One year ago today...#corporationsarepeople
"Corporations are people, my friend."
One year has passed, but that quote follows Mitt Romney around like a stray dog wherever he goes.I do a quiet cheer every time I see it. Why?Well, for all the obvious reasons, but also because it's the best example of how much "bird-dogging", what we call it, can accomplish.When that small group of Iowa CCI members went to the state fair last year, they went there to make sure all candidates running for office knew that Iowans wouldn't stand for any politician that backed cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.We can't expect national headlines every time, but "bird-dogging" our electeds and candidates is important and has a big impact. It lets other Iowans, media and politicians know that people are paying attention and care passionately about issues that impact everyday people.We were there to put some pressure and create a "whose side are you on?" moment for them in front of other Iowans and the media.I think you'd agree that we still need a lot of "whose side are you on?" pressure today both locally and nationally.So, I'm challenging you to do what you do best - ask our political leaders tough questions and demand answers. Here are a few opportunities to do just that:
- The Iowa State Fair. Starting Monday the Des Moines Register's soap box is hosting the Iowa Congressional delegation and their challengers. Find the schedule here.Our Congressional delegation has a lot of explaining to do about their recent votes on the Bush-era tax cuts. In particular, Sen. Grassley and all our Representative (except Braley) who stood in the way of ending special tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans and restoring some much-needed fairness to the rest of us.
- Sen. Grassley is touring Iowa counties. According to his calendar he'll be in Southwest and West Central Iowa counties August 20-23.
- President Obama is in Iowa three times next week and Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds are touring the state. Neither Obama nor Branstad release details of their stops too far in advance, but if you stay tuned to their websites and your local papers you can find out.
And, as always, please report back and let us know how it goes. And, thanks for all you do.P.S. A big shout out to Patti Edwardson of Jefferson, Garry Klicker of Bloomfield, Joyce Otto of Grinnell for asking Branstad and Reynolds about Iowa CCI's #FireRastetter campaign and CCI's work to stop factory farms when they stopped in their areas. Imagine if Gov. Branstad got those questions everywhere he went!