So when is Culver going to start??

[4dsc]

I've been wondering why Culver hasn't taken to the airwave or have I missed something?? I've also seen alot of Nussle "green" yard sign's but not one Culver sign?? Is Culver waiting for an invitation??

[rurallib]

1. Had a spike after the primary.

Maybe a little hangover from the primary. But you are so right.

[Counciltucky]

2. Maybe he's worried...

...about peaking too early. (Just a guess -- I also would like to see more activity.)

[progressoid]

3. Let's let his campaign know there's no time like the present

General E-mail:
[email protected]

Main Phone:
[phone]

Fax Line:
[phone]

[pstans]

4. Comment over at Iowa Underground

Culver is doing the impossible: He's allowing an incredibly ethically challenged sleazeball to pound him on ethics.

Culver wasn't scared to go negative on Blouin, when will he bring the dirt out on Nussle?

[Counciltucky]

6. Well he doesn't have a lot of $$$ compared to BagBoy...

Maybe he's waiting until campaign season really heats up in September to go on the offensive.

[CornField]

5. War Chest

Take a look at the numbers, folks. When you've got $10 and your competition has $100, it's a bit difficult to keep up especially with expensive television time.

The Dems in the primary fed right into the hands of the GOP with their mudslinging... wasting precious money on each other when it all should have been saved for whomever faced Nussle.

[pstans]

7. The Dems?

You mean Blouin. Fallon wasn't slinging mud.

Culver should be holding fundraisers in every county that he won talking. If you don't have the $ then you need the free publicity from newspapers. Fallon did this with his Rural Working tour and got a lot of stories in local papers. Just because you don't have $ doesn't mean you should stay at home.

[IA_Seth]

8. I gotta agree with you...

If money is the issue Culver should be marching in parades, hitting the CC meetings, speaking at county/candidate fundraisers, etc. He needs to start the "coming-together" phase that is needed after a tough primary to unite the "nobody but Blouin" and "nobody but Fallon" camps with the rest of us (I know there are still some out there).

Make headlines by speaking the truth about Nussle and his record as a deficit enabler.

Enough of this "foot soldier for Bush" talk, it sounds silly to me....just speak the honest truth about what Nussle has done for Iowans (nothing good)...and flat out state that if moral issues are going to be the topic of whisper campaigns that he will defend his name and shine light on Nussle past...it ain't pretty.

Nussle is an easy target, and although he has a lot of money, and a lot of name recognition, he also has a lot to use against him and we should be taking advantage of that now, not later.

If money is the issue, do the things that don't cost a lot of money. Taking a play from Fallon at this point would be very beneficial.

[CornField]

11. Did you miss the Unity Tour?

The Culver campaign toured across the state, but especially focused on Eastern Iowa, right after the primary as a "bring everyone together" effort.

On the same day that he was at the Linn County HQ (last Saturday), he spent time with the unions, bringing them into his camp as well.

The Culver campaign has had staffers in every parade that is feasible and want to be in more.

Traditionally, Democrats have always had to do more with less and we've been able to come up with some pretty creative ways to do so. Dropping hundreds of thousands on television advertising in June or July is simply not something we have the funds to do... and probably not something which would garner much result.

Want to stop the Nussle lies? Do what Debi has outline, go out and fight them yourself through LTTEs, speaking up at community gatherings and talking to your neighbors. Head over to the UAW and see if they have any Culver t-shirts left.

I was speaking to a very prominent Eastern Iowa GOP person not too long ago who told me (among other things) "You'll probably take the governorship." Why do you think their national has done nasty push-polling and dumped so much money into Iowa House and Senate campaigns? They are worried... and they have good reason to be.

[Debi]

14. May I hug you??

:hug:

Thanks! :thumbsup:

[IA_Seth]

15. Yes, I did actually...

I did miss the unity tour, I was out of the state, and I am sure there are plenty of other things going on that I don't know about, but that is sort of my point.

I am a reasonably "plugged-in" sort of guy, and I haven't heard a lot about him or the Gov race (other than here on DU, the emails from the Linn County distro, etc)...I would say that I am looking for things more than the average voter would, and if I don't hear or see anything while looking...my impression would be that most voters probably haven't either. I would wager that most voters don't read DU, they don't get the Linn County Dems emails, and half the time they probably don't even read LTTE's.

It's not like I am attacking the man, or the campaign, sheesh.

I am saying that there are a lot of under-educated voters out there, and no time is better than the present to educate them.

[Debi]

20. Seth you are a naysaying naybob

and need to quit your damn bitching. :grr:

Get off your ass and campaign for Culver or crawl under the rock you came out from. :mad:

You take off, leave the state and then whine that your back yard isn't covered in Green and Gold for Chet Culver and that he's not at your door step offereing to carry you to work on his very broad & strong and capable shoulders.

What a whiner. :cry:

Get busy, get it together, get out there and DO SOMETHING!!! :patriot:

(imagine me 3" from your face screaming at you) :grr:
















You do know I was joking.....don't you? :hide:

[IA_Seth]

21. uh...

Yeah I sure hope you were joking...cause I wasn't bitching...I've been off my ass plenty...and I didn't ask for any special Culver favors...

I was just trying to point on a perceived weakness in Culver's strategy thus far...and that is reaching out to potential voters. Maybe it's just me and my poor judgment in picking friends/family but a good 85% of the people I associate with didn't know squat about Chet or his campaign until I laid it out for them, but you mention Nussle and they say "oh yeah I've heard of him".

I suppose I should keep my opinions to myself.

Rah rah..and all that.

[Debi]

22. you KNOW I was kidding!!

At least I hope you do - how many damn smilies does one person need to put in a post.

I agree that Culver needs to get back out there. I think he has been active, but Nussle's statewide ads have received more attention than Culver's showing up at Dem. events. Unlike the primary, Culver needs to now appeal to ALL Iowans.

Don't you dare keep your opinions to yourself, what will we do here if we can't fight? :7 (<- smilie)

My husband came back from the golf course and told me that two people he was talking with (not very involved in politics) asked how he could support Culver with him being such a crook (CIETC - or whatever - you know what I mean). He explained that Culver had nothing to do w/that scandal. But my husband can't be everywhere and Culver is going to have to step up.

I just don't want to see an ad war happening every week b/c Nussle has a new attack. You'd think the continued convictions of republicans in DC would rub off on Nussle at some point. :shrug: (<-another smilie)

Thank you for being rah-rah. It really brightens my day! :7 (<-last smilie of this post, I promise). d.

[CornField]

12. Point well taken

I should not have used "the Dems" and should have opted for what I really meant: The Blouin and Culver camps.

[Debi]

9. I though Culver was just at the Linn Co. HQ Grand Opening?

And PJ walked in the Sturgis Falls parade and was at the Johnson Co. HQ? They're out there, just maybe not at your door today.

Here's a link to submit an event request if you want him or his campaign to be there:

http://chetculver.com/about/submit-event.asp

What? Nussle is on the airwaves telling lies and we expect Culver to blow his campaign chest responding to that crap? Nussle is at 40% after spending $1,000,000 on ad time. Let's give Culver a break and our support.

As for yard signs - the IDP's Coordinated Campaign is up and running in every county - call IDP HQ or your county HQ to get a yard sign and put it in your yard:

http://www.iowademocrats.org/

Let's be proactive in supporting Culver. Let's slap down Nussle's T.V. ad BS with LTTEs and our own comments at our coffee-shops, work and meetings.

I know I sound rah-rah and I AM being rah-rah. Rather than us complaining about what Culver isn't doing for us we should be making sure that we are doing all we can for his campaign (we can bitch ALL WE WANT after he becomes Governor - ;) and I plan to!!!).

d.

[IA_Seth]

10. Lol, Rah Rah!

Ok, ok, so maybe we ARE being a little harsh. I didn't mean to say he was doing NOTHING, but he could be a little more visible about what he IS doing..that's all. I know in Linn County there was some division within the party between Blouin and Culver supporters, as well as some Fallon supporters, and I want to see us all on the same page. I realize Blouin has publicly supported Culver, but are his supporters doing the same? I just want it out there and in the open.

I think we all are being pro-active in our support for Chet, and at least for me, nothing I've said is in anyway trying to downplay my enthusiasm for his candidacy (I did vote for him after all).

[Debi]

13. I'm so RAH-RAH for Culver I can't see straight!

Who wouldn't be????

[Broke Dad]

16. I see in the Civic Skinny . . .

That Chet muffed the ISEA interview and that they are seriously considering endorsing Nussle.

The ISEA carried a lot of water for Vilsack in 1998 and Chet can probably win without them, but . . . the time is over for him to simply say "I can beat Nussle." If Chet waits until Labor Day to launch his counterstrike against Nussle, it will be all over . . .

So my life has always been to have a Plan B, and a Plan C, and even Plan D, E, F . . . So two questions . . . 1) Does Chet have a private sector job lined up for after November and 2) Who are we going to get to run against Nussle in 2010?

[Debi]

17. The ISEA endorsed Culver last week - the CIVIC SKINNY muffed

that rumor!

http://www.chetculver.com/news/clips/display.asp?ncID=34

Culver gets teacher union nod
Associated Press

Friday, June 16, 2006

DES MOINES, IA - The state’s 32,000-member teacher union endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver today, declaring him "one of us" and warning that Republican Jim Nussle’s record doesn’t match his campaign rhetoric.

<snip>

Nelson said the board running the union’s political action committee -- made up of six Democrats and six Republicans -- interviewed both candidates Friday morning, and recommended Culver. The board’s recommendation was ratified by a larger, 76-member governing committee and by the union’s executive board, Nelson said.

<snip>

While Nussle voiced support for many of the union’s goals during the interview, Nelson said "his congressional voting record reveals a consistent lack of support."

"What he did say didn’t match at all his congressional voting record," she said.

<snip>

"Chet Culver is truly one of us," Nelson said.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You can believe what Nussle staffers feed CV or you can believe what actually happened. Up to you! :bounce:

[Counciltucky]

18. He also got the IFL's nod...

Des Moines – The Iowa Federation of Labor, representing more than 60,000 Iowa union members and their families, announced today that its Executive Board has voted to endorse Secretary of State Chet Culver’s campaign for Governor of Iowa.

“Chet Culver will stand up for the working families of Iowa, “ said IFL President Mark Smith. “We know he will fight for us. The Iowa Federation of Labor is proud to support Culver’s campaign and we are committed to helping him achieve victory in the fall.”

“I am honored to have the support of the hard-working men and women of the Iowa Federation of Labor,” said Culver. “As Governor, I will fight for the issues that matter to working families, like raising the minimum wage, more affordable health care, and restoring excellence to our schools. And I will always protect the rights of Iowans to organize and bargain collectively. Together, I know we can lead Iowa forward.”

[Debi]

19. I figured the State Fed would support whoever the nominee ended up being

the vote to endorse Blouin was close and the people who supported Blouin didn't do it b/c they didn't like Culver, just that they liked Blouin better. I don't believe there was a single 'hell no' vote on the endorsement for Culver.

[Counciltucky]

23. That's cool.

Any momentum is good momentum. And a vast majority of votes from a 60,000-member group isn't something to sneeze at.

[Hardrada]

24. Except for Joementum.

[Debi]

25. Whaaaaa?

Joementum? :shrug:

[pstans]

26. Lieberman

I think it was a slogan of Lieberman about his campaign having Joementum.

[Debi]

27. I know that, but I don't get how it fits in here

:shrug:

[pstans]

28. Culver needs momentum

Counciltucky wrote "any momentum is good momentum" and Hadrada replied, "except Joementum." Joementum would be bad for Culver right now.

Maybe you need to stop for a coffee on the way home today. :shrug:

[Debi]

29. Oh, NOW I get it!

x(

[Hardrada]

30. Make that one mocha latte on me!

[Counciltucky]

31. I'd avoid the cup of Joe.

:rofl:

[Debi]

33. JOE WAAAHHHHAAAHHAHHAHHHHAAA

:spray:

[Debi]

32. I had a pomegranat ice tea

The tap awaits you :7