NEWS AND OPINION:
It’s not heartland issues drawing an impressive group of Republican presidential hopefuls to Waukee, Iowa, on Saturday. It’s the Iowa National Security Action Summit, a daylong event which casts critical focus on a weakened U.S. military, vulnerable electrical power grids and infrastructure; the threat from Iran, Shariah and the global jihad movement; plus porous borders and illegal immigration.
Among the many speakers: Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Steve King, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Ben Carson, Rick Santorum, Donald Trump and a spate of experts, policy analysts and former military brass — along with Frank Gaffney, Hank Cooper, Bob Vanderplaats and Phyllis Schlafly.
“Americans are increasingly aware that the world is becoming an ever-more-dangerous place. They expect their leaders to protect them and our vital interests around the world,” observes Mr. Gaffney.
But hey, this is Iowa, where even the prairie is political. The Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Dinner in nearby Des Moines on Saturday night has drawn Sens. Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham, Gov. Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, George Pataki and Rick Perry, who is spending five days in the state. The aforementioned Mr. Jindal, Mr. Carson, Mr. Trump and Mr. Santorum will also attend the dinner. And we all know why this group has assembled.
“There’s always the chance for a candidate to have a defining moment at an event like this. This dinner is an opportunity for our distinguished guests to set themselves apart and announce to Iowa and the country why they should be the next president of the United States,” declares Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the Iowa GOP.
CARLYFIED
SEE ALSO: John McCain, Republicans offer Obama path to close Guantanamo before leaving office
“Can the Republican boys keep up with Carly Fiorina?”
— A tweet from Sean Steel, Republican National Committee member from California, and past chairman of the state’s Republican Party.
AN OUTSIDE CHANCE
What with Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina launching White House bids, some ponder the chances for non-politicians who pursue the presidency.
“In short, aside from a handful of war heroes, presidential candidates who have never previously held political office have a very thin record of success,” reports Eric Ostermeier, a University of Minnesota political professor who painstakingly surveyed the last 200 years of elections.
He found 75 instances in which notable “political outsiders” either ran for president or received major party convention votes. Three won the presidency and four others garnered a major party nomination but lost anyway. The three winners were all former Army men: Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight Eisenhower.
SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush take opposite tacks on family legacies, and neither is working
The major-party nominees who didn’t win in November — also all generals: Winfield Scott in 1852, a Whig; George McClellan in 1864, a Democrat; Winfield Scott Hancock in 1880, a Democrat.
Utility executive Wendell Willkie also scored in 1940, a Republican.
“The number of political outsiders running for the White House has increased, but success has waned, as has the number of campaigns by military figures,” Mr. Ostermeier says. “After the election of Eisenhower, the last political outsider with a military background to launch a major party presidential bid was General Wesley Clark, a Democrat who won one primary in the 2004 race — Oklahoma.”
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
The new Citizens Against Government Waste “Pig Book” has revealed the final amount of pork-barrel spending in the last fiscal year. The number of earmarks from lawmakers decreased from 109 to 105 — but the total cost jumped by 56 percent, from $2.7 billion to $4.2 billion.
“While those figures are far below the record $29 billion in FY 2006, and there are no earmarks for screw worm research or teapot museums, there are some troublesome expenditures,” the group reports.
Among the projects on notice this year: $2,6 million for the Denali Commission, “an agency that is so deserving of extinction that its own inspector general said Congress should put its money elsewhere,” the findings report. Then there is $120 million to upgrade the M1 Abrams tank, $15 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and $4 million for an aquatic plant control program — to name a bare few.
“The 2015 Pig Book continues to prove that any earmark is a bad earmark,” says Tom Schatz, president of the watchdog group.
THE TONY BLANKLEY FELLOWSHIP
The search is on at the Steamboat Institute for the next “Tony Blankley Chair for Pubic Policy and American Exceptionalism” — a fellowship that carries a cash stipend and honors the late Tony Blankley, the thoughtful, cheerful, immensely influential gent who served in the Reagan administration and was editorial-page editor for The Washington Times.
“The application is open to emerging thought leaders in the United States. Applicants should be a college graduate or post-graduate student, and may include college faculty members on sabbatical. Applicants must have a record of professional achievement, leadership skills, experience with public speaking and/or published articles or commentaries in the arena of ideas. We are looking for someone with the potential to inspire others and who will be a friend of the Steamboat Institute for many years to come,” notes the Colorado-based organization, which touts limited taxes, limited government, free-market capitalism, individual rights and a strong national defense.
The application deadline is June 30; judges include Ed Meese, Ed Gillespie, John O’Sullivan and Thomas P. McDevitt, chairman of the board at The Washington Times. Find everything here: SteamboatInstitute.org
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
For sale: The Panabaker House, Queen Ann Victorian, built 1880, in Arcadia, Missouri. Two bedrooms, two baths, dining room, living room, sun room; completely renovated, gourmet kitchen, 1,230-square feet, two stories. Original hardwood floors, stained glass windows, gas fireplace, period light fixtures plus interior and exterior paint, stone porch, detached two-car garage, extra RV garage with two-story office space.
Priced at $149,000 through Buck-Realty.com; under “Our listings” heading, enter Listing No. 12062845 in search function.
POLL DU JOUR
• 72 percent of Americans would not be comfortable with a socialist presidential candidate; 94 percent of Republicans, 73 percent of independents and 55 percent of Democrats agree.
• 28 percent overall would be comfortable with a socialist candidate; 5 percent of Republicans, 28 percent of independents and 45 percent of Democrats agree.
• 52 percent overall have an unfavorable opinion of socialism; 76 percent of Republicans, 54 percent of independents and 29 percent of Democrats agree.
• 26 percent overall have a favorable opinion of socialism; 9 percent of Republicans, 22 percent of independents and 43 percent of Democrats agree.
• 35 percent overall say calling someone a socialist is an insult; 56 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of independents and 17 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted May 6-8.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin, and thanks.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.