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Iowa Republican Party District Executive Committees Complete Re-Activation

Iowa Republican Party District Executive Committees Complete Re-Activation

DEC leadershipBy Guest Writer Chad Brown–Polk County GOP Co-Chair and 3rd District Executive Committee Secretary

County leadership completed the re-activation of the District Executive Committees this weekend. District Executive Committees began to reactivate four months ago when the 4th Congressional District on February 12, 2013 at the Fort Dodge Public Library. This weekend, the 1st District Executive Committee met at Kaplan University in Cedar Falls and became the final Iowa Congressional District to re-activate. This meeting convened on Saturday, June 15, at 10:45 AM. Blackhawk County Chairman Scott Adkins served as Acting Chair and Blackhawk County District Executive Committee Member Chelle Adkins served as Acting Secretary. Much of the organization for this meeting was led by Chelle Adkins, who selected the meeting location because it was free of charge and suitable due to size.  The meeting lasted 1 hour 55 minutes and included the election of officers, approval of the proposed rules, as well as discussing consistent statewide rules and working with other districts in the state.

“Our greatest benefit and ultimate goal in putting together our District Executive Committee is to help Republicans get elected,” said Marshall County Chair Pete Rogers. “We took the first step by fulfilling the State Party requirements. It’s a State Party requirement to exist.” Rogers, a native of Marshalltown, was unanimously elected permanent Chair of the 1st District Executive Committee. He led the meeting with much poise as he has been active in politics for decades. “At a minimum, this will help county organizations fulfill their needs and be more effective. We want to define best standards and practices and help each other meet our potential. At a maximum, there really is no maximum. As we get going, there is no limit as to what can be accomplished. This organizational step is a great step overall.”

The race for Co-Chair was more competitive as three candidates were nominated. Dubuque County District Executive Committee member Will Johnson was nominated by Dubuque Chair Rick Holman. Benton Chair Tim Busch was nominated by Linn County Chair Cindy Golding. Linn County District Executive Committee member Jim Conklin was nominated by fellow Linn County District Executive Committee member Joni Scotter. This election was won by Busch, a native of Atkins.

“The 1st District Executive Committee set up the organization for future accomplishments today, and we met each other,” spoke Busch. “We want to establish common ground with each other and minimize our differences. We want to maximize our commonalities. Working together is the basis for our success.” Mr. Busch currently hosts the Benton County Facebook page as well as the Iowa 1st District Republicans Facebook page and has developed a Benton County Republican Central Committee Yahoo Group.

I am personally pleased the 1st District organized and completed the four month grassroots process of organization and re-activation that has occurred across the state. As Co-Chair of the most populated county in the state of Iowa, I understand the challenges that go along with my specific county organization. I also look forward to communicating more with surrounding counties to learn what works in other counties and to better glean institutional knowledge from other county leaders. Indeed, the re-activation of all four District Executive Committees is very important to me as this will help us reach our common goal. Also, as an active officer of the recently re-activated 3rd District Executive Committee, I have learned much about the challenges faced by those in my neighboring counties. This is due, in part, to meeting and speaking with leaders of other counties more often and getting to know them more closely than I had in the past. Several from the already formed District Executive Committees also came as visitors to help give their support to the members of the 1st District. I believe these other individuals also feel honored to be involved because they recognize the significance of the resource that our own newly organized D.E.C.’s provide to our various counties.

District Executive Committees have traditionally provided a vital ingredient to the success of the Republican Party in Iowa. Their important role is detailed in the RPI Constitution. Traditionally, the Republican Party is built as a grass roots Party that was always strong because it had a firm foundation and was built from the ground up. Unfortunately, the District Executive Committees were deactivated within recent years, and that vacuum was filled by powerful groups that dominated the leadership selection process by preventing Republican County leaders from talking to each other and promoting leadership from the grassroots. We want to protect the grassroots and include more people to the Republican Party.

“We elected some great leadership this morning,” said Jim Conklin. “This organization will provide better communication and better support for county central committees. We are in place to serve all twenty counties in 1st District.” Conklin narrowly defeated Benton County Co-Chair Bethany Gates in the race for Secretary.

The leadership of all four D.E.C.’s intend to be in close communication with each other throughout the summer. Republicans in Iowa have gained a powerful resource to build in terms of organization. All the continued efforts of county activists should provide candidates and county organizations with another tool to utilize in accomplishing significant victories in the 2014 election cycle.

How A Libertarian Would Rock The Primary…And Why I Think One Will

How A Libertarian Would Rock The Primary…And Why I Think One Will

ballot boxI have heard from three separate sources in recent days that former SCC member Drew Ivers is leaning toward a Senate primary run.  Many have speculated that an Iowa libertarian would enter the race at some point—and as the Iowa Chair of Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign Ivers certainly would fit this bill.

Whether this is true or not is unclear at the moment, but what is clear in my mind is the impact Ivers or any other legitimate Libertarian candidate would have on the race.

Besides the obvious—that the other candidate’s ability to pitch to and draw in Libertarians would be greatly diminished—there are many other ways this would shape the contest.  Setting these aside for now, specifically from the Libertarian movement’s perspective there are 3 possible outcomes…and even the least desirable one would be a heck of a consolation prize.  Here’s a brief look at the three things that could result should an Iowa Libertarian enter the contest:

 

Winning Outright

Though extremely improbable, in a large field of slightly lesser known candidates and with a solid pre-built network of passionate supporters that actually go vote…anything is conceivably possible.  Iowa witnessed first-hand last cycle that Libertarian candidates can do well—this showed locally in Statehouse races and in the fact that Ron Paul finished a very close 3rd in the caucuses.

The hurdle in imagining a Liberty candidate winning outright—and why no one, including me, will ever predict it—is one of them would have to garner 35% of the statewide vote.  You hate to say anything is impossible, but envisioning this is bordering on it.  I will tell you this though, if someone was to make the argument, a semi-plausible case could be made with the numbers and by evoking the “Christopher Reed path” to victory—that is to say just nudging past your opponents while also rising above the 35% needed to avoid convention.

I’m prefacing this with the fact these situations aren’t analogous to 2014, but the case on the numbers could be made as follows:  Two of the last major statewide Republican events in Iowa were the Iowa Caucuses and the U.S Senate primary that took place in 2008 for this same Senate seat.  In the 2008 Republican Senate Primary a 3-way race yielded a total of 70,672 votes.  Christopher Reed won with 24,964 votes and barley escaped a nominating convention by .32%–getting 35.32%.  The 2012 Caucus set a record with 121,501 Republicans voting—Ron Paul got 26,036 of them.  This means that Ron Paul received more votes in Iowa last year than the Republican Senate nominee in 2008 won by.  So hypothetically if turnout is low and hovers in this 70-75,000 range and everyone who voted for Ron Paul votes for the Liberty candidate—they would win.

Of course turnout is expected to be much higher since the seat is now an open seat—gee where have we heard that before?—but even still, as an exercise let’s say the eventual turnout splits the difference between the 2012 Caucuses and 2008 primary and is 90,000.  35% of 90,000 is 31,500 votes to win, and again, if all the Ron Paul 2012 voters vote for one candidate in 2014, they would already have 26,036 of them…only 5,464 votes away from a small lead and a shade over 35%–meanwhile the others candidates split the vote (see 2008 Iowa Senate Primary).

Though most will reject this out of hand, you have to at least admit it’s interesting and mathematically a case can be made for it.

Nominating Convention

The far more probable path to victory would be via a convention—let’s not forget that Steve King won his initial primary via this route.  If the field expands to 5 or 6 and both the Republican establishment and the “Conservative outsider” vote are split between multiple candidates, the chances of anyone reaching the 35% threshold are significantly reduced.  Geography plays in here as well as this scenario becomes even more possible if the candidates hail from different population centers in separate parts of the state.  If the race is trending this direction I’d bet that the non-Libertarian candidates would meet and attempt to consolidate the field by trying to convince one another to drop out and throw their support to whoever is further ahead in the polls, but maybe not.  If this fails to happen and several candidates stay in splitting the vote, a convention is a real possibility—in which case the Libertarian candidate would have to think they have a shot.

The Consolation Prize 

Even if a Libertarian candidate fails to make an impact directly in the polls or in the vote count their presence in the race would accomplish two significant things—they could work to move the field slightly to the libertarian right as the year goes on and, more importantly, they would have a large platform to spread their message while drawing more people into the network and keeping them active.  The growth of their network not only means a larger impact in future Iowa legislative races— but they also know it will be needed for Rand Paul’s inevitable 2016 presidential run.

 

Prediction Time

Of these three, winning outright is frankly pretty hard to fathom and a convention is unlikely but technically possible—there’s no question however that this last reason creates an opportunity that would be foolish to turn down.  This open Senate primary provides Iowa Libertarians something that all political movements need—publicity and relevance.

Given that expectations wouldn’t be extremely high and thus underperforming them is unlikely—strategically there is simply no downside to competing and there is plenty to be gained even in defeat.  For this reason I would be shocked if we don’t see Ivers or another Liberty candidate in the fray before it’s all said and done.

Though maybe not sending earth-shattering shockwaves through the race…this would certainly have an impact on the other candidate’s strategy and math.  I suspect in this climate of intense government distrust, and with the Republican base significantly fractured—the Libertarian movement in Iowa will hear opportunity knocking.

What I Learned as a Foreclosure Attorney

What I Learned as a Foreclosure Attorney

forclosed houseA sizeable chunk of my legal career has been spent neck-deep in the morass of the foreclosure wave that has wreaked havoc across the land several years ago. If you wonder what has made me cynical about both the economy and the competency of government, it was my year doing foreclosures.

First of all, I am not the big expert, and this is in no way legal advice; I worked long enough to learn how the process works and how it ties in to real estate market and the economy as a whole. I think I have put the picture together reasonably well, and I have learned a few things about our national obsession with real estate.

Banks Do Not Hold Mortgages

The fact that mortgages are syndicated and securitized – a high-end way of saying that they are sold off and bundled into bonds, because I have the diplomas and still harbor an urge to use them – has reached public knowledge for the most part.

The bank might sell the note and mortgage to a mortgage servicing company or hold them in their own servicing division, but either way the “beneficial ownership” is sold off, often to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or into an Asset-Backed Pass Through assembled by an investment bank – the mortgage-backed securities which made headlines in 2008 and are now being bought up by the Federal Reserve at $45 billion per month. The banks stay involved only as servicing agents.

This is why a foreclosure case’s name is so long; things like “XYZ Bank NA, as Trustee under agreement dated May 1, 2004 for Asset Backed Certificates Series C-2004 v. Joe and Jill Serfdomfaller,” are common.

Because the banks have no real stake in the mortgages any more, it is financially beneficial to them to cut costs in their servicing departments. This has driven massive outsourcing in the sector, and there is no real incentive to actually deal with anybody. Like chess pieces protecting the king, the bank’s employees are there to prevent you from getting to someone who can actually help you.

There is No Free Market in Home Mortgages

The government has busied itself with housing programs since the 1930’s, and if you attended public school you are probably inclined to believe that these efforts were all for the benefit of the populace themselves. I briefly believed that back in college, but working as a foreclosure attorney snapped me back to reality.

Congress chartered the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly called Fannie Mae, to purchase mortgages from banks. The idea being that by buying the mortgages, the banks would be re-capitalized immediately and could write more mortgages.

Originally, Fannie Mae was a government-owned enterprise, but was privatized to pay for the Vietnam War. Of course, a privatized, government-sponsored mortgage buying company would look a bit monopolistic, so Congress chartered Freddie Mac as a companion company, to buy conforming loans as well as mortgage-backed securities.

Alongside the two Congressionally-chartered government-sponsored enterprises (GSE’s), were other programs like the Federal Housing Administration, or the FHA, and it provides insurance to both home builders and home buyers.

Most importantly, FHA provides mortgage insurance at a cheaper rate and with easier terms than private mortgage insurance, requiring less than 4 percent down payments, and thus skewing towards higher-risk borrowers.

If a mortgage goes into default during the mortgage insurance period, then the bank will foreclose, and then deed the house to HUD (FHA’s parent department) in exchange for the entire balance of the bad loan. That is how HUD gets so much real estate.

The Federal Reserve Pushes Debt

Not only do we have two government-sponsored companies buying mortgages, along with a government agency designed to encourage higher risk lending, we also have the Federal Reserve pumping the system full of cash, both with a very low Funds rate, but also now by directly purchasing both US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities at a combined level of $85 billion per month.

The structure of the mortgage industry – mostly assembled by government action – was thus inflated by the Fed in the last decade with low interest rates and is now being re-inflated with lower interest rates and asset purchases. Altogether, bank depositors aren’t that important in the housing market any more. So long George Bailey.

Modifications Were a Joke

Think about it this way; if a mortgage for $200,000 goes bad, and the house is only worth $100,000 at the time, then the bank, FNMA, the investors, or the FHA is likely to lose $100,000 almost instantly in the foreclosure – they lose the “asset” of the $200,000 mortgage on their books, and replace it with a $100,000 house.

Because of this, any cash they can squeeze out of a borrower before the inevitable foreclosure on these bad loans (mostly written off already by this point) would go straight to the bottom line, saving money for the banks, the investors, FNMA, or the FHA as the case may be.

HARP, or the Home Affordable Refinance Program, had more success. It was designed to help underwater borrowers refinance without having to default. This would help them take advantage of the lower interest rates, and avoid the loss of asset equity that was hitting the financial system so hard.

In Defense of Strategic Foreclosure

In almost all circumstances, borrowers would have been better off defaulting rather than modifying. Instead of paying their $200,000 mortgage on their $100,000 house at 8 percent, they could pay a modified 3 percent, but still would have to throw money into the black hole without acquiring any equity from it.

I had a case like that; it was a couple in their mid-fifties, with no savings left, and their modified mortgage payment was still about $1,300 a month. This, in southern Iowa where a 2-bedroom apartment can be had for $600 a month. That was $8,400 a year they could have saved in cold, hard cash, to use to begin rebuilding their lives and avoid living so tenuously – especially at their age.

When you are under that much financial strain, guilt and sentimentality will do no good for anybody. If you are broke, admit it. If – or more likely when – they default again, with no cash reserves they are very likely to fall permanently into the dependent classes, in terms of housing, food, income support, and medical care.

Debt, on Top of Debt

That sums up the American economy in the words of David Stockman, and I see no reason to doubt him at this point. The idea that we don’t have to manufacture, mine, drill, or grow more in order to produce more wealth, but can simply purchase more assets with borrowed money, is a dangerous mindset that cannot last forever, a lesson we should have learned in 2008 but apparently haven’t.

If you think this is a glorious recovery, then answer me this: Where is all the wealth being produced by our allegedly recovering economy? The prices of inflation-sensitive assets are going up, but so are trade deficits, food stamp rolls, and the number of people outside of the workforce entirely. I think I am currently a “freelancer,” but that is just a white-collar unemployed guy.

This former foreclosure lawyer is more likely to live in a shack and raise goats than buy a mortgaged suburban house, because debt and freedom cannot harmoniously coexist. Maybe we should pay members of Congress in goats instead of money…

Sam Clovis Joins The Senate Primary: Info & Analysis

Sam Clovis Joins The Senate Primary: Info & Analysis

Sam Clovis 2The field of Republican candidates seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate from Iowa has expanded to three.  At an event held Monday in Sioux City, Morningside professor and talk radio host Sam Clovis announced he is joining Matt Whitaker and David Young in the Republican primary.

The field is expected to become more crowded in coming weeks as Politico recently reported that State Senator Joni Ernst has hired a Texas-based political strategist.  Additionally word is spreading that a Libertarian candidate will also declare soon—later this week we will be discussing this in more detail.

Background and Bio

Though many in central and eastern Iowa are likely unfamiliar with him, Sam Clovis is fairly well known in the very Conservative north-western region of Iowa.  While currently serving as the Chair of the Department of Business Administration and Economics at Morningside College and hosting a political radio show on KSJC 1360, he has a long military and business background to tout.

After graduating from the United States Air Force Academy, he attended universities in San Francisco and Alabama and has worked for several private companies–including defense industry giant  Booz Allen Hamilton (ironically the same company that employed last week’s NSA leaker).  There is a ton of stuff in his background and I won’t list it all here—for a longer and itemized account of Clovis’ history click here and you can view his campaign website iowans4samclovis.com here.

The Race: A Quick Analysis

Besides adding one more candidate and all the dynamics that go along with it, Clovis has already indicated he will be staking out a position that any non-libertarian candidate likely won’t get to the right of.  It’s way too early to tell how much of a statewide network he will be able to build or if he will be able to raise the money necessary to introduce himself statewide–but he will have an impact regardless.

Aside from making the 35% number to avoid a convention harder to get to for any one of them—a candidate willing to run far-right will most likely end up giving the “establishment” contenders hoping to run middle-right some severe heartburn—a condition that otherwise might not have befallen them.  Even if his campaign never fully takes off, and if he chooses to, Clovis will be able to use the media and, more importantly, the debate stages to put heat on the more moderate Republicans in the field and their positions.

Needless to say…the temperature has been raised and this thing is going to get interesting.

Senate Primary Field Could Expand By One Today

Senate Primary Field Could Expand By One Today

Sam Clovis

After several weeks of hinting he may join the U.S. Senate primary race, later today Sioux City based professor and radio host Sam Clovis will hold a press conference.

Though he was coy regarding the specifics, and refused to say it is even in regards to the Senate race, he told the Sioux City Journal, “I’ll be making an announcement that affects my future, and certainly my future on the radio, and it is a commitment for something down the road.”  Saying the announcement will affect his radio talk show job certainly suggests he is running—as once he has legally filed the FCC political broadcasting rules come into play and the station would be forced to give equal air-time to his opponents should they request it.  As a reaction to this most stations require a radio personality-turned-candidate to temporarily step down.

He also went on to tell the Sioux City Journal, “I’ve been a natural leader my whole life and I think those are, again, skills that are very lacking in Washington. Because we don’t have people who are willing to stand up and tell people the truth and then stick to their principles to make sure that happens. Everything seems to be about self-interest, nothing seems to be about the people of the country…I’ve been an executive; I’ve been in business, non-profit, for-profit, education, military service second to none, a very distinguished career there. So I have all of the credentials that one would need to be a person that one would look to lead and do the things that are necessary to lead this country, particularly if one pursued public office in the United States Senate.”

 

What This Means

While it’s standard to not give away the headline and tell the media what the press conference is specifically for, the language “a commitment for something down the road” strikes me as a little strange if this were going to be a straight announcement.  It would be unorthodox, but perhaps it will be a commitment to run if he sees the other candidates as not succeeding or not being sufficiently Conservative for him.  If he is not running I’m guessing he will at a minimum be seeking an audience with the currently declared candidates to talk issues.

Should he be announcing a decision to run in a few hours, we will have more information on his background (which is pretty extensive) and analysis on how the race would be impacted in the coming days.

Since he has already said publicly that he would be a “red-meat Conservative”—it’s pretty obvious where he’d want to move the discourse.

2nd District Executive Committee Meets in Washington

2nd District Executive Committee Meets in Washington

2nd district gopThe Following is a guest post written by Polk County GOP Co-Chair Chad Brown

County leadership is on the move all across the state of Iowa this year. The 2nd District Executive Committee became the third Iowa Congressional District to re-activate.

This meeting convened in Washington, Iowa, on the morning of June 8. Judy Davidson, Scott County Chair, was elected 2nd District Executive Committee Chairwoman with 18 votes, beating parliamentarian Don Racheter, who received 9 votes. The meeting lasted 1 hour 35 minutes and included the election of officers, approval of the proposed rules, discussion on the 2014 Caucuses, District Convention and State Convention, as well as discussing consistent statewide District rules and lastly organizational announcements.

“I thought we had great attendance,” said Davidson. “We had 28 out of 51 current executive committee members attend our meeting on one of the first nice Saturdays this summer. I think it was a good event.”

Personally, the re-activation of these D.E.C.’s is very near and dear to my heart. As Co-Chair of the most populated county in the state of Iowa, I understand the challenges that go along with my specific county organization. Also, as an active officer of the recently re-activated 3rd District Executive Committee, I have learned much about the challenges faced by those in my neighboring counties. This is due, in part, to meeting and speaking with leaders of other counties more often and getting to know them more closely than I had in the past. This is why District Executive Committees have traditionally provided a vital ingredient to the success of the Republican Party in Iowa. Their important role is detailed in the RPI Constitution.

Traditionally, the Republican Party is built as a grass roots Party that was always strong because it had a firm foundation and was built from the ground up. Unfortunately, the District Executive Committees were deactivated within recent years, and that vacuum was filled by powerful groups that dominated the leadership selection process by preventing Republican County leaders from talking to each other and promoting leadership from the grass roots. We want to restore the grass roots to the Republican Party and include more people.

It’s unfortunate that these long-standing Committees were deactivated and silenced, but the counties’ executive leadership in the districts are getting back to basics! “I think this morning’s meeting went really well,” spoke Trudy Caviness of Wapello County. “Our goal was to organize 2nd District, and we accomplished our goal. Plus, I really liked how everyone was allowed to make announcements. I thought the additions to the rules were good. That shows people looked at the rules and read them.”

Our District Executive Committees are here to improve and unify the Republican Party and get more people involved. This is an exciting time as we begin to restore an important tradition of grass roots to the Republican Party of Iowa. “I think it’s so important to give information to the candidates and campaigns,” said Karen Fesler of Johnson County. “Candidates can now make one call and can get information on the county organizations and when and where  the county central committee meetings are held.  It’s a benefit to all of us to meet and work together. Anytime you can create another source for candidates, the media, committees, to get information about Republicans, it’s another way to reach out to people and help our Party. This is a good thing.”

“I see these D.E.C.’s as another resource in helping elect Republicans on the district-wide as well as statewide level,” added Caviness. Trudy Caviness was elected 2nd D.E.C. Co-Chair, and Karen Fesler was elected 2nd D.E.C. Secretary. Additionally, the body elected two at-large members for the Executive Committee.  Matt Green was elected over Don Racheter for the first position. Don Racheter then ran and won against Wesley Westmorland on the second ballot to fill the second position. “I think it will be a good resource for any district-wide and statewide candidate,” continued Caviness. “I think that by working together, the county leadership will be a part of a group and be working for the same goal. In recent years there haven’t been many opportunities for new Chairs and Co-Chairs to get together. This will give them the resource of giving new Chairs/Co-Chairs the shared knowledge from people who have been in their shoes. This will be a good support group for the counties.”

Chad Brown, Polk County GOP Co-Chair and 3rd Congressional District Executive Committee Secretary

 

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