CLINTONCOUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

March 4, 2005

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COMING EVENTS

SUNDAY, MARCH 6:  Off Year Caucus.  Registration:  1:00-1:30 P.M.  ClintonCommunity College Auditorium.

SPECIAL GUESTS AT THE CAUCUS:

Candidate for Governor:  Ed Fallon

Candidates for Congress:

Bruce Braley, Bill Gluba and Rick Dickinson.

State Senators:  Roger Stewart and Frank Wood

State Representatives:  Polly Bukta and Tom Schueller

Tuesday, March 15:  The ClintonCounty Democratic Central Committee will meet at 7:30P.M. at Democratic Headquarters.

APRIL:  Hall of Fame Dinner.  We are receiving nominations for the Clinton County Democrats? Hall of Fame.  You may get a form for a nomination on our website.  http://www.clintoncountydemocrats.org

INFORMATION ABOUT CANDIDATES:

Ed Fallon is a State Representative from Des Moines.  He has been a member of the Legislature for 13 years.  Besides

attending the Caucus Sunday afternoon, he will be speaking at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 10:30 Sunday morning. He willbe available for meet and greet after the services. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clinton is located at 309 30th Avenue N. All interested parties are welcome to this event.  Art Ollie will also be speaking ?on Habitat for Humani

PLATFORM INFORMATION

Rick Dickinson of JacksonCounty is the Director of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation. He is a former Jackson County Supervisor and State Legislator.

Below are the top three priority planks adopted at the 2004 Iowa Democratic State Convention:

1. Renewable Energy:  We support:

a. Government promotion, investment, research and development, infrastructure and promotion of renewable alternative energy and technology such as wind, solar, ethanol, methane gas from landfills, biomass, fuel cells and hydrogen;

b. Environmentally sensitive extraction and use of fossil fuels;

c. Enacting tax and funding incentives for purchase of ultra efficient vehicles and appliances, small to mid-sized independent renewable energy producers.

d.Leading to increasing the Renewable Energy Standards to 10% by 2010 and 20% by 2021 making America energy self sufficient.

2. Higher Education:  We support:

a. Increased Federal aid for college education through grants, scholarships, work-study and low-income loans and restoring Pell Grant levels to at least 70% of need;

b.Extending HOPE tax credit from two to four years and allowing five years to apply the credit for four years of undergraduate education and increasing the credit to $2500;

c.Increasing the Life Term Learning Credit;

d.Community Colleges providing instruction in majority of courses by full-time, accredited faculty members;

e.Increased funding for community colleges, state universities and other regents institutions;

f.Charging in-State tuition at Iowa?s RegentColleges and Universities to all residents of Iowa who have received an Iowa secondary diploma;

g.Eliminating the disqualification of access to any Federal or State student financial aid sources due to drug-related charges, arrests, convictions and/or incarcerations.

3.  Universal Health Care:   We support:

a.  A NHCS that guarantees universal access to comprehensive, non-discriminatory, high quality and cost effective healthcare, that emphasizes prevention, for all persons living in the United States regardless of socio-economic status, a single payer system.

b.Chemical dependency treatment options;

c. Dental and eye coverage;

d.Hospice and palliative care;

e.Financed by equitable contributions from individuals, employers and government.

NOTABLE QUOTATION:  "Your representatives in the DNC mandated bottom-up reform -- growing the Democratic Party in your neighborhood and every other community in America. They voted to compete in every state for every level of office. And they demanded a Democratic Party that stands up for itself and for an agenda that reflects our values. They didn't elect me because they think I can accomplish these things. They elected me because I  believe that only you can. Every single one of us must take responsibility for building our party. It's not enough to simply vote for Democrats -- in order to win, every one of us must deliver our message and values into our own community."   (Howard Dean)