We Must Be Getting Close...

Hey there QCI-ders and hope you all are getting your Memorial Weekend off to an epic one. Reporting live from God's Country... we thought we'd stop back and chirp a little bit... while we may all be on vacation... these campaign peeps certainly are not.

Kind of a bunch of things caught my eye since the last time we had a chat... especially in the 3rd... so let's get to it.

REACHING VOTERS - Again... we're getting close to the 2 minute warning when it comes to the primary. And... of course... the hack in me gets all... well... taking it in. Of course the traditional phone calls and door knocking are happening right now... but other stuff just keep popping up.

TELEVISION - #goodjoboutofyou C-Raig over at the TIR for a great wrap up on the new ads in the 3rd District. I really like Gibbon's new one (of course we're all Monday Morning Quarterhacks when it comes to media) but I think he should have been running this one since the beginning. Solid, solid ad. Zaun has a good closer too. And Funk with a well done one as well.... I find it interesting that these fellas can produce better ads than some Guv candidates... but that's me just talking out load. Who's ready for a photo finish.
SOCIAL MEDIA - Lots and lots and lots of Facebook profiles are being changed lately to the candidates of their choice... I've seen a ton of Branstad ones... and I'd say Funk/Zaun/Gibbons and yes a Rathje one... and others... Are Facebook Profile Pics the new yard signs?
NEWSPAPER - Yes... Not often do I pick a hard copy of the Register... but today, I was glad I did to catch another ad... from Mark Rees. The DMR has been selling these for a while now... to car dealers... shops and everyone in between. But caught the double hit in the Metro section. Again, I thought its clever... but as the story is with political ads... did it reach?

ENDORSEMENTS - Whoah Nelly.... A couple of doozies late this afternoon... of which I thought it was odd to release these then... or today for that matter... voters and the public for that matter checked out yesterday when they were looking towards Memorial Day Weekend... but anyways... these were released... So here's what I got...

ACIE EARL ENDORSES ROB GETTEMY - Interesting indeed. But that's all I know about it. Because the release was never copied and pasted into the body of the email. Do the other candidates have any other Iowa Hawkeye stars to one up this? Or are there any other Acie Earl's out there other than THE Acie Earl.
REP. DAWN PETTENGILL ENDORSES DAVE FUNK - This is a good one my friends... and a big pick up for Dave and his P-Funk All-Stars. The other fellas must not have been making it out east as much as they should have... from the release:

“In the past, I have not given out endorsements during primaries. But, I am proud to offer my endorsement to Dave Funk, who has spent a lot of time talking to the people in my district. If a candidate doesn't want to come while they are campaigning, how in the heck will we get their attention when they are the Congressman? His doing the work now, tells me he will do it later.”

Yikes other guys.... yikes... no love for Blairstown Sauerkraut Days? C'mon son.

FAKE FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS? Yes... sources close to QCI are telling us there are some fake ones out there... more to come on this...

AND FINALLY... I thought we'd rock a little Slipknot... such a sad deal. RIP Paul Gray.

Polk County Event in Review...

Alright. The Black Keys are about to be on Jimmy Fallon as yours truly as back at it with a wrap up on a great event in downtown DeMo.

First off. Huge ginormous #goodjoboutofyou to Polk County for one of the best county fundraisers I've seen in my years in politics. But I gotta tell ya... Not surprised at all when you are doing an event with Darrell Kearney. Great job my friend and #goodjoboutofyou Arty Smith... Chairman John Bloom... And all the volunteers for a class act poltical event. With that long list of speakers... And Newt... And starting the program a little late... And getting peeps out at a decent time... You all knocked it out of the park.

Am I kissing their asses enough? :) - I kid, I kid... I meant everything I just said. Oh and thanks for giving the World's Crappiest Blog a press pass! Epic.

Now... Let's break this event down... QCI style...

PREGAME - So this is when the staffer/hack in me goes nuts. OK... So there's the reception that always goes on before these deals. And usually a sign war. No sign war. I blame myself. See 2002 RPI Spring Dinner... Yeah. Was reminded of a couple of good stories from a meeting at Scruffy's downtown back when I was... youngish? Come on guys... We need to teach this young new breed of staffers the stress... The rivalry... And yes, the fun that is a good ole fashioned sign war. Make 'em earn their keep a bit. More on staffers in a sec. Anyways... Great vibe in the room. Old faces, new faces and a bunch of great friends in the room. I love working the room with so many of my favorite people in the same place.

CAMPAIGNS - So no sign war... But the proof is in the pudding when you swing by the campaign tables. 10 campaigns had booths... Here's what I found out. Peeps need to hit an RNC training or two. First off... Of the 10 tables I visited... 6 said hello to me and chatted it up.... The others fail. Guys, its less than 2 weeks before the election... Only one of you asked me for my vote. Most of you I had to start the conversation. Not sure if this is your first rodeo... But I gotta tell ya... You can tell who is gonna win and lose elections when you visit a campaign table. And... BTW... Only one campaign asked me to wear a lapel sticker. The political winds are not going to carry you all the way to November. You need to work your ass off... And a lot of you aren't doing that. You had 600 plus effing voters in the room. Primary voters. You people are not leaving it all on the field. Get your shit together. I'm serious. Sorry for the language peeps... But... I found it rather disturbing. You got less than 2 weeks. Get to work.

Listen, I’m not the end all be all expert on this. And when you see me at the next event… I probably will expect to see you all hitting me up. But that’s not the point. The point is there were 600 plus others. And before you send your hate mail to me… I heard lots of the same comments from other higher ups in the crowd who told me the same thing. People notice this stuff.

CD 3 CANDIDATE SPEECHES - Alright... Let's get to the nitty gritty... The 3rd Congressional District was the show tonight. Let me say... Still haven't picked one yet. But let's get real.

SCOTT BATCHER - Dude, you're working hard. I appreciate it. Actually was talking to a buddy during yours. So I got nothing.
DR. PAT BERTROCHE - It was alright. Decent lines... And got polite applause.
DAVID FUNK - Good speech. Listen I loves me some Steve King. But don't over sell it man. Good lines though. Had the attention of the crowd.
JIM GIBBONS - Been impressed with this campaign. But the speech was a little... Unorganized. I get the bit. But still a little lost on the Cortez line. Yes, I like the winner push he did. But I think he over played that.
MARK REES – I thought his speech was a little somber. May be the way he talks. And the fire ‘em up speech might not be his deal.
BRAD ZAUN - There's something you get with Brad Zaun. What you see, is what you get. And tonight... He killed it. Most applause from the crowd tonight. It was real... And it was genuine. Probably the best candidate speech of the night. If you disagree, you probably work for another campaign or were having a cigarette when he was talking… and didn’t hear it.

Urgh… I think tonight got me narrowed down to 3… Good news is? We got 6 fellas who will be way better than GMLB errr Leonard Boswell.

STATEWIDES - Love that our main dudes... Watch Doggy Dogg Dave Vaudt and Bill Northey did the intros for all the statewide peeps. The candidates didn't talk. But here's my take.... Dave Jamison and Jim Heavens had tables and peeps. The SOS fellas were there... And Brenna Findley. Chatted with her. She is working her ass off. And raising a crap load of money. While she probably has the smallest crew, staff wise... Look out kids... We might have a special candidacy on our hands. But I told her she needs to tweet more... Other than that... That was the story when it comes to the statewides...

GOVERNOR CANDIDATES - There isn't much I got on this. All were great. And way better than the current one we got. For real... I thought all 3 gave good talks. No game changer here... But from the sticker wars and staff/volunteer work... From my view in the cheap seats? There's a reason why they call front runners, front runners. Also, whoever put that huge signage-ish in front of the lobby? Nice work.

NEWT - Dudes... Newt Gingrich? Not sure he gives a bad speech. After I read Barry Goldwater's book back in the day? I read To Renew America... And that officially got me hooked with the movement. That and John Kasich's Chuck Taylor sneakers on the floor of the US House... And the fact that I could have a conversation about Metallica, Pearl Jam and Radiohead with Kasich... But anyways... Great speech as always. Newt can always put things in ways that I can understand them. And his bit on the Oil Spill? Like a loyal reader told me at the event... "Don't even get me started! Seriously?!! Grrrr..." Yeah totally with ya. Good God... Nothing gets my blood boiling than this stupid effing mess. Get it together douche bags. Hell, even James Carville agrees with all this. Anyways... Great speech and it was great to watch all the peeps in the house get fired up... And get focused. Will he run for President? I'm not sure now. He sure is spending a lot of time here. I think he's gaining some fans... But who knows... Appreciate these types coming to the Hawkeye State... Helping push the ball forward in November.

FINAL THOUGHTS - A quick shout to the Funk peeps getting signs in the hotel lobby when Newt went live on Fox News. Rocked it Today Show style... That's how you hustle, son.

Dudes... How many times I gotta say this. Learn the damn disclaimers. I will not take you seriously...

Nice job out of half of the lit I scored (5 of the 10 pieces) that mentioned their campaigns were on Twitter and Facebook. This stuff matters. When campaigns are asking their volunteers to donate their profile pic and avatars... They are on to something.

Cool collateral material I found? Mark Rees tattoos for kids. Not many kids in the crowd…. But was told they are a big hit when families are shopping in Valley Junction where their headquarters is. I know kids tattoos are not new… but I like the clever thought behind it.

Sign wars... Bring em back. It creates hoopla. That's what most of this stuff is about. Maybe why this event was a bit classier (smirk)… but us old timers loves us a sign war.

Again great event. Fun night… lots of work to do. More stuff to come. Stay thirsty my friends.

LIVE from Downtown DeMo... The Main Event: Polk County Robb Kelly Dinner

Yo yo yo!!!!!!!

Alright. Checking out the Polk County Robb Kelly Dinner. And judging by the speaking order.... it's gonna be a long one... well because there are like 269 dudes running for Congress... hahah.... 269... ok, maybe that's a stretch...

But I'm sure we'll have a great time.

Press pass? CHECK!

Ready to see some of my favorit people? HELL YES!

Live tweets? YOU GOT IT SUCKA!!

Follow me up here if you're on the Twitter. If you're there, use the #polkgop hashtag.

Or follow along on the right --->>>

Stay thirsty friends and see you there!

Just a few things...

QCI-ders... Lot's of stuff coming your way... less than 2 weeks to go for the big primary night. So here's a few quick things.

WILL FOLKS AND SOUTH CAROLINA - We're following this story now. We made a bet with ole Sic Willie of FITSNews on the Outback Bowl (Hawkeyes vs Gamecocks) a couple years back. Now he is in the middle of a scandal that is rocking the Palmetto State. Our position? We actually believe Folks on this one... Yups... I said it... Also, a sidenote... when "national leaders" like Sarah Palin comment on stories like this... It makes us take you 10 times less seriously.
POLK COUNTY DIN DIN - What up, what up! Newt's returnin' to the DeMo for the Polk County GOP Event. And what does the world's crappiest blog have for you? Well, a press pass... We'll be there with some live tweeters. So if you refuse to not participate in the social media thing... because you think you're cool... you can follow along on the right hand side of this blog.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR - At tonight's Polk County Thinger... there's gonna be peeps who are gonna focus on the whole Newt thing. We'll say it here first... he ain't runnin'. So if that's all you media types are gonna focus on... have at it hoss. The best peep watching will be the candidates and their teams... less than 2 weeks out... the faces of staff, volunteers... and yes the candidates themselves tell a lot... if you know what you're looking for.
YOU'RE PUTTING A LOT OF STOCK INTO THIS EVENT G$ - Yeah dude... this is Polk County. While the 98 counties of the rest of you hate to hear it... this is Polk effing County. It's 10% of the vote. Plus, I'll argue that this will be one of the most successful fundraisers in the history of the Polk County Party... hell, this is going to be the most successful county party fundraiser in the state. And by successful, I'm talking dollars... nice work DK.

More to come... see you on the Tweeters later... and of course... Stay thirsty my friends....

Interesting...

Oh Google... the things you learn from thee... So we are getting to the prime time. The 4th quarter.... I promise... super promise... That the posts come more frequent. For today... I stumbled upon this little Google ad gem. I'm told they did the same thing with the keywords, Terry Branstad. Click on the image below for a better look.

Strange, Book and National DK Day...

Oh look... the rain looks like it might wanna stop.

That's some good news!

Don't you just love it when you stumble upon awesome... Just straight out of no where? Yups... Happened to me last night.

WHEN YOU'RE STRANGE - Yeah man... Just minding my own business and totally stumbled upon a great documentary that I acutally been wanting to see. When You're Strange: a story about the Doors... Narrated by Johnny Depp. All actual footage... Great play by play of the 54 months the band was together. It came out earlier this year... It has been making its rounds at film festivals and was pleasantly surprised to see it on PBS last night. If you love the Doors, Jim Morrison, music history... Or just dig great documentaries in general... You should check it out Friday night or set your Tivos. Really well done.
EPIC BOOK UPDATE - My Book Team gave me the green light to share what's going on with my upcoming book... I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry That I'm Awesome. Freaking thing is very time consuming. But thanks for all the ideas and encouragement. I love it when I'm out with the peeps and they're all like, "Dude, is that going in th book?" Maybe? Ilm working on some of th illustrations now... Because you know, some peeps just like looking at the pictures. It's because I care. I'm a giver.

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY

"So and so... How did my 8th grade Lunch lady get Nominated to the Supreme Court?"

That's a little cold isn't it... wait... that's kind of hilarious. Sloppy Joe, Sloppy Sloppy Joe...

POLITICAL QUICK HITS - I figure we're a month away from the Primary here in the Hawkeye State... I should probably chrip a little more about it. Something that is catching my attention? Three things... And let me channel my inner Tim Russert... Ads, Ads and Ads. Statewide... Its Terry Branstad and Rod Roberts... Is BVP up yet? Let me know if I missed it. Here in the 3rd... Jim Gibbons and Brad Zaun are up. I think Gibbon's ad is very well done. I'm still undecided though. Out East... While I only get to see 'em via the web... Is Steve Rathje. I have no Dog in this one... But I'm impressed with his ad. Well done and very good message on jobs. I should say in full disclosure... I'm not an ad expert at all... But... I do watch a lot of TV... I don't even know what the hell I'm trying to say... Oh well.
IT'S NATIONAL DK DAY - Yes, one of the true Amreican Patriots... A True American Treasure... Epic Historian... Freaking Amazing Dude... and when someone has ever been refered to as one of the Good Guys... this dude is the prototype. Yes, he's our hero and its his birthday! Ginormous QCI shout out to our main man Darrell Kearney! Dude is 69 today... Wait... WHAT?!!!! THIS IS EFFING AWESOME! 69!!!!!! Yes yes yes yes yesssssssss! Here's to an epic day to you, sir.

AND FINALLY... This one needs no introduction... Stay thirsty my friends...

Harkin Shops and Sixteen is the New Ten...

I know... I know... this is the typical Iowan thing to say... but the weather... how much does it suck?

Yeah I agree... totally goats.

Alright... here's a handful of thoughts.

So why don't I just share them with the rest of the World on the interwebs?

OK, OK... calm down, I will.

TOM HARKIN DON'T BUY HIS GROCERIES IN IOWA - Yeah... it's true. How do I know this? See this article from the NYT. Hmmmmm... I wonder where the closest Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is to his post office box in Cumming? "Oh G$!! No one cares where he gets his groceries!" You know what? You might have a point... but I'm just saying... Anytime I happen to stop at Ingerdahls here in the DeMo, I always run into GMLB errr Leonard Boswell... pushing his cart and getting the stuff... Oh and Ingerdahls is in Iowa... you know... who he represents... What's Senator Harkin gonna say next? His favorite place to get gas is at a 7-11? C'mon son. *cough* Casey's *cough cough* Urgh... oh uh excuse me.
BIG TEN EXPANSION - Dudes... I'm kind of starting to get obsessed with this whole story. Hear me now and believe me later... Notre Dame will become a member of the Big Ten Conference and college sports as we know it will change forever. Oh and don't believe this Syracuse/Rutgers bit to get some sort of the New York TV share. It's not worth it... you'll get more views by adding Notre Dame than you would adding both schools combined. Trust me. My prediction/dream picks for Big Ten Expansion? Notre Dame, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas.. The Domers... that's obvious. Mizzou... solidifies the STL market (and entire state) and swoops KC. The Huskers... just for the brand name and their loyal watching fans... KU... you finish off KC (entire state of KS) and like Nebraska, gives the academic angle. And in the end? You create a midwest superpower conference. No need to head East. I'll chirp more on this another time.

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY

"So and so... had the Eggplant parm at cafe de Scala over the weekend. can't stop thinking about it. i also have gnats in my office, and thats both bothersome and annoying. plus the jackass that lives behind me, put 'rain barrels' around his house. what a doucher."

In some strange way... I understand this update.

THE THINGS WE CHOOSE TO CARE ABOUT - I'm kind of news junkie... so I will admit... I might even be calling myself out with this. But... seriously kids... the things we choose to care about in this country can be absurd at times. Gossip and other non important things... But, I really don't thing people are getting it. Case in point... This oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Activists are screaming on both sides. Corporate execs are quickly coming up with excuses with their 200 lawyers in tow... Politicians are scrambling to score political points, blame past policies for this incident... oh and holding hearings. Hearings.... effing hearings. I've said it before and I'll say it until these numb nuts figure it out. How about we clean up the oil first? Am I completely off on this? Seriously.

AND FINALLY - For some reason on a rainy day this one treat me well. Awe the videos of the 90s... where being "alternative" was the new cool. Stay thirsty my friends.

Feelin' Alright...

After a very long week of stuff... I get rewarded the start of a new week with a dreary day like this? Oh well... it is what is.

Now... some of you may know, I loves myself some karaoke. It's just a lot of fun when me and my cohorts take over some random joint... and destroy it with epic karaoke awesomeness. Not to be all hipster on you, but it truely is a gas.

Lately when I hit these joints... I try to celebrate the entire John Belushi catalog. From the blues to the spoofs... its completely off the chain. So I thought... on a day like today... rainy and cold... peeps could use a little cheering up with a great song. Enter Joe Cocker... and yes... John Belushi spoofing him at the same time. I'm telling ya man, crank this mofo. Stay thirsty my friends.

Pink Buckets, Naughty Nurses & Getting a Little Political...

Hey QCI-ders... More frequent posts are on the way... I promise... No I'm effing serious (wink... *smirk*)...

Anyways... Lately I've noticed somethings as I have been out and about. So... here we are back to being random...

Which is how we like it... with a side of cheese whiz.

Let's tango sucka this random!

PINK BUCKETS - Anyone else disturbed about this KFC promotion? Eat a bucket of chicken to help beat breast cancer? Listen, I'm all for raising money to kick cancer's ass... but, isn't this kind of the backwards way? This gets a little more ridiculous when you find out that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. You know... because Kentucky Fried Chicken is so good for your heart. SMH...
FRIEND FAIL - OK... so a buddy of mine who we'll leave nameless... was laid up for a couple of weeks... he wasn't doing so hot. But, he's back on the mend.... and getting better. And he was a little pissed at me. Here's how it goes down....

ME: Hey man, you seem pissed?
MY BUDDY: Um yeah man, just a little.
ME: What's up?
MY BUDDY: So I've been home, healin' up for the last two weeks.
ME: Yeah.
MY BUDDY: And no one, NO ONE ever thought of sending the naughty nurse from Ferris Bueller to my house?! No one!
ME: Awe crap... friend fail.

"I hear that you were feeling ill..." That bit never gets old...

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY

"So and so... wow, i really did a number on my hair this time. not a good look. i dont know why i like to drink and then cut my own hair. the only good thing about it is that my ear has finally stopped bleeding.."

Who is this guy... an 80 proof Van Gogh? Yessss.

HE'S POLITICAL - As ole C-Style says from time to time, "That Grant Young, he's political." So let's chirp about what's going on for a bit. We're getting to the final countdown... voting has actually begun... (that's absentee voting for you people in Story City trying to follow along). So it's on... Yes... we are doing a Gameday Primary Preview... the writers have been assembled. Yes, I know... we have been saying this. Who will be the mascot head? Stay tuned. So yeah... in the 3rd... Jim Gibbons has the airwaves burning... Brad Zaun has his peeps in the streets... Dave Funk is out campaigning hard. Out east... in the 2nd and 1st... some of you are having issues sending a simple press release. Listen... I'm no grammar king... I couldn't spell if my life depended on it... BUT, I know the clear difference between sending a release to the media... and something that doesn't even look close. Get it together turkeys... it makes us all look bad when you can't get this right... cool? Glad we coul have this talk. In other news... the biggest buzz I'm hearing from the ground is Brenna Findley. It's off the charts. Every single faction of the party is fired up about her. Let's put it this way... if the pulse of the party had trending Twitter topics... "Brenna Findley" would be trending... maybe more than Justin Bieber... wow... I just made a Justin Bieber/Twitter reference... sigh...
SPEAKING OF POLITICS - Alright... so this fundraising trend that was started by Ron Paul... called "Money Bombs"... Now called "Freedom Bombs" or "What ever the hell you want to call them Bombs"... You raise ten grand or something in one day. It's fun and a way to make a "call to action" for your peeps... But... can't we come up with a better name for these? Bombs? Surely we are more creative than that...
DISASTERS - Man... between Nashville and New Orleans... Good Lord... Hope you all are chipping in where you can. Oh and who's the blame for all of this? "G$! It's Dick Cheney and those evil oil people!" "G$! It's Al Gore and those pinko leftist wackos!" You know what? Both of you two sides... Why don't you just shut the eff up and start getting help to the people who need it... instead of figuring out who gets the most political chicken scatches at the end of the day.
EPIC MUSIC SUMMER IN THE DEMO - Dudes... the Black Keys are coming... yeah, I know! Oh wait... JJ Grey and Mofro playing on the river?!! I know! Modest Mouse?! FTW! Vanilla Ice!!!!!! Holy freaking crap!! The next thing you're gonna tell me is that Metallica is gonna play Hoyt Sherman. Now you're just messing with me.
NEW MEMBERS TO THE LBC - Hey kids... be sure to check out the Ryde or Fly blog. An epic blog that shares two gals' journey of finding the best chicken wings in the DeMo... while riding crappy bikes. The updates are hilarious and they know their stuff... so I added them to the LBC on the right hand side of the blog. Check it fools!

AND FINALLY... Let's get your weekend started right! Get this thing going man!!! Crank this up get out of your chair and start dancing around like Mick Jagger... Stay thirsty my friends.