Free Republic

The most interesting thing to me about the Shirley Sherrod scandal wasn't her or how she was fired because the Obama Administration was worried that her video was going to appear on Glenn Beck, even though it never did, on the day in question. Instead, what interested me most was a relatively bit player in this episode... the Secretary of Agriculture who fired her, most likely on orders from above (later retracted)---Tom Vilsack. You see, Tom and I go back a few years. In fact I probably had the first (and maybe only) blog to endorse him for President....

Shirley Sherrod named Georgia Director of Rural Development Minority Farm Settlement Justice Achieved - Congratulations to Shirley and Charles Sherrod! We have wonderful news regarding the case of New Communities, Inc., the land trust that Shirley and Charles Sherrod established, with other black farm families in the 1960's. At the time, with holdings of almost 6,000 acres, this was the largest tract of black-owned land in the country. Now with a cash award of historic proportions (13 million dollars), the group will be able to begin again. In 1969, New Communities received a planning grant from OEO and was encouraged...

Cap and trade is not that complicated. Recently Ag Secretary Vilsack has been out promoting cap and trade and touting its benefits to farmers. Well, let’s look at these benefits that Sec. Vilsack is selling to the American people. Sec. Vilsack is selling this terrible legislation by pointing out the money farmers can make from planting trees which is considered a “carbon offset.” Therefore, during a recession those in Washington would rather re-forest our land, which Vilsack said would provide “significant income opportunities to America’s farmers and ranchers.” This is absurd. When did even the most basic rules about supply...

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/February/10-at-182.html NOTE: The following text SNIPPET is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Department of Justice and USDA Workshops to Explore Competition and Regulatory Issues in the Agriculture Industry to Begin March 12 in Iowa Initial Workshop to Be Held in Ankeny, Iowa, at Des Moines Area Community College, FFA Enrichment Center WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today the agenda and panelists for the first joint public workshop, which will be held on March 12, 2010, in Ankeny, Iowa, to explore competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture...

Agriculture: Already buffeted by rising food prices due to biofuels, consumers face a bigger hike if climate-change legislation is passed. Farming costs will rise, and it may be more profitable to plant trees than crops. If the cap-and-trade provisions of the Waxman-Markey bill become law, you can wave goodbye to those amber waves of grain as America's heartland falls victim to a perverse set of incentives and a process called "afforestation." Soybeans and wheat will give way to elms and oaks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wants a review of what amounts to an agricultural impact study of HR 2454, which...

As noted here, Chris Matthews yesterday named Tom Vilsack a member of Hillary's "eunuch's chorus," people he derided for "saying whatever the Clinton people told them to say." Today, Chris might be claiming vindication after Vilsack's one-man recital in which he parroted Hillary's word-'o-the-day, "change," no fewer than eight times in an MSNBC interview with Andrea Mitchell. View the edited video clip of "Vilsack's Change Chorus" here.

I’ve said it all along: The Democrats’ massive S-CHIP expansion is a Trojan Horse for Hillarycare. Now, we get it straight from the horse’s mouth. A Hill source sends an audio clip of former Iowa Dem. Governor Tom Vilsack at Drake University on Nov. 16 describing how S-CHIP will help achieve those universal entitlement ends: Click here for audio. Transcript: “I think there is going to be a commitment to universal coverage. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be a sector by sector process. I think you either need to go in whole hog or not. We tried to...

It's going to be Romney/Huckabee vs Hillary/Vilsack for the competing '08 ticket. You can bank on it. All the pundits out there can relax because it is a done deal. The only question will be who will run on a far Left ticket because they are angry at Hillary. Probably Ralph Nader again but perhaps someone else or even several far left tickets. BTW, Mike Huckabee will do great debating the incredibly DULL Tom Vilsack. After seeing the rollout of the "New Coke" this week, I think the flavor has gone flat fast. So relax folks. We have a GREAT...

Dear Friend, I'm not someone to play coy about my intentions. When I make a decision, I go all in and follow through. Hillary Clinton has the same determination, and it is something I have always admired. When I first ran for governor of Iowa in 1998, many people didn't give me much of a chance. But not Hillary. She told me she'd do everything she could do to help, and she followed through. She stood by my side, and Iowa is better for it. She helped ignite the spark that changed Iowa from a red state to a blue...

He coulda been a contendah! I am referring to Tom Vilsack. Here we had a candidate who had almost NOTHING going for him. No name recognition. No charisma. No sense of humor. And almost no personality. However, Vilsack could have been in contention had he only followed my advice to WEAR THE BEAR. Instead Vilsack followed his humorless instincts and remained earnest and deadly dull with the result that he dropped out of the presidential race on Friday. Therefore, the DUmmie FUnnies hereby transfers its endorsement to another candidate. This candidate is hampered by a running mouth and an...

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., "out by March of '08" Iraq war position came under criticism Thursday from a Democratic presidential rival who argued that Congress has a "moral responsibility" to immediately cut off funding for U.S. fighting. Congress has a responsibility to get the U.S. out of Iraq, said former Gov. Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa, "not in March of 2008 -- but now." Vilsack said that if Congress does not immediately act to cut off funding, the Bush administration will send more troops to Iraq and more Americans will risk dying. Obama has introduced legislation in...

The surge is underway, and more rapidly than many of us were expecting. The influx of new troops into Iraq? No, of candidates into the 2008 presidential contest. So far this month, Senators Hillary Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois, and Chris Dodd of Connecticut, plus Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico — Democrats all — have formally launched White House campaigns (or "exploratory committees"). Already in the race were former senators John Edwards of North Carolina and Mike Gravel of Alaska, former governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa, and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Eight Democrats, eight would-be commanders-in-chief...

One Democrat candidate after another is now declaring their intention to run for president. Lost in the crowd (along with the DUFU-endorsed candidate, Tom Vilsack) is John Kerry. Think about it. Kerry was the Democrat 2004 nominee and now he is DEAD LAST in a poll of major candidates. At least Kerry has one hopeful sign. He is still ahead of Tom Vilsack since the former Iowa governor is doing so horribly in his campaign that he is BELOW dead last. Even Chris Dodd is now getting more buzz than Tom Vilsack. Of course, Vilsack could turn it all...

As you might remember, I presented a Christmas gift to Governor Tom Vilsack in the form of a DUmmie FUnnies ENDORSEMENT on December 25. Basically, I stated that even though I oppose almost all of Vilsack's political positions, I still endorse him for the Democrat nomination. I even presented a method in which Vilsack could quickly gain public attention in the form of him wearing the Pooh Bear, as seen above, during his public speeches. The result of such an action would mean that Vilsack's largely ignored speeches would be instantly uploaded to YouTube and viewed by millions thus...

After deep discussions, the editorial board of the DUmmie FUnnies consisting of myself and LI'L BEAVER has decided to endorse a presidential candidate. The candidate was NOT selected because of our agreement with him on policy issues. In fact, there is little upon which we agree politically with this liberal candidate. Instead, our primary consideration was how the endorsement would HELP the DUmmie FUnnies. Therefore this automatically eliminated a host of candidates such as Hillary, Obama, Kerry, and Edwards. See, they already have sufficient support that any endorsement by the DUmmie FUnnies would be a mere drop in the...

Excerpt - DES MOINES, Iowa - Gov. Tom Vilsack said he will officially launch his presidential campaign Thursday when he files documents with the Federal Election Commission. The filing comes two days after his fellow Democrats scored overwhelming victories in state and national elections. "Americans sent a clear message on Tuesday," Vilsack said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press that will be released Thursday. ~ snip ~

And they're off! By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, June 18, 2006 Sometimes you are a hit. Sometimes you take a hit. One of the golden rules of campaigning is that every poll on the calendar is not a slam-dunk. The Des Moines Register conducted the first poll of the 2008 presidential race last week. It was based on interviews with registered Iowa voters who are likely to participate in the Democratic caucuses two years from now. Much ado has been made about John Edwards' robust first-place showing, Hillary Clinton's second place, John Kerry's distant third, and Iowa homeboy Gov. Tom...

Imagine that you are a presidential candidate seeking the nomination from one of the two major parties. The problem is that you are so dull that few people are listening to your boring message. What to do? Simple. Join the KOmmies by blogging for them and buying into their kookie conspiracy theories such as suggesting that the 2004 election was stolen from the Democrats in the state of Ohio. That's a sure way to make your lackluster self be noticed. The presidential candidate now performing the KOokie KOmmie act is former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, that you can see...

If John Kerry becomes President he will find himself on the horns of a dilemma - which close friend to ditch when he chooses a new Secretary of State. According to today's Washington Post, Kerry would pick his national security team within a few weeks after winning the White House and two of his closest friends, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) or Richard Holbrooke reportedly want the job of running the State Department.

LITTLE ROCK - Nearly two years after he embarked on a diet and fitness regimen that left him 110 pounds lighter and diabetes free, Gov. Mike Huckabee finished the Little Rock Marathon Sunday ahead of his new running mate — Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa. The crowd cheered as Huckabee turned the corner toward the finish line and started the last stretch of the 26.2 mile race. Huckabee finished in just over 4 1/2 hours and hugged his two sons and daughter. "What do you say? Is that not cool?" the Republican governor said, holding up his medal afterward before...