Why Iowa and Chet Culver matter

Why Iowa and Chet Culver matter

If there's one thing I learned while I was running for President, it's that Iowa matters.

That's why today, I'm asking for you to help my friend, Chet Culver, Democratic candidate for governor in Iowa. The Iowa governor's seat is ranked as Karl Rove's #1 target for a Republican gubernatorial pickup in 2006.In fact, David Broder of the Washington Post said earlier this year:

"The campaigns in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin will tell us more about the direction of the country and the shape of the 2008 presidential battleground than any of the battles for Capitol Hill."

As always, Iowa is a key bellwether. Help make a statement for 2006 and 2008. Please contribute to Chet Culver's campaign today!

Chet Culver has the experience, the commitment, and the leadership to not only win this race, but also to make Iowa better as governor. From his days as a public school teacher and successful football coach to his service as Secretary of State, Chet knows what it takes to help Iowans. That includes increasing teachers' pay, raising Iowa's minimum wage, and using alternative energy resources to fuel the world, create good jobs, and help break our nation's dependence on foreign oil. Chet will be a wonderful governor and his wife, Mari, who I met on my last trip to Iowa, will be a great first lady.

What can I say about Jim Nussle, Chet's opponent? Well for one thing, he took $15,000 from Tom Delay's political action committee, and then, not surprisingly, voted against investigating Tom DeLay's good friend and convicted felon, Jack Abramoff.

Jim Nussle has been nothing but a rubberstamp for President Bush in Congress. Since he became chair of the House Budget Committee, Jim Nussle and George W. Bush have turned a two-hundred-billion-dollar federal budget surplus into a four-hundred-billion-dollar deficit -- the largest in history. So it should come as no surprise that George W. Bush returned the favor by raising over $1 million for Nussle in one night at an April fundraiser.

This quid pro quo may work in Washington, but do we really want a guy who is mortgaging our children's future to run the state of Iowa?

And while Chet has been fighting to increase wages for workers, Nussle has voted against raising the minimum wage time and again while accepting pay raises for himself of over $30,000 since the last time the minimum wage was increased.

This is not the kind of leadership that we need in America -- and certainly not the kind of leadership we need in the governor's office of a critical swing state like Iowa.

Show Chet the strength of the Clark community.

Contribute to Chet's campaign today!

Chet is currently leading the race by single digits. But given Jim Nussle's ties to Tom DeLay and the power brokers in Washington, we can expect a full-scale barrage of negative attacks on Chet.

We need to make sure Chet Culver has the resources he needs to fight back against these attacks.

Will you help Chet fight back by giving $100, $50, or whatever you can afford to his campaign today?

The Clark community has already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for critical 2006 races. Now we need to step up to the plate once more.

Thank you for supporting Chet today, and thank you for your continued support of worthy candidates across America.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark

Meet Chet Culver

View All Your Campaigns
Go to: Chet Culver for Governor
Help WesPAC Help Democrats Win!
Contribute to Chet Culver today!

Chet Culver was elected as Iowa's 29th Secretary of State and the youngest Secretary of State in the nation on November 3, 1998 at age 33. Culver began his four-year term on January 1, 1999. Prior to his election, Secretary Culver worked for over ten years in public service in Iowa as an educator at Hoover High School in Des Moines, an investigator in the Attorney General's Office, and a youth advocate.

As a former high school government and history teacher and coach, Secretary Culver is committed to educating young people about the importance of civic participation. To accomplish this, Secretary Culver has created the Iowa Student Political Awareness Club (ISPAC), a nonpartisan statewide student organization dedicated to increasing civic and community participation.

As Secretary of State, Chet is a voting member of the Executive Council and chairs the Executive Council Insurance Advisory Committee. He is the Chairperson of the State Voter Registration Commission and serves on the State Records Management Committee.

At the national level, Secretary Culver is a member of the National Association of Secretaries of State and serves on the Elections and Voter Participation Committee, the Presidential Caucuses and Primaries Committee and the New Millennium Youth Initiative. He also serves on the Elections Task Force on the Council of State Governments.

Secretary Culver received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 1988. He earned his Master of Arts in Teaching from Drake University in 1994. As a member of the Iowa State Education Association, Culver was awarded a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teachers Scholarship to Japan for a three-week study in the Fall of 1997.

Secretary Culver is the youngest of four children of former Senator John Culver and Ann Cooper Culver. Senator Culver served Iowa in the United States House of Representatives from 1965-1974 and in the United States Senate from 1974-1980.

Secretary Culver and his wife, Mari Thinnes Culver, and their two children, Clare Honour and John William, make their home in West Des Moines. Chet is a member of Central Presbyterian Church where he serves as an Elder.

Chet Culver - On the Issues

View All Your Campaigns
Go to: Chet Culver for Governor
Help WesPAC Help Democrats Win!
Contribute to Chet Culver today!

Leading Iowa Forward

"I'm running for Governor of Iowa because I believe we can build on our traditional strengths in agriculture, manufacturing, and education to create good jobs, with good benefits, that reach into every corner of the state.

In the last seven years — thanks to our first Democratic governor in thirty years, Tom Vilsack — Iowa has made important strides in meeting the new challenges of the 21st Century. But it is no time to slow down, stop and rest, or especially to turn back — we need a new Governor, with ideas and vision, who will lead Iowa forward."

Energy: Fueling the World

"I believe Iowa has already proven that it has the ingenuity and the ability to build an agricultural industry that could feed the world. Many of the next generation of good jobs and industries that we want to bring to Iowa and help expand in Iowa are those alternative energy and renewable energy industries that will some day — fuel the world."

Health Care: Healthy Opportunities for Every Iowan

"As Governor, I will work every day to help provide affordable, quality health care for every Iowan. I believe that good health is a good investment for Iowa: school performance improves when children have health insurance, the workforce is healthier and more productive, and reducing the burden of illness and medical costs gives more people the opportunity to make the most of their lives."

Culver-Judge Agenda for Iowa’s Women

"I'm running for Governor because I believe we can build on our strengths to lead Iowa forward. The only way that happens is when every Iowan shares in the progress and has the greatest opportunity to succeed. The concerns of Iowa's women -- whether jobs, health care, education, or security -- are of concern to every Iowan, and by addressing them together, we will lead this state forward."

Affordable College Excellence

"If we are to retain and lure the jobs of the future, we must place an immediate focus on the workforce of the future. That means we must preserve and develop accessible, affordable college options for every Iowa student who has the ability and commitment to complete a degree program. Our university system must be part of Iowa's strategy to build a workforce and business community that is second to none."

Honoring an Iowa Treasure

Chet Culver has a plan to show Iowa’s seniors the honor and respect they deserve so that every Iowan can look forward to retirement with dignity. Chet Culver will take on the challenges we face in health care and long-term care, among others, focusing on quality of life. Iowa’s seniors truly are a treasure. Chet Culver will make sure Iowa’s seniors are never forgotten.

Raising the Bar on State Government Ethics

"As Governor, I will lay down the highest ethical standards for my Cabinet Secretaries, state government Board and Commission appointees, immediate staff, and other political appointees. First, individuals who get state dollars and rip-off Iowa taxpayers will be punished. Period. I will work to pass a law that allows the state to seek punitive damages from individuals who receive state dollars and commit fraud to increase their compensation. This law will have teeth and will be enforced under my Administration. Second, I will strengthen existing ethical requirements and protections for my political appointees and all Iowa state government employees. Third, I will make it much easier for an average Iowa citizen to get access to information about who is lobbying whom in Des Moines."

Iowa's Commitment to Lifesaving Research

Chet Culver will lift Iowa restrictions that have ended much stem cell research in the state and sent scientists and research teams to other states. Culver's proposal includes a $10 million investment in the creation of a Center for Regenerative Medicine in Iowa City, which will conduct cutting edge research and attract the top scientists in the field to Iowa. That initial investment will also be used to attract private sector funding and return Iowa to a leadership position in the nation for medical research.

Community College Excellence

As Governor, Chet Culver will make Iowa's community colleges a vital part of the state's workforce development and to increase accessibility and affordability for students from Iowa's working and middle-class families. As Governor, Culver will invest $12.5 million from from job-training, economic development, and higher education funds in Iowa's community colleges, with a target of attracting an additional $12.5 million from private companies. That combined $25 million investment will allow Iowa's community colleges and companies to partner in creating innovative new skills-training programs to prepare Iowa's workers for the jobs of the future.

Iowa Means Business

"Iowa is a state of small businesses — and that's a strength. Small businesses create more jobs each year than the entire Fortune 500 put together. Others may want to focus on giving away our money to big businesses that come from outside our state and have no commitment to Iowa. I think a vital part of any economic development plan has to promote people starting their own businesses."