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Isn't it nice that the governor has already made the choice for you?
Branstad: Kim Reynolds is 'next in line to be governor' http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20140131/NEWS09/301310150/1056/news05
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Thanks to all the great folks in Sac County! The petitioning is done there, and we have more than twice the number of signatures needed!
Thanks to all the great folks here in Calhoun County! The petitioning is done, and we have more than twice the number of signatures needed!
Thanks to all the great folks up in Buena Vista County! The petitioning is done there, and we have more than twice the number of signatures needed!
Thanks to all the great folks up in Palo Alto County! The petitioning is done there, and we have more than twice the number of signatures needed!
"But though this be a state of liberty, yet it is not a state of license; though man in that state have an uncontrollable liberty to dispose of his person or possessions, yet he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession, but where some nobler use than its bare preservation calls for it. The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it, which obliges every one, and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions; for men being all the workmanship of one omnipotent and infinitely wise Maker; all the servants of one sovereign Master, sent into the world by His order and about His business; they are His property, whose workmanship they are made to last during His, not one another's pleasure. And, being furnished with like faculties, sharing all in one community of Nature, there cannot be supposed any such subordination among us that may authorise us to destroy one another, as if we were made for one another's uses, as the inferior ranks of creatures are for ours. Every one as he is bound to preserve himself, and not to quit his station willfully, so by the like reason, when his own preservation comes not in competition, ought he as much as he can to preserve the rest of mankind, and not unless it be to do justice on an offender, take away or impair the life, or what tends to the preservation of the life, the liberty, health, limb, or goods of another."
-- John Locke, Second Treatise, An Essay Concerning the True Original Extent and End of Civil Government radioiowa.com
Representatives of the propane industry warn if temperatures don’t go up and demand doesn’t go down soon, Midwest propane supplies actually may run out. Jeff LaPan is an account manager for a Minnesota company that sells propane on the wholesale market in Iowa. He says last week Midwesterners used about 1.2 million barrels of propane and there’s about 5 million barrels left in storage in the region. “At that pace, we potentially could run out of propane…sometime potentially mid- to the end of February,” La Pan says. “It’s a potential.” LaPan testified Monday afternoon before a group of lawmakers in Des Moines, many of whom are hearing horror stories from families who’re using space heaters and closing off sections of their homes to try to deal with the high price of propane, plus the shortage of supply. LaPan told legislators a combination of factors led to this year’s shortage — the shutdown of a key pipeline, below-average supplies on October 1st, higher demand for propane to dry the 2013 harvest and higher demand from homeowners due to frigid temperatures. Read this story at radioiowa.com ... "To claim a right to 'decide' whether or not some individual, or class of individuals, should be protected, is to deny the unalienable, God-given nature of our rights, the basis for the American claim to liberty, the cornerstone for the rule of law, the very raison d'etre of human government, according to our founders: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men...'"
-- Tom Hoefling "Without justice being freely, fully, and impartially administered, neither our persons, nor our rights, nor our property, can be protected. And if these, or either of them, are regulated by no certain laws, and are subject to no certain principles, and are held by no certain tenure, and are redressed, when violated, by no certain remedies, society fails of all its value; and men may as well return to a state of savage and barbarous independence."
-- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833 “Crony Capitalism” is, in fact, socialism.
“Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on. All these plans as a whole — with their common aim of legal plunder — constitute socialism. Now, since under this definition socialism is a body of doctrine, what attack can be made against it other than a war of doctrine? If you find this socialistic doctrine to be false, absurd, and evil, then refute it. And the more false, the more absurd, and the more evil it is, the easier it will be to refute. Above all, if you wish to be strong, begin by rooting out every particle of socialism that may have crept into your legislation. This will be no light task.” — Frederic Bastiat, the Law, 1850 “Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catchphrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let man label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country -- hold up your head! You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
- Mark Twain h/t to Guy Stevenson "Tom Hoefling is a Hard-Core Conservative." -- OnTheIssues.org 
Iowans for Local Control
Shane Vander Hart I had a Eastern Iowa resident contact me last week to discuss a tele-townhall he participated in with Governor Terry Branstad. He said he was asked about the Common Core and Branstad replied, “I rejected the Common Core.” During his press conference on Monday when he discussed progress made on the education reform package passed last year. Branstad said he’s “tried to make it extremely clear that Iowa has our own standards…” Yes we have the Iowa Core which consists of math, English language arts, social studies, science, and 21st Century learning skills. During the Iowa House Education Committee meeting Rosie Hussey, the president of the Iowa State Board of Education and Dr. Brad Buck, director of the Iowa Department of Education, shared a presentation on the Iowa Core and Common Core and indicated that for Iowa’s math and ELA standards, Iowa has added 15%, but Common Core is the base. So 85% of our standards were written by outside groups. If you read through Governor Branstad’s executive order there is no rejection of the Common Core. Read this very important story at iowansforlocalcontrol.com ... Branstad opens budget negotiations with Dems with 7.8 percent, half BILLION dollar increase1/23/2014 So, Governor Branstad has decided to OPEN negotiations with the Democrats over the budget this year with a 7.8% increase, to over seven BILLION dollars. That's half a BILLION dollars more than last year. Senate leader Mike Gronstal thinks this is a "good, solid bipartisan agenda."
What say you, Iowa conservatives? http://www.statebudgetsolutions.org/publications/detail/branstad-proposes-record-7-billion-state-general-fund-budget 
Tom Hoefling Candidate Statement to
2014 Iowa Caucus Attendees: Welcome to the 2014 Caucus! My name is Tom Hoefling, and I’m from Lohrville, in Calhoun County. I’m running for governor because I believe that Iowa Republicans deserve to have a choice in the June 3rd primary election, a conservative choice. After all, the word “election” means “choice.” I have a proven track record of more than twenty years of consistently fighting for the bedrock principles upon which republicanism rests, across Iowa, and across the nation. In brief, I support Representative Tom Shaw’s House file 138, which will ban abortion and restore equal protection to all persons in our state. I defend one man-one woman marriage and believe that any judge who exceeds his authority must be removed. I fully support the passage of Constitutional Carry legislation, and oppose any law or regulation that in any way infringes on our God-given right to keep and bear arms. I strongly oppose Common Core. It must die. In fact, we must go even further and restore true local control of our schools, which means, of course, restoring control of our education dollars to parents and local taxpayers. And last, I believe that real economic development can only occur with public policies that equally protect and benefit all Iowans, not just a favored few. I offer our Unity Platform to you as a principled, practical, concise alternative to the party platform of recent years, a document which has become too convoluted to be as useful as it should be in holding our elected officials to account. For Iowa, for America, for our Posterity, Tom Hoefling 2014 Republican Candidate for Iowa Governor www.tomhoefling.com Tom Hoefling/Rep. Tom Shaw 2014 Iowa GOP Unity Platform ________________________________________ As Iowa Republicans we hereby declare our unity in firm support of these non-negotiable principles and purposes: • We're one nation under God, and our rights come from God, not men. • The first sworn duty of every officer of government is to equally protect every individual person’s God-given, unalienable rights to life, liberty, and private property, from creation to natural death. • The God-ordained institution of one man-one woman marriage must be preserved. • The right of the people to Keep and Bear Arms shall not be infringed. • Our national sovereignty, security, and borders must be defended. • Our republican form of representative self-government must be upheld. • The sacred oath of office to support and defend our Constitution must be fulfilled. In order to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, we strongly urge our fellow Iowans, and all Americans, to make this platform their own, and to henceforth hold all political leaders, regardless of party, strictly accountable to it. Iowa GOP chairman makes up his own rules for who he thinks can run in a Republican Primary Election1/19/2014 Is the Iowa GOP violating its own rules by excluding Tom Hoefling and openly endorsing/promoting Terry Branstad? Rank and file Iowa Republican files complaint with state committee. Iowa GOP chairman A.J. Spiker responds. Tom Hoefling responds to Spiker's assertions. Eric Durbin of Indianola: Continued violation of the Republican Party Consitution Article VI - 5 Dear State Central Committee members, I'm deeply disappointed that the Republican Party of Iowa has chosen to exclusively promote a candidate in a contested primary race in clear violation of the Republican Party of Iowa Constitution, Article VI – Property, Records, and Personal Responsibility, #5 which states: "The Republican Party of Iowa shall not use any resources to include, but not limited to, the use of funds obtained in any way, the use of the name of The Republican Party of Iowa on mailers, emails, press releases, or any campaign materials of any kind, the use of nonprofit mailing status, lists, or staff, for the benefit of any Republican candidate in contested primary or caucus races." In addition to the email sent out by our chairman as discussed here: http://www.tomhoefling.com/8/post/2014/01/the-iowa-gop-violates-own-rules-by-endorsing-gubernatorial-candidate-two-months-before-the-primary-filing-deadline.html The Iowa GOP Facebook and twitter pages are exclusively promoting the Branstad-Reynolds team as "Iowa's Team" and only posting information about their campaign while ignoring other candidates who declared a month prior in December 2013 and were mentioned in state political media like theiowarepublican.com listed here: http://theiowarepublican.com/2013/branstad-latham-draw-longshot-primary-challengers/ When this was brought to the attention of personnel operating the Iowa GOP facebook page by Wm Luke Priest(https://www.facebook.com/belikebunce?hc_location=stream), they apoligized and claimed they were not aware another candidate was running, but then immediately deleted that message and the activity has since continued. I replied with the announcement of the candidate 1 month prior. I'm discouraged that the Iowa GOP leadership has chosen to ignore other entrants into the primary race and don't even have a mere mention of them on the party's social media. The party appears to have annointed their selection without so much as a debate, bypassing all participation from the public. If we're going to ignore our party's Constitution then what is the purpose of even having one? Should we not be inclusive of all members who wish to participate and encourage an open primary discussion? If the Republican Party of Iowa is going to make their selection and anoint a nominee without the input of its participants then I'm wasting my time as a volunteer. I hope you'll reconsider violating the parties by-laws in the future and give equal time, or at least a mere mention that there are other parties in the race, as we have 2 declared candidates and still have 2 months before any candidate can even file officially. Thanks, Eric Durbin Chairman Spiker responds to Eric Burbin, the State Central Committee, and to Tom Hoefling: Eric et, al. The Republican Party of Iowa has not violated its bylaws. I talk with potential primary candidates every day and the majority of them never file papers or obtain the required signatures to become a Republican Party of Iowa primary candidate. After the primary filing period, the Republican Party of Iowa will know what seats if any have a contested primary. Given Mr. Hoefling being an officer of a national 3rd party organization as recent as 1/11/14, its a total non-starter for me to consider Mr. Hoefling as a legitimate challenger in a contested Republican primary. I would be glad to talk to you by phone if you would like further discuss this matter 5154503110 cell. #1 Mr. Hoefling is an officer of a non-Republican national political party or third party organization registered with the Federal Election Commission. Americas Party Treasurer Tom Hoefling filed and signed an FEC Report as Treasurer as recent as January 11, 2014 (see below). This report was filed by Americas Party Treasurer Tom Hoefling after Mr. Hoefling announced his intent to attempt to challenge Governor Branstad in the Republican Party Primary. #2 There is not yet a contested Republican primary for Governor or other offices. After the filing period, the Republican Party of Iowa will know what seats if any are contested. Look at very bottom of this Federal Election Commission report for proof of national 3rd party officer status. FEC FORM 3XREPORT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTSFor Other Than An Authorized Committee FILING FEC-8997171. America's Party PO Box 77 Lohrville, Iowa 514530316 2. FEC Committee ID #: C004510963. This committee has NOT qualified as a multicandidate committee (see FEC Form 1M)4. Report Type = YEAR-ENDFiled: 01/11/2014SUMMARY PAGE DETAILED SUMMARY PAGE Tom Hoefling responds to Chairman Spiker:
Mr. Spiker, et al, 1. You apparently lack knowledge of FEC rules. There are various levels of filings possible for national political committees. America's Party has never sought nor obtained FEC recognition of status as a national political party. It is federally recognized as a committee, and nothing more. 2. Whether or not I can make the ballot should not be your concern. Anyone who is legally qualified to do so can gather the signatures and file by March 14th. Not just me. 3. I meet all of the legal criteria to run in the Republican primary. You have no say in the matter. My other political associations besides my registration as an Iowa Republican may concern you as an individual voter, perhaps, but, as party chairman, it is presumptuous of you to make up criteria or credentials for running that are not part of the Iowa Code, or the Republican Party's own rules, or to arbitrarily, capriciously, make decisions that are best left to the rank and file members of the Iowa GOP and the voters at large. Let them decide if they think our experiments of recent years in how to best fix this horribly broken political system matter to them, or not. You seem to have not really looked at what America's Party is, at the fundamental, principled, or practical level. It is not in any way a standard so-called "third party." It is in fact nothing more than an expression of crucial core American principles, devised for the purpose of helping the people of this country rise above party factionalism to principle, as our wise first president, in his Farewell Address, told us we must do - and to then give them the practical means to help restore leadership and accountability among our elected representatives. It raises no money, on purpose, and makes its political decisions about who to support based solely on principle, not party affiliation. And, the fact is, almost all of our endorsed candidates across the country, and here in Iowa, have continued to run as Republicans, with some success. In closing, I would suggest that you, and every GOP leader, read the AP platform. I challenge you to point out anything at all there that is not rock-solid Reagan Republicanism, straight up the middle of mainstream Republican thought and belief. So much so that I can make a strong case that the Iowa Republican Party, and the National GOP, would be extremely well-served by adopting the AP platform as its own. Or, even better, for maximum clarity's sake, they could run candidates and campaigns based on the abbreviated 100-word, seven plank version that I am running for governor on. (See below.) Then, maybe, the Grand Old Party could once again be recognized by We the People as "America's party," as it was throughout so much of our republic's history. Just a thought. Sincerely, Tom Hoefling 2014 Candidate for Iowa Governor http://www.tomhoefling.com/platform.html Tom Hoefling's 2014 Iowa GOP Unity Platform As Iowa Republicans we hereby declare our unity in firm support of these non-negotiable political principles and purposes: We're one nation under God, and our rights come from God, not men. The first sworn duty of every officer of government is to equally protect every individual person’s God-given, unalienable rights to life, liberty, and private property, from creation to natural death. The God-ordained institution of one man-one woman marriage must be preserved. The right of the people to Keep and Bear Arms shall not be infringed. Our national sovereignty, security, and borders must be defended. Our republican form of representative self-government must be upheld. The sacred oath of office to support and defend our Constitution must be fulfilled. In order to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, we strongly urge our fellow Iowans, and all Americans, to make this platform their own, and to henceforth hold all political leaders, regardless of party, strictly accountable to it. Alan Keyes explains why Okla. marriage decision is 'legalistic deception'
WND Alan Keyes “We hold these truths to be self-evident … that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. …” (U.S. Declaration of Independence) “But if there are certain actions that all human beings are obliged by lawful authority to undertake, then as all are under the same obligation all may invoke the authority of that obligation to justify their action, to prove that it is right. With all justly claiming the same authority to act, all have the right to do so. The ‘rights that everyone has’ are therefore connected with the duties and obligations imposed upon them by the law to which they are all subjected.” (my column “Legalizing homosexual marriage impairs unalienable right”) Most of my thinking about the crisis of America’s liberty has been predicated upon the evident fact that a substantial portion of America’s elite has rejected the fundamental premise of liberty and justice in the United States. There is no mystery about that premise. It was clearly articulated in the words with which the American people, as such, stepped onto the stage of history. As stated in the words of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, quoted above, this premise has been at the heart of all the various struggles for justice and right that have advanced the true cause of liberty for people in the United States, as individuals and as a nation. The Declaration’s logic provides the rational foundation for America’s institutions of government, including the Constitution of the United States. At its core, that logic depends on three essential concepts: self-evident truth, the existence and authority of the Creator, and the Creator’s endowment of unalienable rights, vested in every individual included in the name of humanity. The elitists’ push to legalize, and forbid disapproval of, homosexual relations is the most telling evidence of their hostility toward America’s way of life. It is also the key, in principle, to their thus far successful strategy to overthrow America’s historically exceptional government of, by, and for the people; and to restore unchallenged rule by and for the advantage of, the most powerful elitist clique. The latest case in point is the ruling of U.S. District Judge Terrence C. Kern regarding same-sex marriage, overturning the amendment by which Oklahomans restricted the State’s recognition of marriage to heterosexual couples. Though the decision contained nothing new, both its content and the manner in which it was argued by both sides illustrate the deadly legal chicanery by which the elitist faction means to dissolve the moral, legal and institutional basis for just government, i.e., government aimed at securing the God-endowed unalienable rights of the people. Nowhere in his judgment does Judge Kern refer to this fundamental purpose of government. This omission is the key to understanding the deadly legalistic deception his decision carries on. So is the fact that he pretends to talk about rights, but ignores the special natural prerogative that gives rise to the institution of marriage. He pretends to see no rational basis for restricting the legal recognition of marriage to couples that are, in principle, capable of natural procreation. (In principle, means, of course, with respect to their God-endowed nature as human beings, not their incidental circumstances or intentions.) Yet the unalienable right of marriage depends on the special prerogative (natural command or rule of the Creator) of procreation. Members of a same-sex couple cannot humanly procreate with one another in the natural way. So they have no basis on which to claim the right rationally connected with the special prerogative of procreation. Judge Kern purports to discuss natural procreation, but he omits to discuss its connection with natural right. Read this story at WND.com ... "I welcome Governor Branstad to the Republican gubernatorial primary race, and look forward to a respectful, but thorough, public debate about core conservative, republican principles, and the public policies that will determine whether or not our children and grandchildren live in a free, secure, and prosperous state and nation."
-- Tom Hoefling Wm Luke Priest, on the Iowa GOP facebook page:
Today I received an email from Chairman Spiker on behalf of the Iowa GOP with the following statement... "We're proud to work alongside Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds to ensure their re-election this November." This email is a blatant violation of the Republican State Central Committee of Iowa Bylaws, Article VI 6! "The Republican Party of Iowa shall not use any resources to include, but not limited to, the use of funds obtained in any way, the use of the name of The Republican Party of Iowa on mailers, emails, press releases, or any campaign materials of any kind, the use of nonprofit mailing status, lists, or staff, for the benefit of any Republican candidate in contested primary or caucus races." We are still 39 days from the official opening of the Primary Election cycle, not to mention 39 days [editor's note: the number is actually 58 days] from the Primary filing deadline, and there is at least one other serious declared candidate in the Governor's primary election for the Republican ticket. That makes this a Contested Primary Election. Chariman A.J. Spiker, how do you intend to rectify this misconduct? How will you prevent this kind of action in the future to guarantee fair and open primary elections going forward? Do you intend to issue a formal apology to Thomas Hoefling and any of the other candidates who have declared their intent to compete in the Republican Primary Governor's election? Isn't this the same kind of discrimination that you complained the RNC was guilty of with Ron Paul and other primary candidates for the Presidential Nomination in 2012? I have every confidence that this issue will be addressed quickly and correctly. KCRG-TV9
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Math and reading scores have dropped for Iowa's fourth- and eighth-grade students. The Des Moines Register reported that fourth- and eighth-grade reading scores declined by 5.4 percentage points and 8.5 percentage points, respectively, from the 2009-11 period to the 2011-13 period. Read this story at the Corralville Courier ... |
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