Friday, November 11, 2011

GOP White House candidate Gingrich to campaign in Carroll, screen film developed on Pope John Paul II



Republican president candidate Newt Gingrich, the former speakers of the U.S. House from Georgia, will campaign in Carroll Monday.

Gingrich and his wife, Callista, will be at the Santa Maria Winery at 6 p.m. for a book signing and reception. At 7 p.m. they will screen the movie “Nine Days That Changed The World” about Pope John Paul II's historic nine-day pilgrimage to Po-land in June of 1979 created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political land-scape of the 20th Century.

Newt and Callista Gingrich, along with a Polish, American, and Italian cast, explore what transpired during these nine days that moved the Polish people to renew their hearts, reclaim their courage, and free them-selves from the shackles of Communism. Produced in partnership with Citizens United Productions.

The event is open to the full public.

Gingrich surges in national poll



From McClatchy Newspapers ...

WASHINGTON — The Republican presidential race is being shaken up again, with Mitt Romney retaking the lead, Newt Gingrich surging into second place, and Herman Cain dropping to third place, according to a new McClatchy-Marist nationwide poll released Friday.


The breakdown of the poll:

— Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, 23 percent;

— Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, 19 percent;

— Cain, the former restaurant executive, 17 percent;

— Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, 10 percent;

— Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, 8 percent;

— Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, 5 percent;

— Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, 1 percent;

— Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah, 1 percent;

— Undecided, 17 percent.

Exercise at Drake University Will Let Voters Make Tough Decisions on Deficit Reduction

News Release ...

DES MOINES -- As they weigh presidential candidates’ rhetoric about the federal budget in advance of the January caucuses, Iowans will have an opportunity to try to improve it themselves in a community-wide deficit-reduction exercise Monday, Nov. 14 at Drake University.

The exercise, designed by The Concord Coalition, is being co-hosted by the Des Moines Register and Drake University’s College of Business and Public Administration. The event, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., is free and open to the public.

“Even after the country has fully recovered from its current economic difficulties, we are on course for sharply rising deficits as the population ages, health care costs continue to climb rapidly and the government’s interest costs spiral upwards,” says Robert L. Bixby, Concord’s executive director.

“Without reforms, the gap between government spending and revenue will get larger and larger,” Bixby points out. “We clearly need to put the country on a more responsible track and avoid burdening our children and future generations with our debts. Fortunately, various experts and bipartisan groups have recommended many ways to do that. We invite Iowa residents to join us next Monday night to discuss many of these options and decide which ones they believe would be most fair and effective.”

Bixby and Sara Imhof, Concord’s Iowa-based Midwest regional director, will be the presenters at the program.

The exercise allows people to assume the roles of members of Congress who have been appointed to a special committee to recommend a package of policies to put America on a sound fiscal foundation again – much like the “super committee” that is to issue its recommendations to Congress on Nov. 23.

The exercise calls for difficult decisions on domestic and defense spending, entitlement reform and tax policies.

“This experience should help voters to better understand the federal budget, the choices we face and the consequences of continued procrastination,” Imhof says. “That, in turn, should help them hold elected officials and candidates accountable for sound fiscal policy proposals.”

Although there is no charge for the program, reservations are appreciated and can be made at concordcoalition.org/RSVP .

WHAT: Community-Wide Deficit Reduction Exercise

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14

WHERE: Parents Hall, Olmsted Center at Drake University.

2875 University Ave., Des Moines

WHO: Robert L. Bixby, executive director of The Concord Coalition

Sara Imhof, Concord’s Midwest regional director

Political Mercury: Occupy Wall Street movement boost Iowa's rural Main Streets



Strong school systems. Rich, black-coffee-colored-soil. Strong sewing in our social fabric.

When we discuss rural Iowa’s advantages, the reasons for our comparative successes, our lower unemployment rates than the prevailing national numbers, these factors come to the fore.

But there’s something else that deserves more attention as a determinative influence on life in rural Iowa: the presence of robust, credible, entirely trustworthy community banks.

Read the rest of Douglas Burns' Political Mercury Column in Des Moines' Cityview newspaper.

Grassley Q&A on deficit reduction

NEWS RELEASE FROM GRASSLEY'S OFFICE ...

Q&A on the Deficit Reduction Committee
with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Q: What exactly is the deficit reduction committee in Congress, and under what authority was it created?
A: Last summer, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011. The law made it possible for the federal government to borrow more money, avoiding possible default on debt, and authorized the formation of a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Twelve members of Congress – six Democrats and six Republicans – were named by party leaders to the Joint Committee, and two of them are designated as co-chairs. Committee members are charged with presenting a ten-year proposal for at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction by November 23. Both the Senate and the House are supposed to vote on the Joint Committee’s legislative package by December 23. If the Joint Committee doesn’t agree on deficit reduction legislation or it is not enacted, then an automatic spending reduction process would be triggered beginning in January 2013. These automatic reductions would be divided evenly between defense and non-defense spending. The way that the Budget Control Act restricts amendments and limits time for debate is unusual. I’m an advocate for regular order where standing committees develop responsible policy and legislative proposals in their areas of jurisdiction. And, I voted against the Budget Control Act because the spending reductions weren’t proportional to the massive fiscal challenges we face. But, Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution gives to both the Senate and House the power to “determine the Rules of its proceedings,” and the Budget Control Act was adopted by Congress and signed into law by the President on August 2, 2011.

Q: Can Congress unravel the law if the Joint Committee isn’t successful, preventing the automatic deficit reduction from taking effect?
A: As the director of the Congressional Budget Office recently said, “Any Congress can reverse the actions of a previous Congress.” At the same time, there is tremendous pressure to begin reversing unsustainable growth in the federal debt and deficits. In 2009, for the first time ever, the deficit was more than $1 trillion. From 1946 to 2008, budget deficits averaged 1.7 percent of the gross domestic product and exceeded five percent only three times. From 2009 to 2011, budget deficits will average 9.4 percent of the gross domestic product. The federal debt held by the public has grown from 40 percent of the gross domestic product in 2008 to an estimated 69 percent of the gross domestic product in 2011. The fact that Congress can vote to abandon plans put in place for spending restraint – and, too often, either has unraveled budget controls or never adopted them in the first place – makes the case for a constitutional requirement for a balanced budget. I’m a co-sponsor of legislation that would establish a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. The last time the Senate voted on a balanced budget amendment was in March 1997, when the nation’s debt was less than half of what it is today. The resolution failed by one vote. A balanced budget amendment passed the House of Representatives in 1995. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives must vote on a balanced budget amendment this year, sometime before December 31, thanks to a requirement in the Budget Control Act.

Q: Don’t tax increases need to be part of the solution for reducing deficits and debt?
A: Fiscal discipline and economic growth need to be the top priorities for deficit and debt reduction. Unchecked government spending will further threaten economic opportunity with higher debt and higher taxes. It might be one thing if tax increases actually were used to reduce the deficit, but that’s not what happens. Since World War II, every new dollar in tax increases has resulted in Congress’ spending $1.17. Raising taxes has been a license for Congress to spend even more. And, every dollar spent by Congress is a dollar taken out of the economy, and higher taxes leave fewer resources for the private sector to make investments, expand production, and create sustainable jobs. The work of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction should stay focused on reducing spending, not on finding ways to increase revenue to fuel excessive government spending. In addition to supporting reforms to entitlement spending to make sure valued programs are available to future generations of Americans and sustainable for taxpayers, I’ve submitted specific recommendations to the Joint Committee for spending reductions totaling hundreds of millions to even billions of dollars from administrative restructuring, reduction of duplicative and overlapping programs, and unnecessary and wasteful programs under the authority and jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where I serve as Ranking Member. I also made recommendations to the Joint Committee for my bipartisan legislation that would save $4.8 billion in federal government spending on prescription drugs, including through Medicare and Medicaid, by stopping deals between name-brand and generic drug makers that keep less expensive drugs off the market. I’ve urged the Joint Committee to adopt caps on farm payments, for a savings of $1.5 billion, and backed a goal of saving $23 billion in spending from programs that fall under the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. The bottom line is that Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.

Not good news for Santorum

This from Politico:

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, a Penn State grad currently running for the GOP presidential nomination, has said he is “devastated” over the scandal.

For Santorum, there is the prospect of damaging political fallout: On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that, while serving in the Senate, Santorum sponsored Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State defense coordinator at the heart of the scandal, for a “Congressional Angels in Adoption” award, citing his work with a nonprofit group he founded for foster children.