2nd Congressional Candidates at Lincoln Dinner

Yeah, I know I was supposed to post this yesterday, that when out the window when I realized that it was a beautiful day. The speaking order at the Lincoln Dinner for the 2^nd Congressional District Candidates was Lee Harder, Mariannette Miller-Meek, and then Peter Teahen.

Well I guess before we get too far ahead of ourselves, lets talk a little pre-game. We all know that that campaigns all play some games at these types of events. It is really what makes it fun. Anyway, one of the interesting things was that the Miller-Meeks had a campaign table, Teahen and Harder didn’t. I’m also told that Miller-Meeks had a bunch of her county chairs at the event, and entertained former SOS and Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate at her table. Teahen on the other hand filled his table with mostly staff. Now none of this really matters but if possession is 9/10's of the law, perception is 9/10’s of the law when living in the world of politics.

Lee Harder: This is an exact quote from my Krusty Korrespondent, “Ahhhhhhh please, please make it stop! Make it stop!” Now could it really have been that bad? I guess Harder got up and rambled during his allotted time. His speech focused mostly on the life issue and he also asked the crowd to vote for him if they lived in the 2^nd CD, and if they didn’t they can give him money. I’ve been told by a number of people that he just doesn’t seem to be all there, and I guess it showed on Friday night.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks: For the past few weeks Miller-Meeks has been creating a lot of buzz from her campaign. It all started with her TV ads, and was followed by her impressive fundraising numbers in comparison to her opponents. One of the dangers in politics is not living up to they hype. Not only did she maintain the buzz about her campaign with her speech, she made quite a first impression to many GOP faithful who got to see her for the first time on Friday night.

Out of all the Iowa candidates speaking at the event her speech was coherent, issue oriented, and well delivered. She also touted the many successes of her campaign and was the only candidate who told the audience that they will win on Wednesday. It was obvious during her speech that she is extremely intelligent, witty, and confident, great combination of traits which all great candidates have.

There was already a lot of buzz about Miller-Meeks in the 2^nd CD, after Friday night I’m betting that even more people are talking about the underdog candidate from Ottumwa who has a great chance of winning the nomination, and might be Republicans best chance of knocking off an incumbent here in Iowa.

Peter Teahen: Teahen’s speech was solid and could easily be compared to the speeches given by the 3 U.S. Senate candidates, David Hartsuch, and Kim Schmett. The problem was that his opponent shined in the spotlight while he was just another guy giving a speech. Like Lee Harder, Teahen also focused on the life issue for most of his speech. He also used some of his allotted time to talk about his strong Republican background. No, I’m not joking. I’m told that Teahen said that he had a long history of supporting Republican candidates financially and he has managed a Republican campaign.

I just have one thing to say about that, it’s pretty obvious that Teahen is hearing a lot about his ties to Democrats when he is out on the campaign trail.

Lincoln Dinner Speech Grades

A+ John Thune (You expect that with a keynote)
A+ Bill Northey (Very, Very Impressive)
A Mariannette Miller-Meek
B Christopher Reed
B- David Hartsuch
B- Kim Schmett
B- George Eichhorn
B- Phyllis Kelly
C Peter Teahen
C Steve Rathje
D Steve Roberts
F Lee Harder

Also I’m told that Stew Iverson messed up a bunch of names and information about people. So he gets an Incomplete.

Preview for tomorrow.

A Krusty Voter Guide on the US Senate Primary
A Krusty Voter Guide on the HD 69 State Legislative Race
A Krusty Voter Guide on the 2^nd CD Republican Primary

I will also add my final thoughts on those three primaries.