Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) continues to buy ads in the Des Moines network TV market, with spots scheduled to run through Nov. 13 at the local CBS affiliate.

Paul has so far spent $190,313 at KCCI and local NBC affiliate WHO, more than any other candidate. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty spent the second most at the stations, racking up $166,511 worth of ads during his abbreviated presidential run.

Coming in third is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who’s spent $104,179 at the two stations since late October. Make Us Great Again, a super PAC supporting Perry, has also begun buying ads in Des Moines.

Still noticeably absent the ad buy race with less than two months to go before the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucuses are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, businessman Herman Cain and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) also hasn’t purchased any ads yet.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) hasn’t bought ads since mid-August and has spent just $35,138.

Iowa Senate District 18 Democratic candidate Liz Mathis raked in $64,306  between Oct. 15 and Nov. 1 and took in-kind contributions worth $269,898, outraising Republican Cindy Golding.

Golding raised $42,038 and took in-kind contributions totaling $94,061 during that same period.

Liz Mathis

Mathis also spent more than Golding and had more cash on hand at the end of the reporting period. She spent $46,519 over those two weeks and had $58,629 on hand, while Golding spent $36,656 and had $14,640 on hand.

Mathis’s largest expenditures were for advertising, including $13,500 to The Pivot Group, Inc., of Washington, D.C.; and $10,115 to KCRG in Cedar Rapids. She also gave $20,000 to the Iowa Senate Majority Fund.

The Iowa Democratic Party accounted for nearly all of Mathis’s in-kind contributions, mostly for printing, postage and advertising. Arvind Dandekar, the husband of former State Sen. Swati Dandekar (D-Marion), contributed $300 through holding a fundraiser for Mathis.

Dandekar stepped down from her position representing the district in order to take a position with the Iowa Utilities Board.

Cindy Golding

Mathis took $5,000 from Justice For All Political Action Committee in Cedar Rapids, as well as large contributions from worker-backed political action committees:

* $10,000 from IAFF FIREPAC Non-Federal in Des Moines
* $10,000 from Great Plains Laborers’ District Council Iowa PAC in Des Moines
* $3,000 from Operating Engineers Local 234 Political Fund in Des Moines
* $2,500 from Laborers’ 309 Political Action Committee in Rock Island, Ill.
* $2,500 from Heavy Highway Political Action Committee in Des Moines
* $2,000 from Laborer’s Local #340 in Elkader
* $2,000 from Laborers’ PAC in Des Moines
* $1,500 from United Union of Roofers Pol Ed and Leg Fund of Iowa in Marion
* $1,000 from Civil Servants Political Education League in Des Moines
* $1,000 from I.B.E.W. Local 1362 Political Action Fund #6216 in Cedar Rapids
* $1,000 from Ironworkers Local #89 Political Education Fund in Cedar Rapids
* $1,000 from Laborers Local 430 Political Fund in Sioux City
* $1,000 from International Brotherhood of Boilermakers in Kansas City, Kan.

Mathis and Golding are locked in a special election that will determine control of the Iowa Senate, in a race that has attracted from groups like the National Organization for Marriage. Democrats hold a slim 25-24 advantage in the Senate, and last year succeeded in blocking controversial legislation – like a ban on same-sex marriage and increased abortion restrictions – from the Republican-dominated Iowa House.

The election is Nov. 8.

Wells Fargo & Co. tops the list of companies receiving the largest tax breaks since 2008, according to a joint study from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Wells Fargo is one of 30 companies that paid less than nothing in federal corporate income taxes since 2008, according to the report. The company posted over $49 billion in profits in that period but had an effective tax rate of -1.4 percent, meaning it made more after taxes than before.

The report found that amounts to $18 billion in tax subsidies over the last three years, with the company paying -$681 million in taxes.

Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, has its main office in Sioux Falls, S.D., and runs major operations in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Davenport.

The study looked at federal income taxes paid by 280 of America’s largest and most profitable corporations in 2008, 2009 and 2010. All of the companies are on Fortune Magazine’s annual list of America’s 500 largest corporations.

It found the companies reported profits of $1.4 trillion over that period, and should have paid $473 billion in income taxes, based on the 35 percent corporate tax rate. But tax subsidies over that time totaled $222.7 billion.

Of the 280 companies, 71 paid a tax rate near 35 percent; 67 paid rates less than 10 percent; and 30 paid rates less than 0 percent, in some cases actually receiving checks from the government.

A report issued last week found Wells Fargo & Co. is one of the top 10 transparent and accountable companies in the S&P 100 when it comes to political spending. It and other companies were ranked based on 29 different indicators to gauge disclosure, policies, compliance and oversight.

On Saturday it will be one of two national banks targeted by members of the Occupy Iowa movement in Des Moines as part of “National Bank Transfer Day.” The initiative aims to convince Americans to move their money from the larger banks and into “more responsible, community-driven financial institutions.” The individuals plan to demonstrate at the Ingersoll Avenue Wells Fargo and Bank of America locations.

Crossroads GPS, a conservative policy and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., continues to buy ads in the Des Moines TV market. An examination of public files shows the group has spent more than $24,000 for airtime in early November.

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, which has ties to former White House deputy chief Karl Rove, has ads scheduled to run through Nov. 7 at both KCCI and WHO in Des Moines. KCCI – the local CBS affiliate – and WHO – the local NBC affiliate – are the two biggest networks in Iowa’s capitol and largest city.

Crossroads has so far spent $186,556 at the two stations, with ads running since late June. The spot being run targets U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, (D-Des Moines), and President Obama.

Boswell and the Iowa Democratic Party responded to the ads last week, with Boswell’s campaign asking for donations to combat the ads and the IDP saying Crossroads is trying to support Boswell’s 2012 challenger and U.S. Rep. Tom Latham (R-Ames).

Crossroads then lashed back at Boswell, saying the statements from his campaign and the IDP don’t explain why he voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

According to OpenSecrets.org, the 501(c)(4) “outside spending” group spent $15.1 million against Democrats in the 2009-10 cycle and $479,619 for Republicans. It spent another $1.1 million on electioneering communications. The group doesn’t disclose its donors.

American Crossroads, a related “super PAC,” raised $26.5 million in 2010 and spent $21.5 million. It raised and spent the most out of any independent expenditure-only committees in 2010.

The super PAC, which must disclose its donors, has raised $6.6 million so far this cycle.

Crossroads GPS focuses on seven issues, according to its website: lower taxes, less government spending, building the private sector, reducing government worker pay, shutting down the borders, reworking health care reform, pushing for American energy development.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum went on the attack at an Iowa social conservative event Saturday evening, each trying to convince the crowd they have the strongest stance against abortion and same-sex marriage.

The three – along with Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul – spoke to about 1,000 people at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s 11th annual fall banquet in Des Moines. Tickets were $55.

Rick Santorum

Santorum perhaps outdid everyone, recounting the story of his political battle for a “partial-birth abortion” ban in the U.S. Senate and his family’s personal battle to save their unborn child when doctors recommended an abortion.

“You’ve heard a lot of policy up here from a lot of people and the choice for you is whether the folks delivering this are authentic,” he said. “Can they be trusted? Are they people that stood up when they had the opportunity and did what was called to be done?”

Santorum also said candidates should be willing to fight at the state level to stop same-sex marriage, as he did in Iowa.

“You’ll hear most everybody say they support traditional marriage and they support a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage,” he said. “But you’ll also hear if you listen to debates, people say that while they may support a Constitutional amendment they don’t support getting involved in the states and making sure states don’t pass either through legislation or judicial fiat marriage different than one man, one woman. And that is all the difference.”

Rick Perry

Perry also pushed hard for support from the evangelical electorate at the event, saying in order for America to maintain its moral authority abroad it must set a high moral standard at home.

“That starts with protecting our most innocent and vulnerable, unborn children,” he said. “Fifty million have died because America has not guaranteed the right to life expressly stated in the Declaration of Independence.”

Perry said he’s “taken an unwavering stand in defense of life,” and railed off a number of accomplishments in Texas: requiring parental consent for minors seeking an abortion; passing a prenatal protection act and informed consent law; requiring a sonogram before abortion; and defunding Planned Parenthood.

Perry also said his stance against abortion is “not a matter of campaign convenience, it is a core conviction,” and called for activist citizens to rally against activist judges.

“It is a liberal canard to say I am personally pro-life but government should stay out of that decision,” he said. “If that is your view you are not pro-life, you are pro-having your cake and eating it too.”

Michele Bachmann

And Bachmann said she’s “watched the destruction that has come on our nation” since Obama took office and it’s time for a very different president.

“This is the year when social conservatives can have it all, because in my experience a social conservative is a fiscal conservative,” she said. “A social conservative is a national security conservative. We can have it all this year.”

Bachmann also attacked Obama for not taking a stronger stand against abortion, and promised she would support a Constitutional amendment to protect life from conception.

“He said that he personally does not believe in abortion,” Bachmann said. “But he also believes the government should not intervene when it comes to the issue of abortion.”

Cain, Gingrich and Paul took strong stands against abortion and same-sex marriage as well, but their rhetoric was not as fiery.

Herman Cain

Cain didn’t focus on social issues during his remarks, but did say “life from conception, no abortions, no exceptions.”

He also promised to turn down any legislation that allowed for government funding of abortions, and said he’d work to strengthen laws that prevent abortion, get rid of activist judges and bureaucrats and defund Planned Parenthood.

On same-sex marriage, he said a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing traditional marriage is necessary.

Newt Gingrich

“Most of our major crises in our culture are driven by radical judges who violate the American Constitution, violate American history and do things that are fundamentally destructive,” he said.

Paul said “the family is in serious trouble” but claimed changing laws won’t mean fewer divorces or children born out of wedlock. He said morality “has to come from our heart,” and instead hit on his familiar small-government theme.

“If a government gets too big the family is undermined,” Paul said. “If we resort to the government taking over family responsibilities, whether it’s education, medical care, whatever, then the family is diminished.”

Ron Paul (ZUMApress.com)

But Paul also noted he supported the Defense of Marriage Act, and said as a doctor he understands life.

“I know when life begins, I know when I assume responsibility for two people because if I do harm to the fetus I can be sued,” Paul said. “So there’s no doubt about the morality or the legality of it.”

The Jan. 3 Iowa Caucuses will give Iowa Republicans a leg up heading into legislative races in 2012, a leading political observer says.

Steffen Schmidt, professor of political science at Iowa State University, said the Republican Party of Iowa will be more organized going into 2012 thanks to the competitive race for the GOP presidential nomination playing out in Iowa.

Steffen Schmidt

“It’s certain that the Republicans are the party this year that’s got a lot of momentum,” Schmidt said. “I’m surprised at how passive or quiet the Democrats in Iowa have really been. To some extent they haven’t pushed back a lot on a lot of the Republican positions on issues, and I don’t know when that’s going to begin but they better hurry up.”

Iowa Democrats will hold caucuses on Jan. 3 as well, but those will be “pretty low key,” Schmidt said, meaning less money coming into the state party and potentially less party building than in competitive caucus years.

“I think the party that has a presidential contest going that needs to try and get people to give money and turn out in order to get the presidential part done benefits, because the other part doesn’t have as much of a stake,” he said.

The RPI has raised $1.49 million so far this year, compared to $728,966 for the IDP, according to documents filed last month. The RPI took $740,201 from presidential candidates, and had $793,768 on hand at the end of August compared to just $111,878 for the IDP.

Matt Strawn

RPI Chairman Matt Strawn said he expects the caucuses to be a continuation of a 30-month trend of voter registration gains for Republicans in the state. Over that time the party has narrowed a Democratic voter registration advantage from about 115,000 to about 30,000.

“With a robust caucus turnout I think we can get that close to parity,” Strawn said. “And what that does in those targeted legislative districts all across the state means we’re going to have more Republicans. And the greatest predictor of someone’s vote is their party affiliation.”

Strawn thinks the caucus process will narrow the gap in close legislative races, and help the GOP maintain control of the Iowa House and win control of the Iowa Senate. Republicans currently hold a 60-40 edge in the House, while Democrats hold a 25-24 Senate majority.

Sue Dvorsky

But IDP Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky said the fact that Iowa Democrats already know their presidential candidate and their slate of Congressional candidates is an advantage for them.

“To move forward with the team intact while the others are continuing to organize will have a big impact,” she said.

And Dvorsky said she’s not worried about the RPI’s money advantage, pointing out the IDP’s use of technology such as an iPhone application and its website to get people registered and committed.

“We don’t need to overcome it,” Dvorsky said. “That could not be more typical. They’ve got all these candidates here, it’s completely expected. You don’t try to do that.”

The party also has the benefit of President Obama’s Organizing for America campaign, which she said has been re-energized and has eight offices across the state.

“The president’s campaign has already, again, begun the building of a really robust program,” Dvorsky said. “We are not alone in this. So our partners all across the state, president, congressional, legislative, all of that goes into the office. I’m not worried, we will have the resources we need to succeed.”

A national movement to change the way states’ electoral votes are cast would be detrimental to rural states and especially Iowa, say Gov. Terry Branstad and Republican Part of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn.

The National Popular Vote Initiative has begun airing ads in the Hawkeye State, the site of the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses. Branstad and Strawn said the initiative could also threaten Iowa’s status as the first test for presidential candidates.

“It will shift candidates’ focus from battleground states like Iowa to mega-population centers,” Branstad said. “In fact when looking at the simple math, 31 states would lose influence on the general election if a national vote was taken, and Iowa would be one of those states.”

Terry Branstad and Matt Strawn

The National Popular Vote Initiative would take effect when states comprising 270 electoral votes sign on for the plan. States would pledge to award their electoral votes to whoever receives the most votes nationwide, rather than who received the most votes in each particular state.

But Branstad called it “a deeply flawed movement” that would encourage candidates to ignore independent voters and focus instead on cities with major media outlets. He said the electoral college was crafted so candidates would have to appeal to a broad range of the electorate.

“Iowa has a rich history of welcoming candidates to our communities and coffee shops and asking the tough questions of candidates that others may not,” he said.

Last night the state’s Republican Central Committee voted unanimously against the plan, and today will be in contact with all 99 county organizations to discourage support for it.

“Especially in a place like Iowa where if we want to make sure our rural voices are heard by presidential candidates, we need to be relevant to the process so candidates go to places like New Vienna and New Hampton and not just New York City,” Strawn said.

Strawn said the National Popular Vote Initiative is probably not on the radar screen of many Iowans, but it should be.

“Quite frankly we need to drive a stake through the heart of the national popular vote compact because it would render Iowa irrelevant in presidential contests,” he said.

Former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, has come out in favor of the plan. But Sue Dvorsky, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, has joined Branstad and Strawn in opposition to the plan.

“Iowa continues to be a battleground state in general elections,” Dvorsky said. “With a national popular vote our voice would be diminished. This system would give candidates a free-ride in the general election and allow them to focus their attention on population centers that cannot speak for the rest of the nation.”

Branstad said he’s “deeply disappointed” Culver would support the plan but stressed it’s not a partisan issue.

“I’ve been around in Iowa politics a long time and we’re a rural state and I don’t want to see the influence that the people of Iowa have in the presidential selection process diminished, and I think it would be bad for the country as a whole,” he said.

So far states amounting to 132 electoral votes have signed on to the plan, including California, Illinois and New Jersey. The bill has been passed by at least one house in 10 other states, including New York and Michigan.

In Iowa, the bill has been approved out of a legislative committee.

The Republican Party of Iowa has vastly outraised the Iowa Democratic Party so far this calendar year, bringing in more than twice as much money as its counterpart due in large part to huge contributions from Republican presidential hopefuls.

The RPI has raised $1.49 million so far this year, compared to $728,966 for the IDP, according to documents filed last month.

A large amount of the RPI’s huge drag this year has come from Republican presidential candidates, including $214,010 from Bachmann for President and $216,031 from Ron Paul for President.

Also donating were Pawlenty for President, which gave $132,681; Rick Santorum for President, at $81,000; and Friends of Herman Cain, Inc., which gave $44,000.

All of those receipts were for Ames Straw Poll tickets, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. And in August, Americans for Rick Perry gave $52,479 for Ames Straw Poll and caucus lists.

All told, the RPI took in $740,201 from presidential candidates so far this year. The AARP also gave $52,479 to the RPI for the Ames Straw Poll and caucus lists.

Noticeably missing from the documents are any contributions from the campaigns of former Speak of the House Newt Gingrich or former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney.

The RPI has also spent more than the IDP this year, but not by much, leaving it with a huge bankroll with about a year to go before election time.

The RPI has spent $912,015 so far this year compared to the $790,106 the IDP has spent. That left the RPI with $793,768 on hand at the end of August compared to just $111,878 for the IDP.

Iowa’s congressional delegation received a strong reminder Friday that state residents and workers are still concerned about unemployment and the impact it is having on middle-class families.

The group, which was formed in part by a coalition of progressive organizations, had many serious things to discuss, but also made the demonstration fun for young people in attendance by performing a spoof of the Village People’s “YMCA” song, replacing the chorus with “J-O-B-S.”

“Sure we had a lot of fun today,” said Sarah Collman, a Head Start teacher from Cedar Rapids, who described for those gathered how layoffs have affected families and children at her agency. “But we are totally serious that Washington’s focus has to be jobs first and foremost. Everything else, especially all the ideological stuff that nearly drove our economy off a cliff, has to take a back seat to that.”

The demonstration, which is one of many taking place across the U.S. this month, is intended to bring added awareness to ongoing economic inequality — an issue similar to that held by the “occupy” protestors.  The marchers are concerned about politicians who appear to be siding with corporate and Wall Street executives while failing to move on job creation legislation.

“This issue is personal to me,” said Alanic Poseley-Hatton, who was visiting Iowa City to attend training at the University of Iowa Labor Center. “In 2008, my company was bought out and we had more than 50 percent layoffs. While I was laid off, I worked more than 40 hours a week just looking for work for six full months. Fortunately, I found work, although I had to make sacrifices to survive at a lower wage. In today’s market things are even worse and we — the workers — are being blamed for a mess we didn’t create.”

A key point made by speakers was that while 30 million Americans are out of work — roughly 100,000 Iowans being unemployed — corporate profits are at a record high and Wall Street banks have made more than $100 billion in profits since taxpayers bailed them out.

Participants signed a petition that will go to members of Iowa’s congressional delegation, demanding that job creation be placed at the top of their agenda in Washington. The petition also urges Congress to stop giving tax breaks and allowing loopholes for corporate executives, hedge fund managers and others.

After the rally, many participants marked to the Iowa Avenue Railroad Bridge, a local site where attendees said infrastructure improvements could lead to job creation. The bridge needs work because its low height does not allow truck traffic on this route. This creates an obstacle to Iowa City’s public transportation switching to hybrid buses because the bridge height cannot accommodate the hybrid buses’ tall profile. The project is currently unfunded and participants called for federal investment in this work that needs doing.

Speakers told the crowd that Congress needs to pass the Fair Opportunity Employment Act, which would prohibit employers from discriminating based on someone’s history of unemployment. Ending this kind of unfair treatment is especially important to long-term unemployed folks. They were also encouraged to urge their representatives to pass the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act, which act would create 2 million jobs (replacing the 1.8 million lost as a result of the recent debt ceiling deal). The money is for additional teachers, cops, firefighters and health care providers; and infrastructure work in our communities. The act’s cost can be covered simply by closing loopholes in the tax code that allow corporations to hide money in offshore tax havens. Just doing that would generate $210 billion in revenue.

A campaign promise by Gov. Terry Branstad to rescind an earlier mandate by former Gov. Chet Culver for use of labor agreements in projects involving state funds survived legal challenge Wednesday when a case brought by labor unions was dismissed in U.S. District Court.

In February 2010, then-Gov. Culver issued an executive order that required state-funded bidding to include a project labor agreement, also known as a PLA. One of Branstad’s first acts upon being sworn into office in January 2011 was to issue his own executive order to prohibit use of PLAs. The Branstad administration contends that use of such agreements, which provide certain perks to workers such as union wages and work hours, have “impacted the essence and the spirit of the competitive bidding process for state funded projects and [have] infringed upon Iowa’s Right to Work law” as well as put minority- and women-owned companies at a disadvantage.

The move was immediately applauded by ABC of Iowa, which represents non-union construction and other related firms statewide.

“We believe that PLAs discriminate against workers who choose not be members of a union,” said Greg Spenner, the organization’s president. “The opportunity to work on state-funded projects should be open to all taxpayers.”

According to court documents, Central Iowa Buildings and Construction Trades Council and the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Building Trades Council, both AFL-CIO affiliated, brought the lawsuit against Branstad and key members of his administration in reference to two specific construction projects initially executed in months prior to Branstad’s order.

The Central Iowa workers were working on a Marshalltown-based PLA for the Iowa Veterans Home, which had additional phases of the project built into its initial contract. The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City workers were involved in an Coralville-based PLA for a New Iowa River Landing Satellite Medical Facility. When Branstad signed his executive order “all references to PLAs were deleted from bid specifications for the Veterans Home and Iowa River Landing projects.” The previous contracts which called for continued use of PLAs in the construction projects were essentially null and void.

… [The unions] assert in their Complaint that as a result of the Defendants removing the PLAs from the bid specifications for the Veterans Home and Iowa River Landing projects, workers have been and will continue to be deprived of the benefits of the PLAs. Workers employed on those projects and workers included on out-of-work lists who have been denied employment opportunities, have lost and will continue to lose wages and benefits. Further, workers will be denied the opportunity to negotiate and secure benefits under future PLAs or other agreements falling within the scope of the prohibitions of [the executive order]. …

The unions charged that Branstad’s executive order was preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, that their federal rights had been violated, that there was a breach of contract on the two specific projects and that Branstad had violated the state constitution by forming a legislative act. They sought both injunctive and declaratory relief as well as attorney fees.

Citing previous court cases on the NLRA, including a dissenting opinion from a 2002 Iowa Supreme Court case, Jarvey concluded “the State, as the proprietor of its construction projects, can make the decision not to pay union wages or operate under union conditions.”

If the function of the prohibition had been regulatory and not proprietary, as Jarvey surmised, it would been a violation of the federal law, he said.

“This is a business decision that does not come in conflict with the NLRA because it is not designed to have a broad social impact, rather, the stated purpose is to administer proprietary projects more efficiently,” he wrote.

Order Granting Motion to Dismiss