What are Gronstal and Blouin up to?
Top state officials have told Cityview
that Iowa Economic Development Director
Michael Blouin and Senate Democratic
leader Mike Gronstal have purportedly
reached a deal of sorts that says only
one of them will take on Secretary of
State Chet Culver (as well as Rep. Ed
Fallon) in a Democratic primary. The
deal is dependent primarily on which
of the two has stronger polling numbers
(both are currently running polls),
which candidate could run better in
a general election and which one will
excite the party populace. "The
thinking now is that one or the other
will be the likely candidate,"
one source said. "And they don't
want to dirty up the water too much
with a vicious primary." So which
one will it be? With labor biding its
time waiting to see what Gronstal will
do, top Democrats feel the one-time
outsider is not only the best person
to defeat a pro-death penalty Culver
(who has done much damage with party
folks after playing politics with the
Jetseta Gage murder), but take on Republican
Congressman Jim Nussle, as well. "I
think if you see Gronstal get in, there
will be a groundswell of support. He
was attacked on his anti-death penalty
stance mercilessly, but he was also
on every newscast and in every paper
for doing so. Mike doesn't flip-flop.
He just needs to be polished up a bit."
As for Nussle, Democrats are hoping
like hell he's the candidate they get
to face come November 2006. Nussle,
who released polling numbers last week
that showed him with not only far superior
name identification to Republican Bob
Vander Plaats and Culver, but favored
almost two-to-one over Culver (who is
the only Democrat besides Fallon to
make his bid official), is described
by Democrats as having "clay feet."
Nussle, top party leaders say, will
be framed as "Newt Gingrich's boy"
who has done nothing with his considerable
power while in Washington. "He
can get George Bush on the phone in
two minutes, but where's the pork?"
a Democratic insider asked. "He
wants to privatize Social Security,
cut education and throw kids who need
welfare out on the street, which is
great for Washington, but not as governor
of this state. Besides, the guy's a
philanderer who left his wife and mentally
disabled child for his staffer. When
people in our state, and they don't
know him as well as he thinks, figure
out what a right-wing, valueless nutcase
this guy is, he'll be the last guy they
want representing them."
The following was e-mailed to constituents
of Sen. Jack Hatch last week by the
Sherman Hills politician himself: "Finally,
my wife Sonja, my No.1 constituent,
can sleep soundly. For the last 10 years,
she has been active in the effort to
pass a bill establishing an interior
design examining board and title registration
for interior designers. Last week the
governor signed the bill. The title
of licensed interior designer will allow
consumers to identify interior designers
who meet the higher standard put forth
by the licensing board." Hatch's
wife, Sonja Roberts, is an interior
designer. Said a high-ranking local
official, mockingly, "I wasn't
aware of all these unlicensed interior
decorators running amok. But you've
got to love Jack. When it comes down
to crunch time at least he's keeping
what's best for all Iowans ahead of
his own personal agenda."
Des Moines City Council members are
jockeying with one another to see who
really will run the process of replacing
Eric Anderson, we're told. One pretty-sure
bet: Archie Brooks will be in the thick
of it. A second sort-of-sure bet: They'll
end up hiring a search firm or consultant.
We knew Des Moines Register Publisher
Mary Stier couldn't be serious when
she insisted that the daily's soon-to-be
free weekly (which some old timers down
on Locust are referring to as "ignorant
advertorial" and "50s Plus
with younger people in the photos")
was not a replacement for Datebook,
even when she talked to us about how
readers "love" the ever-thinning
Thursday insert. And, as we reported,
Datebook staffers don't seem to believe
Stier either, as the new publication's
crew gets new digs and free reign over
Datebook editorial mainstays like music,
art, movies and dining. Still, in what
is likely to be a last-ditch effort
to save Datebook, The Register's Doug
Peterson is inviting its dwindling readership
to help "influence" the direction
of the piece, asking last Thursday for
people to meet with staffers to discuss
what they'd like to see changed. Sounds
like "love" to you? Not by
a long shot.
And finally, both Des Moines and Polk
County officials are giddy over the
early buzz created by the concerts and
other events that will be held at Wells
Fargo Arena. But what's got them buzzing
even more is the prospect of hotel rooms
and restaurants jam-packed for a week
if and when the NCAA Wrestling Tournament
comes to town. "It's not as glamorous
as hosting a men's basketball regional,
which we probably won't get for five
or six years. Still, if we nailed the
wrestling deal, (the basketball) could
happen earlier." CV
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