Paul Johnson for Congress

A message from Paul...

2004-11-03T14:52:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all who have helped with our campaign. Many of you contributed money. Many gave generously of their time. It has truly been “our” campaign.

By now I assume you know we lost. Incumbency and all it brings with it seems insurmountable.

Yet we’ve shared ideas and they don’t go away. Last night a group of young people told me how fired up they were. It reminds me of how I felt when I was their age many years ago.

We’ve asked many questions over the past six months. Why can’t we be better than we are? Why must we act the way we do around the world? Why don’t we do something about global climate change? Why can’t all Americans have health care as a basic right? Why do women still have to fight for reproductive rights? Why must working people still struggle in poverty in the midst of such wealth? Why must small children remain at risk while billions are spent on a bureaucratic “No Child Left Behind” boondoggle? Why can’t gay partners have the same rights that straight partners do? Why can’t we let the wild areas in our country remain wild? Why can’t we accelerate our efforts to protect our water and air rather than allowing things to slip backwards?

The list of simple questions goes on and on. Today, I reflect on the election and wonder if we’ve even had one. Could we have had better discussions? Has the majority really decided to ignore these problems?

We didn’t win yesterday but let’s carry on. We entered this race six months ago because America is better than its leaders. Unfortunately that hasn’t changed. Nor should we.

Thanks again for all your support. Our principles are intact. We are winners too.

Sincerely,

Paul

Today's the day...

2004-11-02T10:50:00.000-06:00

Have you voted yet?

Links...

2004-11-01T14:55:00.000-06:00

To help you out in this historic vote:

Last minute questions? Iowa's Secretary of State has answers.

General Election Candidate List (pdf).

County Auditor Listings (pdf).

There should be results online at the Secretary of State's website, although I'll make every effort to get them up here at votejohnson.blogspot.com as they become available.

Don't forget - you can vote today and avoid tomorrow's lines...although I've been seeing lines everywhere!

**Update**
Check out CNN's tracker here.

Get out the Vote!

2004-10-31T18:46:00.000-06:00

Volunteers and staffers are blazing the phone lines throughout the 4th district on behalf of Paul tonight! Yesterday, I doled out the rest of our yard signs (better late than never) around the district, and talked with a number of Iowans who had already or were planning to vote for Paul.

In the last four days over 40,000 people have logged on to votejohnson.org, watched our campaign commercials, read about the issues, and sent wonderful messages of support.

Paul's feeling confident and excited. Over lunch, we talked about how this campaign has exceeded everyone's expectations. People told us you couldn't run against Latham's warchest, but with help from Iowans we've send out thousands upon thousands of letters and postcards, planned hundreds of events, garnered key endorsements, and even had enough to run our advertisements on television and radio!

And it all comes down to the next 48 hours. Remind your friends and loved ones, and take them to the polls. Make November 2nd historic!

"That hatchet's been buried" (But I'm still raising funds with it)

2004-10-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

The Ames Tribune writes about Congressman Tom Latham's curious relationship with those letters he sent out throughout the district which accused Paul of running a "vicious campaign of lies" and employing "toxic, slash and burn" tactics.

Quoting:

Latham told Larsen that fund-raising letters don't always reflect a candidate's views and that he and Johnson had respect for each other.

"That hatchet's been buried," Latham said.

If a fund-raising letter doesn't reflect your views, then what does it reflect?

What a day!

2004-10-28T18:17:00.000-05:00

As promised, pics from today's events. By my estimate, Paul spoke to approximately 5,000 students at Iowa State University and Simpson College...tomorrow he caps off his campus tour at Luther College, 4:00 p.m. at Olin 101.

Paul: "I'm not a singer. I'm not an actor. But I'd make a darn good congressman!"

Paul and Leonardo DiCaprio

Paul speaks to thousands at Simpson College

By popular demand, Paul and Jon Bon Jovi at Iowa State

Paul rocks ISU

2004-10-28T11:43:00.000-05:00

Well that was something.

Tara is scrambling to get our digital pics of Paul, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jon Bon Jovi up later today. Paul's on his way down to Simpson college to speak with John Edwards. For those who missed the ISU event, there will be coverage by WHO TV at 6:00 (I believe), including an interview with Paul.

Paul gave a great but brief opening speech to roughly a thousand ISU students which ended with the phrase and a huge applause:

Well I'm not a singer...and I'm not an actor...but I know I can make a darn good Congressman!

Thanks to all our readers in the blogosphere. Since last night, we're at about 20,000 visits and counting...people are buzzing about Paul!

Jerome of mydd.com on Paul:

2004-10-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

The blogosphere percolates:

Paul Johnson has run a terrific campaign in Iowa's 4th CD, his stance on wind energy is progressive to the max. And you gotta check out his ads, "Finance" is one of the best grassroots ads of the year... "fancy voiceover guys" what a line. You gotta remember, Iowa voters see the slickest of the slick in ads. This guy smells authentic.

Johnson just got the Des Moine's register endorsement (and we remember what that did for John Edwards), and the Ames Tribune turned away from Latham, and endorsed Johnson. The 4th is a even match-up between Democrats and Republicans, you never know... VoteJohnson.org

How we love our fellow bloggers...

Heatin' Up...

2004-10-27T16:22:00.000-05:00

Kevin over at the American Street on Paul:

[O]ne is a sleeper that’s gathering SERIOUS momentum. It now ranks as my highest endorsement in any House race in the country.

Paul Johnson would be a pickup for the Dems in a race that he’s run beautifully against a 10-year incumbent. The district is about a 39-39 split in party registration and the Des Moines Register endorsement on his site is one of the strongest and most eloquent I’ve seen for anyone...

I’d encourage you to read his bio, the Des Moines Register endorsement and the Ames Tribune endorsement (in the latter, I love the ‘man on the moon’ reference).

This is the type of committed progressive candidate with a serious successful record that’s rare to find and a joy to back: a true conservationist, a commitment to alternative energy that is bold, visionary and practical, who strikes the right tone in conversation that immediately appeals to people.

Those who complain of a party that’s too centrist aren’t likely to find a better guy to back: a sensible progressive, not an extremist. I urge you to help him get elected.

Thanks Kevin! It might be my bias speaking, but I couldn't agree more about Paul...

Des Moines Register Endorses Paul!

2004-10-27T04:25:00.000-05:00

"He has the right experience, temperament and vision."

Click here to read the Des Moines Register's endorsement of Paul!

Click here to read more endorsements of Paul, such as the Ames Tribune.

Paul, Leo, and Jon @ ISU - Thursday!

2004-10-26T21:12:00.000-05:00

ISU students...get your cameras out! Paul will be on campus soon!

Oh yeah, so will Leonardo DiCaprio and Jon Bon Jovi. Look for them on stage together starting at 10:00 Thursday morning.

Location: Design College Atrium (click here for a map)

p.s. Paul will speaking about Iraq & America's role in the world after the event @ 11:30 at Lagomarcino. Stay tuned for more details.

Democracy for Iowa Award

2004-10-25T01:38:00.000-05:00

The good folks over at Democracy for Iowa have given this blog one of their "best blogs" awards...many thanks!

ISU students turned away from the polls...

2004-10-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

From yesterday's Ames Tribune:

Story County Auditor Mary Mosiman says she didn't anticipate the number of Iowa State University students who wanted to vote at an early voting location on campus.

Consequently, 50 to 100 potential voters were not allowed to cast their ballots at Parks Library on Thursday.

Mosiman said election officials ran low on ballots for one of the two most common precincts students fall into.

"This is a learning experience," Mosiman said. "It was a mistake only by me and nobody else. I won't make this mistake again."

Iowa law says anyone who arrives at a satellite voting station prior to the time the site is scheduled to close should be allowed to vote.

Dozens of people standing in line at Parks Library, however, were turned away on Thursday saying they were too late to vote.

"The auditors are required by law to provide sufficient number of ballots for satellite voting stations," Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver said at an appearance on campus. "That would be their problem, not the students', if they ran out of ballots."

More than 1,100 students voted at a satellite location on campus this week, Mosiman said.

When they closed on Thursday, election officials had only four ballots left at the most common precinct students fall into.

"The lines were significantly longer on Thursday," Mosiman said. "We were not prepared for that."

Culver said Mosiman misinterpreted state law when potential voters were told they could not vote because the polling station had closed.

It's is the second time in the past two years Mosiman has misinterpreted the same election law, he said.

In October 2002, State Deputy Auditor Rob Berntsen sent Mosiman a letter after a complaint was received about early voting sites from the chair of the Story County Democratic Party, Jan Bauer.

"If this were the first incident we may or may not have handled it the same way," Culver said. "But if you look back at the record here, it is very troubling."

Culver, a Democrat, is sending a letter to Mosiman regarding the incident. In that letter, he asks Mosiman to provide him with a written explanation of what happened by noon on Wednesday.

"This is very troubling," Culver said. "This doesn't happen in Iowa. It should disturb all of us."

Mosiman, a Republican, is up for re-election on Nov. 2. She is being challenged by Jim Hutter, a Democrat.

Isn't the primary job of the auditor to be prepared for handling votes? With a torrent of articles reporting record registration on college campuses, shouldn't we be a bit better at anticipation? I just hope that this election is not just a learning experience for Ms. Mosiman, but a chance for people to vote as well.

ISU Forum Wrap-up

2004-10-22T17:35:00.000-05:00

Paul had a great time at the ISU candidate forum held on the 20th at the Memorial Union. By my count, around 80 students and Story county residents showed up. Unfortunately, Congressman Latham wasn't able to attend but a good discussion was had nevertheless.

For those of you who may have missed your local forum, or haven't yet had the chance to hear Paul speak at length, I thought it'd be good to stream some audio from the ISU forum. It's not the best quality, and cuts off after about an hour (when my batteries died), but it'll do. You'll need Realplayer) to listen to it.

Click on the photo to listen.

The Libya Line...

2004-10-22T14:22:00.000-05:00

In a recent interview with KCCI NewsChannel 8, Congressman Latham indicated that the war on Iraq has caused Libya to give up its weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons, repeating one of the greatest canards put forth by the current administration.

Let's take a look at recent history and see if we can't put this into clearer terms.

Last December, President Bush and British PM Tony Blair announced that Libya's Mu'ammar Qaddafi decided to give up his weapons and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to enter his country. This was the culmination of nine months of secret talks between the three countries, and came as quite a surprise to many.

Libya, as you might remember, was approaching an economic crisis after disastrous economic domestic policies and waning oil revenues. This was in large part due to UN and U.S. sanctions on the country that prevented it from importing technology to develop and expand production in its oilfields.

Indeed, Qaddafi has recklessly led Libya throughout his lifetime, but it's wrong to suggest that he opened the doors to inspectors out of his fear of U.S. military action. As Martin Indyk, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs under the Clinton Administration, made clear, "Libyan representatives offered to surrender WMD programs more than four years ago, at the outset of negotiations with US officials. In May 1999, their offer was officially conveyed to the U.S. government at the peak of the '12 years of diplomacy with Iraq' that Mr. Bush now disparages."

Interestingly, what the inspectors found in Libya points to a much more damning indictment. Though the program was not advanced, Qaddafi had been able to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of nuclear parts on the black market, which was spearheaded by the Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan. The current administration has repeatedly boasted that the network of A.Q. Khan has been "brought to justice," an inexplicable statement considering that the scientist now lives in a spacious villa in Pakistan after a laudatory pardon by our friend Pervez Musharraf. Just last month on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Musharraf was asked about whether he would let the U.S. question the head of the international black market of wmds…here was his reply:

Nobody has asked, number one. Number two, we don't want to make him available because we have good interrogators. I mean, it undermines our own capability. We can do it ourselves. And we have done it. We have shared all the information that we have. So not only is it a lack of confidence in our capability, but it also shows mistrust in us. It doesn't make us so happy.

Remember...just because you say someone has been "brought to justice" doesn't make it so - the Pakistani President himself has said that we've not even sought interrogations with A.Q. Khan!

Finally, suggestions that Libya disarmed because of our war on Iraq reflects a great misunderstanding of both recent history and diplomacy.

Ames Tribune endorses Paul!

2004-10-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

Iowa's 4th Congressional District stretches across 28 counties through the center of the state and reaches east to the Mississippi River. It covers some of the richest farmland in the nation and harbors what candidate Paul Johnson calls "the best land-grant institution in the world." It is the heart of the heartland.

Its diversity is reflected in the candidates who vie to represent it. Somewhere around 39 percent of voters in the district are steady Democrats. The same amount are Republicans. About 22 percent in the middle go back and forth.

This year, they will choose between Johnson, a Democrat and a long-time conservation leader and legislator, and Tom Latham, Republican incumbent.

The Tribune's editorial board is impressed by Johnson's character and vision. A former director of the Department of Natural Resources, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, formerly the Soil Conservation Service, and an Iowa legislator, Johnson is known for his conservation ethic.

But he's far from one-dimensional. Indeed, his conversation with The Tribune ranged from international relations to a novel idea for national service. His experience in state and federal government give him the experience to be an effective congressman.

He says he was propelled into the race by his frustration over a cadre of issues including foreign policy, education, the environment and renewable energy.

In international relations, he says he's saddened that the U.S. is "using our incredible strength in such an arrogant fashion ... We Iowans don't act like this in our own personal lives. Why should we tolerate it in our national leadership?

In education, Johnson calls for a program that provides more funds for buildings, computers, special needs and teacher training, but less federal control.

On the environment, Johnson would push to make conservation on private lands something landowners see as positive through restructured incentives. "You can stop some people from doing really bad things, but you can't get them to love God's creation without rewards."

He also calls for a "man on the moon" national effort to promote alternate energy sources such as wind. And there's no better place for such an effort to come from than this district.

Johnson also favors a privately-delivered, universal national health care system, a living wage, a progressive tax system and publicly funded elections. His national service idea would roll together service for young people in the military, Peace Corps or AmeriCorps with rewards including college tuition grants and low interest home and business loans.

Latham was elected to Congress in 1994. He serves on the House Committee on Appropriations, a post that has put him in good stead to serve his district.

Federal funding for Cy-Ride is one such example. But topping the list of successes, he counts full funding for renovation work at the National Centers for Animal Health here in Ames. That project, beyond its $460 million construction, will bring to the nation increased food safety and homeland security, and to Mid-Iowa an engine of economic development and research for years to come.

In his next term, if elected, he hopes to find ways to support technology transfer from Iowa State University to businesses such as Etrema and Thin Film Technologies.

He's also supportive of the Des Moines Area Community College efforts to work with local high schools in establishing a consortium to train potential employees for the bio-tech companies now fledging in the Research Park and around Mid-Iowa.

He says he would seek more funding for biomass energy and a continued tax credit for ethanol. And he noted that President Bush, in Des Moines several weeks ago, signed bills that included a tax credit for wind energy production.

Internationally, Latham has been a supporter of Bush. He believes that much of the rancor in the country over the war is currently driven by election politics. And he's hopeful that elections in Iraq and an increasingly stable government will eventually lead to peace.

On the deficit, he blames the dot-com market crash of 2001 and the 9-11 attacks for falling government receipts. He supports the tax cut as necessary for economic recovery. Expenditures are being held down, he argues, except for homeland security and the military. Long-term economic growth is the only way to relieve the deficit.

On farm policy, Latham says he agrees with Johnson in that more incentives must be attached to conservation practices and less emphasis placed on price supports. Johnson is critical of Latham's work on the Conservation Security Program which passed through his committee, arguing that Latham "gutted" the funding program that could have sent relief and a positive message back to his own district.

Latham responds that Conservation Security still received an increase in funding and that Congress must be good fiscal stewards.

This campaign has been marred somewhat by charges from the Latham campaign that Johnson is conducting a "slash and burn" negative campaign. It is The Tribune's judgment that nothing could be further from the truth. Johnson's demeanor has been nothing if not statesmanlike. And this week, Latham acknowledged that "as far as I'm concerned, it's a dead issue. I have the highest regard for Paul." His campaign material responded to a statement from Johnson that Latham had failed to author any legislation, a statement he later withdrew.

The Tribune's editorial board was conflicted on these candidates. Two years ago, The Tribune endorsed Latham for his potential to deliver for the district. Indeed, he has done so. Yet we were very impressed with Johnson for his vision and character. He is a man who can grab hold of big issues and carry them forward. The Tribune's endorsement in this election goes to Paul Johnson.

We have commercials!

2004-10-20T23:51:00.000-05:00

13 days to go, folks. We could not have reached where we are today without your help...and we've still got a ways to go. A $10 or $20 donation will help us run one of these commercials on tv, helping us to spread Paul's message!

Some of you might have heard the radio spots this week. If not, you can catch them here.

You can email this message to friends by clicking the envelope button below...

Easy come, easy go....

2004-10-20T09:11:00.001-05:00

Well, we should have known it was too good to be true. Yesterday's ISU Daily newspaper reported that Tom Latham would be joining Paul Johnson in a job interview at the ISU Memorial Union this evening at 6:00 p.m.

We were delighted, of course--as we have been holding forums in each county in the 4th congressional district and Tom hasn't given the voters the chance to see him in person alongside Paul. However, today the newspaper published a correction and it now appears Paul will only be joined by Latham's seed cap--again. Well, Tom, at least it's keeping your seat warm for you.

There are several more voter forums planned--Tom, you have the schedule--how about dropping by to meet your employers face to face?

Guess who's finally going to show up?

2004-10-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

We're all in shock here at the Ames field office...the ISU Daily is reporting that Tom Latham is going to attend our Story County forum! Finally, the voters of the 4th district will have a chance to see the two candidates side by side in a true job interview! Join Paul and Tom at the ISU Memorial Union Campanile Room at 6:00 p.m. on October 20!

Sugar Cane and Iowa

2004-10-19T13:08:00.000-05:00

Opensecrets has the updated FEC filings here.

Tom Latham (R)*

Raised: $930,267
Spent: $478,981
Cash on hand: $493,738
Last Report: 9/30/2004

PACs: $607,806 (65%)
Individuals: $307,868 (33%)
Candidate: $0 -
Other: $14,593 (2%)

Paul W. Johnson (D)

Raised: $218,913
Spent: $172,995
Cash on hand: $45,917
Last Report: 9/30/2004

PACs: $8,900 (4%)
Individuals: $202,503 (93%)
Candidate: $0 -
Other: $7,510 (3%)

A fourth district voter recently recounted going to an event at which somebody asked Congressman Latham about his practice of accepting exorbitant amounts of PAC money. Latham responded by saying that he doesn't take money from anyone unless they walk in to his office with an Iowan. I wonder how many Iowans had to walk in with representatives of Louisiana's American Sugar Cane League, or Florida's Sugar Cane Growers Co-Op, which are among dozens of out-of-state special interests that have swelled Latham's war chest.

Then again, maybe the interests of sugar cane PACs constitute the "main-stream" Iowa that Latham claims to represent.

Don't Mess With Our Texan!

2004-10-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

Last night the Ames-based field staff handed out flyers advertising Paul Johnson's Story County forum (October 20, 6 p.m. at the ISU Memorial Union Campanile Room) to the people who were waiting in line to see Michael Moore's "Slacker Uprising Tour" in Ames.

A handful of protesters wandered about, getting more than their fair share of media attention. One of them, a young man from the national College Republicans organization, held a life-sized cardboard cutout of George W. Bush and kept yelling that Michael Moore is a liar.

He made the mistake of calling Kerry a liar too--and our fearless Texan, field staffer Rose K., took him on! She pointed out some of George Bush's distortions and mistakes...at which point the College Republican said, "Well, I am not all that familiar with that."

Seems like the guy should spend more time reading the newspapers and less time shouting about filmmakers who are encouraging young people to get out and vote!

More "Radical" Ideas from Paul...

2004-10-13T13:06:00.000-05:00

Paul and Congressman Latham's hat at the Floyd county forum

(Photo from the Charles City Press)

As we mentioned yesterday, Latham spokesman James Carstensen says that Paul's positions are "radically out of step" with mainstream Iowa.

The Charles City Press, in its coverage of the recent forum in Floyd county, wrote about some of Paul's radical positions:

"We're doing something different. We're doing something what we're supposed to do when this country was founded," Johnson said of his town-to-town-style campaign.

Among the bevy of issues discussed, Johnson often returned to the importance of renewable energy and a national health care system.

"Health care is the issue (people) really open up and talk a lot on," Johnson said.

Attacking the current system, Johnson told his audience that many people feel legislation got it wrong when they didn't allow Medicare to bargain for pharmaceuticals, such as Canada does.

"It's a huge expense, and we're going to have an awful lot of senior (citizens) who are not going to be able to afford their prescription drugs," Johnson said.

"It's not just that," he continued, "businesses are saying that they can no longer afford health insurance for their workers; school board saying 'we can't afford to provide health care for our teachers.

Johnson added that people trying to get off the welfare system are finding it better for their families to continue receiving welfare benefits.

"They look down that ladder and find that their kids no longer have Medicaid, so what do they do? What would you do? You can't afford it on that rung you're on, so in some cases it's easier to step back and stay on welfare.

"None of us want that, and people trying to get off (welfare) don't want that. We have a system that's really a mess, and it's time we look at a national health care system ... this business of putting a bandage here, a bandage there, the hemorrhaging is occurring everywhere right now."

As always, we want you to read and discuss Paul's positions...that's how this whole democracy-thing works. Click on the links under the "Blog Discussions" section to your right to weigh in.

The Wrong Response

2004-10-12T21:22:00.000-05:00

The Globe Gazette's weighs in on Congressman Latham's unwillingness to attend any of the remaining 28 forums between now and election day. As Iowans are well aware, Mr. Latham has decided that two brief chats on tv and radio present Iowans with a suitable enough opportunity to hire their Congressman. So far, the total time so far that the two have appeared together is less than thirty minutes, with each candidate speaking for approximately ten minutes.

From the Globe Gazette:

James Carstensen, an aide to Latham in Washington, responded that regardless of the number of forums that Johnson’s campaign sponsors, “it will never change the fact that Paul Johnson is radically out of step with mainstream Iowa.”

That, of course, will be up to the voters to decide. But we think it’s the wrong response. We believe Latham should join Johnson for two, perhaps three, forums at strategic locations in the district.

Boy. If holding a forum and inviting your opponent to join you in answering Iowans' questions is "radically out of step," I don't want to march with Mr. Carstensen or Mr. Latham.

Interestingly, Carstensen's barb illustrates exactly what's wrong with so many campaigns these days: you breathe in massive amounts of PAC monies, and breathe out negative ads. See how it works? If you don't have to defend or explain your positions in front of Iowans, you can get away with these one-liners.

Can you imagine Mr. Carstensen saying this in front of Paul and other Iowans? If he did, he would be asked to elaborate.

Which is exactly what we don't see much of from Mr. Latham.

LWV, AAUW, DN - What?

2004-10-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

LWV = League of Women Voters
AAUW = American Association of University Women
DN = Decorah Newspapers

What do these things all have in common? They sponsored a political forum in Decorah yesterday. What a terrific event! Several candidates (in addition to Paul Johnson) were in attendance:

Art Small (D) for US Senate
Paul Johnson (D) for US Congress
John Beard (D) for IA Senate
Mark Zieman (R) for IA Senate
Arnie Boge (R) for IA House
Brian Quirk (D) for IA House
Chuck Gipp (R) for IA House

Questions from audience members were posed to the state and national candidates and covered topics ranging from animal confinement to civil unions to campaign finance. This forum was a wonderful opportunity for voters to hear from both candidates vying for positions. Unfortunately, Charles Grassley and Tom Latham were unable to attend. Hopefully they will give voters a chance to hear from them in the near future.

Greg Brown, Iris DeMent, and David Zollo concert!

2004-10-09T01:47:00.000-05:00

Whew! It's over! We've been looking forward to this show for what seems like ages. Finally, tonight, all the hard work paid off. The music was great, the crowd was energized, and the support for Paul was unmistakable. I'll leave it to someone more musical than I am to describe the show itself...what do you say, gang?

Greg Brown during last night's concert

To top it all off, people took stacks and stacks of postcards to write (hooray--again--for Story County volunteers!), bought a bunch of t-shirts, and contributed lots of money. I know this will be like a stiff wind for that fundraising windmill on our webpage!

From left to right: Iris, Greg, Paul, and Dave

Well done, Green Team! And a million thanks to Iris, Dave, and Greg for performing--and to the generous crowd for coming out in support of Paul and of good music! We Want Our Country Back...and we're going to get it!

Site Modifications

2004-10-07T20:17:00.000-05:00

By popular demand (and all logic), I've created up permanent discussion pages for several of the major issues facing Iowans and Americans today.

Given the fluid nature of blogging, the most current post might not be the subject you want to discuss. Now you can weigh in on Paul's positions by clicking on a topic from the right-hand list - located under "Blog Discussions" - under the "Video Welcome" (have you all seen it, incidentally?).

Each page has Paul's full position, with a link to the discussion near the bottom of the page.

I hope this helps!

Greg Brown on Radio Iowa

2004-10-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

Don't forget the Greg Brown concert tomorrow!

Greg just did an interview with O. Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa, a summary of which can be found here. To listen to the interview, click here.

Here's an excerpt:

Greg Brown has played in lots of benefit concers for various causes, but in a rare move he will perform Friday night in Ames for Paul Johnson who is challenging republican Congressman Tom Latham. Brown says he respects Johnson and what he's trying to do, and Brown says he thinks "it's crisis time in our country. Everybody's got to put their shoulder to the wheel where they can."

For more info on Greg Brown, check out his website. More info on the concert can be found here.

Anybody know what this is from?

2004-10-07T11:28:00.000-05:00

You'll find out soon...

Postcards, postcards everywhere!

2004-10-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

Hi from Ames, the land of the postcard volunteers!

Latham's recent postcard mailing to voters was as impersonal as a piece of campaign literature could possibly be--in contrast, Paul's supporters are reaching out IN PERSON to other voters. We've got stacks and stacks of postcards, all handwritten and hand-addressed, ready to go!

Hooray for the postcard people!

On the road with Paul...

2004-10-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

As I write this, Paul is fielding questions from Iowans at the Emmet county forum in Estherville. After that, he'll head over to Emmetsburg for the Palo Alto county forum to meet with some more. There will be a post-forum party to watch the Vice-Presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards.

This morning, Paul released his position on U.S. foreign policy, national security, and war & peace. As always, he speaks his mind, and is committed to discussing the issues with Iowans. You might not always agree with him, but you've got to respect the fact that he's putting his beliefs out there.

Here's an excerpt from the paper:

After the tragic attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, the United States was the recipient of unprecedented support throughout the world and Americans were united as never before. The world extended us a hand. Unfortunately, President Bush responded with a clenched fist. Our President has squandered the greatest outpouring of goodwill in our nation's history, prompting instead the largest international protests against us that we have ever known. Something has gone tragically wrong.

The war in Iraq was a tragic mistake. That war has played directly into Al-Qaeda's hands by providing them with a new training camp in which to attack Americans. It has corrupted our image in the Muslim world. It has driven thousands of new recruits into extremist Islamic groups and undermined the support of moderates in the Arab world whose friendship we need.

In September, 2002, President Bush signed into play America's new national security strategy. It encouraged the use of preemptive war, arguing that the U.S. must be more willing to deal with threats that develop around the world through the use of unilateral force.

As we know, that strategy was tested in Iraq just six months later; after the American public was told that we must send troops to Iraq because their alleged weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat. Eighteen months have passed and we still have not found such weapons. Yet today our President says even knowing what we now know he still would have made the decision to send our troops into war. In other words, even though the pretense for waging a preemptive war was false, it doesn't matter to the current administration.

Now that's just a portion, so read the rest here.

In case you were wondering what Tom Latham's positions are on any of the aforementioned issues, we've taken the liberty of providing them to you here, free of charge! This is taken from his [issues] page, which takes an in-depth approach to what your Congressman believes. Here's his position on "Homeland Security," which is - by my estimate - the only issue on there that touches on U.S. & the world.

The United States is the greatest nation on earth. There are those who would wish to destroy this country and everything it stands for. I will continue to fight to keep our borders secure and our communities safe. America's security is one of my highest priorities.

I'd copy more over, but that's all there is.

After a press conference this morning, Paul met with a wonderful group of students at Waldorf College in Forest City. For about an hour and a half, he fielded questions from about 30 students on a range of issues: from the war on Iraq, to his position on health care, and more. Welcome to our Waldorf readers - Paul had a blast talking with you!

We were driving out of Forest City when Paul decided he'd show me the Pilot Knob State Park which is just outside of town. We were reminded of how America once dealt with a period of great adversity - in the decade following the Great Depression. Americans rolled up their sleeves and worked together through programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps and the WPA. We have a history of working as a collective society when confronted with challenges...which makes our response to the horrific attacks of 9/11 even more saddening. Our President told us that the best thing we could do was to sit back...to go shopping or watch a movie. Paul disagrees. (Take, for example his idea of encouraging a national public service program).

This post is running almost as long as Andrea's (!) - so I'll wrap it up with a quick story & picture. We climbed the tower at Pilot Knob which offers a spectacular view of the surrounding farms, and met Bill and Marge from Mason City.

Paul with Iowans Bill & Marge on the observation tower at Pilot Knob

And they're voting for Paul.

Two more down...Twenty-four to go!

2004-10-04T19:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Paul kicked off the final push towards election day with two more forums. The weather was great, the attendees were great, Paul was great.... What more can I say?

Actually, quite a bit!

We started the day in Howard County at the Prairie's Edge Nature Center. With Paul's strong environmental stance, it was the perfect place for him to meet with voters. When a voter asked about renewable energy, Paul was clear. "All politicians will say that renewable energy is important. Instead of just talking about it, shouldn't we do something about it?" Many people also had questions about health care, giving Paul a chance to discuss his ideas for a national health care system, which includes prescription drugs and mental health coverage. "We end up with people in jails because we are unwilling to cover mental health" said Paul. Let's find a system that works!

Voters from Howard County discuss issues important to them in the upcoming election following Paul Johnson's forum. Photo by A. Wilkerson 10/3/2004

Clem Donlan 'interviews' Paul Johnson following the Howard County forum. Photo by A. Wilkerson 10/3/2004

After finishing up in Howard County, Paul headed east to Waukon for the Allamakee County forum. The Allamakee County Democrats hosted the event, our largest to date. Several questions and comments from the voters in attendance focused on the war in Iraq. Paul talked about the need for our nation's leaders to take a look at where we are and where we are going. "We have a president who won't stop and ask for directions. After 9/11 we were never more united with the world and united as a country. That is not the case today. It is important to be the strongest country in the world; it is also important to be a leader." We need to work hard to regain the respect of our partners in the world and work together to find resolution in Iraq and to fight terrorists.

Another topic of discussion at the Allamakee County forum was campaign finance. Paul explained that he is not against special interests in general, but doesn't think they should have the enormous influence they currently have. "When I started the campaign, I said I would take money from special interest groups, but no more from any group than an individual could give. In addition, no more than 1/3 of my campaign's total funding will come from special interests. To date, we have about $6000 from special interests and over $200,000 from individual donors like you."

"This whole race is about saying and doing what you believe" Tom Latham receives a great deal of money from special interest groups. Is he doing what he believes, or what the special interests believe?

Paul ended by talking about how important each vote is. "This election may come down to Allamakee County. This is an amazing election coming up. I will work very hard to Kerry elected, to get myself elected, to get John Beard elected." Paul will do his part, but everyone needs to help. It takes a lot of votes to win an election. Talk to your friends, your neighbors, your families. Together we can make it happen!

Following the forum, the Allamakee County Democrats Central Committee hosted a potluck dinner, allowing voters a chance to sit and visit with Paul. Photo by A. Wilkerson 10/3/2004

Green Team Rocks My Socks!

2004-10-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

Our fabulous, fantastic, fun, field staffers frolicked in the thoroughfares of Ames today!

Well, we didn't frolic, but we did drop lots of literature. Along with our awesome volunteers, we left hundreds of invitations to the upcoming Greg Brown/Iris DeMent/Dave Zollo Paul Johnson benefit concert. We rocked the streets today and really showed Ames that we want them to know Paul and hear his message!

On to postcard writing tonight - see you at Memorial Union Commons 4-7. Be there or be L7.

The barnsigns are coming!

2004-10-02T19:57:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the efforts of some dedicated Iowans, we've got barn signs! We won't have as many as Latham, and they're not as fancy, but those are luxuries only PAC-funded campaigns can enjoy.

Field Staffers David & Rose apply the finishing touches

Help us reach our next fundraising goal! We're charging ahead here, folks, thanks to the help of Iowans who want change, and an independent-minded congressman.

What'd you think of the debate?

2004-09-30T22:28:00.000-05:00

Sound off.

Where are you, Tom Latham?

2004-09-30T14:58:00.000-05:00

[UPDATED - 11:18 PM]

You know, one of Paul's primary motivations for running to represent the 4th district was that Tom Latham has become an entrenched politician. Congressman Latham, with his extraordinary war chest (over $525,000 this campaign cycle, and it's not even over yet!) funded by special interest PACs who do NOT hail from Iowa, has made it clear to Iowans that he doesn't need to listen to them anymore. We have offered countless invitations to Latham to meet with Paul, but he has refused at every chance.

Here's an email Tom Latham's campaign manager sent to a radio host, in which he explains that Iowans heard all they needed to hear during the half-hour Iowa Press TV appearance. We're not convinced. We think Iowans deserve to hear more. Latham disagrees.

[In deference to the radio host's requests, we've removed the correspondence, though we remain committed to providing Iowans a chance to see where Tom Latham and Paul Johnson differ, in their own words. My intent was not discredit any news agencies or harm their reputations, but to relay the stated principles of Tom Latham's campaign.]

On his campaign website, Mr. Latham has this to say: "During my time serving as your Congressman, I have prided myself on the fact that I lead by listening to the people of Iowa."

Hear them out, Mr. Latham, and give them the privilige of making an informed decision. A few slick TV ads funded by non-Iowans does no service to citizens of the 4th district. It does not help us address the issues that are crucial to us in 2004. What are your plans for Iraq? How will you address our overstretched military? With a draft? What will you do to address the millions of Americans who live without access to health care?

Why don't you come on out and talk with Iowans at their county forums? They deserve to see you.

Chickasaw County Forum a Success!

2004-09-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, September 26th, about 30 residents of Chickasaw County gathered at the Community Center in New Hampton to interview Paul Johnson. Paul fielded questions on K-12 education and "No Child Left Behind", taxes and the environment. Volunteers helped plan the forum, and also helped spread the word about Paul in Chickasaw County. In addition to the forum, about 1400 postcards were sent to voters encouraging them to vote Johnson and flyers were distributed door to door in Alta Vista, Bassett, Fredericksburg, Ionia, Jerico, Lawler, Nashua, New Hampton and North Washington. "I'm glad that the smaller towns were covered", said Johnson. "They are important to my campaign, and I want to make sure they are not ignored."

Andrea Wilkerson, Jean Swenson and Pat Johnson at the Chickasaw County Forum. Photo by Amy Miller. 9/26/2004

Brian Quirk, Paul Johnson and John Beard.

Photo by Randall Rolph. 9/26/2004

"Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport"

2004-09-27T14:35:00.000-05:00

"I disagree with Mr. Latham's comment that one televised debate and one radio debate are sufficient to inform the public," Paul said recently.

"Democracy is not a spectator sport,and voters deserve the chance to ask us tough interview questions, in person, about issues that matter deeply to them. With 26 forums scheduled over the next five weeks, I hope Mr. Latham will join me in as many as possible."

Yep. We've got the schedule for the next 26 forums. We're putting them together because we want to give you a chance to come and ask Paul whatever questions you want. The Des Moines Register strongly encourages Iowans to show up and voice their opinions at candidate forums. It's unfortunate that you probably won't get the chance to ask Latham any questions, since he has turned down three public appeals to join Paul on stage. Click here to find out when and where your county's forum will be held.

Links links links

2004-09-26T16:10:00.000-05:00

We've added loads of links here at the blog.

College students - if you belong in a student group that you don't see listed here, let me know.

The same applies to everyone...got a recommendation? Email me.

Fundraising goals!

2004-09-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you who helped us meet our fundraising goal last week! As you can see from the header at the top of the page, we've got a new challenge to beat by September 30th.

With your help, we can work to defeat special interests.

It's a clear challenge, especially when the incumbent is bankrolled by so many of them! See for yourself. Your current congressman has received $39,500 alone from 35 congressmen & women outside the state of Iowa!

The gears of special interest are well-greased, indeed.

Tara's update from the field

2004-09-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

We had a great time last night at State Senator Daryl Beall's annual "Fun on the Farm" event outside of Somers in Calhoun County. The weather was lovely, the crowd was enthusiastic, and every speaker (there were many, including five State Senators, one State Rep, Paul, and former Congressman Berkeley Bedell) took the opportunity to thank Paul for his work in the legislature, the DNR, and the Soil Conservation Service. The talks were followed by a good smoked pork meal in the converted hayloft of an old barn on the Moore family's Century Farm...there's a pool table, lots of seating, neon signs and posters, a couple of old dentist chairs, and a wooden floor that just invites dancing (none this night, sadly--but you never know--maybe next year)!

As I drove from Ames to Calhoun County, I thought about our land...the combines were in the fields, the corn and soybeans are turning shades of yellow and brown, and the sides of the roads are filled with late wildflowers and grasses. We live in such a beautiful and productive state...and Paul's vision will keep it that way.

Belated Photo

2004-09-24T10:43:00.000-05:00

Didn't I tell you I'd put a picture up from Tom Harkin's Steak Fry?

Thanks to Linda over at blogforiowa.com for helping us out!

What's the Plan?

2004-09-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

For all the younger readers, Moveon's Student Action Committee has a petition circulating that will demand an explanation from President Bush on how he plans to end the Iraq war. Read (and sign it, if you want) here.

The Bush Administration's Vision for Iraq

2004-09-22T00:02:00.000-05:00

With statements like this, it's no wonder that things aren't going our way in Iraq.

"At some point the Iraqis will get tired of getting killed and we’ll have enough of the Iraqi security forces that they can take over responsibility for governing that country and we’ll be able to pare down the coalition security forces in the country."

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
September 14, 2004

Is this the Powell doctrine hard at work? Is this our exit strategy? To hope that Iraqis will tire of getting killed?

Catch-up

2004-09-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

Ok, folks - a lot to catch up on. Paul had a great weekend, which started out with a stop by Iowa Public Television to discuss the issues with Tom Latham. This is sadly one of the only chances you'll get to see your two candidates together since Latham has declined on joining us in any of the 28 forums. The transcript and streaming audio of the show can be found here, and I'm working to see if we can put a copy of the streaming video up on the blog here.

On Saturday, the forums kicked off in Greene county where Paul met with Iowans and took questions at Jefferson High. Bookmark our events page to find out when you can meet Paul in your area.

On Sunday, we saw loads of you all at Senator Tom Harkin's Annual Steak Fry in Indianola. Enthusiastic cheers welcomed Paul to the stage, after which the crowd was entertained by Sheryl Crow (and the comedic stylings of Iowan Tom Arnold).

Let's hear your thoughts on the Iowa Public TV appearance!

Pictures!

2004-09-16T16:48:00.000-05:00

Paul had a jam-packed weekend down in Boone and Franklin counties. We put his wife Pat to work, and she took some great photos for us...

Paul in the Boone County Parade. Look closely and you'll see fellow blogger and field staffer David working the crowd in the background!

With some supporters in Boone.

And let's not forget our friends in Franklin!

E-cards, anyone?

2004-09-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

We just got Paul's postcards here at the office, and thought we ought to put a version up at our e-card service...for those who might want to help us spread the word! Go check it out.

Top of Iowa Wind Farm Visit

2004-09-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a trip to the Top of Iowa Wind Farm where Paul spoke with various visitors to the facility. A team of bicyclists rode in on solar bicycles - quite a sight (we'll try to get a picture up asap).

In a place like the Top of Iowa Wind Farm, it's all about renewable energy.

For those of you wondering how it works, here's some info gleaned from some literature of theirs (emphasis added):

Top of Iowa is an 80-megawatt wind-electric generating facility consisting of 89 NEG-Micon 900 kilowatt turbines mounted on 237-foot-tall tubular towers. The wind farm covers roughly 5,900 acres of cropland on 49 separate land parcels in western Worth County. The facility interconnects to the local electric grid at a new 161-kilovolt substation installed 6 miles east of the wind farm...The wind farm's energy is equivalent to electricity consumed by 30,000 typical Midwest homes.

So, what does all of this translate into?

Each turbine offsets more than 11,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides on an average day, pollution that would otherwise be created by fossil fuel generation. The annual offset of the entire wind farm is more than 370 million pounds of pollution linked to smog, acid rain, and green house effect.

The Iowa DNR has a study online of the windfarm, which can be read here.

The Harkin Steak Fry!

2004-09-14T19:11:00.000-05:00

Over at blogforamerica.com, Linda Thieman (editor of Blog for Iowa) mentions the upcoming Harkin steak fry in Indianola this Sunday.

Senator Harkin was kind enough to have Paul, who will have a spot there. We'll get more info up this week as it becomes available!

Respected in the World

2004-09-14T07:34:00.000-05:00

A new poll just came out on BBC World Service. Apparently, the world wants John Kerry to be elected. People like the French and the Germans (our allies of a few years ago) want U.S. government to be different.

And I'd bet the responses would have been similiar concerning Congressional elections. Don't you think this is just another glaring, neon sign the the world thinks that the United States is on the wrong path in foreign policy?

Paul Johnson has said this over and over: changing the president is ideal, but we must change our legislature too. One step is electing John Kerry. And the next is electing Paul Johnson and a Democratic Congress. We can't really change policy without a cleaning House.

On Absentee Voting...

2004-09-13T13:17:00.000-05:00

As people in the 4th are well aware, 2004 is an unprecedented year in terms of absentee ballot voting...as absentee voting has become a key strategy in both republican and democratic camps.

In todays NYT Michael Moss writes about the dangers of this push, writing that in many swing states, the process allows party operatives to involve themselves in the voting...which could taint the general election in November.

"The increasing popularity of absentee voting is reshaping how and when the country votes. Since the last presidential election, a growing number of election officials and party operatives have been promoting absentee balloting as a way to make it easier for people to vote and alleviate the crush of Election Day. At least 26 states now let residents cast absentee ballots without needing the traditional excuse of not being able to make it to polling places. That is six more states than allowed the practice in 2000.

As a result, as many as one in four Americans are expected to vote by absentee ballot in the presidential race, a process that begins today, nearly two months before Election Day, as North Carolina becomes the first state to distribute ballots."

Read the full article when you get a chance. It highlights cases of absentee ballot fraud in the past four years, including the use of white-out, forging signatures, and in one incredibly story - switching the votes of nursing-home residents!

In 2002, Moss mentions, "after Iowa placed new restrictions on who can handle ballot applications, political activists discovered an arcane rule that lets almost any people who can gather 100 signatures set up their own polling place where residents can vote early."

This approach was employed by several churches last year who gathered votes to fight the casino initiative, which some of you might remember.

Are any of you voting absentee?

Allamakee County Democrats Meet

2004-09-12T15:39:00.000-05:00

Wow, have the Allamakee County Democrats got it together! I met with them yesterday to talk about the upcoming forum. (It is October 3rd in the afternoon; watch the Johnson web site for more details.) What a great group of dedicated volunteers. They are working hard to make contact with voters and get them signed up with absentee ballots, putting up publicity on all of the candidates and will have a great forum on October 3rd. They also just rolled out their own website, www.allamakeecountydemocrats.com which has links to voter registration and absentee ballot info as well as the different candidates. These folks want to make a difference and are working hard towards their goals. They also just formed a Johnson for Congress Committee with Ann Klees as the chair, she can be contacted at 563-535-7165 if you are interested in volunteering for Johnson in Allamakee County.

Paul on the Issues...Agriculture

2004-09-09T15:10:00.000-05:00

Today, Paul’s campaign released his position statement on agriculture and conservation throughout the 4th district and greater Iowa. We want to touch on a couple main points of the statement here on the blog, but you should read the entire statement here. Rather than issuing a short, politically-serving and vague statement, Paul has asked some tough questions and wants hear from you all on these extremely important matters.

So what does the former national chief of the Soil Conservation Service at the USDA (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) and director of Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources have to say?

For starters, Iowans have a lot to be proud of today. Thanks to our history of sound research and farming, our district isn’t confronted with the problems of hunger, which is no small achievement. As Paul has said, though, it is because we’ve been so successful that we have the luxury to now question our future.

And there’s a lot to contemplate.

Iowans are facing a crossroads these days. One path will increasingly consolidate our food and fiber production systems…resulting in the total industrialization of farming, which threatens to banish individual farmers to the margins of the industry. This is noticeable in the 4th district, where we have fewer and fewer farmers.

The alternative path is one that encourages individual ownership of land and livestock, which keeps farmers on their lands and creates opportunities for our children to farm the lands when they grow up. This road is by no means impassable…and we shouldn’t peer down it as a throwback to the way things were, but as a viable path to maintaining our ownership in farming the land.

We don’t have to shrug away our lands.

Paul thinks we ought to consider a National Private Lands Conservation Act, one which would recognize the importance of private lands and establish a formal process to greatly reward good stewardship. If the WTO says we can’t pay farmers for growing corn and beans, and if we’re going to stick with global trade (hopefully “fair” trade), how about paying them for the clean water, clean air and wildlife they’re equally capable of producing?

On Sudan

2004-09-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

Today, Secretary of State Colin Powell did the right thing by labeling the atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan as "genocide," before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The U.S. is laudably pursuing a Security Council resolution that threatens Khartoum with economic sanctions, and calls for an expansion of the African Union peacekeeping force in the country.

It only makes you wonder where Powell's obvious skill at working with the international community towards resolving crises disappeared to in the lead-up to the war on Iraq.

Painters for PJ

2004-09-03T18:45:00.000-05:00

We had our barn sign painting party yesterday and got help from real live ISU Democrats! It was great - our paint-savvy field organizer David managed to get a deal on some super-cheap green paint. All of our plywood was donated.

If you know some great locations for PJ barn signs, organize a barn sign painting party for Paul and get some younger helpers involved. Trust me - it's a great way to get dirty and do some artistic work for a good cause.

ISU Daily Interview

2004-09-03T18:01:00.000-05:00

Paul recently spoke with Josh Nelson of the Iowa State Daily.

For Paul Johnson, campaigning is perhaps one of the longest job interviews he has ever faced.

Armed with position statements and grassroot efforts, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, said he is ready to take his message to the bosses in the 28 counties of the 4th Congressional District.

"The law says the job is open to anyone," Johnson said during an interview earlier this week. "Tom Latham is not a member of Congress after January. He doesn't own that job. He has to apply to the boss, and see if he can't get that job. That's what we're doing when we are campaigning. We're going out and we're interviewing with the bosses."

Click here to read the rest of the article.

E-Cards!

2004-09-03T15:49:00.000-05:00

Send an ecard to a friend! We're also including flyers, so that you can use this as an way to invite friends to an upcoming event in your area...

Just click "Send an E-Card" to get started!

Paul on the issues...Education

2004-09-02T16:58:00.000-05:00

This post comes a few days behind schedule, so take it with our apologies. As promised, we will be focusing on Paul's positions on key issues week-by-week here at the blog and at the campaign site.

Last week, Paul made clear his positions on education in the district. You can read his full paper here. As a former teacher, Paul sees the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act as misguided and heading us down the wrong road. He wants to see it scrapped.

So does Paul think we ought to be leaving children behind? Of course not.

Paul believes that NCLB is a fundamental change to the relationship between governments at the local, state, and federal levels. It's a one-size-fits-all policy imposed by Washington on every school district across the nation, whose progress is benchmarked by standardized tests. Do we want children in the district to be taught how to pass national test, or benefit from a healthy and creative curriculum?

The Des Moines Register wants to see NCLB repealed: "Iowans know their schools are good, even if some don't meet the act's ridiculous requirements." It notes that while sixty-six schools in Iowa ended up on the annual list of schools not meeting the federal standards, some of these were added because not enough students took the test, not because they failed!

Paul believes that the strength of our district, and indeed the nation, is derived from the authority granted to local governments to be innovative and creative in addressing issues in the community. Iowans have excelled because of our ability to craft educational programs to meet the needs of our district - but NCLB reverses that progress.

Paul also disagrees with the No Child Left Behind Act in that it focuses solely on K-12 education. He believes that if we're really concerned about leaving no child behind, we should rescue them earlier. We should care a lot more about prenatal through preschool...which means more midwives and public health nurses, more quality daycare and preschool programs, and social services for troubled families.

What are your thoughts on the No Child Left Behind Act? What do you think of Paul's position? He'd love to hear from you.

The College Vote

2004-08-31T12:44:00.000-05:00

The Wall Street Journal's Political Diary has graciously allowed us to post one of David Robinson's pieces on the college student vote.

Mission for College GOPers: Find the Absentee Reds on Campuses of Purple

Colleges present a challenge for Republicans, because while everyone in principle wants young people to vote, the youth vote tends to trend heavily Democratic. In 1992 Bill Clinton beat the first President Bush among 18-to-29 year-olds by 19 points, and he outmatched Bob Dole in the youth vote by 11 points in 1996. In fact, the 2000 presidential election marked something of an exception: Yes, George W. Bush still lost the youth vote to Al Gore, but by a narrow margin, 46% to 48%.

These numbers were doubtlessly on Karl Rove's mind as he made his way to the Windfall Bar in midtown last night to address the College Republican state chairmen (and one chairwoman, from Florida). Rather than plastering their campuses with posters or leading a general drive that might prompt an indiscriminate cross-section of the campus to vote, he urged the student GOP leaders to reach out to their friends, making sure collegians known to favor Bush/Cheney get out as many votes as possible in November.

The state chairmen were savvy enough to recognize that some of their number, coming from solidly aligned states, have less work to do than others. But Mr. Rove reminded them that the geographic scrambler of college admissions puts some "purple state" voters on campuses in solidly red or blue states. And the countdown he asked them to remember is not the 64 days until Nov. 2; it's the 34 days until voter registration closes in many states.

The Political Diary writers trend right, but the importance of these statistics is clear: this is going to be a tight race this fall, and the college vote is more important than ever.

In the near future, I'll write about the definitive ways in which college students can help Paul win on November 2. I've been meeting with many college students over the last few weeks and the desire for change is strong - but we've got a long ways to go.

Convention Blogging

2004-08-31T12:28:00.000-05:00

If anyone is looking for bloggers' convention coverage, there's a great aggregator of RNC-credentialed bloggers here. The same site hosts an aggregator for the bloggers who covered the DNC (lucky me!), many of whom are in NYC covering the convention from outside.

Video Welcome to Blog Readers

2004-08-26T23:48:00.000-05:00

Paul welcomes you to the blog. Press play.

**If you can't see the controls, right click anywhere over the area above and press "play." Otherwise, try downloading the windows media player format below**

This clip is optimized for streaming - if you want to download a higher-quality clip to your computer, right-click over the desired format and select "save target as," and you'll be on your way!

On Education

2004-08-26T19:30:00.000-05:00

Today, Paul made his position on education available on the official campaign site. Tomorrow, we'll elaborate on Paul's positions here at the Johnson Blog...so stay tuned.

p.s. - A warm welcome to all the ISU students who we met with yesterday - glad to have you here!

Drive On to Victory - Report from the Road

2004-08-26T01:13:00.000-05:00

As a field organizer for the Paul Johnson campaign, I have met many dedicated individuals on the campaign trail. As the miles roll over on the odometer I can't help thinking about the distance we have traveled as a campaign. The people we've met, and the friends we've made continue to amaze me everyday in how determined they are to see a Democratic majority come November. Across the District, people are coming together, not just in support of Paul, but in support of each other. As I travel across the county roads and highways that crisscross our District, I can't help but feeling a great sense of pride. That pride comes from knowing that whichever road I take, it will eventually lead to a group of committed people; working diligently in each their own way to put quality candidates in office. I take pride in those who build the networks and establishment necessary to make sure we keep them there.

Though our country is polarized more than ever before, across Iowa people are building bridges together, each lending a hand towards a common goal. They're laying the pavement for a Democratic victory this November, and in turn coming together as never before. As this amazing summer comes to an end, I look forward with great excitement of the places yet to come, the roads that have yet to be traveled, and the mile markers yet to be passed. Together we can make a difference, and together we can drive on for victory.

It's Easy Being Green!

2004-08-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

Chris Heinz (son of Teresa and stepson John Kerry) came to Ames today to speak about the Kerry campaign. His speech was great, and he made a really good point: developing our clean sources of energy helps Americans on three fronts:

Moving to cleaner energy sources will improve our environment. That pillar is very obvious.
Moving to cleaner energy sources will improve our security. The more we can create energy from inside our borders, the less we will have to depend on countries abroad to support our gas-guzzling habits. We will have more leverage on a world stage without having to bend because of oil needs.
Moving to cleaner energy sources will improve our economy. Paul Johnson once noted in a speech that Iowans must shop entirely out-of-state for gasoline. Every time we fill up our cars with fossil fuels, we're sending money out of the state. Additionally, the possibilities for industrializing clean energy seem limitless. The clean energy industry is full of economic promise.

It's what the Kerry campaign is calling the "three-pillared" environmental strategy. I think it's really insightful, and totally relevant to the Johnson campaign. I think that those are really good ways to frame a conversation about the environment - discussing environmentalism based on the benefits it provides on multiple levels. Chris said that we are often faced with the "false choice" between the environment and the economy. But as environmental voters and advocates, we must stress that the environment and the economy can prosper simultaneously.

Oh, and Tara (our Johnson fundraiser) gave Chris a Paul Johnson button, to which Chris said, "I like his colors. I bet he's an environmentalist". Right you are, Chris! I am glad that there are two staunch defenders of the environment on the district 4 ticket this year: John Kerry and Paul Johnson.

Update from Ames

2004-08-24T13:54:00.000-05:00

Well, ISU is starting its regular sessions, and I'm excited to see the town of Ames become even more bustling than it was when I arrived. I'm also really excited to tap into the energy of activist ISU students. Not only are college students extremely energetic, but they are also incredibly interested in world events, so they can't help but be interested in Congressional elections.

There are a few things coming up in the next week:

Wednesday, August 25: Chris Heinz (son of Teresa) is coming to Ames. Also, the Welcome Fest is on Wednesday, and Paul Johnson staffers will be there to meet new students and announce some new plans we have for Ames volunteers. The most exciting one is a barn sign painting party that David and I are working on. We're inviting ISU students to come by Tara's house and paint the town green - with Johnson barn signs. We don't have loads of money to make fancy barns signs, so we're making ours grassroots all the way. Volunteers are coming over to Tara's on Thursday, September 2 to paint barn signs for Paul.

Well, we're very excited, and it's time to get back to work.

Q & A

2004-08-24T11:48:00.000-05:00

A reader suggested that we form a new post when Paul responds to your questions, rather then tuck them inside the archived thread. You ask, we provide.

The following questions were asked in our first post.

Q: How do you view the future of Iowa agriculture?

A: Go to the paper I just wrote on American agriculture in the environment, which was just published in the wingspread journal which will give some idea of agriculture and the possibility of rewarding good stewardship.

Q: What can you (Paul Johnson) do as a new Congressman to promote that future?

A: There are other issues that are very important in agriculture, such as the concentration that's occurring right now...the industrialization of agriculture. It's been going on since the beginning of time, actually, but it's accelerating very rapidly right now and we really need ideas from good people across Iowa and across the country on appropriate ways in which we can really encourage diversity in agriculture - both in what we grow and the way we grow it, and also how we can reverse some of the extreme concentration that's occurring right now in things such as the meatpacking industry and the ownership of animals.

We've had a fundamental change occur within the last 20 years in that we've decoupled animals from land, we're decoupling people from animals...we've involved with animals for the past 13,000 years and we've had an agriculture that depended on husbandry of animals. That's disappearing right now. And I believe that it's only a matter of time before we'll be decoupling people from land, as well, and complete industrialization will have occurred.

Now, I want to know from people approaches that we can take to slow this trend. I don't think it's healthy. It's always said that we could limit the payments that are made to farmers, but I'm talking about a different approach to rewarding landowners, and that's rewarding private landowners for good stewardship. If we're going to put in place that kind a program, how can we do it so that we're not just rewarding the industrial ownership of that land. We'll get into this in a lot more detail when we get to our week focusing on agriculture.

Now we have forces going in the other direction, such as organic agriculture, such as community-supported agriculture where people want to know where their food comes and how they grew it - those trends are very very healthy but they're so small in relation to the overpowering industrialization that's occurring.

Q: Is the current promotion of biotech research and development something you support?

A: Concerning biotechnology, I think that you have to ask: who benefits from it, and are there appropriate precautions in place as we go through it. I think that biotech, just with plant breeding in the last century, holds great potential - not only for being productive on the land but also in being less harmful than we are right now.

I think there is great potential, but the thing that is driving it is the commercialization of it, and investors wanting to make money from it. I think that there ought to be a public sector involved in this - not focused simply with promoting profit for individual corporations, but looking at these questions and how we can use biotechnology to have a more sustainable agriculture. So in that regard, I'm not opposed to it at all, but I am opposed to some of the directions is going in. We should be using biotechnology for the public good, and for the environmental good...you know - you aren't going to get the private sector in there pushing biotechnology strictly for the environment - they're going to do it for themselves. There's a role for public research in biotechnology and that role should be to promote the public good and the good of the land, in a larger sense.

Q: What trends in the agricultural economy give you encouragement, and what gives you pause?

A: Like I said, the concentration gives me great pause, and also the breaking down of the traditional relationship between people and land, and people and animals. What gives me encouragement are the things such as community-supported agriculture - the whole sustainable agriculture movement, the recognition amongst farmers that we need to continue to strive to be part of the land and not complete separate from it. We haven't come very far yet, but I think we really do need to seriously question whether we should domesticate all of agriculture land or whether there should be some wildness that remains.

Q: Does Mr. Johnson think that there is any type of campaign reform that can make these forums happen instead of the typical dirty advertising?

A: The goal of our campaign is that we're exposed to the voter and that they have an opportunity to ask questions of both Representative Latham and myself. As we answer them, we each have an opportunity to correct any misconceptions that the other one may have. If you do that, you get away from the so-called negative stuff entirely, and we have an honest discussion of who we are and what we care about.

I think that the first reform would be to have publicly-financed campaigns. Most of the industrial world has that today, and they work very well - most people have an opportunity to have real, fair, honest discussions rather than sound-bytes. I think that open-air time and equal access to air-time (the airwaves do belong to the people still, even though we've been selling them off) but I think that it's very important that people have that access. A good, free and open society, would promote that type of thing - but right now it only works if you're rich. The only way to limit this is if we move forward and limit it - and take the extreme bias of money out of politics.

There are what are called "Fair and Clean Elections" - I think Maine and Arizona both have passed legislation that, for the state offices, provides a certain amount of public financing to be allocated as you see fit. This curbs the idea where "we have so much money we don't know what to do, so we'll run a negative ad."

On the whole issue of negative campaigning - I think personal slurs are out of bounds. On the other hand, trying to honestly and fairly contrast your view with your opponents is what we ought to be doing in campaigning. And to say that every time you disagree with your opponent is negative campaigning - that's wrong. I think very often it's possible for candidates to misrepresent their opponents, and that's why I think the 28 forums - where we're both standing there - will give us the opportunity.

You know, Mr. Latham, I guess he doesn't want to be on the stage with me. What better way is there to make sure that we're not going to be negative or misrepresenting each other?

People want to get specifically to an issue and debate it. If the process doesn't allow you to get there, we have serious problems. To suggest that we shouldn't be dwelling at all on the process of elections really excludes the opportunity for people to be part of the political process. Only 4 challengers beat incumbents in the U.S. house of representatives 2 years ago - that should be cause for huge concern.

Q: What is the significance of the windmill on the site and in your campaign literature?

A: The windmill there to remind people that there's a better way. I think it represents our future - although it's not completely ignoring our past. It's taking our past and building on it, and making it better. Certainly, when it comes to energy, we're in no way saying that wind is the answer, but it's one of the answers. I think that everybody that looks at that windmill should identify it with a healthier future and a sustainable future - that's really what we're about. I'd have put a hybrid car on there but I don't know if people would recognize the difference!

I think it's reaffirming the goodness of our district and what we're about - that's why I talk so much about land and good stewardship...there's no better place to be discussing these issues than in the 4th district of Iowa. The wind generator is becoming a symbol of that too - a symbol of sustainability and looking to a brighter and better future. I jokingly say that the answer is blowing in the wind.

I'll definitely be addressing in more depth my positions on the future of agriculture, energy, the environment, and many other issues over the next ten weeks both here on the blog and on the campaign trail. I'm excited to be hearing from you, and hope that you'll continue to ask questions and give me your thoughts.

Responses Up...

2004-08-23T14:21:00.000-05:00

Paul has responded to those of you who asked questions at our first post. Keep them coming!

The Franking Debate

2004-08-19T15:59:00.000-05:00

Are you all aware of the Congressional franking privilege? You should, since you're footing the dime. While campaign finance laws have changed under McCain-Feingold, we still have a long ways to go. Elected officials can employ franking privileges to send mail by using their signature instead of a stamp to citizens of the district. It's a service paid for by constituents so that they might be informed...important, when used appropriately.

Last week, Paul caused a bit of a stir when he called Tom Latham on his recent use of his franking privileges with recent mailings. Unless you read the fine print (This mailing was prepared, published, and mailed at taxpayer expense), you'd think it was a regular campaign mailing. A caption by a picture reads "Congressman Tom Latham updates an Iowan on an issue important to him." Why not use constituents' money on issues important to them?

According to the Franking Commission's guidelines, "Members are cautioned on the excessive use of personally phrased references (Member's name, "I," "me," "the Congressman," "the Representative") in newsletters or other mass mailings. Personally phrased references contained in a mass mailing, for the most part, should not appear on the average more than eight times per page." These are not outright limitations, but "guidelines." Perhaps Rep. Latham ignored the guidelines in his "Iowa Jobs and Economy Update," in which "Congressman Latham" appears 9 times on a single page.

In today's Des Moines Register, columnist David Yepsen writes that the Paul's criticism is like the "Pot is Calling the Kettle Black." "It [Latham's franking] looks like campaigning on the taxpayers' dime, Johnson and the Democrats contend. Of course it is." Inexplicably, Yepsen suggests that Paul's criticism is invalid because both parties misuse franking privileges. We don't share the same pessimistic outlook as Mr. Yepsen.

Paul wants to reduce the potential for abuse by working with like-minded Congressman on both sides of the aisle. Ray Lahood (R-IL), for example, is a strong proponent of eliminating franking privileges and would be great partner in this effort. The need for reform is illustrated by a CATO Journal report, which found that "the average amount of money spent on the congressional franking privilege during a single House term is about as much as the average challenger spends on an entire campaign." In an era of mass electronic mailing, Paul would like to see franking privileges limited to one-on-one responses to constituents' questions.

Anti-competitive mechanisms in campaigns need to be combated, or else the gap between incumbents and the issues raised by their opponents will continue to expand. A Latham campaign spokesman cast Paul's comments on franking privileges as "negative campaigning" in last week's Fort Dodge Messenger, saying "He's doing nothing more than a destructive political campaign at this point and that's sad."

If the topic of taxpayers' money isn't an important issue in this campaign, then what is? Is our calling attention to franking priviliges negative? Paul asks "Because something is agreed to by the people who are doing it, does that make it right? Because it's legal does that make it ethical?"

Where do you stand?

the dKos Dozen

2004-08-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

Regular posting begins today. We want to start out the day by inviting our readers to post over at Daily Kos, which is soliticiting suggestions for candidates to form a "dKos dozen." Kos' article is here and readers have already posted their comments, which start here.

Paul doesn't like asking for money. However, for every dollar Latham receives from an Iowan, he receives $2 from a special interest group. A spot on the dKos dozen would be a great boost in helping put Paul in Congress.

Blog Kickoff!

2004-08-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

With a few creaks and sputters, the Vote Johnson blog is off and running!

Welcome, citizens of the 4th district, to an area of our website that has been created specifically for you. You can debate ideas, ask Paul questions (and yes, he will be reading the blog regularly), get summaries and updates about campaign events, find out how to get involved, request voter registration/absentee ballot forms, and more.

Paul has made accessibility a key principle of his campaign philosophy. This is why he challenged the incumbent to a debate in each of Iowa's 28 counties, so that you - the voters - can decide who you'd like to hire as your Congressman this Fall.

Many of you might not want to wait until the town halls to ask a question. You're the voices in the Vote Johnson blog. We're not running a deaf campaign: we want your input, suggestions, criticisms, and opinions!

Each week on the blog, Paul will offer his viewpoints on a specific issue...on agriculture, the war on Iraq, healthcare, environmental protection, and so forth. There will be an open discussion thread where you can ask Paul follow-up questions, talk with other citizens from the 4th district, and get more information on the issues.

This blog is for you. Your next Congressman wants to hear from you.