Letter for Rob Hubler

...The current financial crisis our country is facing has also caused many voters to contemplate how fortunate we are that Congress rejected the call by George Bush, and supported by Steve King, to privatize our Social Security system. Imagine the billions of dollars that would have evaporated if they had succeeded in turning our trust funds over to the Wall Street speculators. I will make sure voters know that I will fight to make sure their Social Security funds will be there for them.

As word spreads about the Republican Party turning their backs on ethanol production, and their opposition to the farm bill, many loyal GOP supporters have told me that they will be voting for me this time around. Our rural communities have a huge stake in the continued production of ethanol and wind energy to create good jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. On this issue, as with so many others, voters have a clear choice between Steve King and myself.

I have accepted an invitation to participate in a candidate forum to be broadcast statewide by Iowa Public Radio on Oct. 30th. Thus far, Steve King has refused to defend his record in Congress and it will be interesting to see if he dodges this event. Regardless, I intend to continue letting voters know of the stark differences in our two approaches to representing the people of the 5th district...

Peace and justice,
Rob L. Hubler

Visit Hubler for Congress

Who are your choices?

Rob Hubler is a passionate progressive with lifetime roots in western Iowa’s vast fifth congressional district. He is a retired Presbyterian minister, a Navy veteran who served on submarines, a teacher of severely disabled children, and has experience working for both Dick Clark and Tom Harkin. He is a candidate that Iowans of any party can be proud to have as their representative—a serious, competent, compassionate public servant with a lifetime of service to his country and his fellow citizens.


Steve King, on the other hand, is an extreme right-winger, who shamelessly defends the dishonesty of the Bush administration and has lined his pockets with special-interest group and lobbyist money. Like Bush and Cheney, and other "chickenhawks," he never served in the military himself.He's pretty well liked and firmly entrenched in Iowa's fifth as a home town boy. He wants to deport the widows and orphans of legal immigrants and is a chief proponent of building an actual wall along the US-Mexican border, of course offering contracts to build it to his son's construction company. King said the events of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse "amounts to hazing." He's disrupted House Judiciary committee meetings on torture and the politicization of the Justice Department. He's even said that terrorists will dance in the streets if America elects a Black man president.

To find out more about Rob, visit http://www.hublercongress.com/home.html

To find out even more about Steve, visit http://www.kingwatch.org

The Fifth District in play?

Editorial, The Storm Lake Times, July 5, 2008
The Fifth District in play?
By Art Cullen

Four years ago, John Kerry led George Bush in the Iowa presidential voting 52-48% until the Fifth Congressional District phoned in. Bush won Iowa as a result. The reason? The state and national Democratic political apparatus wrote off Western Iowa because it was too conservative, by the numbers.

The Obama campaign does not intend to give up any ground with its 50-state strategy. Iowa is among the top swing states targeted by the Illinois Democrat. Winning the rural vote will be a key to his success, and unlocking the Fifth District is essential to that victory.

We’re told by the Obama camp that it will push to win the Fifth District. It may sound far-fetched, but Democrats Berkley Bedell and Tom Harkin proved that a progressive with common sense can win in Western Iowa.

The conservative Christian base of the Republican Party that prevails in these quarters is not energized by GOP standard bearer John McCain as it was with Bush. It’s possible that turnout could be muted in November among this key voting bloc. Obama also has been attempting to reach out to evangelicals with some success.

We were stunned with the level of organization the Obama campaign put into gear in Buena Vista County for the caucuses. That sort of organization will be on the ground this fall. Since McCain largely avoided Iowa, he does not have the same number of foot soldiers committed to the cause.

We could see Obama carrying the Fifth by winning Dickinson, Clay, Buena Vista, Carroll, Woodbury, Pottawattamie and Cherokee counties. That’s where the population is, and that’s where the most independent voters are. He might be able to compete in Crawford and O’Brien counties.

These places view ethanol in particular and the bioeconomy in general as important stepping stones into the future. Obama, by virtue of being from Illinois, is far more well-versed on the topic than McCain, who opposes ethanol subsidies.

An Obama win here is a long-shot. But McCain cannot take it for granted. If the Arizona senator wants to win Iowa, he will need to show up in Storm Lake, Spencer, Carroll, Denison and Spirit Lake to defend what should be his turf — and not just make the Sioux City airport stop. That’s going to be tough as he tries to play defense in the Rocky Mountain states and Deep South where Obama intends to bring his considerable resources to bear.

Republican despondence also may be a threat to incumbent Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron. Scoff if you will, but again recall that Harkin defeated incumbent Bill Scherle and Bedell knocked off incumbent Wiley Mayne in the post-Watergate landslide. The atmospherics may be similar this year.

STEVE KING GIVES NO EXPLANATION FOR NOT SUPPORTING IOWA GUARD...

http://www.hublercongress.com
Press Release: Monday, April 21 2008

Rob Hubler, Democratic candidate for Iowa's Fifth Congressional District, says the incumbent, Steve King, is obligated to elaborate on why he refused to sign a letter asking Congress' Armed Services Committees that the head of the National Guard Bureau become part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. King is the only Iowa lawmaker in Washington whose name is not on the request.

"Now we in the Fifth District can lay claim to having the only member of the state's delegation refuse to support the brave men and women who chose to serve in Iowa's National Guard not to mention overseas in Iraq, Hubler said.

The only statement the incumbent gave for not signing on to the request is his belief that Democrats do not support U.S. troops.

"He has got to do better than just use an extreme talking point that is untrue and worn out," Hubler said." " you want to really represent the people of western Iowa, including those who wear the uniform of our armed forces, you must give a more detailed reason for such an irresponsible decision. And by the way, where is his criticism of fellow Republican lawmakers Tom Latham and Chuck Grassley who understand this is an issue that transcends party lines?"

Furthermore, this is not even an issue over the war in Iraq, it is a policy issue over the inner workings of a government office and making it more efficient," Hubler added. "This is to ensure that Iowa's guardsmen and women have a voice with the other military branches and that they receive the benefits promised to them for enlisting. As the next Representative of Iowa's Fifth District, I will bring Real Representation to those who served or are actively serving our great nation."

Hubler is a Vietnam-era veteran of the U.S. Navy.