On the Campaign Trail with Ed Tibbetts

John Gianulis, who was synonymous with the Rock Island Democratic Party, has died. He was 87.

My story on the Times web site is here.

Gianulis took the reins of the party in 1968, when Republicans were in control of county offices. Now, Democrats dominate.

Gianulis had stepped down from the party two years ago, citing health problems. He had been living at an assisted living facility in Moline.

The funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Rock Island.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley got some cable TV time yesterday.

One was on MSNBC, the other on Fox Business. A bit of a different reception from each, as you’ll be able to tell.

Roxanne Conlin’s U.S. Senate campaign says she raised $603,000 in November and December and has $503,000 in the bank.

Year-end financial reports at due at the end of the month for federal candidates.

Conlin is one of three Democrats seeking to unseat Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Her campaign says 1,649 people have contributed, including 1,395 Iowans. The campaign also says 31,000 supporters have signed up online.

Both of Iowa’s senators say they’ll vote against confirming Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters Wednesday he’ll vote against Bernanke because he’s concerned Fed policies are setting the stage for 1970s-like inflation. He also said the Fed hadn’t been transparent enough.

Grassley dismissed worries a rejection would cause the markets to tumble. “We’re still going to have a Fed chairman, so what’s the big deal,” he asked?

Already, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said that he’d vote against Bernanke. He told Radio Iowa on Tuesday that Bernanke is taking care of big financial institutions and “to heck with Main Street.”

Twenty senators have said they’ll vote against the Fed chairman, who is facing an unusually difficult road to reappointment. President Barack Obama has strongly supported him.

A majority vote is required for reappointment, but 60 votes are required to move the nomination to a vote.

Dow Jones reported yesterday afternoon that 52 senators had publicly announced support, with 19 against and 29 unknown.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley has some advice for President Obama on the day of his State of the Union address.

The founder of the Populist Caucus, Braley has written an Ideas piece for Politico.

His prescription for economic recovery is summed up below.

“As he outlines his vision to put America back to work, the president must challenge Congress to send him legislation that will require Wall Street to pay for economic development on Main Street and to pay down our nation’s deficit,” Braley writes.

His proposal is to tax bonuses for executives at firms that got federal bailout money, pass a transaction fee on speculative Wall Street trades. The money would go to small businesses, job creation and deficit reduction. Braley also wants to create a federal agency to prioritize infrastructure projects and close the laws to direct more taxpayer money to American-made products.

U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., continues to hold a large fundraising lead over Republican challenger Bobby Schilling.

Both filed pre-primary reports this week, even though neither is opposed.

Hare said he’d raised almost $558,000 in 2009 and through the first two weeks of January. He had $716,000 in the bank as of then.

Schilling raised $89,000, including a $10,000 personal loan. He had almost $45,000 in the bank.

State Rep. Polly Bukta, a Clinton Democrat, says she won’t seek another term. The Times story is here.

Bukta was first elected in 1996 and she wants to spend more time with her grandkids.

Republicans and Democrats have told me today the district, the 26th, will probably be stay in the Democratic column, given that Clinton is its population base. (Of course, given Massachusetts’ Senate race last night, perhaps all givens are not so given any more).

At any rate, open seats are always opportunities, so it will be interesting to see who steps up to replace Bukta on the Democratic ticket — and how much effort Republicans put into the race.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats says he raised nearly $658,000 in 2009 and had about $203,000 in the bank on Dec. 31.

Rival Terry Branstad, who is announcing his candidacy today, said last week he’d raised $1.5 million since October and had about $1.4 million in the bank at the end of the year.

Branstad is leading the money race but, interestingly, Vander Plaats says his fundraising picked up after the ex-governor said he was going to explore a race.

Ex-Gov. Terry Branstad’s campaign today released a list of 300 backers in 99 counties.

The list of county chairs, the campaign says, shows the breadth of support for Branstad statewide.

Here’s his Scott County leadership team: Mike Bousselot, Bill Edmond, state Rep. Linda Miller, Jane Murphy, Kirk Whalen and Charlotte Mohr.

Former Gov. Terry Branstad is running for governor this year, and he’s going to announce it next Tuesday in Des Moines.

He’s also released details of his 17 city announcement schedule. He’ll be in the Quad-Cities at 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 20 at Ross’ Restaurant in Bettendorf.