Chris Dodd for President

This just in:

IOWA CITY COUNCILMAN MATT HAYEK ENDORSES CHRIS DODD FOR PRESIDENT
Rising Star Community Leader Cites Dodd’s Ability to Produce Results, Calls Dodd “Most Electable and the Best Qualified”

IOWA CITY – City Councilman Matt Hayek, a rising star in the community leadership of Iowa City, announced last night that he is endorsing Chris Dodd for President. Hayek cited Dodd’s ability to produce results, international experience, and electability in a speech introducing Senator Dodd at a holiday party in Iowa City.

“Once every four years, we get to go into a gymnasium or a church or someplace and vote our conscience,” said Hayek. “And you go in there, and you look at all the candidates you could support, and hopefully by then you’ve made a decision to go with the person you think is the most electable and the best qualified for the job, and you vote with your heart and your mind. And my conscience leads me to Chris Dodd, and that’s why I stand before you today.”

Hayek is a sixth-generation Iowa City native and, like Senator Dodd, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Hayek served for two years in the mountains of Bolivia. He praised Dodd’s international experience and reputation.

“Whether it’s brokering peace accords in Central America, helping bring about peace in Northern Ireland, or working with various parties in the Middle East, he’s done it,” Hayek said. “He’s been there, he’s done it. He’s been a leader. He’s highly respected across the globe within these leadership positions and in the Congress itself. He’s respected, and I think that’s what appeals to me most.”

Hayek also praised Dodd’s leadership on restoring American security by restoring the Constitution and the rule of law here at home.

Here are some pictures from last night's Holiday Party at the Star Bar here in Des Moines. About 150 supporters and undecided voters packed the restaurant for a couple hours to meet Chris Dodd and hear him speak. A great time was had by all, and I hope these pictures can convey the festive atmosphere that filled the room.

Chris Dodd makes his way through the crowd

Gordon Rowe and his fantastic hat

Chris Dodd and Bob Mulqueen

The DoddSquad Ladies

A potential supporter

Chris Dodd signs a book for Assistant Polk County Attorney Roger Kuhle

Staffer Nick Anderson, Chris Dodd, Sharon and Gordon Rowe, and Dick Murphy (all returned Peace Core Volunteers)

Jackie Dodd and Gordon Rowe

Here is some video from the "12 Days of Results" kick-off event in Grinnell on Thursday. Dodd addressed a standing-room-only crowd for about twenty five minutes before turning to the audience members' questions. These videos are some of the best I've seen so far. Stay tuned for more video as the tour continues...

Dodd's Speech

Question and Answer Session, Part 1

Question and Answer Session, Part 2

Famed WMD hunter Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) took the time Tuesday to "demand!" our campaign return contributions received since last week.

You can imagine only the most sincere incredulity coming from the man who posted a "basic guide to building an atmoic bomb" on a Congressional website, paid for with your tax dollars. And as Hoekstra currently bangs the drums of war against Iran, the IAEA feared Hoekstra's folly could "help states like Iran develop nuclear arms." Amazing.

Additionally, a White House spokesman accused us of using the telecom companies that helped spy on Americans as "political props."

They're afraid we're going to win.

They just aren't used to Democrats showing some spine and pushing back. But more to the point -- they see the damage we've done to the prospects of giving a free ride to telecom companies who have broken the law.

Of course, they don't want a real debate on this issue, or it would be offered in a stand-alone bill -- not inserted into a measure that sunsets in February. Much like Hoekstra acknowledged earlier this year "If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."

After all that, it's really hard to take someone seriously who actually claimed, IN 2006, that he found the WMD in Iraq.

Hey everyone. As you can imagine, it's been an exciting few days over the Dodd campaign HQ. The overwhelming amount of support the Senator has received in the past week rivals anything I saw while working on Paul Hackett's race and even the Lamont campaign.

Of course, it's been building for months now. And as wmtraillawyer noted in a top recommended diary yesterday, it's "So Much More Than Telecom Immunity."

But that's the battle we face today, and Firedoglake is hosting the Senator at 11:30 Eastern to talk about FISA, restoring the Constitution, and his hold on any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. You can leave your questions in the comments below, or at the Firedoglake thread and we'll do our best to have the Senator get to as many as possible.