From 515-512-4155. If you do a search in the right places it shows up as a residential DM/Windsor Heights number. I suspect someone is either volunteering with their own cell or working with a provided cell.

One of these days, I'm actually going to get the name of the polling firm doing the call. But for once, it's obviously local.

The caller actually confirmed my name.

1) Am l likely to participate in the Caucuses? How likely am I to vote. (Likely)

2) Which Caucus? (D)

3) How well do I know the candidates? (all)

4) Whom are you likely to support? (Bernie)

5) Let me read to you this statement – pollster reads a hellaciously long quote from Sanders' stump that aggressively summarizes his campaign. Are you still going to support Sen. Sanders? (hell, yes)

6) Why don't you support Clinton? (Because she doesn't give statements like what you just read)

6) Could you support Hillary Clinton (yes)

7) What would it take to support Hillary Clinton? (Sanders to leave the race)

6) Are you conservative, liberl, or moderate? (liberal)

7) And asks me my birth year. End of call.

I almost questioned if it was a push poll from the Clinton campaign with that long quote, but I think the Clinton campign or close supporter is getting really nervous about Sanders' support.

 . . but it's debateable how good the polling of House 71 is.

I got a call last evening on my cell which is issued to a number (I thought) in the Story County phone exchange.  It's from 801-685-8913, Murray, Utah, from “National Polling”. Basic demographical data is asked, and then they ask me if I know these two names: Mark Smith & Jane Jech. Hell, no, I say. 

Okay, moving on, whom do you support for Governor, Senate . . etc. Operator specifically names *all* the names on ballot for each race, with party affliation. How likely am I to vote; what am I registered as? 

Getting back to Smith and Jech, do you like/dislike either? Whom will you vote for, Mr. Smith, the Democrat, or Ms. Jech, the Republican?

Thank you, end of call. 

Just occured, 4:25pm CDT –

Caller identified himself as Jeff from National (mumble) Survey, wants to know if I have time for a very short survey, he specifically says that he will transfer me to an automated system. I (obviously) accepted. “This poll is primarily concerned with the Senate election.”

It was short – and I encourage you to read through to after action, because that's the interesting part.

Both my wife and I have gotten robopolled on our cell phones – nothing new as the straw poll is in a few days and she and I are 515 residents.  What's odd about this poll is that the caller ID and the caller do not identify themselves, and it's not even a recorded voice or campaign call.  The voice is completely computer synthesized, and it simply says that, 'This is a poll for the 2012 presidential campaign.  Who would you vote for?  Obama, Bachmann, Gingrich, ect.'  

Who else has gotten called?  Does anyone know anything?  Isn't this a violation of election law? 

It may be the night of the Thrilla in Sioux City, but the Secret Liberal Listening post is always on duty.  I got a call this evening from Rep. Darryl Issa (R-Cali), and he couldn't wait to get my help for his new Political Action committee, ISSAPAC, via recorded robocall.

In a nice new twist, The Secret Liberal Listening post got a call from an actual campaign this evening.  Steve King, R-Nutjobbia, called my registered Republican phone and confessed his deepest, darkest passions via recorded robo-poll. 

Americans United for Life last evening called the Secret Liberal Listening Post (the number has been registered for decades as Republican for 3 previous families).

AUL has been a long and powerful mover in the anti-abortion opposition.  Just recently, they hired a new CEO, Charmaine Yoest, formerly of the Family Research Council and an advisor to Huckabee's 2008 campaign.

Three things are weighing on my mind today, 21 days after Ed Fallon lost his primary bid against Leonard Boswell.

One – Boswell, of course, voted with the rest of the Blue Dogs to help pass the FISA bill with its amnesties for telcos that helped the government spy on its' citizens.  (No link – if you don't know about it, how the hell did you end up at Bleeding Heartland?)

Two – Kos basically let the primary winners and incumbents know that when the Democratic Party has a firmer control 2010, those who vote against the progressive agenda will be challenged, and electorate willing, tossed.  Their FISA vote will be remembered.

Three – but, Dennis Perrin gives a counter-argument of sorts – we're fools for thinking the means for our seizure of the government will be the Democratic Party.  The Democratic party simply has happened to have the right people to bend to the will of outside political opinions.

In fact, much of the early civil rights movement was supported by communists and other radicals, while the early feminist arguments were made by anarchists like Emma Goldman. In these cases, the Dems, who were very slow to embrace either concept, were pressured by highly energized and politicized segments of the population. These activists didn't sit at computers, blogging about their personal concerns, hoping that the powers-that-be would be swayed by their posts and links; they organized, educated, marched, got clubbed, gassed, and arrested. They had decades of agitation behind them. They had independent political groups supporting them. They had spokespeople who made the case forcefully and eloquently.

Oddly enough, Dennis writes the real zinger earlier in the article.

One can speak of various alternatives, from grassroots organizing to self-education to politicizing the despised and forgotten, and if your suggestions don't end with voting for Better Democrats, most liberals will dismiss you as unserious. It must always come back to the mule team, regardless of what the Dems actually do or inevitably stand for. As I've said before, the vast majority of libs, especially those who blog, cannot and do not want to see a future where the Dems cease to exist. Hence their bottomless masochism, and their insistence that you join in.

It's easy this time to talk about electing Democrats.  The independents want change and are willing to go with the obvious route to change – the Democratic Party.  Those on the left and those in the Democratic Party are riding the wave and looking forward to the power that they're likely to achieve in November.

In 2010, the real bloodletting will erupt. That's when the various factions inside and outside Democratic Party will begin the real purity eliminations.

Meanwhile, those willing to be the adoring Boswells for the various powers & principalities that currently run the Union, still need to have their asses thrown out along the powers-that-be.

Consider this a general discussion of possibile Dem challengers for Tom Latham in the upcoming general.

My sources in Story County have told me that State Senator Rich Olive has suddenly quit his job in insurance and hasn't given any reasos for departure.  It would make some amount of sense that Rich, whom is popular in Story County, could be recruited to run against Latham even though he's only in his first term.

If Olive has actually beeen recruited, it leads me to believe that the State Democratic Party believes that semi-moderate party line Republicans could be easier targets in the upcoming election.

The A28 Website

A28 – April 28th – will see a number of nationwide impeachment actions.  Iowa will have a presence, thanks to volunteer Sue Ann Johnson:

The A28 Iowa Impeachment Portrait Caravan: I am planning to drive across the great state of Iowa on Saturday, April 28th and meet friends and supporters at various locations along the way (Fort Dodge, Ames, Des Moines, Iowa City, etc.) to photograph people from across Iowa holding block-letter signs to spell “IMPEACH”. I want to demonstrate that Iowans support impeachment and to remind our state legislators of that, too. My schedule is as follows: I’ll be starting out at 8 am in Fort Dodge at the Fort Dodge Public Library. My next stop will be in Ames at the Iowa State Memorial Union (ISU campus) north side fountain (between Union Drive and the front door) at 10 am. At 12 noon, I’ll be in Des Moines at the Iowa State Capitol Building, Spanish-American War Monument (E. 12th Street). The last stop of the day will be in Iowa City at the south side of the Iowa Memorial Union (UIowa campus), near Hubbard Park at 3 pm. This event is for anyone who supports impeaching America’s leaders regarding their decisions to involve our nation in a war in Iraq and their consequent decisions to spy on the American public in open violation of the law and sanction the use of torture. Participants can meet me at one of the above locations, or drive with me caravan-style to several locations. Make a statement without saying a word! Contact: sueannjohnson79 [at] Hotmail

(email address altered for anti-spam sanity- if you can’t figure it out, contact me.)

I’ll be meeting our caravan Saturday at Noon at the Capitol!  Bring your signs –  I’ll be bringing my car with it’s impeachment stickers.

Posted to Progressive Historians & Bleeding Heartland

Last week was heelacious here in Iowa – I opted to take a day off Friday because of my Saturday midterm and the impending 2nd snowstorm.  By the afternoon, I was feeling antsy and my 2 year-old daughter was getting loud, so I headed for a local cybercafe that was popular – and ended up spending an hour listening to and slightly challenging New Mexico Governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson.

Yes, in Iowa, we can and do get this sort of luck still in the presidential campaign.  As Bill noted though, it’s getting harder when the campaign appearances of the front runners like Sens. Clinton and Obama draw several thousand people.  Kitchen table political work isn’t dead quite yet, but this is probably one of our last visions of it.

Pictured is me, Jessica & Liz of Iowans for Sensibile Priorities, Michael Libbie for Insight Advertising, a student reporter from Drake University, another blogger whom I didn’t get to know, and Richardson.  Chris Woods for Political Forecast sat to my left and is out of frame.  We all look a little disheveled – I’d been studying and hadn’t expected to be on the news, and Bill ended up getting out and pushing at least once when his car got stuck.