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  So..who is the mystery Democrat that is allegedly considering running against Chuck Grassley for the US Senate? We now know that it is not Bruce Braley... And it is not Barry Griswell... But the Democrats that continue to stop by the Saloon swear that they have a candidate... The candidate will be known in a month or so... And the candidate will have a name and money... About the only name that gets thrown around here in the Saloon is Fred Hubbell... If you don't know Hubbell... He is part of the Iowa-Hubbell dynasty.. Filthy rich... And has worked around the globe in the insurance and financial services industry... He is an early retiree... Moved back to Iowa and is close to Culver... In fact..Culver appointed him to Chair the Iowa Power Fund... And even appointed his wife to Chair the Environmental Protection Commission... Which..interestingly...if he is a candidate...his Chairmanship of the Power Fund might be ... Full story

                                              Summer is almost over... So... Jump in the boat... Mix this up... And have a good weekend..         Mama’s Stop Light 1 oz Arrow® peach schnapps 1 oz Absolut® vodka 1 oz Midori® melon liqueur pineapple juice orange juice 1 tbsp sloe gin... Full story

Well...it looks like the dirty tricks campaign has started... Some people have accused the Vander Plaats campaign of planting an anti-Terry Branstad flyer... Others have said it might be a Democrat plant that did it... Regardless...I was given a flyer on taxes...and have chosen not to post it here... Instead...there's an infamous blog post that says it all... The issue...taxes... The candidate...Bob Vander Plaats... As was reported on TheIowaRepublican.com earlier... Bob Vander Plaats has a history of supporting higher taxes... Including this one.. Click on the link and enjoy the read... Word of warning...the post is for mature audiences only... http://tiny.cc/hQOme Al... Full story

What Is Jerry Thinking?   Ok... So Jerry Behn has decided to enter the race for governor... WTF? Where has this guy been? He announces he is running for governor right before a famous constituent of his makes his decision about running for governor? No way to cut that but to just call it for what it is.. Weird...         Lobbyists Running Governor Campaigns...   Speaking of weird... Interesting to see where some lobbyists have placed their bets in the governors race... Ed Failor Jr. and ITR are backing Christian "Million Dollar Fong" Frank Severino is backing Rod Roberts Scott Weiser is backing Jerry Behn Andy Warren is backing Paul McKinley McKinley is broke and no longer a serious candidate...if he ever was... Chris Rants is apparently just using lobbyists for what they're good for... Golf and fundraising...       The Other More Famous Boone County Republican (sorry Jerry)...... Full story

  So... Barry Griswell wants to run for the U.S. Senate against Charles Grassley... Griswell is filthy rich and could reach in his own pockets to make the race competitive... Lots of corporate stock options and bonuses taken by this CEO... Who was CEO of a successful insurance company that decided to start a bank because you can't fail at banking...right? Well..Principal was at the same TARP bailout trough as Goldman Sachs and the rest of them...led by Chairman of the Board Barry Griswell... But...sure will be hard for Grassley to attack Griswell on all those healthy bonuses since Grassley never had a problem with Principal when their pac was giving him campaign donations.... And it will be even harder to attack irresponsible business practices and the whole bailout... Because Grassley voted for it... Check back in the Saloon for more on Griswell... Everybody that stops in here has something to share ... Full story

Well... It's that time of the week again... The end of August comes and you start to think about the end of summer... So...hit the beach this weekend... Have some fun... And mix some of this up... Guarantee you will have a great weekend... Al... Drink of the Week: Al's Summer's Paradise 1/2 oz Absolut Kurant 1/4 oz Grand Marnier 1/4 oz Chambord raspberry liqueur 1/4 oz Midori melon liqueur 1/4 oz Malibu rum 1/4 oz Amaretto 1/2 oz Cranberry juice 1/4 oz Pineapple juice Mixing instructions: Shake ingredients in a mixing tin filled with ice cubes. Strain into a rocks glass. Full story

    Bits and pieces today in the Saloon... Chris Rants launched an attack on Bob Vander Plaats healthcare proposal... The proposal was for Iowa to assert its 10th Amendment rights and reject government run healthcare... No more Medicare? No more Medicaid? It doesn't make much sense and Rants blasted him for it. Rants says VanderCare would be expensive for Iowa... With the state having to pick up all the federal money that Vander Plaats would reject and send back... This VanderCare proposal almost earned Bob an Ass Clown award...   Scared of a Town Meeting...   Why is it that Democrats are so deathly afraid of town meetings?  Tom Harkin and Leonard Boswell now have both turned people away from their town meetings... Grassley moved the location of his to accomodate Iowans that want to come out and listen, ask questions, etc. The bigger question is why and ... Full story

                          He's not what he once was... It used to be that Republicans and Democrats alike looked up to the guy...and feared his political ability... Democrats could not even field a candidate against him.. And Republicans would have to tolerate his odd votes because he was "Chuck Grassley..." Well..it appears that is all starting to change... There is rampant speculation now that Bruce Braley is actively considering a run for the US Senate against him... And even more interesting... There is a lot of talk about Congressman Steve King also challenging Grassley in the GOP Primary... Time will tell if Grassley again scares away any challengers... Or if his time has come to finally have a race... In the Primary or General.. Al... Full story

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                      Republican Party of Iowa Press Secretary Danielle Hardon just released the following:... Full story