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Last Wednesday the House of Representatives approved another $70 billion for to continue the combat missions in Iraq. I was surprised to see all 3 of Iowa’s Democratic Representatives vote against this bill. I expected Rep. Braley and Rep. Loebsack to vote against it because they have consistently been in favor of bringing our troops out of Iraq. However, this was the first time that I remember that Rep. Boswell voted in this manner.

I started doing some research on Boswell’s Iraq votes yesterday afternoon and was going to write a post this morning about how rumors of Ed Fallon running against Boswell in a primary next year affected Boswell’s vote on Iraq.

However, Chris Bowers at Open Left beat me to it and posted an article this morning. Bowers quoted this article posted at Iowa Independent about a possible run for Congress by Fallon. Bowers had this to say about the effect Fallon had on Boswell’s vote…

It is something of an open secret that Fallon, a former state legislator and a very strong progressive, is considering a run against Boswell. While Fallon narrowly lost the 2006 gubernatorial primary to Chet Culver, he actually pulled in the most votes the IA-03. Given that Boswell’s neo-conservative voting record on Iraq and civil liberties could easily come back to haunt him in a lean Democratic district like IA-03, especially against a strong campaigner like Fallon, it is also an open secret that Boswell’s first good vote on Iraq is a response to the threat that Fallon poses.

Given that the only two Bush Dogs to flip on Iraq are either facing a serious primary challenge, or facing the possibility of a serious primary challenge, I have to agree with kos. Primary challenges are just about the only power we have to change Democratic congressional behavior.

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Jane Norman of the Register has a summary of the 2nd quarter fundraising numbers. Here they are…1st DistrictBruce Braley - D $115,000 raised and $220,000 cash on hand2nd DistrictDave Loebsack - D $154,000 raised and $251,000 cash on hand3rd District…

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I don’t write much about Rep. Boswell for two reasons. First, I am not in his district and secondly, there is a lot I don’t agree with him on. The war and occupation in Iraq is one of these issues.Boswell made the front of Irregular Times today for h…

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From my inbox…National legislation to protect the accuracy of our elections is a step closer to becoming law. HR 811, a bill requiring voter-verified paper records, random hand count audits to check electronic tallies, and independent testing of voti…

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Here is how Iowa’s Congressman support Bush’s plan to escalate the war in Iraq. From Think Progress…Boswell, Leonard D House IA-3 Lean Oppose LinkBraley, Bruce D House IA-1 Oppose LinkKing, Steve R House IA-5 Support LinkLatham, Tom R House IA-4 Ref…

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The Des Moines Register has a story about Democrats in Congress plan on cutting interest rates on student loans.Democrats plan to propose legislation this week cutting interest rates in half on subsidized Stafford undergraduate loans, from a fixed rate…

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Here is what each member of the Iowa Delegation had to say about the immigration raids this week.Most of the statements are pretty much what you would expect from a politician, except for Steve King’s statement, which is pretty much what you would expe…

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The Des Moines Register has statements from the Iowa Representitives and Senators about the Iraq Study Group report released yesterday. I find it interesting, but not surprising, that Steve King is playing the liberal media card. I am not sure what B…

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