Steve King looks at the health-care proposal.

You may have seen the big feature in The Journal today concerning health care reform and Steve King. It was something of a shocker that has people talking — Republican King is so opposed to health reform pushed by Democrats that he chose to stay in D.C. Saturday to cast a ‘nay’ vote instead of coming back home to see a son get married.

King also on Saturday had a second big public event in three days to air his concerns with the bill. In an interview with me yesterday, King said the genesis of the public rally idea came from Sioux City native Col. Bud Day, a big buddy of 2008 presidential candidate John McCain after the two were prisoners of war in the Vietnam War.

King said he’d been hunting with Day in Northwest Iowa when the most decorated American veteran came up with the rally idea. Separate from that, in an interview with fellow Journal reporter Michele Linck, Day on Friday praised King for his leadership in setting up the rallies. Day will be in a Journal feature this week after being included in a new Topps cards (you know, the company that makes baseball cards) series entitled American Heritage Heroes. He is one of the 10 military heroes, while there are 10 political heroes (including Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama), 10 civil rights heroes, and so on.

Talking with Michele, I connected the dots on the mutual admiration the two men have for each other. Day told Linck about hunting in the Loess Hills, when he suggested less talk and more action in a demonstrative way, including perhaps surrounding the White House. King then worked with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., on the plans. One image from the Thursday rally showed King (left) holding the 1,990 pages of the health reform bill (that ultimately passed on 220-215 count). You can see more images from Saturday’s event here.

“I got this real excited call from Steve. ‘I took your advice, we charged The Hill, surrounded Congress,’ ” Day related.

I’ll never forget the first time I heard a person pitch Steve King for president in 2012. Mere weeks after the 2008 election in which Barack Obama was selected as president, we at The Journal took a look at what names Northwest Iowans might see in the ‘12 race. (Yes, some readers said, too much, too soon.) That involved asking  Republican Party chairpersons in many surrounding counties to list their top three picks for four years off. A county chairwoman was quick to put King’s name on her list.

With GOP people like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney and others taking top mentions in early 2009, I forgot about King as a possible presidential candidate. The speculation was whether this would be the year King ran for governor, which he ultimately did not pursue.

Then last month, when interviewing Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for a profile piece on King, I asked about her perceived interest in the presidency. Before saying she had no intention to pursue the presidency, Bachmann first brought up King’s name as getting mention on Capitol Hill.

And last night, Dave Price of WHO, the Des Moines NBC affiliate, aired an interview with King in which the four-term congressman won’t rule out running for president. And why should he? King is beloved by the conservative base of the Republican Party, which in many states has a big role in pushing candidates toward victories in primaries and caucuses. King loves having a national voice on issues of importance, which doesn’t hurt his profile with the base. (Yeah, sure, he riles up Democrats, that’s a given.)

Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, who King has noted is essentially his twin, ran for president in 2008. Why shouldn’t Steve King?

There’s very entertaining reading today as a perfect storm of politics, sports, news media moguls and pop culture came to a head in the words of  Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King. You want Rush Limbaugh calling NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a weasel? It’s here. I never thought I’d hear King namecheck female pop stars J.Lo or Fergie, but we’ve got that.

King referring to the Iowa Hawk football victory Saturday over Michigan State to go to 8-0? Oh, yeah. References to what Limbaugh said about Philly QB Donovan McNabb in 2003? It’s all good.

The episode was King grilling Goodell in a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing. Limbaugh so enjoyed King’s pointed questioning that he then held forth, using the “weasel” description for Goodell. Click here to read a transcript of the King/Goodell back-and-forth in the hearing, as posted on Limbaugh’s Web site. Recall, this all relates to Limbaugh being part of a bid to buy the St. Louis Rams football team, then being dropped by the partnership team when some of Limbaugh’s comments drew hot water.

Also, click below on the screen to see the hearing, via YouTube.

Had my first conversation with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., a political kindred spirit with Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King. She’ll be part of an upcoming political feature, and Waterloo, Iowa, native Bachmann was fine with going off-topic for a few stray questions at the end of our chat.

I relayed the report this week showing U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley had the bountiful amount of $4 million in his 2010 senatorial campaign coffers, but was down for money raised in the third quarter, compared to when he ran for prior re-election six years ago. I was curious about whether federal officeseekers were typically having a tough time in fundraising.

“Members of Congress have to work even harder now in these recessionary times to raise money, than they did in the past. Also, Republicans are in the minority, and that makes it very difficult to raise money. When a member of Congress is in the majority (party), it is far easier to raise money,” she said.

Bachmann, as a committed conservative who riles Democrats, noted she needs to raise a lot of money, since “I’m one of the top targets for elimination by Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi. Because of that, I have to work that much harder on fundraising.”

Bachmann has already announced she’ll seek a third term in 2010, and she’s raised about $800K in this year and has about $600K on hand.

Additionally, I asked Bachmann if she is being prodded to seek the 2012 presidency, given her growing national profile. She said she has no doubts the GOP will produce a good crop of  presidential candidates, and threw out King as a name of interest.

“Steve King is mentioned as a potential nominee. I have a very high opinion of Steve King and his ability, so I would encourage him to consider any position for higher office,” Bachmann said.

As for herself, Bachmann said, “Goodness, I’ve only been in the House for three years, so, no, I’m not considering anything like that.”

Democrat Mike Denklau of Council Bluffs this morning launched his 2010 Iowa 5th District congressional candidacy here in Sioux City, on way to stops in Council Bluffs and Des Moines. He drew a dozen people, including Woodbury County Democratic Party officials Dave Somsky, Rick Mullin and Eric Newhouse. It was the second time I’d met Denklau, who gave a short kickoff speech before answering questions from myself and the three city TV stations.

Somsky said he likes Denklau’s youthful enthusiasm — he’ll turn 27 on Nov. 10.  “He is serious about making a change in western Iowa… The reason he came back to the district was (Congressman) Steve King, all the right-wing comments,” Somsky said.

He also said he expects another Democrat to enter the race and necessitate a June 2010 primary. Somsky said he’d talked with the candidate, whose name he couldn’t recall, but it wasn’t a Democrat serving in the Legislature. (Not that there are many — or any –  southern Iowa statehouse Dems living outside Council Bluffs.)

As these announcements typically are, Denklau was short on specifics in his speech. But he was versed with direct answers when queried after speech. He talked at length about health care reform, saying he doesn’t think the current Congress will enact meaningful reform in one fell swoop,  meaning  officeseekers like himself could have a role in the next Congress in 2011. Denklau said he backs the concept of a public option, so long as it doesn’t necessitate a new federal government entity.

“I could see a public option if it is in the form of an agency that is not directly run by the government,” he said.

Denklau said he mulled the congressional run in the very solid Republican district in early 2009. After traveling the 32-county district, he decided western Iowans needed a different voice than Republican King. Of course, what Democrats see as King controversial statements are applauded by many Western Iowans.

“I was first attracted by the (King) extremism that didn’t seem to match the Iowa values that I know,” Denklau said. He said the most recent example would be King being the sole House vote against recognizing the role of slave labor in building the U.S. Capitol.

After King beat Democrat Paul Shomshor of Council Bluffs (then a city council member before being elected to the Iowa Legislature), other Democratic congressional candidates have spoken about the need to remove King and, thereby, stop his outlandish comments. That angle didn’t work for Joyce Schulte of Creston in 2004 and 2006, nor Rob Hubler of Council Bluffs in 2008. And reading this graf helps me realize how having residence in Council Bluffs hasn’t proven to be the best place to launch into Congress.

Two 2010 political candidates will be in the area this week, one Republican, one Democrat, with the officeseeker options spanning two states. First will be State Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln, who is running for the Nebraska state treasurer position as a Republican. Fulton tomorrow kicks off a three-day swing through the state with a morning press event in South Sioux City, then he’ll move along to finish in North Platte and Scottsbluff.

As mentioned in a post Friday, Democrat Mike Denklau of Council Bluffs will officially announce his candidacy for the Iowa 5th District congressional position. We now know it will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday at Morningside College.

That puts me in mind of former state legislator Gene Blanshan, who sought the Iowa 5th congressional position and also launched his run at Morningside College, from which he had been graduated. But Blanshan  lost in the Democratic primary to Joyce Schulte in June 2004. I imagine Denklau hopes there is no such thing as a Morningside jinx, but he certainly faces an uphill battle in unseating Congressman Steve King in a district with a considerable Republican voter registration advantage.

Next week it will become official, but a Democrat has decided to launch a campaign to unseat Republican four-term Congressman Steve King in Iowa’s 5th District. Mike Denklau has eyed the possibility of running in the strong Republican district since early 2009, and after traveling western Iowa recently he decided to go all-in.

On Oct. 15, Denklau will announce his candidacy 55 weeks out from the election in stops here in Sioux City, Council Bluffs and Des Moines. Denklau will turn 27 next month — he was raised in Blue Grass near Davenport and graduated from the University of Iowa with majors in political science and finance. He worked in New York for two banking firms through June 2009, including Lehman Brothers, until moving to Council Bluffs recently.

In minutes from the Iowa 5th District Democratic Party Central Committee meeting on Aug. 15 in Denison, Denklau noted filing Federal Election Commission paperwork to become a candidate. The minutes also show the 2008 Democratic 5th District congressional candidate Rob Hubler asked each of the 32 county organizations to put forth $200 each for the 2010 congressional candidate.

I’m told Hubler hasn’t decided whether he’ll run for the post again. There’s a precedence for that — Joyce Schulte was the party nominee in 2004 and 2006 in her unsuccessful attempts to derail the King Express.

I laid out several King positions on federal issues and Iowa politics  in two posts yesterday. Today he’s being included in a new Democratic National Committee series of “radical” Republican views in what is called “The Faces of the GOP.” Kings past statements about Joe McCarthy and radical Islamists dancing in the streets if Barack Obama won the presidential election are regurgitated in the video.

Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King this morning said Republicans like himself need to beat back health care reform efforts led by majority party Democrats. King said “it is not a stretch to say they are for socialized medicine,” and chortled over Dems who deride Republican for “obstructing” health care. He said Republicans are offering pieces to the reform, but they’re not being placed into bills.

“(Democrats) have a 79-vote advantage in the House of Representatives. You know, they can’t agree among themselves at this point. That’s a pretty good sign that their ideas are bad. They aren’t bipartisan ideas,” King said.

He said the chief reform idea he heard repeatedly in his August town hall meetings, which makes it a good idea, is tort reform, or capping medical malpractice awards at $250,000.

King said health reform, cap and trade and immigration reform are the three priorities for Democrats in the 111th Congress. “One plays off the other — if they get their head handed to them on cap and trade, it hurts the health care reform too,” he said.

I asked King to provide 0-to-100 percent odds on a few items occurring in 2009:

(1) Likelihood that energy legislation dubbed “cap and trade,” which has already passed out of the House, will be passed in 2009 in the Senate: 35 percent

(2) Likelihood of a health reform bill emerging for a House floor vote: 45 percent.

(3) Likelihood of a health reform bill advancing for a Senate floor vote: 60 percent.

(4) Likelihood of immigration reform being forwarded to President Obama for signing: Less than 10 percent.

If a health reform bill goes to the House floor, King said it would get one Republican vote at most. He predicted Democrats will be able to amass votes to pass health reform in 2009, since the chamber leadership teams and Obama don’t want the egg of a political loss on their faces.

However, King said if Republicans can forestall the process until March 2010, defeat of health reform could happen. He said that will put the measure too close to the November 2010 election, making lawmakers “afraid” of voters being “angry” about the issue. By March, King said, “I think the nation will be a lot safer from these kinds of ideas.”

Had a lengthy chat with Iowa Congressman 5th District Steve King on a host of topics, including the status of health reform, energy legislation dubbed “cap and trade” and his leadership of the Conservative Opportunity Society. I also queried him on politics back in Iowa, including the gubernatorial position that he’s long eyed, yet never pursued.

King was aware former Gov. Terry Branstad yesterday morning formed an exploratory governor candidate committee and said he expects Branstad will shortly get fully in the race.  He said that will be an act of complete “altruism” by Branstad, since he’ll have nothing to personally gain by serving as governor again.

King said Branstad “has the political capital and he understands the fundraising stream, and that gives him an advantage over the other candidates.” The field  includes Sioux Cityans Chris Rants and Bob Vander Plaats, state lawmakers Rod Roberts of Carroll and Jerry Behn of Boone and Christian Fong, a business executive from Cedar Rapids. But King noted lots of officeseekers who are given little chance have moved into the House where he serves.

“I am among them, ” King said, noting the view that some didn’t expect King to advance out of the June 2002 GOP congressional primary. He won the party nomination in a special convention after the primary didn’t settle the matter.

“I don’t want to rule anybody out. But I do think Governor Branstad will be well-positioned,” King stated.

First-year U.S. senator Mike Johanns, R-Neb., did other things this week, but his prime focus was working to get federal funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now blocked. Johanns advanced two amendments to prevent any ACORN funding, amid furor over videos showing two Baltimore office employees giving tips to a prostitute on how to avoid taxes. (The two have been fired.)

Johanns glowed yesterday when the Senate on 85-11 vote passed his amendment blocking ACORN funding in the appropriations bill funding the Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies. That follows the Monday Senate amendment vote that similarly prevents ACORN from receiving fed funding from a transportation and housing aprops bill.

Johanns called it “a great bipartisan” message from the Senate that ACORN would get no money in the bills. You can see the videos got the attention of Democrats, who had often pooh-poohed Republican prior claims of misdoings, such as voter fraud, by ACORN in registering people to vote. (There are no Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now in the three states served by The Journal.)

Republicans are gleeful in highlighting the current ACORN troubles, since President Obama worked as a community organizer for the association and the ACORN Political Action Committee endorsed his presidency. Republicans talked a lot about ACORN in the 2008 election, and contend the mainstream media has been loath to cover the organization.

In the U.S. House, Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King is also working the ACORN topic hard, as he has for a year or so. He voted with the overwhelming majority in the House on stripping ACORN funding in a bill, and is going further in asking for “an all-out, fullcourt press federal investigation” of the group. ACORN officials have said an internal investigation will happen, but King contends a federal probe of the group that’s received at least $53 million since 1994  is what’s really needed.

After the Senate vote, but before the House weighed in, King commended Johanns in a release:  “Over the past week, we have seen multiple examples of an organization that, in addition to facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations, is willing to facilitate prostitution. These videos have confirmed that ACORN continues to operate as a criminal enterprise. Nancy Pelosi, John Conyers, Barney Frank and other liberals on Capitol Hill have protected and funded ACORN while blocking Congressional hearings on ACORN’s operations and finances.”

By contrast, Congressman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., contends the defunding ACORN Act is an unconstitutional overreach, a bill designed to “inflict punishment” on ACORN “without trial.” ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson noted the video was done by a filmmaker posing to be a pimp and the “prostitute” was an actor as well.

“The portrayal is false and defamatory, and an attempt at gotcha journalism. This film crew tried to pull this sham at other (ACORN) offices and failed,” Levenson said.