Fred Hubbell Wants $$ But Not Constructive Criticism

I was invited to a fundraiser for Fred Hubbell for Governor. His running mate, Sen. Rita Hart, was not mentioned. The flyer read, "You're invited to an evening fundraiser honoring Fred Hubbell, Democratic Nominee for Governor, Hosted by ... [Date] ... at the home of ... [I like the host and his son was a classmate and friend of my daughter, so I won't identify him] ... Champion: $1000 | Supporter: $500 | Patron: $250 | Friend: $100 | General admission: $35.

"For more information or to RSVP, please contact Sam Roberts at ... or sam@fredhubbell.com." The flyer was paid for by Hubbell for Governor.

So I wrote an email to Sam Roberts telling him that I'd caucused with progressives for Cathy Glasson, and that I am concerned about the language of the fundraiser. Why? Because a number of progressives, especially young and radical progressives, were saying silly things like they weren't going to vote for Fred Hubbell, a Democrat who has served on the board of Planned Parenthood, because he's "the same as" current Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican who just signed the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the nation, the six-week fetal heartbeat bill, beyond which time an abortion can not be performed. Most women don't even know they're pregnant at six weeks, much less have had time to schedule an abortion if they want or need one! (Fortunately, a court ordered a temporary injunction or the ban would have gone into effect July 1, 2018.) Other progressives were saying they'd vote for Hubbell, but they weren't going to give him any money or work for him.

So I asked Sam how he thought a fundraiser charging a minimum of $35 for admission would affect these voters and potential nonvoters? Didn't Sam think that since the Cook report now says the Reynolds-Hubbell gubernatorial election is now a toss-up, Hubbell might need Cathy Glasson's 37,000 voters?

How did Sam respond? He didn't. He didn't answer me at all. How's that for hubris? I really think that charging $35 for admission is a mistake. I told him I've been invited to a lot of fundraisers and I've never received one that charged a minimum fee for admission before. Never.

I noticed the same kind of hubris when Hubbell refused to allow Cathy Glasson to speak at the convention, though she asked him to. The Hubbellites at the convention also voted down a platform plank supporting a "$15 an hour minimum wage with a COLA increase" (COLA=cost of living adjustment), which Glasson supported throughout her campaign, and substituted "living wage," instead, which is entirely subjective. Some small business owners think the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a "living wage." It's not. The Des Moines Register reported that $15.01 an hour is the minimum required to get a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in Iowa. Renting an apartment in Urbandale in the 50323 zip code requires a minimum wage of $25.19 an hour.

So if Fred Hubbell wants us to vote for him, we should because almost any Democrat would be better than corrupt, heartless Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA), who is waging such a war on workers that she and Republican legislators are making Iowa a tough place to live in, particularly for the nearly 40% of Iowans who struggle to meet just their basic needs. Thanks to Republicans' lavish gifts to their rich donors and stinginess toward everyone else, Iowa's economic picture for low-wage workers is worsening. Still, I'm not thrilled about Hubbell's campaign when he and his staff are so arrogant and demanding.

Regardless, let's vote for Hubbell if we do nothing else. Let's not do another Hillary vs. Trump. Let's not be like Susan Sarandon and pillory Hillary (or Hubbell) because they're not perfect. Let's not enable a smiling, air-brushed Gov. Kim Reynolds to continue her attacks on workers, particularly minimum wage workers, public employees, and workers hurt on the job and deny that she's doing what she's doing by drawing a pretty little picture of how great Iowa is. If we reelect Republicans, they'll go after public employee pensions next, i.e., IPERS pensions. School teachers and other public employees depend on those. Republican cuts to education at every level are obscene enough. Cutting public employee pensions, including public school teachers', would be intolerable.