Last week's Civic Skinny....WTF Blouin courting (more) republicans?

[Debi]

<snip>

Rumors are flying between Democratic gubernatorial camps regarding bloggers, which insist the other side is having "Internet henchmen" do their dirty work for the campaigns by making allegations that many times are unfounded but passed off as gospel. Chetnotstupid.blogspot.com is, we're told, causing the secretary of state to "see red."

Ed Fallon won a handful of county conventions, but the people who attend these conventions are decidedly more liberal than the normal democratic voter, a source told us. "Winning a precinct caucus where seven people attend per precinct is pretty far from winning when the non-crazies show up," this person said. "If Patty had stayed in the race, he might have had some impact. But she didn't, and he won't. And if (Fallon) tries to pull that 'I'm running as an Independent' crap, he'll be run out of the state."


<snip>

And lastly, if you don't think gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle is sucking up to the Christian conservatives in hope of stimulating the far-right come November, read the second installment of Nussle biting the hand that feeds him. Nussle, you'll recall, kissed off Bill Krause (can he escape press coverage?) by saying he would sign any bill to kill the TouchPlay program after Krause gave him $25,000. Now we've heard that Nussle has dismissed Jim Cownie. Cownie, records show, gave the Congressman $50,000 for his campaign and asked that Nussle simply "consider Libby Jacobs" as his lieutenant governor candidate. Nussle promised Cownie he would. Nussle, however, never even contacted Jacobs, and when Cownie found out and wasn't pleased, Nussle called Cownie and told him he was thinking about asking Bob Vander Plaats to join his ticket, and would Cownie like to weigh in. Only one problem, though. The Vander Plaats announcement had been made public the day before. Cownie, a Republican insider told us, "would never abandon his party," while a Blouin staffer told us, "Jim (Cownie) is in play." CV

<end>

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So Fallon's organizing skills get dismissed AGAIN - Culver's infamous temper gets some play and Blouin ONCE AGAIN plays whichever side he needs to in order to become Iowa's BIG DADDY. :puke:

[rurallib]

1. Could you expand on Jim Cownie?

I am unfamiliar with him. I'll google him, but I bet you have jucier details.
On edit I googled and it didn't help much. Just something about giving money to a "family something group".

[pstans]

2. Cownie was former mayor

of Des Moines or West Des Moines or something.

[Debi]

3. Nah, that's Frank Cownie. n/t

[DU9598]

5. Good move to get Cownie

Cownie did run for DSM mayor in the 90's but got beat by Preston Daniels. Cownie is an old (ie, not crazy) republican. I could certainly see Cownie endorse a Democrat over Nussle. Good move on the part of Blouin. I hope Chet would be making the same moves.

[Debi]

6. I don't think selling out is a good move

I also don't think sticking my nose up Vilsack sycophants asses is a good move either. But that seems to be what Blouin is doing. Just don't cross the man. I hear he holds grudges ;)

D.

P.S. I thought Frank Cownie was a Dem.....and didn't he win the Mayor's race?

[Debi]

4. Go to www.opensecrets.org and see who he's given $$ to (and how much)

Then google the businesses he's been part of.

I don't think there's any juciy gossip about him - just that he is a big pro-business republican. Mike Blouin's kinda guy!


Here's James Cownies recent contributions:

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
NEW HERITAGE/EXECUTIVE
6/30/2005
$5,000
Republican Party of Iowa

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
NEW HERITAGE/EXECUTIVE
6/14/2005
$2,500
Republican Party of Iowa

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
THE MACERICH COMPANY/CHAIRMAN
6/1/2005
$2,500
Natl Assn Real Estate Investment Trusts

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
JSC PROPERTIES/EXECUTIVE
6/17/2005
$2,100
Lamberti, Jeffrey

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
JSC PROPERTIES/EXECUTIVE
6/17/2005
$2,100
Lamberti, Jeffrey

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
JSC PROPERTIES/PRESIDENT
12/9/2005
$1,000
Dix, Bill

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
NEW HERITAGE/EXECUTIVE
3/28/2005
$1,000
Republican Party of Iowa

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
SELF-EMPLOYED/REAL ESTATE
11/22/2005
$1,000
Latham, Tom

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
SELF/REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
6/21/2005
$1,000
Kennedy, Brian

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
JSC PROPERTIES/PRESIDENT
6/29/2005
$500
Dix, Bill

COWNIE, JAMES
DES MOINES,IA 50312
SELF-EMPLOYED/REAL ESTATE
6/15/2005
$250
Latham, Tom

COWNIE, JAMES S
DES MOINES,IA 50312
SELF/REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
6/28/2005
$250
Whalen, Mike

COWNIE, JAMES S
DES MOINES,IA 50312
SELF/REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
9/22/2005
$250
Whalen, Mike

[Counciltucky]

7. To respond to the question in the thread's title...

It's because Blouin IS a Republican.

[Debi]

8. I know - I just got done having the conversation with a Blouin supporter

The 'Culver won't beat Nussle because moderate republicans won't vote for him the way they'll vote for Blouin' conversation. WHAT?

Please tell me the last time a moderate republican voted any way other than republican? (Then again, since Blouin is a republican maybe that's why they'll vote for him...in the primary so Nussle can blow him out of the water in the general). republicans ALWAYS go home, they will ALL vote for Nussle in the general.

Our job is to have a candidate that 'no party' voters can support. A candidate who hasn't lied about their support for women's rights, a candidate who hasn't screwed workers while working with republican groups and then given tax-breaks and forgivable loans to republican companies (and waived the livable wage requirements of those loans) and then claimed to be worker friendly. We need a candidate that won his last election(!) and has won state-wide...TWICE. We need a candidate who, when he talks about being a teacher in the classroom, isn't receiving his IPERS pension and can actually remember some of his lesson plans. We need a YOUNG leader who has NEW ideas and can draw in NEW voters. We don't need a candidate who bullied people who disagree with him, who lies about his record and who supports republicans.

:grr:

[Counciltucky]

9. True...

Besides, no matter who the Democratic candidate is, the GOP will still try and paint him as "too liberal" anyway.