U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., was at the Iowa State Fair on Friday speaking in support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Voters concerned about federal agriculture policies will gravitate toward Barack Obama, said Nebraska senator Ben Nelson at the Iowa State Fair Thursday.

In an interview with the Iowa Independent Thursday afternoon, Nelson said that there are many important differences in the two major presidential candidates on farm policy.

The key difference, said Nelson, is on biofuels.

“Senator Obama supports corn-based ethanol and moving to other bio-based ethanol products as well,” Nelson said. Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., “has fought against, and does not support corn-based ethanol and has resisted it and voted against it.”

The Nebraska Democrat, who serves on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, played an important role in crafting the new farm bill that was passed into law earlier this year. He worked alongside Iowa’s senators, Democrat Tom Harkin and Republican Chuck Grassley, to bring the bill out of committee and ultimately to passage through an override of a veto by President Bush.

“Senator Obama comes from a state that’s rich in agriculture — Illinois,” said Nelson. “He understands agriculture and is willing to work with farmers and ranchers to find better ways. And he supported the farm bill.”

McCain, said Nelson, voted against the farm bill and is “still opposed to the farm bill and to any kind of government support for ethanol.”

He said voters in Iowa and in Nebraska who are concerned about agriculture will have a clear decision. “It’s a matter of what people decide to support, and what their agenda is, that will cause voters to decide who to vote for. Either in favor of the farm bill, in favor of supporting agriculture — or in favor of the positions of Senator Obama’s opponent, which in my opinion certainly should not be attractive to Nebraskans or Iowans or anybody in agriculture.”

Nelson went on to speak in support of Obama at the Des Moines Register building, where he discussed how he believes Obama’s health care proposals will benefit rural areas.

“Governor Culver has done an outstanding job on his advocacy for what he calls the next-generation energy economy … There might be some people who say it doesn’t go far enough … but Gov. Culver is exhibiting great leadership on this issue in the state. I would be delighted if the legislature was able to pass what he has proposed. He is ahead of the legislature on this issue … what we need is for the people of Iowa to weigh in on this. We need some strong public support. Obviously if the public doesn’t speak up, those groups that have a vested interest in this issue are going to stop any legislative proposals.”

Hogg’s energy efficiency bill, S.F. 2083, is opposed by utility lobbyists, including the Association of Electric Cooperatives, the Central IA Power Cooperative and the Association of Municipal Utilities, among others.

More from the Iowa Independent interview with Sen. Hogg below the fold.Hogg’s bill sets a goal of achieving “an energy savings of 1.5 percent per capita per year on a statewide basis during the 10-year period commencing on July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2021.”

Hogg said, “It’s March Madness and these issues are clearly on the bubble, they’re not necessarily going to the big dance … so it’s crunch time.” He encouraged Iowans concerned about energy issues to contact Senate Natural Resources Committee members.

Hogg also gave a big-picture view in describing U.S. energy issues that he said contribute to economic instability.

“We have a huge economic issue, the reason our economy is suffering today … is because we are exporting a billion dollars every day for oil … As long as we continue to do that, our economy is going to suffer. The only solution to our economic problems is fuel-efficiency and ending our dependency on foreign oil.”

Hogg has historically been forward with his views on climate change, telling the Iowa Independent:

“On the climate issue, people sometimes say, ‘Is global warming happening yet or not?’ The climate issue is so complex we’ve go to project out about four or five decades.

I sometimes tell people it’s like when you go to cook macaroni and cheese, this is what I tell the middle school students, when you turn on the heat on the stove, your water doesn’t immediately start boiling. It can take a long time to warm that water up, it’s just like with the Earth. You can add all these green-house gases and you don’t see the warming for three or four or five decades. 

What we’ve got to do now is, we’ve got to turn the ship, reduce our green-house gases or else we commit people thirty or forty years from now to a level of climatic change that’s unacceptable. So it’s an urgent issue, that’s why your readers should be interested, get involved and contact their state legislators.”

To find out more about bills being discussed in the state Legislature, visit: http://www.legis.sta…

Political science professor Cary Covington’s presentation on “God Talk on the Campaign Trail” outlined how he sees the pendulum of religious favor swinging back to Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Clinton and Obama. He said that for decades (with the exception of former President Jimmy Carter), anointed candidates have consistently been Republican.

Three videos from the event are below the fold.

Covington praised candidates Edwards (who bowed out last week), Obama, and Clinton.

“The Democrats seem to have the candidates who are more comfortable with and more genuine talking about their religious beliefs and how it impacts on their political positions.”

He also described the changes in a historically strong conservative voting bloc:

“The evangelical or religious right vote is not so monolithically concerned about a small set of issues … among generational lines you find younger conservative Christians who are voicing a deep concern about issues like AIDS, issues like poverty, global warming. They see those as religious issues, as moral issues and they want their candidates to take a position on them … that’s causing a fracture with the ‘establishment’ religious right leaders who want to maintain the focus on the standard social issues of abortion, gay rights, gay marriage, strong national defense, support for Israel.”

One of those young Christian voters is Samantha Honken, who said, “it’s very important that a candidate is religiously grounded.” She didn’t vote last month, but was surprised to see her dad become so excited standing for former pastor Mike Huckabee at the caucuses.

Religion and faith play a big part in her life. She feels she has a calling to ministry and is seeking to major in communications studies and minor in religious studies at the University of Iowa. After graduation, she wants to be a writer for a Christian magazine.

A recipient of the 2007-08 Jason Chen Faith and Learning Scholarship, Honken was named as the first student minister by the Geneva Campus Ministry and works with the group doing outreach.

Evan Fales hasn’t found God and stopped looking long ago. A professor in the UI Philosophy Department and an avowed atheist, he was concerned that faith is playing too strong of a role in politics. As a member of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, he believes strongly in the separation of church and state.

In this video he talks about his impressions of the event and some of his concerns about the role of religious faith in politics:

Geneva Campus Ministry sponsored the event as part of a series entitled, “Finding God at Iowa.” The events are being held on the first Friday of the month on campus.

Dr. Ed Laarman, director of the Geneva Campus Ministry, introduced Covington and posted a schedule for future “Finding God” events:

“The Music of Lent and Easter: A Theological and International Approach”
Friday, March 7, 12-1 PM, River Room #1, IMU, University of Iowa
Koi Hin Samuel Kwok, School of Music DMA candidate and Director of Music Ministries at First United Methodist Church, Iowa City

“Qho Tolis Peccata Mundi? US Foreign Policy on Religious Persecution”
Friday, April 4, 12-1 PM, Penn State Room (#337), IMU, University of Iowa
Prof. Chris Rossi, Adjunct Lecturer at the School of Law, former Director on the National Security Council, Executive Director of Humanities Iowa

“The Human Dilemmas of Genetics and Genetic Counseling”
Friday, May 2, 12-1 PM, River Room #1, IMU, University of Iowa
Lih Yeen Tan, Genetic Counselor for UI Children’s Hospital

For more info, contact the UIowa Geneva Campus Ministry at geneva@uiowa.edu or call: (319) 341-0007.

I’m not a political scientist, but I don’t know why they didn’t think of this sooner.  I would think that verticality–we’re talking positive, upward motion–is the best kind of movement a candidate can have.

But it’s not just about increased numbers for the former governor’s campaign.  Mike Huckabee wants to talk vertically about the issues.  He says, “people don’t care whether an issue comes from the left or the right. What they want to talk about are ideas that lift America up and make us better.”  Huckabee calls it “Vertical Politics.”

Huckabee is coming off what has been called a major score at the National Rifle Association’s “Celebration of American Values” this past weekend.Last week, Huckabee’s blog trumpeted his “fluency” in the language of guns, linking to a glowing review of his NRA crowd-pleasing in the National Review Online. 

The NRA gun celebration featured a mix of Democratic and Republican politicians.  The two-day event, held in Washington, D.C., concluded Saturday, Sept 22.

These were some of the featured speakers:

Attorney General John Ashcroft
Sen. John Barrasso
Gov. Haley Barbour
Radio commentator Glenn Beck
Congressman John Dingell
Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.
Gov. James Gilmore
Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Speaker Newt Gingrich
Gov. Mike Huckabee
Sen. John McCain
Sen. Mitch McConnell
Sen. Fred Thompson
Sen. John Thune

Three presidential candidates sent videotaped messages: Congressman Duncan Hunter, Gov. Bill Richardson, and Gov. Mitt Romney.

After his appearance at the event on Friday, Huckabee was judged by some to be the most at ease in front of the gun lobby group.  He began his talk by noting that the Second Amendment defines the right to own a gun, not the right to hunt animals with guns.  This remark set him apart from others at the event who based their one-dimensional presentations on hunting stories and shooting for sport. 

Huckabee said he believes he is the first governor “to have a concealed carry permit.” 

But the question right now is: can he hit the target numbers needed to keep his underfunded campaign alive?

And that brings us back to “V” Day.

In a live webcast Monday morning, Huckabee will detail some of the plans for his “vertical” political movement.

He opened with a joke before settling into a serious defense of the current strategy in Iraq.  He also recalled his previous opposition to the way the war was being managed.  While taking questions from the audience, he kept a promise he’d made earlier in his speech and invited members of a team from the One.org campaign to share the stage with him.

McCain also held up a glossy copy of MoveOn’s “General Petraeus, or General Betray Us?” ad and criticized it on stage.

Video below the fold.

During this three-minute video, we hear from the local group.  At one point, McCain appeared to want the microphone back from the group’s leader, but the nonpartisan group was well-received by the packed legion hall.

In this video, the Arizona senator talks about the debate “on the Senate floor and across America” about the war.  He also affirms his faith in Gen. David Petreaus and angrily denounces the Moveon.org attack ads that ask if  Petreaus should be called “General Betray Us.” 

Also in this video, Heather Robinson discusses her conversation with the senator about Middle East foreign policy.  Robinson served in the National Guard.

Regarding last week’s Polk County ruling that allowed at least one gay couple to marry in Des Moines, McCain said, “Smart people tell me that that decision will be reversed by a higher court.”

 

McCain campaigns in Gladbrook, Iowa.

 

The Arizona presidential candidate is in Iowa for a two-day campaign tour.

“As for the straw poll no-shows, McCain, Giuliani and Thompson, no way will I vote for any of the three, nor should any other Iowa Republican,” Offenburger says.

He also observes that the GOP is “too white and, at the top, too male.”

Offenburger’s Web site — www.offenburger.com — is one of the more popular in the state as he was the long-time “Iowa Boy” columnist for The Des Moines Register.

By his absence, Rudy Giuliani was the biggest loser. As I have said in the press, McCain’s absence was an operational assumption because of his history of disregard for Iowa’s brand of retail politics, but Rudy had much to gain by participation. Rudy wants to lead the whole party, and must do so if he is the nominee. For better or worse, the national media has treated Rudy’s non-appearance in the Straw Poll as unwillingness to even compete for the mainstream social conservatives, much less promote any part of their ideology. Human nature dictates that those disregarded find the development of future enthusiasm for those who have disregarded rather difficult.

Almost everyone present today, and every voter is also probably a leadership figure in their caucus, found Rudy’s absence to be quite offensive, in an unusually personal way. The level of hostility toward Rudy was very surprising; he was clearly no one’s second choice today. Rudy needs to campaign somewhere other than high dollar special invite events in Iowa and the need is becoming more acute if he is seriously competing here. We should probably know the answer to that question in the next couple of weeks.

The last last diagnosis Sporer offered me — that http://iowaindependent.com/527/iowa-house-gop-leader-mccain-should-ride-out-challenges State Rep. Rod Roberts, a Carroll Republican and assistant House minority leader, today urged GOP presidential candidate John McCain to keep battling for votes “even though he’s had a bit of a challenge in the last week or so.”

Roberts has been an early and strong supporter of McCain in the 2008 race. Roberts recently appeared on FOX News (national) to make the case for McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona.

Roberts spoke with Iowa Independent this morning.

“I hope the senator stays in the race,” Roberts said in the Iowa Independent interview. “The slate that we have needs someone like him.”

Roberts said he believes it is far too early for a candidate with the name recognition and positioning of McCain to even think of getting out of the race.

With the fluidity of issues of war and terrorism, world events could move toward McCain.

“Yes, and I don’t think it’s been because he’s done that politically,” Roberts said.

Roberts said the issue that is costing McCain with the Republican base in Iowa and nationally is his support for an immigration reform package seen by many on the right as too accommodating of illegal immigrants.

“It’s just unfortunate that the immigration bill as it’s referred to as an issue has cost him so much of the Republican base,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he sees potential parallels with McCain’s race for the GOP nomination and U.S. John Kerry’s campaign for the Democratic presidental bid in 2004. They are both tested, respected long-time leaders that party regulars ultimately consider when it comes down to the final days, Roberts said.