Is any press good press?

Thanks to well-known rabble-rouser/watchdog Nan Stillians, something finally happened in the lackluster Des Moines School Board race last week. Stillians stirred up a minor controversy by circulating an e-mail with comments attributed to candidate Ginny Strong that Strong says are false (a move that could get Stillians in extremely hot water). In response, Stillians attacked a number of others for not doing research to uncover facts and refused to provide any proof her own e-mail was accurate. So is the dust-up enough to get voters interested in the upcoming election? Unfortunately, a top Polk County official in the know said, Stilliansgate is actually just another example that activism is dead in this town. "Real activists rise up and try to take control of overbearing governments," this individual told Cityview. "The so-called activists of Des Moines do nothing more than file lawsuits alleging misconduct and spew venomous-sounding remarks disparaging their foes. These folks can't even mount a decent campaign to win a school board election." At best, our source, who has monitored and been involved in Central Iowa politics for 30 years and who called Ako Abdul Samad's surprising win last time around, said the attention could get some more people to the polls - but that's doubtful; and if it does, it won't be the "Save Our School types." "Margaret Borgen and Ginny Strong will win two of the three contested seats according to this individual, who pointed out that Borgen's and Strong's public comments and lists of supporters and contributors are nearly identical. And an influential group of superintendent backers are behind both, as well. "Margaret and Ginny are like senior citizen Olsen twins. Once you get past the marketing hype, all you get is two uninteresting women who look and sound a lot alike, which is how rich West Side voters like their board members." The other six candidates in the field are failing to gain any traction in the campaign, we were also told. "Jonathan Narcisse has been so busy squabbling with the frontrunners over whether he is misusing his minority newspaper in the campaign he has failed to make a case for his candidacy. Beyond sucking up to the unions, the others have been invisible. Look for more of the same from the school board next year."

Gov. Tom Vilsack ran into former U.S. House Speaker and potential 2008 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich at the Iowa State Fair when Gingrich was heading to the Republican Party of Iowa booth to sign copies of his latest book. Vilsack, who has well-publicized presidential aspirations of his own, reportedly invited Gingrich to have dinner with him and big-money Democratic backer Bill Knapp at Knapp's place, and Gingrich accepted. The word we got is that Vilsack and Knapp listened, while Gingrich, known for big ideas, did most of the talking.

Republicans have been doing a fair amount of polling, we've been told, and the numbers say that democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Blouin is "double digits" ahead of anyone else in his field. What Republicans specifically plan to do with the information is not known as of yet, nor were we told of any numbers breaking down the race between Jim Nussle and Bob Vander Plaats. In other related bad news for Secretary of State Chet Culver, rumor has it that Roxanne Conlin is jumping his ship to support Patty Judge, and Ed Skinner is doing the same to support Blouin.

Are GOP chances to build on its Iowa House majority so great that House Minority Leader Pat Murphy is bailing out? Maybe so, several signs suggest. One GOP insider tells us that it's looking better and better for House Republicans' chances next fall. Only a handful of their incumbents are retiring next year, meaning the Democrats will focus even more on Senate control. Meanwhile, our source tells us that the House Republican districts that are being vacated are primarily safe seats, freeing up even more resources to pick off a couple Democrat incumbents. America Coming Together - along with their substantial resources to help House Democrats last time - has disbanded, and now even Murphy seems scrambling to get out of there by eyeing a run at Congress. This news, if true, is a gut punch for House Democrats. It could bring with it more retirements from House Democrat incumbents tired of being in the minority, and more PAC money to the House GOP from pro-business groups who want Republicans to keep at least one legislative chamber. "Things are definitely looking up for the House GOP," our source said. CV

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