Blog
Lt. Gov. Judge as IDP chair?
Civic Skinny, the political gossip column published every week in Des Moines’ alternative newsweekly (Cityview), says sources inside the Iowa Democratic Party expect Lt. Gov. Patty Judge to become the party’s next chair.
The idea, Skinny says, is that the move would bolster Gov. Chet Culver’s standing leading up to his re-election bid in 2010.
more »
Inauguration tix still available
If you want to go to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and you live in Iowa’s Fourth or Fifth Congressional District, you may be in luck.
Republican Congressmen Tom Latham and Steve King are asking constituents who are interested in attending to contact their office by Nov. 28. Each has only a limited number of tickets.
Some are estimating that 3 million people could decend on Washington, D.C., for Obama’s inauguration, so tickets for the event are in high demand.
Iowa’s Democratic Congressional delegation (Leonard Boswell, Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack) have not released any details on how their constituents can attain inaugural tickets on their congressional Web sites.
Register catches Iowa’s First Lady violating smoking ban
After being caught by a reporter from The Des Moines Register smoking in in a state-owned vehicle, a violation of the state’s smoking ban, Iowa First Lady Mari Culver apologized and promised it would never happen again.
Culver was spotted by the Register smoking in a Chevrolet Tahoe that the state provides to the governor’s family.
more »
Jackie Norris named Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff
Jackie Norris, Iowa State Director for President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign, has taken the position of Chief of Staff to Michelle Obama, the Washington Post reports.
Norris worked as a scheduler in Vice President Al Gore’s office, and she and her husband, John, have been involved in Iowa Democratic politics for years. In 2000, she was Gore’s political director in Iowa, and in 1998 she was former Gov. Tom Vilsack’s finance director. She has also taught high school government and history classes.
Braley breaks from tradition, helps oust Dingell from committee chair
Michigan Congressman John Dingell lost his position as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to California Congressman Henry Waxman today, after a vote among Democrats in Congress.
The move sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C., because it upended what was a fairly stable system of determining committee chairmanships based on seniority. Although votes in Democratic caucus meetings are considered private, Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley took a more public role in the deliberations, delivering one of several nominating speeches for Waxman, reportedly “lashing out” at Dingell.
more »
Harkin predicts Clinton as Secretary of State
Sen. Tom Harkin predicted that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to the post of Secretary of State.
“I’m going to make this statement right now. I believe that Senator Clinton will be the next secretary of state,” Harkin said on a conference call with reporters.
Culver asks state departments to cut budgets
Gov. Chet Culver is asking state departments to come up with ways Iowa can trim $30 to $40 million from its budget, The Des Moines Register reported today.
The state was expecting to finish its budget year in June with $85 million in the general fund, but projections now show that number to be around $15 million.
more »
Gross: Social conservatives ‘a minority group within a minority party’
A veteran Iowa Republican says the party’s infrastructure has been taken over by social conservatives, which will make it difficult for it to win elections in the future.
more »
Register’s Yepsen may leave Iowa
Register political columnist David Yepsen
Des Moines Register political columnist David Yepsen is one of three finalists to run the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale, Ill., Des Moines CBS affiliate KCCI reports.
Yepsen started writing for the Register and Tribune in 1974. In 1977 Yepsen became a statehouse reporter for the Register, and in 1983 he became the paper’s chief political reporter. In 1994 he was named political editor and in 2000 became the Register’s full-time political columnist. His column appears on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
As of Wednesday night, there was no news of the possibility of Yepsen leaving on The Register’s Web site. Interviews for the position are expected to take place between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Interview times and dates are to be determined.
Former Agriprocessors CEO to remain behind bars — for now
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles heard arguments in federal court this afternoon on the possible release of Sholom M. Rubashkin, the former chief executive of Agriprocessors in Postville. A written ruling is expected tomorrow.
Rubashkin, 49, has been in the Dubuque County Jail and under the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Office since his arrest last Friday on multimillion-dollar bank fraud. It was his second arrest, the first coming at the end of October on illegal-immigration-related charges.
more »