From: "Sarah Swisher"

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES                         Contact: Allison Dobson/
Maureen Knightly

April 11,
2005                                                                    
           202-224-3254

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

HARKIN MOBILE OFFICE TO HOLD FIX IT, DON’T NIX IT

SOCIAL SECURITY TOUR IN IOWA CITY

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced today that
members of his staff will be conducting a Social Security forum in Iowa
City on the Kirkwood Community College campus.  The public forum will
discuss the need to protect and strengthen Social Security without
risking its future through privatization.

“I want to work with the president to strengthen Social Security, but I
want to do it right,” Harkin said.  “There is no excuse to rush into a
plan that will cut benefits for America’s seniors, adds trillions to
the debt, and does nothing to strengthen the program.  That is
unacceptable and the American people are rejecting that approach.”

President Bush’s privatization commission has proposed creating private
Social Security accounts that would cut benefits by one-third or more,
even for those who choose not to invest in privatized accounts. 
Workers could invest two-thirds of their Social Security contribution
in stocks and bonds, but those returns could not make up for the deep
benefit cuts and would be subject to the whims of Wall Street. 

Even many supporters of the president’s plan acknowledge that private
accounts have nothing to do with ensuring the long-term financial
health of Social Security.  In fact, to fund the private accounts, the
government would have to borrow almost $5 trillion dollars over the
first 20 years from foreign countries like China and Japan – making
Social Security’s financial problems much worse and even further from
being solved.

“We must be responsible and take reasonable, moderate steps to
strengthen Social Security for future generations,” Harkin said. 
“Millions of Iowa seniors, Americans with disabilities and others who
rely on Social Security are depending on Congress and the president to
protect this program.   I hope the president will work with Congress to
do just that.” 

WHO:            KIM TAYLOR AND TOM LARKIN

AIDES TO SENATOR TOM HARKIN

WHAT:           SOCIAL SECURITY FORUM
WHEN:           APRIL 21, 2005, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
WHERE:        KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
IOWA CITY CAMPUS, ROOM 216

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- posted by John @ 11:32 AM

From: David Redlawsk

A quick reminder that our monthly "Lunch with Dems" will be tomorrow, April
15, from noon to 1pm at Sluggers on the Coralville strip. Sen. Bob Dvorsky
and Rep. Dave Jacoby are our invited elected officials. All are welcome to
attend, no need to rsvp. No agenda, either, just show up for lunch (Dutch
treat, of course) and good fellowship.

Suggestions for future Lunch locations are always welcome!

- posted by John @ 6:54 PM

From: dloebsack@mchsi.com

Recently, I sent a message to a number of listservs in the 2nd
congressional
district (including this one) noting that I am beginning an
informal "exploration" of a run against Jim Leach in '06. So far, I have
spoken to four groups of Democrats and numerous individuals. The
response I
have received has been nothing short of humbling.

Many of you know me as a teacher of political science at Cornell
College since
1982 and a long-time Democratic Party activist in Linn and Johnson
counties and
beyond. But I have also worked hard to help the public engage in
important
issues by serving as a resource person for various civic groups,
delivering
lectures, facilitating discussion, moderating events, appearing on local
television public issues programs, etc.

Why am I considering running at this point?

It is time that we in this district begin to halt George Bush and the
hard
right
of the Republican Party as they try to move America ever farther in
their
direction. In recent days, we have seen this movement evident by the
efforts of
Tom DeLay and his allies as they try to capture control of the federal
judiciary. Apparently, it is not enough to control the executive and
legislature. They want all three branches of government in their grasp.

The simple truth is that Jim Leach remains a Republican who, as Julie
Thomas
put
it in 2002, at a minimum serves as an enabler for the right-wing
leadership in
the House and the Bush administration. What is needed at this point is a
representative who is in touch with the concerns of folks in this
congressional
district and who is willing to “lead” on issues that matter.

Just one example of Jim Leach’s bad votes makes this point. Recently,
he voted
for the House version of Bush budget that would significantly scale
back if not
completely gut many of the programs and services that are the only
sources of
support for
those who have nowhere else to turn, in many cases just to survive.
Indeed,
the House budget is even harsher than the Bush budget. The values
reflected in
this budget, I believe, are not the values of the vast majority of
folks in the
second district of Iowa. Interestingly, there were a few Republicans in
the
House who had the courage to vote no, but not Jim Leach.

At this point, I continue to invite you to be in touch with me if you
have
questions about what I stand for, who I am, etc. Also, I am open to all
advice
and support. If you think I should move forward with this “exploration,”
please let me know. If you think you would support me as a volunteer
and/or
financially, please let me know. If you think there are others who are
more
qualified than I and who deserve our unified support, please let me
know. As I
have said from the beginning, I do not plan to do this if I don't
believe the
necessary support (perhaps most critically the necessary financial
support)
will be forthcoming.

No doubt the road ahead will be difficult for any candidate who
ultimately
takes
on Jim Leach in 2006. He is a well-entrenched figure who has been in
congress
for nearly 30 years and he can self-fund any campaign if need be. Given
these
realities, any campaign in this district will likely have to build from
the
ground up.

We need to begin NOW to build a true grassroots movement to take back
this
district as a first step towards taking back America from the
right-wing of the
Republican Party. This will take some time but it can begin right here
in the
2nd district of eastern and southeastern Iowa!

In response to the positive feedback I have received over the course of
the
past few weeks, I have taken the next step and set up an account where
I will
deposit any contributions that might be sent for this effort. While I
am not
actively seeking contributions at this point (I need to be better known
first!), I am inviting pledges from those who know me well and think
they will
support this campaign should I make the decision to run.

We can take back our country from the right-wing of the Republican
Party and we
can begin to so do by electing a Democrat in the second congressional
district
who will lead on the issues that matter to folks in this part of Iowa.
In the meantime, further contact information is below (e-mail:
dloebsack@mchsi.com )

As always, thanks and take care.

David Loebsack
Mt. Vernon

P.S. While the bank account's name includes the word committee instead
of
campaign (the FEC suggested this), and although the Gazette article
stated
that a committee has already been formed, that is not the case. I am
not that
far in the process yet.

--
Loebsack Exploratory Committee
610 Third Avenue North
Mt. Vernon, IA 52314
Home E-mail: dloebsack@mchsi.com
Work E-mail:
dloebsack@cornellcollege.edu
Home Phone: (319) 895-8418
Office Phone: (319) 895-4300
Cell Phone: (319) 721-5324

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- posted by John @ 6:29 PM