Republican speakers urge high voter turnout on Nov. 6

     The Oct. 25 Jones County Republican Dinner drew a large crowd as they heard from county and state Republican candidates up for office (Jon Zirkelbach and Ned Rohwedder, Jones County supervisors; Carrie Koelker, State Senate District 29; Lee Hein, State Representative District 96; and Andy McKean, State Representative District 58). Also gracing the room with their presence were Mary Mosiman, State Auditor; Paul Pate, Secretary of State; Jeremy Davis, candidate for State Treasurer; and Rod Blum, First District Congressional Representative.

     The keynote speaker of the night was Mark Meckler with the State of Conventions. Meckler’s mission is to bring the power of governance back to the people and the states, not in Washington, D.C.

     Mosiman, whose opponent is Democrat Rob Sand, said Iowans should want a true CPA, as she is, in the office. “If we do elect a non-CPA to lead the auditor’s office, there will be consequences,” alluded Mosiman. “Audits will not be able to be done by the state auditor’s office and we’ll have to outsource all of the work that we have been doing for the last almost 40 consecutive years.” She said that outsourcing would end up costing the state an obscene amount of money.

     The state auditor’s office has been run by a CPA since 1979.

     “These audits must be done by a licensed, certified public accountant who works within a CPA firm,” continued Mosiman. “That state auditor’s office has been a CPA firm for decades.”

     She said her job as auditor impacts every Iowa taxpayers’ life.

     “Every dime that you pay goes to the government at some level,” said Mosiman. “So our audit work helps make sure that those government officials are using your tax dollars for the public purpose intended. And it a great honor to do that.

     “I want to keep the auditor’s office working for you, the people of Iowa. Lets also keep the Iowa Auditor’s Office moving and working on behalf of the people of Iowa instead of going back to the 1970s.”

     Paul Pate is being opposed by Democrat Deidre DeJear.

     “It’s been an honor to be your secretary of state and to represent you,” Pate said. “It’s been truly an honor to be able to tell you, with the help the Republican legislature, we got Voter ID passed.”

     On the flip side, Pate said his opponent wants to do away with Voter ID.

     “Between her and the liberal court, we’re getting pounded,” he said.

     Pate explained that despite the legislature passing Voter ID in the last session, the Democrats took them to court about the law being unconstitutional. He said Voter ID is meant to do away with voter fraud, and the Des Moines district court judge claimed voter fraud does not exist.

     Pate said Voter ID is really needed with absentee voting, with 40 percent of Iowans voting by absentee.

     “One of the motivators for Voter ID was because I don’t see any people who vote absentee. We don’t know who they are. And that’s disturbing. We need to make sure we have checks and balances. And that’s what we’re doing.”

     Pate also tried putting people’s fears to rest regarding election security. He said despite the media’s coverage, “Nobody by Moscow, Russia is voting in Iowa.

     “They’re messing with our heads with social media and propaganda,” Pate continued. “They’re putting stuff out there to create doubt, to the point where you don’t trust election results. We can’t let them do that. We need to keep our (Republican) majority and with your help, we’ll do just that.”

     Jeremy Davis grew up near Olin, and actually got into the state treasurer’s race a little late in June at the urging of Governor Kim Reynolds.

     He said current Treasurer, Democrat Michael Fitzgerald, who’s a 36-year incumbent, isn’t representing Iowans. Davis said Fitzgerald “fails to get out around the state to find out how people really feel about how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.

     “I think that’s a failure of the office. I think it’s a failure of the individual. And I think what happens after 36 years of serving in one continuous office in a policy-setting role, you get complacent.”

     Davis said there needs to be more transparency with the state budget through the treasurer’s office.

     “We need a state treasurer who has ethics and integrity. We’re going to need all your help on Nov. 6 to make this work, all of us, up & down the ballot.”

     Rod Blum, whose Democratic opponent Abby Finkenauer is receiving donations from out-of-state supporters, said the First District race is the biggest in the country. He said all eyes are on Iowa’s First District come Nov. 6.

     “I honest-to-God believe that this election is the most important election of our lifetime,” Blum said.

     He feels the political divide that exists in society today has never been so palpable, saying the Democratic Party has gone too far to the left.

     Blum said should the Democrats get control in Washington, D.C., they’d likely pursue another investigation into Justice Kavanaugh and impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

     “It’ll only be the second one in the history of the United States, the second impeachment of a Supreme Court justice,” Blum shared.

     He urged those present at the dinner to get out and vote. “This election is all about turnout. I believe Republicans are going to show up in mass in this district to vote. Anybody that’s going to vote Republican, get them to the polls. Common sense will win the day, particularly in this district.”

     Mark Meckler championed returning the people’s power to the people, not in D.C. He said this idea goes all the way back to the American Revolution with a captain in the Continental Army, Levi Preston. Meckler quoted Preston as saying, “We had always governed ourselves. And we always intended to.”

     Meckler has traveled the country and visited 42 states in an effort to pass resolutions in 34, per the U.S. Constitution, to bring the power to the states. He said Republicans have Preston’s DNA deep within to regain their innate power. “You carry Levi Preston’s genes deep within your political soul. His political heritage is your political heritage. And the reason that you’re uncomfortable and frustrated and disgusted with what you see in government is because it’s antithetical to what it means to be a free American.”

     Meckler said politics starts at home, in Iowa, in each state, not in D.C., not what is seen on the news. He said Article 15 in the U.S. Constitution in fact gives the power to state legislators “to restrain federal tyranny.” Meckler feels too much power exists in Washington, and it’s a broken system.

     He also echoed Blum’s sentiments regarding political discourse throughout the country in relation to the Kavanaugh hearings. “I’m witnessing something I’ve never witnessed before in American politics. The left did what they thought they had to do in those hearings, which was despicable; it was disgusting; it was offensive. They created a monster.

     “It’s hard for us to understand but other people hate you because of your politics. They don’t disagree with your politics anymore. We’ve gone way beyond that. They hate you because we believe in different things politically.”

     Meckler said that’s why Republicans need to show up on Nov. 6 and vote down the ticket for other Republicans.

     “We each have to get people to vote if we’re going to save the country,” he said. “We’re actually going to use the Constitution to save the Constitution. This is the only way that we can save the Republic long-term.”