Iowa Democrat Staci Appel Wouldn't Take Passports Away From Terrorists

Iowa 3rd district House Debate ^ | 9/11/2014

[Republican Wildcat]

Staci Appel (D-Des Moines) and David Young (R-Van Meter) - video at link

[Republican Wildcat]

She would let the terrorists keep their passports to travel freely - but rest assured, she would "work the system on a diligent basis" as an alternative solution.

Folks in Iowa - does this lady actually have a chance of winning?

[Jack Hydrazine]

They’d probably get preferred travel status on their passports since they are Muzzies.

[Mastador1]

Has she talked about getting them free tuition to flight schools yet? Or perhaps preferential treatment for jobs in refineries or chemical plants?

[fieldmarshaldj]

Recent polling data (Loras) had her ahead of Young 40-34%. Hopefully this will wake the citizens in that district up (currently held by Republican Tom Latham).

[Mark17]

Has she talked about getting them free tuition to flight schools yet? Or perhaps preferential treatment for jobs in refineries or chemical plants?

If there are any unused nuclear weapons floating around, maybe she would like to make sure they get them delivered to the terrorists, at tax payer expense, of course.

[American in Israel]

Passport is a document that states the United States stands behind this citizen as a safe person to travel in a foreign country. Our elected officials are so stupid they don’t even understand how government works anymore.

[nonliberal]

The only reason this beast has a chance at winning is because the Republicans shot themselves in the foot when they nominated Young. Young finished FIFTH (!) in the primary but ended up winning at convention. Grassroots are LIVID.

[ken5050]

That’s the only poll thus far...wouldn’t give it that much credence..Obama barely won the district in both 2008 and 2012

[fieldmarshaldj]

IA was a letdown in 2010 when the GOP almost made a clean sweep of the then-5 seats, coming within an inch of knocking off the 3 Dem incumbents. Some predictions for this cycle have claimed the parties may swap seats, with the Dems getting Latham’s seat and the GOP getting Braley’s.

I’ve found IA to be peculiar, anyhow. Why a state with those demographics and cultural leanings would not be ridiculously Conservative/GOP leaning is baffling. The Democrats have nothing but disdain for the kind of people that populate the state, yet these leftist charlatans are given a majority by them (recall that since after 1984, only once have they voted GOP for President, in 2004).

[ken5050]

Iowa is the most politically confused, and confusing state..having sent both Grassley and Harkin to the Senate for decades....talk about an odd couple..

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

Iowa used to be a strong GOP state but it’s gone through some weird bouts since the Watergate years. For one thing, it seemed to have a dovish streak that doesn’t sit well with the national Republican Party. In 1984, it only gave Reagan a 53%-46% win over Mondale, than in 1988 it gives Dukakis a huge percentage, bigger than Massachusetts (!) It sometimes swings back to the GOP, but never to the point that it turns into another Kansas or Nebraska. It seems now to be divided mostly between a heavily Republican west and a more Democratic east. The bigger counties east vote Dem, but even quite a few of the smaller counties there also vote Dem. Maybe it’s a more populist area? I don’t know.

[SolidRedState]

There is a reason we call them Idiots Out Wandering Around.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Harkin & Grassley both are Watergate babies, having both been elected to the House in 1974. At the time Grassley came in, succeeding the legendary Conservative-Libertarian H.R. Gross, he was the only Republican in the entire IA delegation (out of 8 members, 6 from the House). The Governor was a Republican, Bob Ray, but he was a liberal. It would take 10 years for the GOP to regain a House majority again, but alas, it was Sen. Roger Jepsen’s subpar performance in 1984 (of all years) that allowed Harkin to waltz into his seat (despite having thrown up some promising Congressmen that would’ve all made good or great Senators, Tom Tauke in 1990, Jim Ross Lightfoot in 1996, and Greg Ganske in 2002). Hopefully, Jodi Ernst will finally take the seat back after 30 years.

[ken5050]

Many thanks for your detailed, and informative comments.

[fieldmarshaldj]

It does seems like a truly peculiar mix of Minnesota & Kansas. The MS River counties are especially queer. Some, like Dubuque County, have not voted Republican for President in the modern era (1960-onwards). McGovern won 50-47% in 1972, in 1980 Reagan lost the county by FORTY votes to Carter (with John Anderson getting 9%), Mondale took it 53-46% in 1984, and Dukakis in '88 by a jaw-dropping 62-38% (placing it a whopping 16% to the left of the entire country - moonbat by any estimation).

The highest % a Republican has gotten in Dubuque County since was Dubya's 43% in 2004 when he carried the state. Willard did get 42%.

Oddly, Dubuque has voted GOP for Governor and Senator (in 1994 it went with Branstad where he got 53%, though in 2010 it went with incumbent Gov. Culver, 50-48%). In 2010, Sen. Grassley carried the county 59-39%.

Here's the 2012 Pres. results with the proper Red/Dem, Blue/GOP colors. Curiously, that one "Red" Dem county in the western part of the state, Woodbury (which contains the Omaha suburb of Council Bluffs) was the only county that swung the opposite way to the rest of the state, voting for McCain in 2008 (49.6-49%) but for Zero in 2012 (49.5-48.5%). Odd, if only because Omaha's Douglas County, NE across the river went for Zero in 2008 but swung back to Willard in 2012.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Oops, forgot to ping you to #15.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“There is a reason we call them Idiots Out Wandering Around.”

As we say about your state (football team), the N is for knowledge.

[SolidRedState]

ROFL

[fieldmarshaldj]

Oops, I made a big goof in my post #15. Woodbury County, the lone western county in IA that went from McCain to Zero, is of course Sioux City. Council Bluffs is Pottawattamie County and it went 52-46% for Willard (and 50-48% for McCain).

[Impy]

I thought it must the unions but Iowa is a right to work state. I don’t know what’s wrong with them, they used to be MORE Republican that Kansas and Nebraska.

Based on the disappointing recent polls numbers with this witch Appel leading, I have to call IA-3 our third most vulnerable seat, after CA-31 and NY-11.

Though perhaps things are looking up in NY-11, new Siena college poll out with the Republican Grimm in the lead, 44%-40%, with 4% for the Green. God bless the Greens.