by Art Smith | May 13, 2010
[Update: some of the text of the proposed rule change included struck out content – It’s corrected now. – Ed.]
Matt Strawn met with bloggers today to provide a report on the meetings he has attended at the RNC recently. One of the items he brought back was the recommendation from the Temporary Delegate Selection Committee (TDSC), tasked with looking at how to modify the rules around Primaries and Caucuses in the 2012 Presidential Nominating process.
The proposal by the committee, which will be taken up at the Summer RNC meeting in August, establishes a starting point on March 6, 2012 for primaries and caucuses. Iowa is one of 4 states exempted from the date, so we will be able to hold the Republican Iowa Caucuses earlier in the year. Matt indicated that he expected an early February date for the caucus.
Along with Iowa, the states of New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada will also be exempted.
The new rules recommendation also constrains states that hold their primaries and caucuses prior to April 1 to provide proportional representation to the Republican National Convention in 2012. This is being doing to prevent a large state from holding their primary early in March and taking away the perceived impact of the exempted states. According to Matt, this rule does not apply to Iowa, although that is not clear in the wording. One way to read it, I think, is that it address the meeting to select delegates, which actually occurs at the Republican State Convention here in Iowa. It will be interesting to watch this question.
The recommendation can be amended and then voted up or down. If it is rejected, I’m not sure what happens next. Likely a new committee is formed.
Matt commended Former RPI Chairman Brian Kennedy, who served on the temporary committee, for working hard at ensuring that Iowa maintained their exemption.
Matt also mentioned that he testified before the committee in 2009.
Below is the relevant proposal:
Proposed Rule No. 15(b) Amendment with Adopted Ryder Language
(Current language adopted by the TDSC)
(b) Timing.
(1) “No primary, caucus, or convention to election, select, allocate, or bind delegates to the national convention shall occur prior to the first Tuesday in March in the year in which a national convention is held. Except New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa and Nevada may begin their processes at any time on or after February 1 in the year in which a national convention is held.â€
(2) “Any presidential primary, caucus, convention, or other meeting held for the purpose of selecting delegates to the national convention which occurs prior to the first day of April in the year in which the national convention is held, shall provide for the allocation of the delegates selected on a proportional basis.â€
by | Jan 12, 2010
(DES MOINES)—House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) commented on the governor’s condition of the state address today.
“The governor needs to be straight with Iowans, he has raised taxes to balance his budget and that is unacceptable. Balancing the budget is not good enough if it’s on the backs of the taxpayer.
“Among others, the governor has signed utility tax increases, raised taxes on Iowa employers, and a $250 million tax levied on property tax payers. The governor has repeatedly proposed and signed over a half a billion dollars in tax increases.
“Iowa families have been tightening their belts but, they can no longer be asked to carry the weight of this governor’s mistakes and mismanagement.â€
by Art Smith | Jan 12, 2010
After three years of job losses, unbalanced budgets and property tax increases, Governor’s record does not match his rhetoric.
DES MOINES, IA – Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley (R-Chariton) issued the following statement today regarding Governor Culver’s Condition of the State Address delivered to a joint session of the 83rd General Assembly:
“I reject the notion that Governor Culver has balanced the budget without raising taxes. Iowans are faced with the reality of higher property taxes and they know better than to believe the governor’s hollow rhetoric.
“Governor Culver cannot continue promoting legislation that creates barriers to job growth, encourages employers to leave our state, raises property taxes and expect Iowans to believe he is serious about creating long-term private sector jobs.
“The Governor and I can agree on one thing and that is that Iowans are resilient. They have been resilient in the face of obstacles created by this Governor to job creation, economic prosperity and fiscal responsibility. Senate Republicans intend to focus on solutions that will make it easier for long-term sustainable jobs to be created, to provide necessary property tax relief and to craft a budget that is fiscally responsible and sustainable.
by Art Smith | Jan 11, 2010
I attended this morning’s 2010 Republican Legislative Kickoff Breakfast. At least 200 people, including legislators, party leaders, lobbyists and candidates were in attendance. The event was opened by Jim Kurtenbach, Iowa Republican Party Co-chair. Brief speeches were given by:
- Steve King, US House District 5 Representative. Â Invocation and some comments. Â He acknowledged that the results of our work are in God’s hands.
- Linda Upmeyer , Iowa House Republican Whip. Â She reminded us to pray, work to get volunteers on campaigns, and raise the financial resources needed to win.
- Kraig Paulsen , Iowa House Republican Leader. Â He commented that he has a lot of love in his trunk, plus a few sticks of dynomite.
- Steve Kettering, Iowa Senate Republican Whip, Â He said “A comeback for Republicans is a comeback for all Iowans!”
- Paul McKinley, Iowa Senate Republican Leader. Â Paul related a story about meeting some US Department of Labor employees in New York who stayed at the Ritz Carlton at the government’s expense… their comment: “It’s a new day!”.
- Matt Strawn, Iowa Republican Party Chair. Â “Iowans have gotten a taste of what a Democrat dominated government is like” and “we have solutions”.
Through out the speeches, a consistent message of satisfaction that all Iowa Republicans in the 2009 voted consistently with the party, that we cannot support a budget that exceeds revenue, that we need to give Iowans the right to vote on the definition of Marriage, labor unions cannot be allowed to destroy Iowa businesses, and that Democrats are extremely vulnerable.
I was honored to sit next Royd Chambers from Sheldon, who was deployed with the Iowa Air National Guard to Kyrgyzstan during the 2009 session. I was also seated next to Bill Northey, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture. I had a good chat with Bill about the upcoming budget work in his department, and it sounds like everyone is putting the nose to the grindstone!
Governor Branstad was there, as well as Bob Vander Plaats. I’m assuming the Rod Roberts and Chris Rants were also there, but I did not get a chance to see them. Other candidates that I happened to see included:
- George Eichhorn, running for Secretary of State
- Dave Funk, Brad Zaun (Iowa Senator from Urbandale), and Mark Rees, all three running for US House District 3
- Chris Reed and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, both running for US House District 2
I saw Dave Vaudt as well… Tom Latham was not able to attend the event.
Overall, the event was encouraging and a great opportunity to connect with folks I had not seen in a while. Â Although Republicans are in the minority, our legislators are ready to do the hard work of helping reduce unnecessary spending and fight for Iowans rights.
