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Boswell drops lawsuit against former foe

January 21, 2013 By

Former Congressman Leonard Boswell has dropped his lawsuit against the man who challenged him in a 2008 Democratic primary. 

In late September Boswell filed a defamation lawsuit against former state Representative Ed Fallon of Des Moines. Boswell said Fallon “told an untruth” when alleging Boswell’s staff had offered him an $80,000 job if Fallon would not run against Boswell. Boswell has issued a written statement, saying “there is little point in continuing with the litigation and having a spectacle occur to clear (his) name as (Boswell) will not be seeking elected office in the future.” Boswell said he knows the truth “and that is good enough for me at this point.”

Fallon, who raised about $4000 in contributions to pay for his legal defense, sent an email to supporters saying: “it feels good to be able to put this behind (him).” Fallon countered that “Boswell’s decision to drop the case is affirmation that (Fallon) was telling the truth.” Fallon has said his ex-wife was present when the offer of a job in Boswell’s congressional office was discussed.

Fallon urged Democrats not to vote for Boswell this past November and, instead, to write-in the name of Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie instead.  Boswell lost his bid for reelection to Republican Congressman Tom Latham of Clive.

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Iowa congressional delegation splits on “fiscal cliff” deal

January 2, 2013 By

Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation split on party lines in last night’s vote to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff of tax hikes and budget cuts. All three Iowa House Democrats voted for the measure while both Republicans opposed it.

Earlier in the day, at about 2 o’clock in the morning, Iowa’s two U.S. senators voted against the legislation. Democrat Tom Harkin and Republican Chuck Grassley said “no” to the measure. Senator Grassley says President Obama has made his position obvious.

“Already in addition to what was passed yesterday, the president has made it clear he wants to raise taxes even more,” Grassley said this morning during a telephone conference call with Iowa reporters. “You can’t raise taxes high enough to satisfy the appetite of Washington to spend money.”

According to Grassley, strong presidential leadership is what the nation needs, to bring about what Grassley calls fiscal restraint.

“Everybody knows the problem is spending,” Grassley said. “Because, raise all the taxes the president wants and it only takes care of about 10% of our annual deficit of over a trillion dollars. We’ve got a spending problem, not a taxing problem.”

It’s a “fiscal farce,” according to Grassley, to raise taxes and hurt economic growth only to fuel more government spending with record deficits and debt. The New Hartford native said President Obama focused on raising taxes and failed to put Washington on a new path toward “fiscal discipline.”

“If he wants to make history and have a legacy, then it would be nice to have presidential leadership in helping us solve this spending problem, the deficit problem and in particular, with the 44% of the spending that is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, bring that to the table,” Grassley said. 

Senator Harkin says the deal fails to address the nation’s number one problem: creating good, middle class jobs.

“It’s just absolutely the wrong direction for our country,” Harkin said during a speech on the Senate floor.”

Harkin particularly objects to another temporary extension of unemployment benefits, while making the tax rates permanent.

“We’re going to lock in forever the idea that $450,000 a year is middle class in America. What have we forgotten? Have we forgotten that average income earners in America are making $25,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000, $60,000 a year?” Harkin said. “That’s the real middle class in America and they’re the ones that are getting hammered right now.”

According to  Harkin, the “real” middle class isn’t helped by this deal.

“Quite frankly, as I’ve said before, ‘No deal is better than a bad deal,’” Harkin said. “And this looks like a very bad deal.”

In the House, Democrats Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell all voted “yes” on the measure, while Republicans Tom Latham and Steve King voted “no.” Democrat Braley, in a written statement, said: “The legislation would cut taxes for over 99 percent of Iowans, help keep food and milk prices low by renewing the Farm Bill for nine months, encourage Iowa investment by extending the wind energy production tax credit, help more children find loving homes by permanently extending the adoption tax credit, keep doctors practicing in Iowa by preventing a cut in Medicare reimbursements, and reduce the cost of college tuition for Iowa families. For the first time in 20 years, Congress will have acted on a bipartisan basis for significant new revenue, resulting in the most progressive tax code in decades.” 

Republican Latham said in a written statement: “The White House-Senate compromise contains some good provisions I agree with, such as preventing massive tax hikes on most families and finally making the cuts permanent, extending the farm bill, and maintaining the wind energy tax credit. However, it lacks a critical component: necessary spending cuts to address our exploding debt. Our $3.5 trillion budget is and will continue to be our primary fiscal obstacle.”

(Additional reporting from Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)

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Iowa Air Guard’s F16 mission to end

December 19, 2012 By

And Iowa F16 being flown by the Iowa National Guard during a mission in Afghanistan.

At least three Iowa congressman will vote against a bill that would close the F16 fighter jet unit in Des Moines.

The Pentagon estimates 32 people will lose their jobs at the Iowa Air Guard base in Des Moines. Congressman Tom Latham, a Republican from Clive, says the part-time guard unit’s more efficient than the full-time military.

“We’re going to need these planes. It’s just a matter if they’re in active duty or in guard facilities,” Latham says.

“The problem is this one unit, basically, for F16s is being singled out and theyvre got, you know, the highest record, the best record of any unit in the entire country.”

Iowa’s congressional delegation had worked together to insert language in previous bills that would have kept the unit operating. The closure is now included in a massive defense spending bill that is expected to pass the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” Latham says. “This is not the decision, certainly, that we had worked for and hoped for, for so long.”

The 21 F16 jets based out of Des Moines were slated for retirement within eight years. The Pentagon plans to have the Des Moines unit control and fly unmanned drones overseas. Latham isn’t sure the current staff who’re there will retrain for drone duty, or be moved to other bases.

“It’s going to be an entirely different mission,” Latham says. “Whether those people, the same people will be able to transfer over to a new mission — it’s going to be very, very difficult and we want to make sure that if, in fact, that is the case there’s give adequate training and the ability for those folks to continue to serve.”

Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the Pentagon has not justified the closure and he will vote against the entire defense spending bill in protest. Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says he is “likely” to vote no.

“Not only because of the very disturbing decision about eliminating those 21 Iowa National Guard fighter jets at the 132nd fighter wing in Des Moines, but also because of a number of other very important provisions,” Braley says, “including an additional $90 billion for funding of the war in Afghanistan.”

Braley says the bill should have spelled out in more detail the “true cost” of the war in Afghanistan. Braley, though, says the bill does include some important moves, like boosting the base pay for rank-and-file soldiers.

“But this decision that was made about the 132nd Fighter Wing is something every member of the Iowa delegation fought strongly against,” Braley says. “It does not make sense and yet it is a part of the defense authorization bill and one of the reasons I will probably vote against it.”

Congressmen Leonard Boswell of Des Moines and Steve King of Kiron have not publicly indicated how they intend to vote.

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Boswell bids a “fond farewell” to service in U.S. House (AUDIO)

December 13, 2012 By

Colleagues of Congressman Leonard Boswell held a tribute to him today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Hadn’t planned on this all coming to this kind of a closure, but it’s caused me to reflect back over life and I feel very blessed,” Boswell said.

Boswell’s 16-year tenure in the U.S. House is coming to an end, as he lost his bid for reelection.

“I have a regret: I’m sorry my mother couldn’t have heard this discussion today,” Boswell said, drawing laughter from the other members of congress who were on the House floor.

Boswell, a Democrat, will celebrate his 79th birthday on January 10th.

“I started out in a tenant farmhouse,” Boswell said. “…But look what I’ve gotten to do…when we talk about the American dream and the opportunities that exist in America.”

Boswell was drafted at the age of 22 and served in the Army for 20 years. Congressman Bruce Braley of Waterloo said Boswell is “too modest” to talk about the two Distinguished Flying Crosses he was awarded for flying helicopter rescue missions in Vietnam.

“Leonard has always been a strong advocate for military families,” Braley said. “He has a lot of proud achievements in this body, but Leonard to me your proudest moment was when the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act was passed in the House, passed in the Senate and signed into law by the president.”

Congressman Steve King of Kiron said Boswell had a “noble and brave” career in the military.

“Everybody that he served with didn’t come back, but more people came back because of Leonard Boswell and I know that,” King said. “I heard some of those stories because I pulled a few of them out, but it’s not something that’s he’s brought out front. It’s not something that he’s worn on his sleeve. It’s something within the character of the man that sits here with us today.”

Each member of Iowa’s delegation in the House paid tribute to Boswell. Congressman Dave Loebsack of Iowa City praised Boswell’s “distinguished” record of public service.

“We talk about a lot of us being from Iowa, but I often refer to Leonard Boswell as being ‘of Iowa,’” Loebsack said. “He’s an Iowan through and through in every possible way.”

Congressman Braley mentioned the scuffle Boswell had in the summer of 2011 with an armed intruder in his Davis City farmhouse.

“You shrug it off Leonard, but everyone who knows you knows that that outcome of that horrible moment was inevitable,” Braley said, “that truth and justice were going to triumph because you were the one who was there at the right time and the right place.”

Other congressmen from other states offered praise to Boswell during the 40-minute tribute. Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer credited Boswell for bringing a “greater degree of civility” to the House.

“He is a ‘salt of the Earth’ human being,” Hoyer said. “He is someone that the American people, if they knew personally, would say is the kind of person they would want representing them in the congress of the United States.”

Congressman Tom Latham of Clive, the Republican who beat Boswell in November, organized today’s tribute.

“His work on behalf of his constituents has exemplified what Iowans expect of their representatives in congress — someone who is approachable, thoughtful and hard-working,” Latham said.

Former Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle was on hand for the tribute as well. Latham read aloud a few letters from Iowans on the House floor today. Messages that are emailed today to Boswell.Tribute@mail.house.gov will be made part of the official congressional record of the event. 

AUDIO of 41-minute tribute to Congressman Leonard Boswell

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Boswell loses, four other congressmen win (AUDIO)

November 7, 2012 By

Congressman Tom Latham

Iowa voters sent Congressman Leonard Boswell into retirement Tuesday and reelected Iowa’s other four congressmen.

Republican Congressman Tom Latham faced incumbent Democrat Leonard Boswell after Iowa lost one of its five seat in redistricting. Latham told Radio Iowa he won by campaigning on his experience.

“Because we focused I think on the issues …you know you’ve got two incumbents that have voting records for people to compare. We didn’t do personal attacks, but we talked about the issues, the differences that we have,” Latham said. “And I think people will overwhelmingly — when the final numbers are in — show that they sided with us as far as the issues.”

Latham said he hopes President Obama is serious about working  with congress. “I hope that he is serious about sitting down in a constructive way with congress to actually solve the problems, because they are enormous with our debt, with the annual deficits, with the fiscal cliff that we are looking at at the end of the year, the uncertainty that’s in the economy today which is stopping job growth,” Latham said.

 ”We are going to have to pull together. We’re going to have to, like I said, put people before politics and progress before partisanship.”

Congressman Leonard Boswell

Boswell’s long career in politics came to an end with his loss to Latham. The 78-year-old Boswell won his seat in congress in 1996 after previously serving three terms in the Iowa Senate.

“It’s been my honor, my privilege and my thanksgiving to get to live amongst you and serve you for these many, many years,” Boswell told Iowa Democrats gathered in Des Moines.

Boswell operates a farm in Davis City that has been in his family for several generations. He and his wife Dody were married in 1956 and have three children.

“I can’t thank you enough and I can’t thank my wife enough for being right there beside me,” Boswell said to cheers from the crowd.

Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kiron, won a sixth term last night.

“We put together a campaign that reflected Iowa values and the record I have in congress is clear,” King told Radio Iowa, “and I made that clear.”

For the first time since his first congressional campaign in 2002, King debates his Democratic opponent, Christie Vilsack.

“Even though the press didn’t report who was winning those debates, the people that went to them were out talking with each other and it went through the grapevine and I think that all added up, that and a really wonderful volunteer effort,” King said. “And the fundraising that we had came from Iowa and hers came from outside Iowa and all of that makes a difference.”

Vilsack, who was Iowa’s first lady for eight years, declined to do media interviews after the results of the race were known. Sam Roecker, a spokesman for the Vilsack campaign, spoke with Radio Iowa at about midnight.

“Christie is really proud of the race that she ran, as am I,” Roecker said.

Getting King to debate was a victory for democracy, according to Roecker.

“We were running in a district with a Republican advantage, but we kept things close,” Roecker said. “We kept it competitive and I don’t think there is anything that we would change about how we ran this race.”

Iowa’s other two congressmen, both Democrats from eastern Iowa, won reelection. Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, was reelected to a fourth term.

“I think that this result was due to an incredible amount of hard work by people who were very dedicated to electing someone who has a proven ability to work across party lines,” Braley told Radio Iowa, “and is going to bring mature leadership to his job in congress.”

Braley said every race is tough, but this year’s victory is “very rewarding.”

“We took this race very seriously from the beginning,” Braley said. “We knew there were going to be a lot of dynamics with 20 counties, 11,000 square miles and 400,000 new constituents.”

Republican challenger Ben Lange of Independence was making a second attempt to unseat Braley.

“I called Congressman Braley and congratulated him on a hard-fought campaign,” Lange told Radio Iowa. “Obviously he is again elected to the United States Congress and I wished him well and wanted him to know that I meant it.”

Lange credited what he calls “The Obama Machine” for racking up a huge early vote tally for Democrats up and down the ticket, including Braley.

“They did one heck of a job on early voting, getting their supporters out to the polls,” Lange told Radio Iowa. “I think it’s going to be call to action to the Republican Party out there, that if we’re going to compete in eastern Iowa, we have to realize that early voting starts in September and we have to make sure that we ’ve got to make sure we get our supporters out there and play on a  level playing field.”

Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Iowa City, was reelected to a fourth term as well.

“I’m certainly happy with this win, but it’s really a question of now of getting back to work and going back to Washington, D.C and doing what I’ve been doing the last six years and trying to reach across the aisle as best as I can to make sure that we solve the issues of the day, the problems that are facing this country and getting people back to work,” Loebsack told Radio Iowa.

Loebsack moved to Iowa City to run in the new second district.

“This was probably the most challenging since my first election, since 46 percent of the district is new, but I’m very happy that I won Scott County by over nine percent, so I feel very good about that,” Loebsack said.

Loebsack’s Republican opponent, John Archer, is from Bettendorf, which is in Scott County. Archer spoke at an Election Night party in the Quad Cities, but he did not do other media interviews. In a written statement, Archer said he was proud of the campaign his team ran, and hopes Loebsack keeps the promises he made during the campaign to work to end the gridlock in Washington.

AUDIO: Tom Latham election night speech. 4:10

(Additional reporting from Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson, Pat Curtis and Todd Kimm)

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Five Iowa congressmen, four available congressional seats

November 5, 2012 By

Iowa voters will decide tomorrow which four candidates will represent Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next two years.  Iowa currently has five congressmen. Two are facing off in one race, as Iowa lost a seat in congress because of the redistricting that followed the 2010 Census.

The race in Iowa’s first congressional district this year is a rematch from 2010.  Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, beat Republican challenger Ben Lange of Independence by less than two percent in 2010.

“In a way it’s a rematch with a twist, because they’re running in at least partially new territory,” says Bruce Nesmith, a political science professor at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, which is in the new first district.

The old first district covered 12 counties in northeast Iowa, but due to redrawn district lines after the 2010 Census, the new first congressional district covers 20 counties. It stretches from Dubuque to Waterloo and down to Marshalltown. There are 25,000 more Democrats than Republicans in the new district and Nesmith, the political scientist from Coe College, says that’s a challenge for the challenger, Ben Lange.

“He’s less of a fresh face and, having lost once before, there may be less inclination to think that the outcome will be different this time,” Nesmith says.

But the second time was the charm for one long-time Iowa officeholder, as Democrat Tom Harkin ran in 1974 and won a seat in congress after losing in the same western Iowa district in 1972. Lange argues Braley’s vulnerable in 2012 because congress has been “gutless” when it comes to fixing Social Security and Medicare and addressing fiscal problems like the national debt.

“Congress is inept, incompetant,” Lange said last week on Iowa Public Television.

Braley, who is seeking a fourth term, counters that he’s a “mature, hard-working” congressman who’s secured federal aid for flood-damaged cities in the district and saved mail processing facilities in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids.

“We don’t need more name-calling in congress,” Braley said on IPTV.

A Republican attorney is challenging the Democratic incumbent in Iowa’s second congressional district this year.

Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat, moved from Mount Vernon to Iowa City to run in the new second congressional district. It covers 24 southeast Iowa counties and includes the cities of Davenport and Fort Madison on the east and extends west to Ottumwa and Newton.

Republican challenger John Archer has taken a leave of absence from his job as corporate counsel for John Deere to run for the seat. Loebsack’s been running an ad that criticizes Archer for working as a lawyer for “the global division of a corporation” that outsourced jobs.

“I’ve been proud to work at John Deere for the past 12 years, one of Iowa’s largest employers,” Archer said during a recent debate on Iowa Public Television.

Loebsack insists the ad isn’t about John Deere.

“It’s about the NAFTA-style free trade agreements that John supports that I don’t support,” Loebsack said on IPTV in October.

University of Iowa professor Tim Hagle says of the four congressional districts in the state, the new second has the largest voter registration edge for Democrats.

“Even in a redrawn district, it gives Loebsack a bit of an advantage there,” Hagle says.

On November 1, there were over 32,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district. Hagle says the key in this race actually may be the presidential race.

“If Obama ends up taking in Iowa and does so in a fairly convincing fashion, then it should be to Loebsack’s favor in terms of some coattails,” Hagle says. “On the other hand if Mitt Romney manages to then all of sudden get a surge here in Iowa so that he wins, that would give Archer his beat shot at beating Loebsack in a district that’s pretty tough for him.”

Loebsack, a former political science professor at Cornell College, is seeking a fourth term. Archer has won an election before for a seat on the Pleasant Valley School Board.

The race in Iowa’s third congressional district is one of just two in the country that feature two incumbents battling to return for another term in the U.S. House. 

Republican Tom Latham was first elected to congress in 1994. Democrat Leonard Boswell first won his seat in congress back in 1996. Iowa has had five congressmen for the past decade, but after the 2010 Census, the district lines were redrawn — and divided into just four districts.

“Losing a congressional district sort of really re-rolled the dice,” says Creighton university political science professor Richard Witmer.

The two congressmen are running to represent Iowa’s new third district. It covers 16 southwest Iowa counties and includes the cities of Des Moines and Council Bluffs. Witmer says both men have had to use some of their campaign cash to build up their name I.D. in the district.

“Sort of stating that opening case and introducing themselves to new voters, which is not something you would expect an incumbent to do,” Witmer says.

The battle between these two congressmen has been characterized by attack ads as well as some intense verbal jousting during their six debates, like this exchange during a WHO Radio debate last month.

“Congressman Boswell, O. K. You voted for it,” Latham said. “You said…”

Boswell jumped in: “Oh, absolutely, absolutely…”

Latham continued: “You told a group…”

Boswell interjected with another: “Absolutely, but the, uh….”

Latham asked the moderator: “You know, can I be allowed to answer the question, if I may?”

Boswell said: “I don’t want to interrupt you. I don’t want to interrupt you. Go ahead.”

Latham replied: “Well, you have.”

Republicans hold a voter registration edge in the district of about 9,000. There are more than 150,000 independent or “no party” voters in the third district compared to nearly 158,000 Democrats and about 167,000 Republicans.

The 2012 contest in Iowa’s fourth congressional district pits a five-term Republican congressman against a former Iowa first lady. 

Repubican Congressman Steve King and his Democratic challenger, former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, are running in what is geographically the largest of Iowa’s four congressional districts. The new fourth district has 39 counties, with Mason City and Ames along the east side and Denison and Sioux City to the west. The fourth district is also the most heavily-Republican area in the state, with 50,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. John Schmaltz, a political science professor at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, has been following this race.

“You really have two vastly different candidates here,” Schmaltz says. “You have somebody who is really pretty liberal in Christie Vilsack and you have a very conservative candidate in Steve King and this has been identified even nationally by various conservative and liberal groups as one of those races that they want to win.”

The intensity of the race has played out over the airwaves in a barrage of advertising from the candidates and from outside group and in the debates the two participated in this fall.

“He talks a lot, but I hear a lot of talk but no action and frankly..all that talk, some of it is actually offensive to people in Iowa,” Vilsack said in a September debate on WHO Radio.

King responded: “What makes me stay in office is that I’m driven to protect America from the hard-core movement of the left that is undermining the American dream.”

King has not debated a Democratic opponent since his first congressional campaign, in 2002. King and Vilsack met in seven debates this year. 

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Two Iowa congressmen address regrets of campaign

October 23, 2012 By

The two incumbent congressman who’re facing off in this year’s election had their fifth “debate” tonight, and it was contentious. Republican Tom Latham of Clive is seeking a ninth term in congress. Democrat Leonard Boswell of Des Moines is running for an eighth term.

One tense exchange started with Latham saying: “It was my bill, Congressman Boswell.”

Boswell replied: “I know.”

Latham then said to Boswell: “You voted for it, you said…”

At this point Boswell interjected: “Oh, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.”

Latham asked: “Can I be allowed to answer the question, if I may?”

Boswell replied: “Well, I don’t want to interrupt you,” to which Latham said: “Well, you have.”

The debate was broadcast live tonight on WHO Radio and the moderator began by asking the candidates if they regret the tone of the campaign. Latham answered first.

“Congressman Boswell starting running — immediately — very, very negative, personal ads against me, so you have to respond,” Latham said. “What I regret is the fact that we can’t talk about issues, only about personal attacks and I don’t think that’s constructive.”

Boswell said he had to fire after being attacked by outside groups that support Latham.

“Last Christmas over a million dollars was spent — negative — against me before I did anything,” Boswell said. “…Starting in March, before we ever got started, it was getting up to maybe $2 million and so I thought: ‘Well, I have no choice. I’m going to have to fight back.’”

About halfway through the debate, the two quarrelled about tax policy. Latham favors extending the tax cuts passed during George W. Bush’s presidency to all wage-earners. Boswell would vote to have Americans who earn $250,000 a year pay the higher tax rates of the 1990s when Bill Clinton was president.

The two incumbent congressmen were forced to run against one another as Iowa lost one seat in the U.S. House due to the redistricting based on new Census data.

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