hiya Jane!

Hiowa…

Welcome to our humble state, Jane. As you’ve already learned, we have sidewalks and everything.

Hey Jane! Freezing yet?

Howdy Jane – waving madly from a couple hundred miles north.

I’ll repeat here what Alice Roosevelt Longworth replied when introduced to the shy wife of a new Congressman from Iowa: “My dear, we pronounce that OHIO.”

Hope you are meeting lots of wonderful Iowans, and that Linda gets her wish.

And Jane: Please, please say hello to Huckabee and Mitt for me!

I was in Iowa last December and I gotta say it is one cold place. Watching Romney kiss a pig is cruel and embrassing to the pig.

I can’t imagine being there with the crush of the nation’s press. I hope you get to meet a few Iowans in an amongst the reporters. Thanks for being there for us!

Concerning the expectations game, will this reported “Surge” hurt Edwards if he doesn’t come in first?

Welcome to Iowa.
If you are in Des Moines, stay off the sidewalks and use the skywalks!
If you are looking for Dem players and good food, try the Centro Restaurant.

Jane!!! How fun! Can’t wait to hear what you hear and see!

Have fun Jane and Jeralyn — and huge hug for Linda as well. (waves howdy) Stay warm you guys, weather forecast is more cold the rest of the week.

Hey, Jane! This is getting so exciting!

“Legend has it Cooper does a mean Dick Cheney.”

Umm, is there another sort of Cheney? :-)

I’ll definitely feel sorry for the pig, but let’s face it, Romney’s running for the most awesomist job ever! He’s gonna kiss a couple pigs before this week is through.

David Koresh?

Umm, is there another sort of Cheney? :-)

*rimshot*

I seem to remember Norskeflamethrower calling Iowa for Edwards a few weeks ago.

The Beast list of 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2007 is mean and petty and over-the-top, but they certainly pegged W:

1. George W. Bush

Charges: Is it a civil rights milestone to have a retarded president? Maybe it would be, if he were ever legitimately elected. You can practically hear the whole nation holding its breath, hoping this guy will just f*cking leave come January ‘09 and not declare martial law. Only supporters left are the ones who would worship a f*cking turnip if it promised to kill foreigners. Is so clearly not in charge of his own White House that his feeble attempts to define himself as “decider” or “commander guy” are the equivalent of a five-year-old kid sitting on his dad’s Harley and saying “vroom vroom!” Has lost so many disgusted staffers that all he’s left with are the kids from Jesus Camp. The first president who is so visibly stupid he can say “I didn’t know what was in the National Intelligence Estimate until last week” and sound plausible. Inarguably a major criminal and a much greater threat to the future of America than any Muslim terrorist.

Iowa prediction: Edwards 37%; Obama 33%; HRC 30%

Would you please remind Huck that being a bass player does NOT make him a guitar player?

On this morning’s MSNBC political report there was the following headline:

Strategical Tie Among Democrats in Iowa

It makes me wonder if the editors at MSNBC don’t know the difference between “statistical” and “strategic”, much less start making up new words as Bush does, then why am I watching their work?

This from today’s Salon about HuckeePuckee:

Many of Huckabee’s supporters were turned on to his campaign by friends, fellow home-schoolers, church members or family — the sort of informal, preexisting networks and social ties that are considered more valuable than gold in the world of political organizing. But that means Huckabee’s shoestring campaign doesn’t have much in the way of reliable data, since his voters did more to find Huckabee than the other way around. Many Christian conservatives I talked to this week said they hadn’t had a lot of official contact with Huckabee’s team before they decided to back him. “It’s not a superficial e-mail campaign, it’s real,” said John King, another computer programmer, who lives in Pella, Iowa, where he and his wife are home-schooling their six children. “It’s moms having a weekly Bible study, and it’s home-school dads having a basketball game together,” said King’s friend Greg Hartsill, who lives in Columbia, Iowa, and is home-schooling seven kids. “It’s wherever we meet in life.”

For voters like them, Huckabee’s appeal is pretty plain. “He fears God,” said Scott Bailey, from just outside Otley, Iowa, where he’s president of a network of conservative Christian home-schoolers. “Apart from that, nothing else matters to me in a candidate.” As he gave his stump speech at rallies over the last few days, Huckabee was occasionally interrupted by a “Praise God!” exclaimed from the audience. In Pella, a supporter had him autograph a copy of an intelligent-design textbook (though Huckabee, who famously indicated at a GOP debate in May that he didn’t believe in evolution, prefers these days not to talk about exactly how humans arrived on Earth).

Hi Jane! Yet another wave from several hundred miles north. Looking forward to your reporting from Iowa.

Here’s Bill Maher’s list of biggest dickheads of 2007

So glad you’re there. Paula Poundstone had some lovely comments about the Huckster’s qualifications on Wait Wait Christmas week. Good luck with that pig kiss…
Kiss the pig

Who is Linda M. and what in the world would any sane person come here for when a few more inches of snow is making travel more hazardous than it was yesterday?

what about other way around? probably not that neither, huh?

The copy writers at MSNBC are more or less illiterates who make howlers like that all the time, to say nothing of their frequent misspellings in captions and crawlers.

Just once, I’d like to see a brokered convention from one of the major parties.

I fear these people. “Nothing else matters to me in a candidate” than they fear God. WTF? Is this guy saying he’s got no problem supporting a psychopathic ax murderer so long as he says he “fears God”? One might think that the evangelicals would have finally gotten wise to hucksters who spout the words but are just as crooked and venal and petty as everyone else.

Haven’t seen you at the Lake for quite sometime. Maybe you’ve been here when I haven’t… Hope this meets you well. Happy New Year!

Swear I heard Shuster announce an open invitation to his gathering for steak dinner on MSNBC this morning. Same party, Jane? Have fun!

For the aging demographic among the rest of us, here’s a bit o’boomer cheer.

And from those of us even further north than Iowa, pshaw…sounds like bikini weather to me…..or maybe saunatime.

But do they roll them up at night?

[David] Shuster…

Many of us have called Iowa, America for Edwards long ago….

You must fear God from a Christian standpoint to be acceptable. A God fearing Muslim will never be acceptable.

Who will unleash what last minute surprise.

how many winners coming in the iowa caucus have actually won the WH?…just asking…..sooooo much emphasis on the iowa caucus

sometimes lurk during the day, but i tend to be online more late evening. Plus haven’t been commenting much as it seems so many say it for me & better to boot. But good to see you, Biodun!

Hey then you all get props! :)

Hi Jane! Stay warm and cozy!

Can you give me some clarity on this little fact reported in Iowa newspapers? The religious sector Huckie appeals to is 1/4 of 40% of 80,000 Iowans. I know the number folks will work out the exact number that represents.

Also, in meeting with the Nevada caucus folks I learned that only 15% of
Democrats are necessary to meet the criteria for a caucus. Their goal is 15% getting the vote out. Very strange to me. I’d aim for 100%. If you aim low you’ll get low. What are the expected percentages in Iowa?

But do they roll them up at night?

Nope. And we have had electricity and indoor plumbing since before 1987, too.

Iowa
pork tenderloins
blue cheese
and nuns who make great candy

Didn’t somebody p[ost something a few days ago about how Huck bought into somebody’s database when other people weren’t interested? I’m not buying the “shoestring campaign” that relied on the churchfolk’s word-of-mouth.

is the vote on the 3rd?

David Sirota has an excellent diary, “Gauging the Fear Inside the Palace Walls,” at Dkos:

Klein’s silliness is eclipsed only by Stu Rothenberg – who reliably hands us the old adage that any candidates challenging the status quo will destroy America. Here’s his take today:

“[John Edwards] is also portraying himself as fighting for the middle class and able to appeal to swing voters and even Republicans in a general election…His approach to problems is likely to frighten many voters, including most middle class Americans and virtually all Republicans…Given the North Carolina Democrat’s rhetoric and agenda, an Edwards Presidency would likely rip the nation apart – even further apart than Bush has torn it.”

Bloomberg is making noise about running as an Independent. His changing parties (been through them all, almost) shows his dissatisfaction with all major parties. OK both major parties.

is it just me or does anyone else think Bloomberg is positioning himself for a brokered R convention? (more than a 3rd party run)

A quick OT into Fundie World.

They now have their new Rosa Parks.

Swear to God!

-G

Hi Jane (waving from waaayyyyy far away in Florida). Freezing your tush off yet? The traditional press dummies won’t know what to think of someone with a working brain amongst them. At least Firepups can be assured of a factual, rational report on what’s happenin’ in Iowa.

I would urge caution in interpreting these latest polls. The Iowa caucus is difficult to poll. The problem is with setting the screen as to who is actually going to attend. This has been made even more difficult this year with Obama actively courting newbies. No one really knows if they are going to show up. In addition, these lastest polls have been conducted around the holidays and this can erode their accuracy.

I want Huckabee and Ron Paul to come out of Iowa strong then the MSM will have to go over their records I want GOP crazy scaring all the midwestern voters. But yeah that database story seems unlikely just who is pulling his strings and whats their agenda?

Given the North Carolina Democrat’s rhetoric and agenda, an Edwards Presidency would likely rip the nation apart – even further apart than Bush has torn it.”

Quick, someone get a fainting couch and some smelling salts.

Rothenberg is going down.

-G

1. Bloomberg, while a good mayor of NYC, has negative charisma.

2. After being a D, a R, then an I, do you really think any party will let him near?

This is the depth of hubris.

Reminds me of this story:

Flee floating down the river on his back, with an erection sez, “Raise the drawbrige, I’ve got a hardon.”

Make that flea, not flee.

This meeting with Bloomberg sounds like a gathering of the “has-beens” and the never-weres” to me. Don’t see much use in it but if he runs, it will certainly be a mess.

“The United States is in no sense founded upon the Christian doctrine.” – George Washington

“It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” – Thomas Jefferson

“I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.” – Thomas Paine

“I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature.” – Thomas Jefferson

“The Bible is not my book, and Christianity is not my religion. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma.” – Abraham Lincoln

oops, left out my comment to those quotes;

if one runs into the mitt, the hucks, the mccain, one might ask them their opinion of these men and what they thought of religion

Very excited to see Huckmania up close and personal.

I’m so jealous. Let us know if he gives his speeches in tongues.

No, but he is able to feed the press gaggle with only two loaves of bread and a fish.

-G

Bloomberg might just come in to f*ck things up for the Dem candidates, even at general. From the Gray Lady:

And Mr. Bloomberg himself has become more candid in conversations with friends and associates about his interest in running, according to participants in those talks. Despite public denials, the mayor has privately suggested scenarios in which he might be a viable candidate: for instance, if the opposing major party candidates are poles apart, like Mike Huckabee, a Republican, versus Barack Obama or John Edwards as the Democratic nominee.

A final decision by Mr. Bloomberg about whether to run is unlikely before February. Still, he and his closest advisers are positioning themselves so that if the mayor declares his candidacy, a turnkey campaign infrastructure will virtually be in place.

Corporate America is afraid of Edwards because the economy is only likely to get worse before November. Edwards should smack these MSM talking heads by promising to enact the fairness doctrine and break up the big media companies.
Given the drop in readership, radio, TV viewers etc this big media with multiple platforms (tv, radio, newspapers) in the same markets thing is not working. Given that Daily show viewers know more about the issues than Fox News viewers well the public interest is not being served.

Ask Matt Cooper why when he first told the awesome Wheels of Justice story he left out the fact that Karl Rove, his source was sitting a few feet away in the room. I’m genuinely curious.

And Sam Waterston, the hair-brained new DA in “Law & Order,” might be behind a Bloomberg bid. Listen to his inane remarks:

Sam Waterston, the actor whose former co-star on “Law and Order,” Fred D. Thompson, is a Republican presidential candidate, is a founder of Unity08. That group also hopes to advance a nonpartisan ticket, and Mr. Waterston says the mayor is often mentioned on the group’s Web site as a prospective nominee.

“If he formally embraced Unity08’s principal goals of a bipartisan, nonpartisan, postpartisan ticket — which he’s almost in a position to do all by himself, having been a Democrat, a Republican, and now an independent — and of an administration dedicated to ending partisanship within itself and in Washington, then it’s hard to think of anyone better placed to win Unity08’s support if he sought it,” Mr. Waterston said. “And, of course, there’s nothing that says Unity08 couldn’t draft him.”

Bipartisan? Nonpartisan? Postpartisan? Just WTF is postpartisan?

(Same link as my 63.)

Huck is endorsed by GOD I wonder if he read what Elijah did to the prophets of Baal when they could not prove their God’s power with a miracle of Elijah’s choosing. Next debate we should choose a miracle for him to show he has God’s favor, that and we should light a bonfire.

Ouch! It says it’s 20 degrees out in Des Moines and feels like 9 degrees. I hope you’re in your snowsuits. Growing up in New York, I remember mine fondly.

yes, it is!

And here’s Glenzilla’s take today on Bloomberg as a so-called bipartisan, nonpartisan, and postpartisan.

And here’s Glenn on Sam Waterston’s group:

actor Sam Waterston of the painfully silly, substance-free Unity ‘08 group describing the promise of Bloomberg’s candidacy as promoting “Unity08’s principal goals

Hi Jane, Stay warm out there and we are looking forward to your and JM’s reports. I am supporting Edwards and want a good showing out there in the heartland. He needs the momentum to carry on against the money that HRC and Obama have. We need radical change in this country and Edwards is the only one of the candidates that has a chance of pulling it off.

Just WTF is postpartisan?

Washington Post go-it-all snuggling among Those Who Know Best What This Country Needs

Happy New Year Jane. Please give Bob a call in Bellevue!

Andrea

Jane, if you get a chance to chat with Edwards can you ask him how his vote for the bankruptcy act and the repeal of Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 has impacted ‘working class’ Americans versus his good friends; the banking industry.

able to feed the press gaggle with only two loaves of bread and a fish

Are there more than three people in the press gaggle?

Postpartisan is Arnold’s word for abandoning neanderthal GOPs for reasonable Democratic principles. See also co-opting and triangulating

We’re here in Iowa. It’s frigging cold.

Eh, whaddaya talking about? It keeps you awake and moving, doesn’t it?

- Tom

“We’re here in Iowa. It’s frigging cold. There’s a lot of buzz around Edwards,”

Hi Jane head, to a tractor supply CO. and buy some CARHARTT’s winter cover all’s ,, wear a hat and stay WARM i’ve worked in them @ 20 below and was warm a toast good BOOTS (too Big) extra sock’s .. you’ll look just like a dairy barner and fit wright in..

Here’s one of Bloomberg’s postpartisan positions:

Bloomberg, in fact, identifies strongly with the defeated Democrat from Connecticut. “I think what they’re doing to Joe Lieberman is a disgrace,” the mayor volunteered when I met with him in his offices in July, shortly before anti-war bloggers helped Ned Lamont beat Lieberman in the primary. . . . A few days later, Bloomberg was offering to campaign for Lieberman.

(Same link as my 70.)

If Bloomberg runs and takes say New York, then is quite possible that nobody would have a majority of the electoral votes. In that case the entire matter of selecting a president is turned over to the House of Representatives:

The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.

Bloghoring from NE Iowa.

Please recommend my answer to the NYTimes editorial from the day that is #15 on most recommended. It’s the 163rd submission yet recommended 32 times.It is as follows:
“Great editorial. I have three followup questions:

1. To what extent has the Mainstream Media and the NYTimes been complicit in cooperating with the Bush coverups?

2. Where was the Opposition Party whose oath is to the Consitution and “We the People”?

3. How does the hiring of discreditted neocon Kristol reflect a desire to stop this media complicity?
— Jim Clausen, West Union Iowa

linky to recommend page
http://community.nytimes.com/a…..ostComment

Hi Jane,

Welcome to Iowa. Please let me know if you need any tips from a local. Stay Warm. It is suppose to warm up on Thursday.

Finally, Glenzilla on a Bloomberg candidacy:

Bloomberg is basically just Rudy Giuliani with a billion or two dollars to spend to alter the election. When it comes to foreign policy, war-making and government power, he offers absolutely nothing that isn’t found in destructive abundance among the most extremist precincts in the Republican Party, while his moderate to liberal stance on social issues would prevent him from actually winning the support of his natural GOP base.

In fact — despite his steadfast neoconservatism — it’s hard to see how the candidacy of a divorced, unmarried, stridently pro-gun-control, pro-choice, socially liberal New York City billionaire would accomplish anything other than offering the Republicans their best hope of winning in 2008.

Yep. He just might f*ck things up for the Dems. Just might.

(Same link as 70.)

I am door knocking doors for Edwards on Thursday. We are on a roll.

ps. After years in education and sales, I love a good closer like the team of Elizabeth and John Edwards.

Boy I miss the edit! sigh

Thanks for all your hard work, Jim. Keep it up, this can happen.

In eternity, do you get to quit fearing, or you just learn how to take pleasure if fear? When you think about it, the whole concept is ultimate Stockholm sydrome.

Too bad that Reid and Pelosi are working so hard to put Republics back in control of Congress.

How’s it looking, Jim? Are you seeing an Edwards surge?

Quite the miracle, eh!

-G

To cure partisan deadlock, elect more and better democrats.

I’d like to know from the Candidates in the Senate, I believe there are five of them if I count correctly, and Mr.Edwards, who was, all of whom are lawyers, why since FDL and EW has had scores of threads on this, and so much talk and some hearings have been on this subject,

1) Why action on the US Attorney’s Office being hijacked by the WH to win elections has been completely stalled in the Senate?

After both chambers issued subpoenas, no vote has come to either floor on action on the subpoenas, yet there have been moronic votes, like the one on the viability of Christianity (somepin sompein ’bout Church and State somewhere–Federalist Papers a couple times).

2) My second question to the Senator lawyers is why have they let the lawyers Gillespie, Addington, and Fielding dictate every vote to the Senate and what do the ones who aren’t Dodd plan to do substantively to block Telco immunity?

As to the election that I’ve heard whispers is coming–something about Iowa and some Caucauses–Jane and Jerilyn Merritt in Iowa–how many Americans can differentiate the Iowa caucauses from primaries or can name all the candidates running? Firepups of course can and many layers of analysis more, but average Americans–hah–ask ‘em in the streets. They know that Jamie Lynn Spears is with child though, and have an idea how it happened. You betcha. Know Patriots won too. That’s the main reason that Ed Gillespie, Addington, and Fielding tell Bush they can do whatever they want and people are too stupid to know or care. And watch them doing just that.

Where They Stand: Major Positions of the Candidates

The Great Divide: Commentary on the Positions by Paul Krugman

Here’s Slate’s doughboy John Dickerson on the Edwards-Obama sqaubble:

Watching Obama and Edwards back-to-back, as I have this week, the differences between their closing pitches are stunning. Obama’s closing argument has a lot of moving parts. Much of it is rebuttal. He answers Edwards’ criticisms, and he answers Hillary Clinton’s. This is intellectually honest, but it complicates Obama’s overall case. It takes up time and it makes Obama sound defensive. Edwards, on the other hand, has honed his closing down to one lean pitch (like the fine trial lawyer he once was). This is effective in the last days of a campaign, when you have to give your audience one clear rationale for voting for you. It’s also good politics because in the run-up to Thursday, the candidates must arm the supporters who will knock on doors and seek to persuade until the last second before the final tally is counted. Edwards has one tight message: fight. And now he has a short message to knock Obama: too nice.

He might have a point there…

(Deliberatly not linking. Even though doughboy is a Facebook “member” of FDL, he’s gone after Jane in the past.)

Jane has a new and improved Iowa post upstairs.

Perris is as usual awesome in providing the facts. The very foundation of our country is not faith based. Very interesting. Where/how do you find these quote?

I was just out canvassing for Edwards caucussers for four hours with my jacket (not coat) open. There wasn’t any wind, so I didn’t get cold. It’s been colder earlier this year with wind an 4 inches of ice to remove from our driveways and sidewalks.

Thank.You!

just did teh google looking for the pornographers of our founding fathers

did you know our country was named after a pornographer?

The Republicans have never lost control of Congress. The Unitary Executive structured by the law firm of Addington, Fielding, and Gillespie have firm control of Congress, and DOJ as has been the case since Sandy O’Conner tipped the Presidency to Bush because according to her law clerks, (writing out of school and spurring another Secrecy agreement for law clerks from the peasants and dumbasses who fund the Supreme Court) she thought it would make the country better.

I don’t think she realized that among other things, Bush would damage stem cell research,which among other things is aimed at the Altzheimer’s that has taken her husband from her. I know she regrets her swing on the Presidency in 2000, and knows that her advice on Iraq was dumped in the trash.

The comparison of John Edwards to JFK seems quite apt. Even though Edwards was born poor and had to earn his wealth, both JFK and John Edwards seem genuine in their desire to help the poor and the working class of America — and they follow in the footsteps of the greatest Presidident of the 20th century — FDR. All were or are men of wealth and privilege who truly care for those less economically fortunate than they.

John Edwards for President!