Sad for representative government in Iowa

What a shame. Schultz won, and won big.

He had the money- thanks to a lobbying group- to out advertise Freidrichsen big time. How tragic for Hoffman, that the voters in our district would choose idealogical extremism rather than honest and reasonable public servant-hood.

As a Christian, I want Christian voters to wake up and realize that the far right brand of religiosity that King and Schultz represent is one of pure legalism like the Pharisees, not the grace, mercy, forgiveness, love, and compassion of Jesus Himself.

Right-wing religion isn't about Jesus and His teachings, it's about fear, anger, and the desire to control society- not about helping others or first changing yourself. Stop abortions, stop gay marriage, stop immigration- We know what you hate, but what are you for?

Want to go back to the days of coat hanger abortions? Especially the girls who are victims of rape and incest.

Rather have the gay folks in freaky night clubs than mundane, monogamous domesticity?

Prefer those immigrants to be bringing all kinds of diseases, involved in crime, uneducated and wallowing in decrepit ghettos instead of working withing the system and contributing to, even though they're culturally different than you and me?

Okay then, make sure you put all of your energy into preventing anything you don't like from happening. Keep trying to make sure those you distrust are driven underground.

As a fiscal conservative, someone who opposes deficit spending and seeks accountability and reform in government- I wish that conservative voters would wake up and see that being beholden to ANY PAC, lobby, or interest group means that you have THEIR interests at heart, not your constituents. No matter how just and righteous their positions seem.

Iowans for Tax Relief? No one likes paying taxes, but we all like decent roads, safe bridges, and competitive schools. Tax Relief is a red herring for Republicans to swindle voters out of paying attention to real issues and it always has been. ITR was an easy way to get some bucks for campaign. Lets say we want to deport all the illegal immigrants, prevent all the abortions, and deny all the homos spousal benefits- we have to have some revenue to pay to enforce all those socially conservative laws. What the Hell, let's go out on a limb and say that we are going to stay in Iraq for another hundred years. How ya gonna pay for it? Taxes are a necessary evil, my friend.

The keys are how you structure the tax burden and what you spend the revenue on. Republicans want to tax the working class the most and millionaires, billionaires and corporations the most and they want to spend the money on no-bid military contracts to corporations they hold stock in. Democrats prefer a progressive tax structure where the more you can afford, the more you're asked bare. And we want to spend it on silly, frivolous things like infrastructure, education, law enforcement, scientific research, and who knows, maybe even health care.

Even more sad than Schultz winning Hoffman's seat in the Iowa House is that the Democrats of Dist. 55 don't have their act together enough to even field a candidate to oppose Schultz this Fall. Come on team, wake up and get it together by 2010!!!

I didn't want to write about this in my actual column in the PRESS. I don't want to alienate too many of my readers, because I honor and appreciate their sensitivities to "traditional values," and I realize that to many of them King and Schultz are "favorite sons," and local boys done good. And in spite of how vehemently I've written here, I don't want to create any animosity or make any personal attack on Schultz. I'm sure he holds all of his beliefs as sincerely as I hold mine and I even imagine that he doesn't see the ITR or any other Committee or group with the experience that Clarence did, so he doesn't see anything wrong with taking their money. They're a means to an ends and the ends is just a means by which to fight for his "values." But I just had to vent, so I did it here. So here it is.

People accuse Liberals of being "elitist" snobs who think we're all better than everybody else. That's because we think things all the way through and don't oversimplify them into their most base black-and white forms. Here's what I mean; no one is "pro-abortion." I value life and love babies, but the fact is that when more restrictions are put on abortions, then abortion rates rise. The Bible may disallow homosexuality, but the Constitution guarantees equal treatment under the law, and Jesus cavorted with tax collectors and prostitutes, not religious and political leaders. And Latinos come here for jobs and a better way of life, not to dilute or undermine traditional white Anglo-Saxon Protestant society. We should investigate employers who offer them jobs at bellow minimum wage with no benefits under the table so they don't have to withhold FICA and Social Security taxes. If we don't reach out to them in their native Spanish language, we increase things like TB and other diseases among them, and increase their crime rates and decrease their literacy rates. That makes them more of a drag on our society, not less of one.

Thinking things through is not bad, and it's not snobby or elitist.

Sigh. Enough ranting. I need to finish yearbook pages, order supplies, maybe even write a real column or draw a cartoon. Isn't there anyone else in Western Iowa who can see how short-sighted our supposed representatives are?

Steve King endorsed Jason Schultz; THAT ought to tlll you something- VOTE for Don Friedrichsen

I don't know what our problem is that we can't seem to get a Democrat to run for the Iowa House of Representatives here in District 55. Just too dang "red," I guess.

-Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

I for one believe that whoever replaces outgoing Clarence Hoffman needs to focus on the needs of rural, Western Iowa. They should support small schools and encourage economic development in this part of the state.

-Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

One Republican candidate thinks he should concentrate on amending the state constitution to ban gay marriages and abortion and denying rights to anyone for whom English is a second language. And he's obviously got plenty of money to put up huge signs all over the countryside to make sure people have enough name-recognition to check off his name when they vote in the primary June 3.

-PLEASE Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

While I'm not in the habit of using this very progressive blog to further the fortunes of Republicans, I'd feel neglectful if I failed to draw at least a little attention to that candidate's opponent, Don Friedrichsen. If you haven't figured it out yet, I want to give HIM some free name recognition if I could. Notice, I never name the other guy.

-Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

Don C. Friedrichsen (Republican)- for district 55

He is a farmer and active school board member in his 14th year on the local school board and in his 9th year on the Iowa Association of School Boards. He is from Holstien.

www.idacountycourier.com/site/ - Published on: 8/1/2003

Don Friedrichsen The 56-year-old has been farming crops and livestock since 1971. He and wife Linda are the parents of three children, Alan, a partner in the family farm operation; Mary, a marketing coordinator for DTN in Omaha, Neb.; and Dale, a partner in the family farm operation.

In addition to farming and his school board position, Friedrichsen is a member of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Holstein, the Holstein American Legion, Ida County Cattlemen's Association Board of Directors, Beef Promotions of Iowa Board of Directors, Ida County Pork Producers, Ida County Farm Bureau, Iowa Association of School Boards Board of Directors and Iowa Schools Joint Investment Trust Board of Trustees.

He is also the Ida County Legion treasurer and Ida County Fair swine superintendent.

"The youth of today is our future. Having been on the school board for three terms, I hope that my influence has made the education of our youth a more rewarding experience for them. Sometimes being a member of the school board has been frustrating for me; however, seeing young people achieve can be a very rewarding experience. These are the experiences that you build upon," said Friedrichsen.