DES MOINES - In a continued effort to share President Obama's vision for our country, Obama for America released a new television ad in Iowa titled "Reverse" that highlights the steady, consistent recovery President Obama is leading for the middle class.

President Obama is coming to Iowa on May 24th for a grassroots event at the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.  Thursday's event is the President's first campaign grassroots event in Iowa of this election cycle.   It is open to the public, and no tickets are required. Space will be first come, first served. Doors will open at 4:30 PM CST. The address for the Iowa State Fairgrounds is 3000 East Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50317, and guests should enter using the main entrance to the fair grounds at the intersection of East 30th St. and East Grand Ave.

When the president took office, our country was losing 750,000 jobs a month and he took immediate action to stop the bleeding, not only helping the private sector end the free-fall, but reverse the trend. Instead of losing jobs, we are now creating them -- 4.2 million private sector jobs over 26 consecutive months of job growth.

Since day one, President Obama has been fighting for the middle class and working to move Iowa and our country forward.  While we're moving in the right direction, we have much more work to do.   We are growing an economy that's built to last, where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded, where everyone has a fair shot and does their fair share, and everyone from Wall Street to Main Street plays by the same set of rules.

That is why President Obama is running for re-election, because America cannot afford to go in reverse.

Please click here to watch the ad.

Please click here to read the backup.

We had another busy week here at the Republican Party of Iowa. I would first like to congratulate our Organization Director, Ryan Gough on his new position as Iowa Victory Director. The Victory program is a joint effort with the RNC that will work with local grassroots supporters to elect Republican candidates on the national, state, and local level. I am confident that Ryan's leadership will help achieve victory this November. I think it speaks volumes of our staff here at RPI that so many have been recruited to take on larger leadership roles within our party.

Unfortunately the Chairman's Lunch for May has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict with the Lt. Governor. We look forward to rescheduling for a later date.

I just want to again reiterate the great success we have had in the pass few months, surpassing and now increasing our voter registration lead on the democrats in Iowa. We expect this lead to only increase as more and more Iowans reject President Obama's failed economic policies. The Republican Party of Iowa will be reaching out to disaffected democrats in the weeks and months ahead to grow our party even more.

As we ramp up our efforts for the fall, please consider donating $20.12 for Victory in 2012.

To Victory,

AJ Spiker, Chairman Republican Party of Iowa

"Mitt Romney talked about the Iowa prairie today, but Iowans who have lived their lives here on the prairie are very familiar with hot air. He failed to mention that his credibility on debt and deficits is just like out on the prairie: blowin' in the wind. Mitt Romney knows a lot about out-of-control spending and debt- it was his record in Massachusetts. During his four years as governor, state spending increased by 6.5% per year, government jobs grew six times as fast as private sector jobs, taxes and fees went up by $750 million each year, and debt increased by 16%. In fact, he left Massachusetts with the largest per-capita debt of any state in the country.

"Now, while President Obama has a plan to reduce the national debt by $4 trillion, Mitt Romney's would give $5 trillion in tax breaks weighted to millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the middle class?without saying how he'd pay for it.

"Helping the wealthiest prosper by any means necessary, even if it means undermining workers and middle class families, was Mitt Romney's record in the public and private sectors and it represents the values that he'd bring as President. Mitt Romney was a corporate-buyout specialist whose guiding principle was that as long as he and his investors walked away with millions it didn't matter if companies went bankrupt and thousands lost their jobs. Those values won't help us build an economy built to last, and we can't afford to have them in the White House."

Iowa AFL-CIO President Ken Sagar, Midge Slater with Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, and Recent Iowa Graduate Morgan Miller to Hold Press Conference to Welcome Mitt Romney Back to Iowa

DES MOINES - In advance of Mitt Romney's speech tomorrow, Iowa AFL-CIO President Ken Sagar, Midge Slater with Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, and Morgan Miller, a recent University of Iowa graduate will hold a press conference to welcome Mitt back to Iowa by taking a look at his business philosophy and what it would mean for our economy.

Mitt Romney has repeatedly cited his business experience as his chief qualification to be President, claiming he would use it to boost the economy, create jobs, and reduce the deficit. Romney's business strategy wasn't about strengthening companies and creating jobs for long-term economic growth. It wasn't about investors and workers playing by the same set of rules, and it certainly wasn't about creating an economy built to last by rewarding hard work and responsibility and strengthening the security of middle-class families.

In a career of buying and selling companies, Romney's pattern was to reap quick profits for himself and his investors at the expense of workers and communities. Sometimes it meant sending American jobs overseas. Other times, it meant cutting wages and benefits. In Romney's economic philosophy, CEOs and wealthy investors prosper by any means necessary, even when it meant companies failed and workers were left behind. Romney believes in two sets of rules - one for people like him, another for everyone else.

Mitt Romney wants to go back to the philosophy that created the economic crisis. Iowans want to move America forward - to an economy built to last, where hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded, and everyone has a fair shot, does their fair share, and plays by the same rules.

Tuesday, May 15 
10:00 AM

WHAT: Press conference on Mitt Romney's business philosophy 
WHO: Ken Sagar, Iowa AFL-CIO President; Midge Slater, Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans; Morgan Miller, recent University of Iowa graduate 
WHERE: Lawn of the Des Moines Public Library Lawn; Grand Ave between 10th and 12th Street; Des Moines, IA

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