Who is Tom Riley?

[markdd]

I was driving thru central Iowa and heard his ads responding to the smear vets. Sounds like his own personal 527. I think it was on a station out of Cedar Rapids.

Mark
Moving MO to MN

[Pirate Smile]

1. Yes, I heard it and did a thread on it on Sunday. I am searching

for it now.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=687047

Here is the thread.

[markdd]

2. That's the one.

I think I heard it about every 2 hours. KRNA sounds right for the call letters. It was playing lots of heavy metal stuff.

[Pirate Smile]

3. What did you think of it?

[markdd]

4. Impressed

and a little awed. Sounds like this is a "regular" guy, not some politician. I assume (service in Korea, JAG in Nam) that he's a lawyer in his 60's. Air time must not be too expensive if he can pay for it out of his own pocket.

We need more folks like him all over the country.

[Pirate Smile]

5. This stuff doesn't cost that much. Why don't any of the 527's

pick this up and do it?

I'm glad you asked this in the Iowa forum because my earlier post was in GD2004.

[markdd]

6. Wild eyed guess

better chance that someone from Iowa would know about this than from another state.

[ISUGRADIA]

7. I think I have the answer

From http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040820/OPINION01/408200303/1035/OPINION

...I was referred to Tom Riley of the Tom Riley Law Firm in Cedar Rapids, who was a Republican Iowa legislator for 12 years. But Riley informed me that in January he switched the party affiliation he had since 1952 to caucus for fellow trial lawyer Edwards.

Riley started getting ticked off at Republicans when Bush's father took on Riley's profession during his 1992 re-election campaign. Though acknowledging "we're not perfect," Riley complains, "That was a phony deal. I'm bothered by that. It's tacky."

http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/riley.html

Riley, Tom of Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa. Republican. Candidate for U.S. Representative from Iowa 2nd District, 1968, 1974, 1976; member of Iowa state senate 23rd District; elected 1970. Still living as of 1976.

[markdd]

8. Thanks

I'm sure that this is the guy.

[IA_Seth]

9. Yep, thats him.

He is not a poster-boy for Dems, but like you said, we could sure use real vets speaking out (especially on the Radio!) all over the country.

[Blue Gardener]

10. VERY High-Profile lawyer

He gets all the big cases in the area and is very well known. He has a good reputation, so this was a great plus for our side.