Krusty Kalled to Karpet for Krappy Komentary...

...and forced to change his tune a bit.

Well folks, our favorite Klown has taken a real beating this week. You bloggers on the "Konservative" side may have seen this shaping up.

Fortunately for those of us who look to Krusty's daily kolumns for guidance and insight, he has toned down the rhetoric a notch today, and supplied us with a great post on what's behind the candidate's TV ads.

What did it take for the public to get a quality post from the disgruntled blogger? Read on as I kronicle Krusty's nosedive this week.

The saga began when his report from the 1st District GOP Convention trickled in ever-so-slowly, and then was scoffed at by everyone who seems to have actually attended. Note his post was so Krappy that the report right here at Iowa's First actually made it verbatum into the comments section of that post on Krusty's blog. Don't worry, Klown, you can send me the royalties check later.

Then on Tuesday, Krusty put up a softie posting about Bill Dix's new TV commercial as an attempt to distract from Dix's underperformance at Convention and Krusty's BS post about it a day earlier. Unfortunately, Krusty's post included almost as much fluff as Dix's commercial! Within the comment section, a curious blogger (who I assume is a Kennedy suppporter) questioned Krusty about Dix's support for the Values Fund. Krusty, a statehouse employee, claimed to have no recollection of the vote, or even knowledge of how to find out, but was able to say this, "Even if he did vote for it, it doesn't mean I'll stop supporting him. "

Krusty was humiliated that day when Maverick cleared the air and posted the truth about the vote.

Seems to me that aside from the vote, the real question proudiowan was getting at was who was telling the truth about the vote. Krusty, now that it's known that Dix did vote for it (no thanks to any help from you, I might add), will you continue supporting him knowing that he LIED about his vote?

Wednesday though, my question was answered, when it became clear that he still stands with his boy in the Statehouse. Posting a rant about Brian Kennedy's support for the FairTax, Krusty tried to paint the proposal as a smart political move rather than true belief in the idea.The Krust says that Kennedy isn't serious about the FairTax because he's never mentioned it until this month.

Lucky for us, proudiowan (I think this guy lives to be a pain in Krusty's ass) called him out on it and chronicled all the appearances of the FairTax on the Kennedy website.

It seems though that today is shaping up well for Krusty, and Fridays are usually pretty slow, so maybe the Klown will make it through the week with only a few bumps and bruises. Hopefully he'll be back next week with the same objective viewpoint we see today.

Farmer Bill

Bill Dix released his campaign's first television commercial earlier this week.

Just as much as we were not surprised when Brian Kennedy's first spot featured immigration, I also had a sinking feeling that Dix would start out with farming.

To it's credit, the ad does do a good job of promoting Dix's theme, which is that he is a good guy, conservative farmer, hard-working, Average Joe. And, it hits a little bit of his statehouse experience, though nothing substantial.

This ad is a lot like Bill. It is nice. It is put together well. But there just isn't much in it. It looks good on the outside, but when it comes down to substance, it's a bit lacking. I can watch this ad over and over (because the woman's voice is just so soothing) but still not find any substance to it.

So, I guess, taking Dix's warchest into consideration, perhaps his plan is to build the image now and get to the message/issues/substance in later ads?

The ad can be viewed HERE.

Just as with Kennedy's ad, the question is, is this an effective ad for the 1st District of Iowa? The ad is heavy on the rural, in a district that is far more heavily urban. Also, at a time when there appears to be much voter apathy (particularly on the GOP side), those that do come out to vote are going to be the ones that care about the issues, not the fluff.

PS - Mike Whalen: I know you're running a TV ad...please join the technology revolution and put it on your website!

First District Convention Post Game

This past weekend party die-hards from across Iowa's First District (though Scott County had a dismal turnout) attended their District Convention.

Krusty may have taken a while to post because he couldn't find a believable way to spin the convention into a victory for his statehouse buddy Bill Dix, but I'll give you the complete rundown here and now, spin freee, based on first-hand observation from someone who lives in the District, not some unnamed correspondent.

The convention started off with a well attended breakfast hosted by Congressman Jim Nussle. The crowd gathered early, at 8:00 and heard lengthy but lively remarks from Nussle. He touched on several issues, as well as the importance of electing a Republican to replace him in his Congressional seat.

Entering the convention hall, delegates were greeted by a plethora of Brian Kennedy and Bill Dix signs, including several giant posters on stand-alone easles of Brian Kennedy's plan to defend the border with a huge (probably life-size) picture Kennedy standing over the banks of the Rio Grande. Mike Whalen was severely under-represented in the sign war. He had a few big barnsigns sitting on the floor along the wall, but that was basically it.

Sign war: Winner: Kennedy, closely followed by Dix

Before entering the Convention, delegates were bombarded with opportunities to wear candidate stickers. It's hard to say how many delegates displayed a preference for each candidate, but there seemed to be a lot of red and yellow for Kennedy, and a lot of red white and blue for Dix. Again, little support for Whalen.

Sticker war: Tie, Dix and Kennedy

Once seated, delegates were greeted by about a pound of literature on their chairs. They found material for central committe races, Secretary of Ag races, etc., but the only handout from the Congressional race was Whalen's year-old recipe card. NOTE: The cinammon rolls Whalen was giving away courtesy the Machine Shed tasted like they were a year old also. Dix had no literature that I saw aside from that on his lit table, and Kennedy had what appeared to be college student delegates decked out in Kennedy attire passing out an immigration flyer similar to what he distributed at County Conventions at the entrance.

Lit war: Draw

Finally the convention got underway. First, SOA candidates spoke, minus Mark Leonard who failed to make it to the 1st CD that day. Then, Bob Dopf gave a talk about his candidacy. None of these speeches were really anything worth listening too. Also note Chuck Allison did not make it to the 1st on Saturday either.

Around 11:00 the crowd was able to hear the Congressional candidates...all but Mike Whalen that is. In true Whalen fasion, he was predictably late and did not have to appear with Dix and Kennedy.

Kennedy spoke first. He had the most energy of any candidate. He gave a very brief bio, then hit on several key issues. He seemed impassioned and at home among the party activists, like a true leader of this crowd, probably leftover from his party chair days. Interestingly, he was the only candidate to touch on most of the conservative issues; pro-life, immigration, etc. He delievered his usual theme of principle over politics. Kennedy was interrupted by applause on several occasions, and at the end of his talk received a bit of a standing applause from a few delegates. Great speech.

Dix spoke immediately after Kennedy. After the first speech, I fully expected Dix to have something interesting to offer, or at least off it with a little energy. Dix, however, was disappointingly predictable. He spoke very unenthusiasticly about his family and his farm for the majority of his time, then touched on a few issues like tax cuts, but didn't really offer much substance. I was quite surprised to see Dix, while he and Kennedy seem to be in a battle for the Conservative title since Whalen is out of the running for that, didn't even mention the right to life and didn't hit hard on immigration. Overall not a bad speech, but he offered nothing new to these people, all of whom I'm sure he's met before (except the Scott County folks), and he failed to inspire the crowd.

Whalen appeared a while later. He didn't have the benefit of hearing the other two, and so had no idea what their speeches were like. Consequently, I caught him reading notes for his prepared speech, and he did the worst. He mentioned his father and Ronald Reagan. He wheezed some anecdotes, as usual, but failed to connect with the grassroots conservatives in the room, in my humble opinion. Also, he didn't look at ease. Something was bugging him...perhaps the criticizm of his leftover rolls.

Speech: Winner: Kennedy with Dix in second. Whalen again a distant third.

Overall impressions are as follows. Kennedy was hurt by a poor showing of delegates from Scott and Clinton Counties, though probably not as much as Whalen. Still, for the convention being held in the rural northwest part of the district (read: Dix's natural home turf) he did a great job. Dix wasn't on his best game on Saturday, though his staffers did a good job with his "presence". That is, signage and stickering. A large (proportionally, of course, to the other counties) turnout from Bremer County helped his cause. Still, I saw a lot of Dix yard signs walking out the door with the delegates at the end of the day. Whalen doesn't seem to be at home with a crowd like this. Half the delegates are pissed at him for donating to Dave Nagle, the other half for offering shitty cinamon rolls. He definitely did not win the day. The worst part for him was when he was seen being dragged out of the building during platform discussion by his staffer, because they needed to leave and he was too engrossed in discussion/harassment of the Kennedy staffers and state central committee members.

Taking into account the location, contents of speech, stickers/t-shirt support, and general conversation with other delegates, I think Kennedy was the winner of the day. Dix underperformed considering the locale, but still had a lot of support. Whalen can tout his polls all he wants, but is losing ground fast among this crowd.

Dix's Only Accomplishment this Session May go Down in Flames

A couple months back, Bill Dix was pretty darn proud of his eminent domain bill. That can be seen in this press release, where he does, however, accept fault for not getting the job done nearly ten years ago when he was "road-blocked by powerful special interest groups" (kind of like what he let happen this year with his no-home-loans-for-illegals bill).

While I gave him great credit for his seemingly popular eminent domain bill in an earlier post this week, it now seems to face a snag in the Senate. The Waterloo Courier reports in this article that two Senators, the Democratic leader and the Republican leader used procedural moves to stop the bill from returning to the House for final consideration after the Senate had previously revised it.

Senator Bob Brunkhorst, also from within the 1st District and a close friend of Rep. Dix, came to Bill's rescue (the bill, that is), questioning the Democratic leader on the floor of the Senate about his motives.

The Courier reports:

In the midst of these complicated maneuvers, backers of the bill feel powerless. Sen. Bob Brunkhorst, R-Waverly, said he would like to meet with senators who have concerns about the bill, but they have refused to meet.

Brunkhorst brought his concerns to the Senate floor Tuesday, asking Gronstal to explain his actions."So this bill could die because of you?" Brunkhorst asked the Democratic leader.

Gronstal said if the bill dies it will be because Brunkhorst and others "refused to be reasonable" in considering alternatives.

On Wednesday, Brunkhorst said he still expects the bill to pass in some form, but is concerned that it may be watered down.

City leaders across the state have raised concerns about the measure, arguing that it would make redevelopment prohibitively expensive and time consuming. The bill makes it much more difficult for local governments to seize private property.

Property-rights advocates say the bill creates a fair balance between the needs of cities and the rights of property owners.

I don't spend enough time in Des Moines to know what's going to happen to this bill, but I'm sure Dix is watching it closely, as he is running on his "record not rhetoric". If this bill dies or gets severely watered down, Dix's "record" will be 0 and 2 on his major legislation this session.

Whalen Wants to Curb Spending...Ducks Tough Issue in the Process

Thursday's Quad-Cities Times included this article about Mike Whalen's plan to curb deficit spending. The three points of his plan include limiting increases in spending to little more than inflation, requiring a super-majority vote to raise taxes, and giving line-item veto power to the president.

As expected, Whalen made restaurant analogies and spouted regular Republican rhetoric about the Bush tax cuts working.

Interestingly, however, Whalen painted himself into a corner. He attacked "pork-barrel spending", but dodged tough questions about the real issue concerning the budget, which is entitlement spending...Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Tibbetts reports that these three programs account for about half the federal budget and are growing faster than inflation. Whalen declined to comment on whether he would support proposals to reduce funding or even cut projected growth.

By doing this, we see Whalen once again talk the talk on the surface, but fail to follow through on the tough stuff. He has done come out weak on immigration, flip-flopped on ethanol, embarrassed himself on abortion, and now even half-assed the spending issue.

While talking about curbing spending, to combat his lackluster campaign performance he is currently spending campaign cash at a rate of 2:1 over some of his opponents. And, he continues to spend, as he is the latest candidate to partake in the paid media wars. Whalen currently airs one or two different radio spots, as well as a new commercial on cable television. Keep writing those big checks Mike.

Earlier This Week...

Wednesday was a busy day around the First District.

Ed Tibbetts finally got around to putting out a story on the candidates' recent fundraising figures (just a few days behind is all). Read the full story here to get his take.

Also Wednesday Bruce Braley released a call for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. Braley included himself in the company of six retired Generals from across the country. He also called on the other candidates in the 1st District, both Republican and Democrat to join him. “I challenge all candidates in the 1st District Congressional race to take a public stand on this important issue,” said Braley. Appropriately, none responded. While this story about a tour of the Barn Foundation made the papers on Thursday, Braley's tough stand did not.

The Democrat that did make the paper this week was Rick Dickinson. He got mention Wednesday in the Quad-Cities Times for a stop on his "No Town Left Behind" tour. Showcasing economic development as his strength, he said he would make it a priority, but left out any major details regarding the substance of his plan. Only about six people came for his gathering, but he did take questions from the tiny audience on other issues. This was reported on his immigration stance:

Dickinson also took questions on other issues, such as education and immigration. On the latter, he said he supports a bi-partisan bill offered by U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Arizona, that would provide a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants if they did such things as pay a fine and hold a job.

A House-approved bill would not allow for that and would criminalize being in the country illegally. Now, it’s only a civil violation.

Some of the Republicans seeking the 1st District seat have made dealing with illegal immigration a key issue. Dickinson, though, said the emphasis was more about appeasing a political base, and he said the relatively small number of Hispanics living in eastern Iowa made them an easy target. “There’s nobody to push back,” he said.

Personally I disagree with Dickinson on the immigration bit. The issue may play to the GOP (though I don't think so because they can't seem to agree on it either), but regardless of who may benefit from it's discussion, it is a problem that needs to be talked about nation-wide (including Iowa and the 1st District), not just in the border states.

Comments posted by readers to the article are intersting. Some are pro-Dickinson. One is pro-Whalen on business, one is pro-Kennedy on immigration, and one is just anti-Whalen altogether.

$$$$$$$$$$$$ - - - - - First District Style

For a complete breakdown of the fundraising/expenditures please visit this post by Krusty Konservative. For a complete breakdown of what it all means to the candidates, their supporters, and the 1st District, read on...

Democrats

Bruce Braley seems to continue to pull ahead. Granted I'm not as in tune to the Dem race as I am the GOP, but word on the street is that this race is all but sewn up.

I'm not sure if I buy into that line though. Braley may have lots of money, but where does it come from? Taking a look at his disclosure is like reading an atlas. A large proportion of his donations range in geographical origins from California to New York. In this case, money does not necessarily equal support. The question is, will Bruce Braley use it efficiently to translate dollar signs into true supporters on June 6th.

Rick Dickinson is still very much in the race. He certainly has an uphill battle ahead of him, with a $106K cash on hand disadvantage to Braley. However, having $142K in the bank is definitely enough to compete. Also notable, he is largely financing his campaign right out of Dubuque County. Those people can actually vote for him, and they very much believe in their "home-town boy."

Bill Gluba...what can ya say? The guy has $22K in the bank and expects to win. I admire his optimism. We'll see if his left-over name ID from previous races will pay off. To his credit, his are the only Democratic yard signs I've seen in my neighborhood so far.

Much to the detriment of Bill Gluba, I think the Dem primary is going to shape up to be a battle of media buys moreso than the GOP race. There hasn't been as much real news in the media regarding the Dem race as there has been on the Republican side, meaning they will need to do a better job with their paid media. This is where Brailey steps up and takes it away. He can use his money effectively to make Gluba an afterthought, and really put some hurt to Dickinson. Rick, on the other hand, may have a better local ground game. Your thoughts?

Republicans

Here's the race I've been focused on lately. Aside from the candidates and their staffs, I don't think you'll hear anyone declaring there to be a true frontrunner in this race.

Bill Dix has without a doubt shown his fundraising prowess. Out-raising even the Dems' Bruce Braley, Dix has pulled in over half a million dollars to date. Not too bad for a Congressional primary in Iowa. Also to Dix's credit, he has been pretty frugal with his campaign checkbook. He still has 301K in the bank.

The trick for Dix, though, is going to be turning all that cash into actual votes on June 6th. Whereas I mentioned this as a must-do for Brailey, I think it will be an honest struggle to accomplish for Dix. I think his success with the money has been due largely to a great fundraising consultant on his team, and his ties in the statehouse, though let's not forget that Dix truly is a genuinely trustworthy guy.

I worry for Bill Dix that his time spent this spring in Des Moines has done more harm than good for his campaign. He has been able to fundraise for sure (a donor is only a phone call away), but has he been able to put together a good ground game during that same period? Also, while he uses his prior experience in the legislature as a positive for his campaign, I question what he actually was able to accomplish during this session. His no-home-loans-for-illegal-immigrants bill didn't even make it out of committee in the Senate, and he was embarassingly shot down by pesky House rules when he later tried to sneak it in as an amendment to another bill. To his credit, however, I do believe his bill restricting the use of eminent domain was passed, and has proven to be quite popular. So, maybe this session was a wash for Dix. That being the case, the question is, is his past record in the statehouse (which is really all he has to run on) something worth boasting about? We'll let the campaigns and the voters sort that one out in the next two months.

Brian Kennedy is far behind Bill Dix in the money war, but claims that isn't the game he's playing anyway. Kennedy still has a respectable $165 in the bank, which is more than two of the Dems and the GOP's Mike Whalen. Taking this into account, as well as my comments about Dickinson's cash disadvantage, I also think Brian Kennedy is very much a contender.

This is where Krusty and I differ. He has dismissed Kennedy as a candidate because he didn't raise much last quarter. I think that it's the COH number that really matters in the final two months though, coupled with a good ground game. This is where Kennedy makes up lost ground on Bill Dix. From what I've seen (trying to bar all the propaganda from the Kennedy campaign on this issue), I do believe he is ahead in this respect. The problem for Kennedy is going to be how to make the most of the money he does have. He clearly can't fundraise like Bill Dix, and while he released a memo showing he and Whalen's willingness to combat Dix with their own funds, I don't think he can go checkbook to checkbook with Mike Whalen even if he wants to.

The key for Kennedy is going to be to convince people that the money really doesn't matter. I think he has a shot if he uses his money wisely and takes his grassroots movement to the next level in these last two months. I think the Dix and Whalen people really mock this approach, but what they are discounting is that this has been Kennedy's strategy since Day 1. Do you think Brian Kennedy is sitting around fretting because Bill Dix raised half a million dollars? I don't for one second. To him, his grassroots campaign is more than just feel-good Republican talk. He actually DOES it. To my knowledge, he is the only candidate of the six to go door to door so far, and I believe he started doing that last fall. I think it is also uncontested that he had the strongest show of support at the County Convention level too. Kennedy's supporters seem to be the most passionate about their candidate...The question to him is, are there enough of them to win? Also, to his advantave/detriment (only time will tell), he has cast himself as the leader on the immigration issue. How will this play in June?

Mike Whalen sits comfortably with $130K in the bank. While it is less than his two opponents, everyone knows he can change that with the stroke of a pen if he chooses. Because of this, he is the real wildcard in the race. On the finance issue, it is interesting to note how much cash candidate Whalen has blown through so far. While Dix and Kennedy have spent around $200K or less, Whalen has spent over $360,000. This has to absolutely be eating this guy up inside, because aside from a few polls he paid for, and A LOT of barnsigns, I am not sure what he really has to show for it. I think he is very much in the running, but I don't think he's "I've outspent Kennedy 2 to 1 in-the-running" unless he's got some secret up his sleeve that I can't discern from his FEC report.

Whalen does benefit, however, from a name ID advantage he's had from the beginning. Whalen has been a longstanding member of the business community in Iowa with his hotels and restaurants, and he knows a lot of people. The question for him is, "Do the people I know actually LIKE me?" I have heard some Mike Whalen horror stories. But, much as Kennedy's plan was never to win with big money, I don't think Whalen's plan was ever to win with true grassroots support. Whalen is into the raise-and-spend model of campaigning. Unfortunately for true conservatives, I'm scared that his plan may actually work for him.

Quick GOP summary: Dix has raised the most, but hasn't translated it into real support. However, most of his money still sits in his bank account, so how he spends it will be a deciding factor in this race. Kennedy is focusing on the party faithful, not worrying about his short-stacked situation. How he spends what he does have is going to be even more critical than with Dix, because he's got less of it, though, and he may be up against a wall if he has to wage a battle on two fronts. Whalen has unlimited funding if he chooses to exercise it, but I think he's losing favor quickly with true conservatives in the district. He needs to make up for that somehow if he's to win this race.



All candidates have strengths to showcase, and weaknesses to overcome between now and June 6th. Let the real fun begin!!!

Cowboy Kennedy

Earlier this week the Brian Kennedy campaign began airing the District's first television commercial. Not surprisingly, his first ad is about illegal immigration, featuring his trip to the border.

Kennedy's ad, creatively titled "Border" highlights his plan to station 10,000 additional border patrol agents at the border, as he strolls along the banks of the Rio Grande.

Though the illegal immigration issue is a serious problem, this ad is a bit funny too. I would challenge anyone who's ever met Brian Kennedy to tell me that the first word they would use to discribe him is "cowboy".

Somehow it just doesn't really fit in with the rest of his career experience. If we add this to his resume, it would read something like:

Brian Kennedy

Experience:

Lawyer
Campaign Manager of local, state, and national races
Chairman, Republican Party of Iowa
Lobbyist
Republican Strategist
Cowboy

The ad can be viewed HERE.

The question is, is this an effective ad for the 1st District of Iowa, or the 28th District of Texas? Do the Fox News watchers in Iowa see this as a big problem here, or is Brian Kennedy blowing his already limited resources on a short-lived or irrelevant-to-Iowa issue?

Whalen Picks up Endorsement

In a shocking twist late last week, the Mike Whalen campaign released a letter from former Governor Terry Branstad describing why he supports Mike.

In the letter, Brastad says he thinks Mike can win in November, and that he is a personal friend who has worked to promote Iowa through business who cares about our state and nation, as well as his emphasis on the issue of Social Security (apparently Branstad favors the tax increase too).

The only bit of press I could find over the weekend covering the endorsement is this article from the Quad Cities Times.

I think Matt Gronewald (Dix's campaign manager) and Brian Kennedy have it right, when they say in the article that the endorsement isn't going to mean much to voters in June.

Gronewald says, "This race isn't about one endorsement. Mike Whalen endorses tax increases and Bill Dix endorses tax cuts."

Kennedy asserts "I don’t think this race will be settled by endorsements by party elders in Des Moines. It will be settled at the grassroots."

Braley Fires on Dix

In a bout across party lines, Bruce Braley took aim at Bill Dix and his crusade to make the Bush tax cuts permanent today.

The release begins:

Today Iowa 1st District Democratic Congressional candidate Bruce Braley criticized Republican candidate Bill Dix’s blatant disregard for the budget deficit in supporting the permanent extension of an irresponsible Bush administration tax windfall for the wealthy. The plan decreases the tax rate on investment income.

and continues...

“Bill claims to be ‘fiscally responsible,’ yet he supports permanently extending a tax giveaway that effectively benefits only the wealthy,” Braley said. “His support of this policy is tantamount to supporting a $500,000 per year tax windfall for the wealthiest 6,100 Americans. That is irresponsible, considering that we are facing the largest federal budget deficit in our nation’s history while in the midst of a war. I think it’s time Bill looks at responsible, common-sense tax plans that benefit middle class Iowans instead of billionaires.”

Braley does a good job of riling all the Bush-hating Democrats against Bill Dix and the GOP with this one. My post below details Dix's counter-punch to Braley. Basically, he offered more partisan rhetoric, but took great advantage of the circumstance allowing Dix to cast Republican opponent Mike Whalen and Democrat Bruce Braley as cut from the same mold, further distancing Mike Whalen from GOP conservatives in the 1st District.

Dix Blasts Whalen for Liberal Leanings

UPDATE:

Just moments after this post was written, a new release came from the Dix campaign titled Dix: I won’t raise taxes like Braley and Whalen.

In it, Dix likens Mike Whalen to Democrat Bruce Braley, saying, “We now have two candidates on record who want to raise our taxes and stifle job growth, Mike Whalen and Bruce Braley. Raising the taxes on hard working Iowans is not an option.”

Good for him for sticking to his guns and running Whalen down with this one.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Original Post:

Representative Bill Dix has taken aim at opponent Mike Whalen for his plan to raise taxes to pay for the coming expenses of Social Security.

"When I first ran for Iowa House in 1996, I made a no tax increase pledge that I stand by today.

The same cannot be said for my opponent in the Republican Primary, Mike Whalen. Last February, Mr. Whalen told the Quad City Times he would be willing to raise taxes as part of a reform package for Social Security.

Mike Whalen's proposal would cost taxpayers $100 billion dollars each year!

Mr. Whalen reaffirmed his position this week and opened the door to new questions, telling the Dubuque Telegraph Herald that everything has to be on the table. "

Dix takes pride in the fact that he is finally engaging his primary opponent in a press release titled "Blasts Primary Opponent Mike Whalen who says Everything has to be on the table".

The release begins:

(WATERLOO) Rep. Bill Dix (R-Shell Rock), a candidate for Congress in Iowa's 1st District, said unlike his Primary Election opponent, Mike Whalen, "tax increases are off the table. I'll fight those like Mike Whalen who leave the door open to a tax increase on workers and families. "

"Republicans have a clear choice in this primary," Dix continued. "I will fight tax increases, Mike Whalen has issued an invitation to all the liberals who want to raise our taxes to do so. He's dead wrong to not take a strong stand against raising taxes. His position would fit in with the Democrats in Congress who are eager to raise taxes, I'll stand firm on my conservative principles as I always have for Iowa families."

It's good to see some fight coming from Bill Dix's camp. Till now I think everyone wondered if they had any fight in them. Let's see if he can now fend off the onslaught that is sure to come from Mike Whalen.

1st Quarter Fundraising

Yesterday's Des Moines Register ran a story on IA-01. The focus was on fundraising.

While most candidates were not inclined to divulge their figures, Bill Dix had no problem sharing that he was able to add another 120K to his growing warchest. Bruce Braley, the field's top fundraiser to date pulled in another 100K.

When the full disclosures come out mid-month, expect a full break-down here at Iowa's First.