Those Darn Harkin Papers

Seward County Community College is located in Liberal, Kansas.

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Congressman Bruce Braley will be a formidable candidate for Tom Harkin's Senate seat. I doubt that Tom Latham will run, and conservative northwest Iowans should not want Steve King to, for that opens his House seat. King would run poorly in vote rich eastern Iowa.

A recent Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey says "King would be a front-runner for the GOP nomination but would have a much tougher time winning the general election." I've said that for months.

Their polling indicates that in a Republican primary King would win with 41 percent, Latham would get 22 percent, Kim Reynolds 10 percent and 9 percent would vote for Bob Vander Plaats.

PPP is liberal leaning. It is also usually accurate but not with those numbers. In the general election they say Braley would beat Latham by only three points and King by nine.

Another poll, commissioned by Citizens United Political Victory Fund (a PAC supporting King) also shows King to be the Republican leader. Since Latham won't be running, the best choice for Republicans will be someone TBA.

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I have learned a new word, or a new definition. "Catfishing" used to mean going to the river with stink bait but now it also means creating an alternate identity online for romantic purposes, ala the Notre Dame footballer Manti Te'o hoax. The new definition comes from the 2010 movie Catfish.

Now the University of Michigan has hired girls to intentionally catfish some of its own athletes to teach them about the potential pitfalls of social media. Stink bait seems a logical tie-in.

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A day at the Iowa State Capitol reaffirms my belief that term limits are not necessary for Iowa legislators. Although there are a handful of old timers in residence, there is a pretty steady turnover. Congress? That's another story - except for my guys!

Your State Senator Bill Anderson gets kudos from fellow Republican Senators, but when I asked veteran Democrat leaders they said, "Well, he worked for King, and he only looks to be about 13 years old (pause) but we think he is OK." A compliment!

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While Iowa's coffers are bulging, your US of A has a debt of $16.6 trillion, a 'recycled' budget of $3.8 trillion but revenue of only $2.2 trillion.

Rep. Chuck Soderberg was 'working the floor' when I visited last week. He is chair of the full appropriations committee and there are seven budget sub-committee chairpersons who will bring their requests for dollars to the full committee. They sometimes need a reminder to stick to the overall plan.

Both Chuck and Speaker Kraig Paulsen agree with a long held belief that determining who-gets-what is tougher when you have money than when the state is broke. Every entity with a cause now believes they have a legitimate claim to the 'excess' money. And every entity has a cause, and vocal supporters.

Soderberg's appropriation counterpart in the Senate is an old friend of mine, Senator Bob Dvorsky (D-Coralville). He says good things about Chuck. A good working relationship between them is important, even if they are not in tune politically.

Chuck probably stands in front of his mirror and practices, "Read my lips NO, NO, NO!" The sooner the House formalizes a plan to credit some of our money back to us the easier 'no' will become.

Don Paulin, 2carpenterdon@gmail.com, 7557 30th Av, Norwalk, IA 50211 - 515-201-7236