguished scientists in his area of research, a mentor to many who owe him their successful careers, a friend to many people who live in different countries and on different continents, a teacher who believed that independent thinking is one of the most important skills which should help develop his students.

The ordeal of the last two weeks has become unbearable for Arthur. He could not live with the thought that his name and reputation were smeared and associated with the thing which he believed he never had done.

As a family, we would like to ask the media to be considerate of our current situation and respect our privacy as we struggle through this difficult period in our lives.

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann named King the “Worst Person in the World.”  The Iowa Civil Rights Commission considered action.  Gov. Chet Culver told the Iowa Independent that King should retract the statement.

So logically, Congressman King posted what he said on his congressional web site, which is paid for by taxpayers.  The entire statement is still there.

Generally, such overtly partisan rhetoric is reserved for campaign web sites rather than congressional web sites, because taxpayer money is not supposed to pay for campaign activities like this.  The Iowa Independent first brought you this story in March.

“After talking to Governor Culver’s staff, the Obama campaign wanted to ensure that no resources were diverted away from Iowans devastated by the floods,” the campaign said in a press release.The Democratic nominee-to-be had been scheduled to hold a by-invitation town hall forum on the economy at Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School. He visited Kennedy High in February 2007 in his first Iowa appearance as a presidential candidate, on the day of his announcement.

“I just feel very strongly that we need to get the message out that in Iowa we have some of the neatest things to show people in agriculture,” Greteman said.

She said major agricultural facilities, like ethanol plants and working farms in Iowa, are of great interest to foreigners involved in food and energy production.

“What’s really great here is our agriculture and our heritage,” Greteman said.

What’s more, she said, places such as the Templeton Rye whiskey distillery should serve as developing draws for tourism.

“I see it as a way to promote Iowa as well,” Greteman said. “Iowa is really shortchanged on tourism dollars.”

In May, Star Destinations planned the ag tour for more than 30 Germans. In coming months, Star Destinations, located on U.S. Highway 71 North in the same complex with Windstar and Town & Country Travel, will work with Chinese tours.

Star is one of the first travel operators in the United States to be licensed for special arrangements with Chinese tourism. The Carroll company is marketing itself aggressively on the Internet and through other means to attract international clients. Tours from South America and other places around the globe are expected soon.

The tours will involve many potential U.S. points, but Star plans to incorporate Carroll County in as many as possible.

“We want to bring them all through Carroll,” Greteman said. “That’s one of our goals.”

For example, the German tour group, which consisted of working farmers and some government officials, went to the Chicago Board of Trade and John Deere in Moline, Ill., before making its way to Carroll.

Seeing a blend of rural and urban is vital for such tours, Greteman said.

“It’s important that they see a really modern city in the United States,” Greteman said.

In Carroll County, the tour group visited the POET ethanol plant, West Central Cooperative and Schenkelberg Implement.

Iowa Senate

Senate District 16: Tom Hancock, D-Epworth
Hancock knocked off short-term GOP incumbent Julie Hosch narrowly in 2004. Hosch took the seat narrowly in 2002 after incumbent Tom Flynn got burned in redistricting. Cascade car dealer Dave McLaughlin and Gary Lee Culver of Wyoming will face off in a Republican primary.

Senate District 18: Mary Lundby, R-Marion, retiring
Rep. Swati Dandekar is the Democrats’ top pickup hope. Dandekar became the first Indian-American woman elected to a state legislature in history, and the first Democrat to win her Marion district, in 2002. Lundby, who is stepping down to run for a newly reorganized Linn County Board of Supervisors, had solid wins her whole career. District demographics lean Republican, but Dandekar has been personally popular and charted a moderate course in the House. Republican Joe Childers, a Marion banker, seems to be the primary front-runner, but he faces horse rescue activist Karla Sibert of Palo in June.

Senate District 22: Larry McKibben, R-Marshalltown, retiring
Democrat Steven Sodders of State Center started running before McKibben quit. He’s a deputy sheriff in Marshall County and former Marshal County Democratic chair. Republican Jarret Heil has been a Grassley and Latham staffer. He’ll face Marshalltown minister Tom Bower in a primary Update: Bower has withdrawn.  This was close — 800 votes — in the 2004 general.

Senate District 38: Tom Rielly, D-Oskaloosa
Reilly was a Democratic gain in 2004 when he knocked off Neal Schuerer. He won his own normally GOP turf while breaking even in Schuerer’s Iowa County base; most of the margin came out of Grinnell. Republican Michael Hadley of Richland is a 30-year local fire chief and active in the Farm Bureau.

Senate District 42: Frank Wood, D-Davenport
Wood won by only 480 votes in 2004 against two-year incumbent Brian Sievers in a district that has part of west Davenport and large parts of rural Scott and Clinton counties. The GOP has a top-tier challenger with Davenport alderman Shawn “the Hammer” Hamerlinck. Think there’s any negative campaigning possibilities for a guy with that nickname? First the Hammer has to nail down the nomination in a primary against Thomas Black, a Lowe’s manager running on an anti-smoking-ban platform.

Iowa House

House District 9: McKinley Bailey, D-Webster City
Young veteran Bailey beat three-term incumbent George Eichhorn — now making a long-shot U.S. Senate race against Tom Harkin — by more than 1,000 votes in 2006, rolling up most of that margin in Hamilton County. The GOP is running talk radio host Jamie Johnson.

House District 21: Tami Wiencek, R-Waterloo
Wiencek, a former KWWL anchor, was one of the Iowa GOP’s few bright spots in 2006 when she knocked off longtime incumbent Don Shoultz. Democrats are challenging with Kerry Burt, a former Hawkeye football star who’s now a mortgage and insurance dealer and part-time football announcer. Burt co-founded and volunteered for The Black Alliance, a nonprofit organization that addressed issues of young black men. He’s made previous unsuccessful runs for mayor and city council. This district is Democratic on paper, but Wiencek is well-known from her TV career.

House District 36: Swati Dandekar, D-Marion, running for state Senate
Gretchen Lawyer is running (literally, she competes in foot races) on the Democratic side; she’s a teacher taking time away from the classroom to be a mom. Marion City Council member Nick Wagner took 47 percent against Dandekar in 2006 and is the Republican candidate again.

House District 39: Dawn Pettengill, R-Mt. Auburn
This will be Pettengill’s first test since her end-of-session party switch last year. Democrats would dearly love revenge with Terry Hertle of Vinton. He serves on the Benton County Community Foundation board and he and his family have been active in ag and county fair activities.

House District 44: Polly Granzow, R-Eldora, retiring
Democrat Tim Hoy, the former mayor of Eldora who came just 260 votes short of knocking off Granzow in 2006, is trying again this year. Annette Sweeney of Alden hopes to hold the seat for the GOP.

House District 75: Eric Palmer, D-Oskaloosa
Call it a comeback: Danny Carroll of Grinnell, who lost his seat to Palmer in 2006, is running again. The 2006 race was dead-even in Mahaska County; Palmer rolled up his 700-vote margin in Powesheiek and largely on the Grinnell campus. This district overlaps with half of the the Senate District 38 race.

House District 80: Nathan Reichert, D-Muscatine
Reichert won a big 2004 upset when he beat Barry Brauns, who was trying for a comeback after two years out of the House. Republicans ran Muscatine County Sheriff Greg Orr in 2006, but Reichert won by a surprisingly strong margin. City Council member Robert Howard is the GOP challenger this time. Muscatine has been trending blue in recent years — Democrats took control of the Board of Supervisors in 2006 — but it’s got to bother Iowans for Tax Relief head David Stanley that a Democrat holds his old legislative seat.

House District 84: Elesha Gayman, D-Davenport
Gayman has been on the GOP hit list since day one. The youngest female legislator in state history scored a major 273-vote upset against Jim Van Fossen (the elder) in 2006 in west Davenport and Scott County. Farmer Ross Paustian of Walcott, past president of the Scott County Farm Bureau, hopes to take the seat back for the GOP and has raised more money than Gayman so far. This overlaps with the District 42 Senate race.

House District 89: Sandy Greiner, R-Keota, retiring
Greiner never really seemed to get over losing out in a triple-pair redistricting that cost her a Senate seat after only two years. She ran for the House instead and beat a weak opponent in 2002. Was targeted in 2004 by Mark Shearer, who had two legislative careers in four different districts. Finally, she had a surprisingly close race against underfunded Mark Nolte in 2006. Becky Schmitz can thank a big margin from the Johnson County part of this district for her 2006 Senate win. The GOP is running young farmer Jarad Klein; the Democrats have farmer and soybean board member Larry Marek.

The issue has heated up again in the wake of last year’s Polk County court ruling that Iowa’s law banning same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. That ruling was stayed on appeal, but not before one male couple managed to get a valid license and hold a wedding ceremony. Gay marriage opponents now want to enshrine their views in the state Constitution, joining 25 other states.The question won’t be on this fall’s ballot, as it would have to pass two consecutive sessions. But if it comes to a roll call, those votes are likely to be prominently featured in GOP campaign ads. Democrats must trade that fear against the money and volunteer time LGBT activists offer to campaigns.

"Shame on me for investing my time, money, and efforts supporting candidates that believe I’m not fully equal to them," said Democratic activist Janelle Rettig of Iowa City, citing Johnson County legislators who won’t commit to the principle of full equality. Rettig and her partner have a valid marriage license from Canada. "I guess being good neighbors, citizens and taxpayers isn’t enough."

Long before gay marriage was a front-page issue, Iowa Democrats were in the forefront in support. They placed marriage equality in the state party’s 1994 platform. But the day after that platform was approved, gubernatorial nominee Bonnie Campbell formally renounced it, specifying the gay marriage issue.

Legislators who say no when asked "Should marriage be only between a man and a woman?"
Senators: Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City; Michael Connolly, D-Dubuque; Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines
Representatives: Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines; Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City; Dick Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids

Another seven senators and 12 representatives — again, all urban Democrats — either said they were “undecided” as to whether marriage is only between a man and a woman or did not answer.

As it stands now, the vote on HJR 8 or SJR 2001 breaks exactly 50-50 on the House side, with four Democrats crossing party lines to support the amendment and one Republican opposed.

House Democrats, Yes
Geri Huser, D-Des Moines
Dolores Mertz, D-Ottosen
Brian Quirk, D-New Hampton
Kurt Swaim, D-Bloomfield

House Republican, No
Chuck Gipp, R-Decorah

That dead heat would kill action for the year, but one switch to yes would put the Senate in play. On that side of the Rotunda, the issue is more up in the air, with 12 Democrats and one Republican either undecided or not responding. Amendment opponents would need most of these votes to block Senate action, as the senators who have committed are split 21 in favor to 16 opposed.