So, the newest member of the Republican House Caucus has published her first “post-flip” column on the website of the Des Moines Register. In it she says:
All of my columns are written like a letter to my mother, because I want her to know what I’m doing and to be proud of me. And I want you to be proud of me too.
So, in her constant search for approval she has decided to participate in fundraisers with the same Republican leadership that did this:
Iowa Democrats are decrying Republican campaign tactics after two state lawmakers were falsely accused of voting for a bill to aid illegal immigrants — before the two legislators ever took office.A flyer mailed to voters attacking Democratic Reps. Bob Kressig of Cedar Falls and Dawn Pettengill of Mount Auburn said they supported a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to be eligible for in-state tuition. But the vote was taken in the Iowa House in 2004, months before Kressig and Pettengill were elected.House Minority Leader Pat Murphy of Dubuque said the attacks by Republicans have gone beyond negative campaigning to “outright lying.”“Iowans should be upset at that. Republicans have set a new low by breaking the public trust,” Murphy said.
Yes…just over one week after announcing her switch Rep. Dawn Pettengill has held a fundraiser with House Minority Leader Christopher Rants…The same Minority Leader who started the 527 that attacked her during the 2006 election for votes she did not take…
2 Comments
I read her whiny column
This was the key passage for me:
<blockquote>On April 16th I was called into the Speaker’s office. Knowing that I was one of the people who questioned what we were doing and am against the fair share proposal and others, I could not anticipate what was coming next. There were three people in the room. I was told that our biggest supporters were unions and they did not want to support me anymore. I was being taken off incumbent protection (mailings, surveys, etc.) and no help would be had from the Iowa Democratic Party for my next campaign. I was told leadership and our “partners” didn’t like my newspaper column and when writing them, I need to follow their talking points or they could do it for me. I was to keep my face expressionless in the chamber because I was influencing people. He’d told me on a prior date, not to nod my head or make expressions in caucus before this for the same reason, so I quit going.</blockquote>
So, once she found out that the Democratic Party was not going to spend money to reelect a legislator who continually undermined the caucus, she started thinking about switching.
Plus, she was mad that they told her to follow talking points and not to make certain facial expressions.
I'm sure the Republican Party will not disappoint her in terms of money–they'll spend plenty on her, and she obviously feels that she's entitled to be able to run on money she wouldn't be able to raise on her own.
But if she thinks the Republican caucus under Chris Rants is going to be more tolerant of opposing views and less focused on message discipline, she is in for a rude awakening next year. I expect her newspaper columns to stick very close to the GOP talking points–they'll make sure of that.
desmoinesdem Thu 17 May 10:25 PM
Here is the info
You can find the "scoop" on Rep. Pettengill's <a href="http://brownwinick.com/political.shtml">event</a> below:
May 22, Tuesday
Rep. Dawn Pettengill
Pettengill for Iowans, ID# 1507
Reception
Coach's Corner (Formerly Fratello's)
1261 Eighth Street, West Des Moines
4:00 to 6:00 pm
Special Guest: House Republican Leader Christopher Rants
Contact Allison at mailto:allison@rants.us
mark-langgin Tue 22 May 7:26 AM