LATHAM SPREADS HIS WINGS: LEADERSHIP PAC TO TAKE DOMINANT ROLE IN STATE LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS

(DES MOINES) – “I’m as frustrated as any Iowan is.”

This is Congressman Tom Latham, spreading his wings, and exerting his newfound power as Iowa’s senior-most congressman. He knows it, and now he intends to use that position to influence elections up and down the ticket – in a way he never has before.

This is the new Tom Latham. No longer is this a congressman who simply votes the Republican line, serves as a GOP statesman, and is content in voting the GOP leadership position.

Not hardly. This former county activist-turned-GOP State Central Committee member – and later, congressman – sounds more like an activist these days, rather than an establishment congressman elected nearly 15 years ago.

THE PAUPER TURNS PRINCE

A table setting for twenty. Servers scrambling to get the silverware folded into the jet-black napkins, waiting for the first customers to arrive. Floor-to-ceiling windows that let the fleeting daylight accentuate the salvaged art-deco doors hung from the ceiling overhead, forcing a gleam in the years-worn colors of the forgotten treasures.

Just another night at the recently-established Alba restaurant in Des Moines.

The site, part of a resurgent Des Moines East Village, was preparing for the routine – hoping patrons would be lured in by the $5 martinis at the bar, or by the prime, freshly-cut Iowa beef cooked to order.

Yet, something was brewing, as soon the table-setting was littered with one simple flyer that blared: “For America’s Republican Majority,” and a place card to direct attendees where to sit.

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK…

This was a fundraiser, but one foreign to the political landscape – even for Iowa. This Thursday night soiree was for the Political Action Committee of Congressman Tom Latham, who soon hopes to turn the Republican movement in Iowa upside down. To be blunt: Begin winning elections again.

The move is not unusual for a candidate running for governor in 2010. It behooves such aspirations to invite the best, brightest and richest – then turn it around as quickly as possible to state House and Senate candidates, ensuring their coffers are full, and that they knew where it came from – *wink*.

He is recruiting state legislative candidates. He hopes to find congressional candidates against the three Democratic congressmen in this state.

Congressman Latham has come into his own – he IS the senior congressman in this state now, after all. And he knows it. He believes he can capitalize on the mood that received thousands of Tax Day Tea Party participants in Iowa.

So, is this all about a run for governor in 2010? Not the case this time, Latham insists. Why the early timing, then? There is plenty of time between now and election day 2010 to churn out funds for candidates. A LONG time.

Latham, it seems, is biding his time. Just as he always has – first elected in 1994, taking movie star, flashy Fred Grandy’s seat, as a humble, rural Iowa replacement. As his low-profile demeanor suggested then, he remains today much out of the spotlight – a loyal Republican – conservative, mind you – but not the one to make waves with an extreme position one way or another.

BUCKING THE PARTY LEADERSHIP

Latham’s good buddy, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), last fall pushed for the Troubled Asset Relief Package (TARP) – which stirred controversy and angst among both right-wing and mainstream conservatives alike. Latham tossed loyalty for leadership aside, and instead sided with his constituents following Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s testimony, where specifics and facts escaped the most powerful Cabinet secretary at the time, but wouldn’t escape the people of the 4th Congressional District.

“He appeared before Congress and could not explain where the money was going to go, and what it was going to get used for,” said Latham. “He had no comprehension of the situation on Main Street – always took the side of what was going to happen on Wall Street.”

Some in leadership opted instead to protect President Bush’s position.

Not Latham.

“I could never in good conscience have voted for it.”

Latham ,the grassroots activist, hit a chord. He heard it before, but also heard it after.

“I have never seen an issue like the vote against the bailout,” he said. “I had people come up off the street randomly, come up and shake my hand, and thank me. That’s never happened like this with any issue.”

Latham went on to handily win over Becky Greenwald, a supposed tough challenge to his re-election bid – in 2008, hardly a banner year for Republicans. Latham’s vote against TARP, it seems, delivered more than a commanding victory – it endeared him to a populist angst that resonates across the country.

Latham’s activism grew through the party ranks – when he served the county GOP. And the state GOP central committee – and it shows. He, better than most, is able to not only tap into an anger, or a movement – he can empathize, because he was there, in the trenches.

GRASSROOTS CONGRESSMAN

And years later, he finds himself at Alba. Talking to major donors. To Party leaders. To county activists.

Latham is one who rose from bottom to top, and now is speaking to a dinner party comprising of top to bottom in terms of party rank – it’s all a part of the job.

A job, it seems, that just got bigger.