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"The nexus of Iowa's importance in selecting presidential candidates with Frist's desire to get the GOP nomination ... with Leach's home state of IA creates a tremendous one-time coming together of events that favor continued pressure for passage right through the end. I hadn't fully realized this until this past weekend. Those are some pretty intense forces, and they should not be taken lightly when combined. Getting good press in IA, and commitments from Congressman to help in 08 is a priority for Frist, and I believe he'll do almost anything to move forward on those fronts."
So, let's create some bad press in Iowa ??
(By the way, I saw zero press in my cursory Iowa searches on this recent "hearing". Maybe the Frist - Leach promise was to push it in the Senate, campaign for Leach in Iowa, as a quid pro quo for 2008 support ? If so, then actual press would not matter for now.)
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FWIW, Leach's race initially wasn't considered competitive -- he's been elected in that district 15 (!) times -- but the challenger, Dave Loebsack, has apparently had some encouraging poll results and is picking up momentum.
Downside: A more competitive race means that the political stakes are higher. In addition to Senator Frist, who had the internet gambling event with Leach, a number of prominent "presidential" Democrats like Kerry and Biden have made appearances in the state on behalf of the challenger.
Upside: Leach's approval numbers are something like 40-50 against, which might reduce his efficacy as a campaigner for Frist. Also, Jim Leach might be voted out of Congress. ;-) This is not only helpful on its own merits, but also might make Frist less inclined to push for a gambling bill in a lame duck congressional session.
If you want to contribute to Loebsack's campaign, you can do so here.
http://www.loebsackforcongress.org/