Tag Archives: Campaign

Videos

First Michele Bachmann TV ad airs in Iowa

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This ad is now playing on televisions in Iowa.

Here’s a response to the ad from the left-leaning Politico.

Excerpt:

Michele Bachmann is going up in Iowa with the first television ad of her presidential campaign, a 30-second spot titled “Waterloo” that Bachmann’s team says will start running statewide today.

The bio spot, produced by Strategy Group Media, features a direct-to-camera Bachmann talking about growing up in Waterloo, Iowa, her five children, her foster kids and her professional life.

“I know we can’t keep spending money that we don’t have,” Bachmann says, pivoting to politics and touting her congressional record of fighting “the wasteful bailout [and] against the stimulus,” and pledging: “I will not vote to increase the debt ceiling.”

The commercial is upbeat, with a strumming guitar overlay as Bachmann speaks. The spot is going up just as Bachmann is introducing herself to Iowa voters, who already put her in a statistical tie for first place in a recent Des Moines Register poll.

She is making a serious push to win the Ames Straw Poll next month, and even some Democrats are taking note that she is running a professional campaign so far, with crisp visuals at her stump stops following an effective rollout.

Look like a good ad to me. Common sense conservatism.

Michele Bachmann is my top choice for President by far, with Tim Pawlenty in second place and Herman Cain in third place. I am waiting to hear whether Texas Governor Rick Perry will jump in. I have friends who want him to run.

News

How Barack Obama gave top campaign donors government jobs

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Left-leaning Politico reports on corruption, cronyism, nepotism and patronage appointments in the Obama administration.

Excerpt:

Telecom executive Donald H. Gips raised a big bundle of cash to help finance his friend Barack Obama’s run for the presidency.

Gips, a vice president of Colorado-based Level 3 Communications, delivered more than $500,000 in contributions for the Obama war chest, while two other company executives collected at least $150,000 more.

After the election, Gips was put in charge of hiring in the Obama White House, helping to place loyalists and fundraisers in many key positions. Then, in mid-2009, Obama named him ambassador to South Africa. Meanwhile, Level 3 Communications, in which Gips retained stock, received millions of dollars of government stimulus contracts for broadband projects in six states — though Gips said he had been “completely unaware” that the company had received the contracts.

More than two years after Obama took office vowing to banish “special interests” from his administration, nearly 200 of his biggest donors have landed plum government jobs and advisory posts, won federal contracts worth millions of dollars for their business interests or attended numerous elite White House meetings and social events, an investigation by iWatch News has found.

These “bundlers” raised at least $50,000 — and sometimes more than $500,000 — in campaign donations for Obama’s campaign. Many of those in the “Class of 2008” are now being asked to bundle contributions for Obama’s reelection, an effort that could cost $1 billion.

As a candidate, Obama spoke passionately about diminishing the clout of moneyed interests. Kicking off his presidential run on Feb. 10, 2007, he blasted “the cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests,” who had “turned our government into a game only they can afford to play.”

“We’re here today to take it back,” he said.

Say one thing in public, and do the opposite in private. Don’t believe the words of a candidate in their stump speeches. Look at their voting record, and their legislative initiatives, and their ratings from non-partisan organizations, such as the Club For Growth, Citizens Against Government Waste, and the National Taxpayer’s Union. Don’t vote based on pleasant sounding words and pleasant appearances, do the research.

Podcasts

Interviews with Republican candidates for Iowa governorship in 2010

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Caffeinated Thoughts is interviewing with Republican candidates who are running to replace the Democrat governor of Iowa. Iowa is his home state. He’s interviewed my two favorite candidates for the post, Christian Fong and Chris Rants. Fong is the private sector business executive who is solid on family values, and Rants is the policy expert who has specific ideas on how to solve the problems that Iowa is facing.

Christian Fong

About Christian Fong:

He is the son of a Chinese immigrant and Nebraska farm girl, and as his website claims is a “product of the American dream.”  He graduated high school at 16.  He earned his B.S. from Creighton at 19.  He also holds an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

He is currently an executive with AEGON USA in Cedar Rapids and serves as chair for The Generation Iowa Commission.  He also founded and is President and CEO of Corridor Recovery, a non-profit flood relief organization that coordinated recovery efforts after the Cedar Rapids Flood of 2008.

We discussed his decision to run for Governor, why he believes he should be the GOP nominee, spending cuts, his plan to cut the state’s income tax, creating private sector jobs, the Iowa Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision, abortion, school choice, and Iowa’s growing prison population.

Here’s the MP3 of the interview with Christian Fong. (38 minutes)

Christian Fong’s blog is here.

Chris Rants

About Chris Rants:

Rants first elected to represent Iowa House District 54 (Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff) in 1992 and still serves his district today in that capacity. In 2003 was elected Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives and served as Speaker until 2006.  He is one of six Republicans running for Governor.

We discussed a variety of different topics including state spending, property taxes, the Iowa Supreme Court ruling, abortion, what his priorities would be as Governor, our growing prison population, and why he decided to run.

One thing I certainly learned is that if you want to know what Chris thinks, just ask.  Also of all of the candidates running I would classify  him as the policy wonk of the bunch.  Especially when it comes to the budget.  He has also been talking up providing specific ideas for state government, and has many of those ideas listed at 99 Ideas.org.

Here’s the MP3 of the interview with Chris Rants. (60 minutes)

Chris Rants’ blog is here.

The latest poll shows the Democrat governor is vulnerable

The latest Des Moines Register poll shows these match-ups:

  • Culver (33%) vs Branstad (57%)
  • Culver (37%) vs Vander Plaats (45%)
  • Culver (42%) vs Rants (35%)
  • Culver (42%) vs Fong (34%)

The Des Moines Register is a left-wing paper, in my opinion, so the results are probably skewed toward the Democrat.

Why policies are interesting

Some of my Christian readers are mostly interested in apologetics who haven’t thought much about politics and economics. Listening to these interviews will provide you with some ideas about the kinds of issues that Christians should be interested in. It’s not just social issues – it’s school choice, tax cuts, runaway government spending, and a host of other issues that affect the way you live out your Christian life. I like listening to what politicians can do to make my life more free, more secure and more prosperous.

Shane has a rundown of all 6 Republican candidates for the Iowa governorship here.