Category: Rod Blum

IA Reps Blum and King Vote Against Commissar Boehner

Two of Iowa’s three Republican U.S. representatives voted against the existing power structure on Capitol Hill as personified in John Boehner. 25 total Republicans voted against House Speaker Boehner, a Republican, which the Washington Post called “largest revolt against a House speaker in more than 150 years.” Unfortunately, Boehner was still re-elected to his speakership.

Freshman Representative Rod Blum of Iowa’s 1st District explained his vote thusly on his Facebook Page:  “I was elected by Iowans to stand up to the status quo in Washington, DC, and I refuse to turn my back on them with my first vote. While I know Speaker Boehner is a good man and I respect the job he has done as Speaker, I must follow the will of the Eastern Iowans who rejected politics as usual in November and are calling for change in DC. With Congressional approval ratings at historic lows, it’s time for our elected officials to listen to the people and rethink business as usual so we can move our country forward together.”

Representative Steve King (IA-4) said of Boehner in a recent Breitbart column:  “I know the pattern of his strategy and actions for the past 12 years to the point where I can predict the results. I am convinced Congress will not be allowed to restore its Constitutional authority under his Speakership and by refusing to do so, cannot call upon the courts to do so. How then, can I take an oath to the Constitution and put up a vote for John Boehner, almost in the same breath?

“We need a Speaker who will help us all keep our oath, including his own, to the Constitution, not one who has consistently blocked our efforts to keep ours. I will vote for an alternative candidate for Speaker. I can’t vote for John Boehner again.”

Blum and King’s opposition to Speaker Boehner seems to put them in good company with a good many of rank and file of their own party if not with ruling elite. A recent poll by Caddell Associates showed that “a stupefying 60% of Republicans who voted in the November elections either definitely or probably want someone other than Ohio Congressman John Boehner to be the Speaker of the House.”  Two-thirds agreed with the statement that “John Boehner has been ineffective in opposing Obama.” When Republican voters were asked, “Is John Boehner for average Americans in his heart, rather than for special interests?” Only 44% said yes, and 43% said no.

“The GOP leadership, the lawyers, the lobbyists, the consultant class of the Republican party, and all the big donors don’t understand that these people are angry,” said pollster Pat Caddell of polling data. “They are saying that John Boehner doesn’t care about them, and all he cares about is the special interests. I’ve never seen anything like this in the base of a party.”

While I don’t have a lot of faith in Steve King, I’m hopeful that Rod Blum will continue to stand up to the corrupt two-party oligarchy in Washington D.C.

That’s the Ticket!

Unless you’ve had your telephone and television unhooked for the past four months, you know that the election is Tuesday. Like a growing number of Iowans I already voted by mail. Here are some of the people I was proud to vote for:

U.S. Senate:
Dr. Doug Butzier (L.)

Sadly, Doctor Doug passed away at the age of 59, Monday October 13, when the light plane he was piloting crashed. The good doctor was an emergency room physician and leader at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque.

Given his position, it might not be surprising that flaws in Obamacare and government interference in medicine are what helped convince Butzier to run for U.S. Senate. He believed that there should be a free market for healthcare, not “free” healthcare.  He pointed out: “When you receive anything for ‘free,’ that means that someone else paid for it.  You should not be forced to pay for or subsidize someone else’s healthcare.  Government involvement only lowers the quality for everyone and drives up the costs.”Butzier also wanted America’s veterans to receive quality healthcare in their own communities rather than going off to shoddy government run VA hospitals.

Dr. Doug also believed in extending the free market into the education system as well. He believed in curtailing the Constitutional usurpation of the federal government and was a supporter of Americans’ Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Although largely ignored by the media until his death, Dr. Doug Butzier stood out from his two mudslinging rivals for the Senate seat.

U.S. House Dist. 1
Rod Blum (R.)
Rod Blum.jpg

Blum is owner of Digital Canal Software.  He is also a student pilot, real estate developer, and has written a conservative column for the Telegraph Herald. Blum is active with Liberty Iowa, a leading “Constitutional conservative” group, and is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America.


The five “cornerstones” of Blum’s campaign are: 1. Personal Responsibility 2. Constitutionally Limited Government 3. Fiscal Sanity 4. Free Markets and Competition 5. Sanctity of Life.

Iowa Governor
Dr. Lee Hieb (L.)
Dr. Lee Hieb

Dr. Hieb is a long time orthopaedic surgeon who served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. See has written numerous articles in professional journals, political columns and has a forthcoming book, Surviving the Medical Meltdown.


Hieb states she will use the following principles in governing Iowa: “1. I shall always vote to increase individual liberty. 2.  I shall sign and vote to restrain the power and scope and size of state government. 3.  I will fight to eliminate any tax which compels citizens to pay for things they find morally objectionable. 4.  I will legislate to push back the Federal Government from our border and exercise (for a change) our Tenth Amendment rights to state sovereignty.”

Iowa Secretary of State
Jake Porter (L.)
jake_04



Porter is a business and non-profit manager who has served on non-profit boards, managed several political campaigns, and has retail management experience running multi-million dollar department stores. One of the Secretary of State’s most important duties is to oversee the state’s elections. Says Porter: “We need someone who is independent of the two major political parties to act as a referee and that is the type of candidate I am.” In addition to keeping the Secretary’s office independent and transparent, Jake wants to make starting a business in Iowa easier.