Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (File photo via Minnesota Governor's Office)

Before his trip to Iowa, Pawlenty had taken heat for endorsing the Conservative Party candidate over the Republican in Tuesday’s U.S. House district in New York. He then called moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine “more liberal than most Republicans would like.”

Pawlenty seemed to be addressing that controversy, saying debate over things like the party platform are good, but once that’s complete Republicans must unite to “start the American comeback.”

Pawlenty then struck a chord for party unity, saying that there should be vigorous primary campaigns, but then everyone should get back on the same team in order to elect Republicans.

“We’re going to have our debates about what the platform will look like,” he said. “We’re going to have our primaries and caucuses. We’re going to go through that process, and it should be hard fought. But when those decisions are made, as a team we have to come around and support each other.”

This marks the second major Republican Party of Iowa fundraiser where a potential 2012 presidential candidate has made it a point to discuss creating an inclusive party. In June, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told a crowd of GOP activists and elected officials that the only way back into the majority was to resist demands for ideological purity.

For most of his speech, Pawlenty struck a populist tone attacking federal bailouts for Wall Street companies and Detroit automakers. And on the night that U.S. House lawmakers approved health care reform legislation, Pawlenty repeatedly hit the Democratic reform efforts, saying they are proof that Democrats no longer care about working families.

“They have a party now, our competitors, that have embraced big government, big unions and big bailouts,” he said. “And they want to have the people believe that they work for the common person. The working person.”

During his successful presidential campaign, Barack Obama regularly asked if the crowd was “fired up and ready to go,” Pawlenty said

“Are you fired up and ready to fight back?” Pawlenty said. “Are you willing to be involved?”

He said Obama broke his campaign promise to seek bipartisan health care reform, instead deciding to push for a liberal bill, ignore Republican voices and continue the “dangerous leftward tilt” the president has pursued for the country.

“In his victory speech in Iowa after the caucuses, President Obama promised — he used the word promise — he was going to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass needed health care reform,” Pawlenty said. “Now I ask you, are you sick and tired of Democrats trying to ram down this liberal monstrosity down our throat which is their health care reform plan?”

But the Republican Party can’t simply be critics, Pawlenty said. Republicans must also offer solutions, and he pointed to his record as governor of Minnesota as proof that GOP ideas work. Minnesota is a very liberal state, Pawlenty said, and he was still able to cut spending and taxes.

“If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere,” he said.

The federal government could learn from his experience in Minnesota. Instead of allowing the national deficit to continue to grow, government should begin to live within its means, Pawlenty said.

“The only thing growing faster than the national debt is [MSNBC host] Chris Matthews’ man-crush on Barack Obama,” he said.

This marks Pawlenty’s first trip to Iowa since he campaigned for Arizona Sen. John McCain last year, and many are speculating that the trip is another indication of his interest in seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. He has already said he will not seek a third term as governor and last month he formed a political action committee called Freedom First, a typical first move for presidential aspirants.

The aide also confirms she will file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission next week.

Later in the day, that aide was outed by The Des Moines Register as Mark Daley, longtime Democratic strategist and a Conlin adviser. He also confirmed she is looking into possible staff and consultants.

Conlin said last month that she would likely join the field of Democrats vying to defeat Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. Bob Krause of Fairfield, Tom Fiegen of Clarence and Sal Mohamed of Sioux City have already declared their candidacies.

Conlin, a former president of the nation’s trial lawyers association who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1982 and has built a reputation as one of the country’s leading civil rights attorneys, promised to raise $10 million for the campaign without taking contributions from lobbyists or political action committees.

Iowa’s municipal elections are non-partisan, so it will be hard for either party to claim victory. But after years of Democratic dominance of election night, an evening where most high-profile races saw incumbents roundly rebuked is being celebrated in Republican circles, even for races where it was Democrats doing the ousting.

Ron Corbett, who was elected last night as Cedar Rapids Mayor.

In Cedar Rapids, former Republican House Speaker Ron Corbett defeated City Councilman Brian Fagan to become the city’s mayor. While there was technically no incumbent in the race, Corbett ran a distinctly anti-incumbency campaign, focusing on the current city council’s “culture of delay.”

Indianola voters ousted Mayor Jack Kelley, who has led the suburb on Des Moines’ south side since 1995. Kelley came in third in a three-way race, with Kenan Bresnan, a Democrat, emerging victorious.

The long-time mayor of Pleasant Hill, Phil Hildebrand, a Democrat, also came in third place in a three-way contest, ending his 17-year tenure.

Norwalk voters overwhelmingly chose Doug Pierce over incumbent Mayor Pat Wahl. Pierce received more votes than his two competitors combined.

In Des Moines, 20-year incumbent councilman Tom Vlassis barely edged 23-year old Halley Griess, but not by enough to avoid a runoff Dec. 1.

Waukee incumbent Mayor Bill Peard managed to squeak out a victory against city councilman and Republican Central Committee member Isaiah McGee.

The Iowa Secretary of State released updated voter registration figures Tuesday as well. The figures showed Democrats continue to outnumber Republicans by more than 100,000 voters.

The ad will air in the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids markets as well as some cable around the state. It is titled “Stronger Than Ever” and focuses on the governor’s response to last year’s flooding and to the state’s economic downturn.

“The new ad … puts the economic situation and recent budget decisions in context,” Culver campaign manager Andrew Roos said in a press release announcing the ad. “With the worst natural disaster in Iowa history, and the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s, Iowa has faced real challenges. Culver has taken these challenges head-on, managed the state responsibly and made smart investments that will help Iowa emerge from this storm stronger than ever.”

In the ad, Culver sounds like he’s running a politically conservative campaign, focusing on cutting spending and cutting his own salary, as well as emphasizing his decision against raising taxes.

Culver launched his first TV ad in mid October, focusing solely on his economic record.

Terry Branstad

And for a candidate whose last political campaign took place long before the Internet age and the prevalence of the blogosphere, the reaction on the Web is proving to be a valuable lesson in 21st century politics.

The pair of meetings, which included several pastors, social conservative activists and leaders Christian organizations, initially received poor reviews from at least two of those in attendance who called the former four-term governor “a Republican version of [Democrat incumbent Chet] Culver.”

On Monday, controversial Christian radio host Steve Deace offered more details about the meetings. His sources said Branstad came across as “arrogant” and as “no threat to the [liberal] status quo at all.”

One of the most amazing exchanges came during a discussion about Branstad introducing the destructive gambling industry to our state.  During one of the meetings, Branstad tried to defend his actions by saying he had vetoed it twice previously, but he was getting booed at Hawkeye football games and 70 percent of the voters wanted it so there was nothing else he could do.

That realpolitik answer didn’t sell this audience.

“Someone then asked him what else he was willing to give in on if the public wants it,” one little birdie told me.

It didn’t take long for Iowa Democrats to get in the mix.

Conservative blogger Shane Vander Hart posted audio from the meeting he attended and Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan honed in on one exchange in particular. When asked by former Des Moines School Board member Jonathan Narcisse about whether he had a specific plan prepared on how to fix or repair state government, Branstad replied “OK, well I don’t.”

Branstad pointed the Committee on Government Spending Reforms, which he established in 1991 in response to a projected $300 million budget deficit in fiscal year 1993. The commission identified nearly $400 million in spending cuts, although both Branstad and legislators disagreed with and ultimately ignored many of the group’s recommendations.

“Now we have to go further,” he said.

Branstad proposed creating another commission made up of Republicans and Democrats, as well as representatives from the private and public sector, to look at reforming state and local government.

Kiernan said that rather than confronting Iowa’s problems, Branstad “created commissions to avoid making tough decisions.”

“Branstad’s entry into the race may excite his wealthy far-right cronies who stand to profit from a Branstad administration, but it’s not good news for anyone who cares about the state’s financial well-being,” Kiernan said.

Steve King

The Kiron Republican told Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV that he wants to be a part of the national debate over how to “refurbish the pillars of American exceptionalism.”

Whether he decides to join the GOP primary to take on President Obama in 2012, the party needs numerous candidates offering distinct visions on how to improve the country, with the winning candidate being able to “sort those visions and bring the best one forward.”

“We’re going to need a lot of help in 2012, and being in Iowa and from Iowa, representing Iowa in a strong district in Iowa gives me a platform to be able to articulate those arguments, and I tend to do that,” King said.” And we’ll see what happens.”

King’s presidential aspirations were first brought up by Minnesota’s controversial U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who told the Sioux City Journal’s Bret Hayworth that King “has been mentioned” as a potential candidate for president in 2012.

Bachman’s endorsement of a King candidacy came as no surprise to those familiar with the congresswoman’s political career, as she has repeatedly described as “stunning.”

Below is the video of WHO-TV’s interview with King. He discusses his presidential aspirations at 3:25.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ames

Latham’s PAC, called For America’s Republican Majority (FARM PAC), raised $205,447 during the two-year campaign cycle that led up to the 2008 elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Of that total, nearly $52,000 was spent for trips advertised as fundraisers, mostly to well-known golf courses in California. The money paid for travel, hotel accommodations, meals and golf course fees.

That total represents only expenses associated with out-of-state travel and does not include fees paid to fundraising consultants or fundraisers held in the Washington, D.C., area. It also does not include other charges related to the trips, such as a $1,775 payment in August 2008 to Los Angeles-based Summit Limousine for transportation to a fundraising event.

When those expenses are factored in, the PAC spent $80,165 on entertainment and other fundraising costs, or nearly 40 percent of all money raised.

The PAC spent a little more than $70,000 on direct contributions to Republican candidates around the country, a practice that is supposed to be the main focus of these types of organizations, called “leadership PACs.”

Election reform advocates are highly critical of leadership PACs, saying they amount to little more than political slush funds designed to allow elected officials to skirt campaign finance laws. Two trips this year by Latham — a weekend in Atlantic City, N.J., and a golf outing at the prestigious Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia — have already drawn criticism.

Below is a list of expenses associated with out of state travel during the 2008 election cycle.

Trips taken in 2007 (dates reflect when payment was issued):

Boca Raton Resort in Boca Raton, Fla., in February

La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif., in February

The St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Calif., in February

Boca Raton Resort in Boca Raton, Fla., in March

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., in May

Averills Lodge at Whitefish in Montana in August

The St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Calif., in August

Embassy Suites Omaha in August

Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., in December

Trips made during 2008:

LaQuinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif., in January

The Cliffs Hotel in Shell Beach, Calif., in June

Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, Calif., in August

Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs. W.V. in September

Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis, Minn., in September

The St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Calif in September

Disney Resort Grand Lake in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in November

English, who serves as spokesman for the influential social conservative group, said the last thing the party needs is Republican wolves in  “conservative sheep’s clothing.” The focus of the blog eventually turned to a recent Op-Ed in The Des Moines Register written by Doug Gross, the former chief of staff to Gov. Terry Branstad who has argued for more than a year that Iowa’s GOP needs to be more welcoming and less divisive in order to regain power in Des Moines.

The GOP lost Iowa by “driving away voters who share the Republican philosophy of limited government, but grew tired of a preachy, old party that reminded them of their grouchy, old uncle,” Gross said.

English criticized this line of thought, saying it is people like Gross who are damaging the party.

“Never once was there any reference to the political damage done to his party by secular ideologues who insist that people of faith abandon their core principles in order to participate in the party,” English said. “He completely ignored the large chunk of former Republicans who held their nose and voted for [Republican In Name Only] candidates like John McCain, and then left the party in disgust having realized that they compromised their principles and got absolutely nothing in return but a guilty conscience.”

If the “grouchy, old uncle” Gross refers to is English and the social conservative movement, then Gross represents the “frat boy who has never been as popular or successful as his drinking buddies thought he was back in college. He becomes increasingly irrelevant as time goes on, he continues to refuse to grow up, and people quit listening to how great things were ‘back in college,’” English said.

Gross has become a lightening rod on the political right for his calls for the party to end the politics of “cultural and ideological wars.” Leaders in the social conservative movement and right-wing bloggers have turned the man who was his party’s flag-bearer in the 2002 gubernatorial campaign into public enemy No. 1. So far in 2009, Gross and his organization, the Iowa First Foundation, have commissioned two polls that he says offers clear evidence that voters are more interested in candidates who focus on economic issues rather than social issues like same-sex marriage and abortion. Social conservatives argue that line of thinking only alienates the party’s most loyal voters.

Ultimately, the line of attack against Gross could eventually be turned on his former boss. Branstad has said he will decide whether to enter the 2010 gubernatorial campaign by next month, and social conservative leaders have already predicted his re-entry into politics could turn the GOP primary into a “blood bath.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ames

The overwhelming defeat left many observers scratching their heads and wondering what happened. President Obama won the district by 8 points and carried all but one of the counties. Twelve of the district’s 20 state House members are Democrats, along with eight of its 10 state senators.

“This is a Democratic district,” said Tom Harrington, chairman of the 4th District Democratic Central Committee.

At the end of the day, the race came down to money and organization, two things the campaign of Democratic candidate Becky Greenwald didn’t have. But going into 2010, Democrats are working to avoid repeating mistakes from years past.

The district’s Democratic central committee has formed a task force charged with finding a Democrat who can make a strong run against Latham in 2010. Co-chaired by two former candidates for Congress, Selden Spencer and Kurt Meyer, the group is actively recruiting candidates and attempting to lay the groundwork for a successful campaign.

“We haven’t had this type of work being done this early in the last three cycles,” Harrington said. “We’re hoping that by organizing early, helping find good candidates and having this infrastructure in place for them that it will be a big leg up over what past candidates have had.”

Meyer, who placed second in the district’s 2008 primary, said the task force’s organizing and fundraising goals will build off of each other.

“We want to find the best possible candidate and we want to make the nomination worth having by putting together an organization and a fundraising pool that someone could step into right away,” he said. “I think both of these goals make the other easier, meaning a good candidate will motivate people to come out and get involved and an organized party will help draw out the best candidates.”

Rather than spending time “ferreting out possible campaign donors or volunteers,” whomever the party nominates will be able to jump right into the race to unseat Latham, Meyer said.

“That keeps the candidate from spending months doing the things that are necessary but mundane,” he said. “The party organization in the 4th district traditionally has been a county-by-county organization. There has not been a lot of coordination. This year, we have put more emphasis on thinking earlier in the game about what we can and should do to advance a successful congressional campaign.”

The party isn’t trying to avoid a primary, Harrington said. In fact, he expects there to be a hotly contested race for the party’s nomination.

“We’re just here to encourage all the best candidates to get into the race,” he said. “The party will remain neutral until we have a candidate.”

The goal is also to avoid mistakes that have been made in the past, Harrington said. Democrats have been slow to jump into the race in previous years, something that hurt them in the general election.

“I’d love to see someone jump in by late summer or early fall,” he said.

Another mistake, Meyer said, is focusing too much on whether the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will get involved in the race. In the past, he said, candidates have made decisions that were not based on how to win an election but rather on how to coax the DCCC into spending money in the district.

“I personally think we have to go about our business in a way that says if the DCCC jumps in, that’s great,” Meyer said. “But I think it can lead to what amounts to some peculiar thought patterns. You end up thinking you have to make the DCCC happy so that they will jump into the race. We have to rely on ourselves. No one from outside the district is going to ride in over the hill and pull our chestnuts out of the fire. We have to take care of our own destiny.”

While he didn’t mention Greenwald’s candidacy in 2008 specifically, many observers point to her campaign’s decision to spend a considerable amount of money on an early television advertising campaign to introduce herself to voters as a mistake. Most believe the move was designed to improve her polling numbers in an attempt to convince the DCCC the race was close enough to warrant their attention.

The plan didn’t work, the DCCC’s support never materialized, and while Greenwald was able to purchase a 60-second television ad the night of Barack Obama’s 30-minute national address, her campaign was left with no money in the final weeks of the race.

According to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission just before the election, Latham had $775,000 cash on hand compared to a little more than $25,000 for Greenwald, despite the fact that the Democrat outraised Latham in July, August and September. 

As of March 31, Latham has $113,944 cash on hand for his 2010 campaign.

“We are going to set our own course,” Meyer said. “If we do our job then it makes it more appealing for the DCCC to get involved, rather than sitting around crossing our fingers and devising a strategy to lure them into getting involved.”

Raising money in the 4th Congressional District has proven difficult in the past, Harrington said, since it is mostly made up of rural counties. That is why the party will be holding three fundraisers this August around the district in order to help support the congressional candidate for the 2010 fight.

“We really haven’t had the coordination across the district, which could help in a lot of ways, including fundraising,” he said. “Starting in August, we are holding three regional fundraisers for the south and central part in Ames, for the northwestern part of the district in Estherville and then the northeastern part in Decorah.”

Both Meyer, who ran in the 2008 Democratic primary, and Greenwald said they have not ruled out another run, but have not decided whether they will jump into the race again. But Meyer said his candidacy is not why he got involved in the task force, saying he just wants the best candidate to step forward.

“I think there are some really good candidates out there,” he said. “I really hope some of them would be interested in running. I think we will find the strongest possible candidate.”

Called “An Evening of Politics In The Park,” the event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the program will start at 5 p.m. at Arnolds Park, 243 W. Broadway St., Spirit Lake. Tickets for the event cost $100.

In a release, Huckabee said, “I’ve called Bob Vander Plaats ‘the next governor of Iowa’ on many occasions and I’ve done it deliberately and with good reason.”

This marks the first high-profile endorsement of the 2010 GOP primary, although Huckabee’s announcement comes as no surprise. Vander Plaats served as state chair for his caucus campaign and recently appeared on Huckabee’s Fox News program to discuss same-sex marriage.

Sioux City Journal political reporter Bret Hayworth wonders if the event will also serve as Vander Plaats’ “official” campaign kick-off. Vander Plaats has been unofficially running for governor since January, when he announced his intentions on WHO-AM’s Jan Mickelson.

The trip also marks Huckabee’s second visit to Iowa since November’s election, rekindling rumors he is interested in a second presidential run in 2012.