BOLIVAR OFFERS 'PROGRESSIVE' CHALLENGE TO LATHAM

In a campaign without much funding, Gail Bolivar is seeking to upset the
maxim "that it's never a bad thing to be the most conservative in a
Republican primary."

He's challenging incumbent Republican Tom Latham in Iowa's new Fourth
District. The fourth district winds from the southern side of Des Moines,
up through central Iowa and Story County and into the state's far
northeastern corner.

Bolivar says he's just "doing the things you need to win," visiting people
and showing up.

The Marshalltown lawyer doesn't have the funding for television or polling.

Bolivar, who is pro-choice, also said the war on drugs has been "woefully
dealt with." He said it was time for the country to look at the drug issue
from a scientific perspective.

"We need to consider decriminalizing marijuana," Bolivar said.

Asked what issue appeared to gain importance as the campaign progressed,
Bolivar talked about health care. He said the health care system was
tending toward consolidation, just like the agricultural economy.

"We have to reinfuse competition into our medical system, or it's quickly
overrun by cost," Bolivar said.

Asked how to do that, he said: "If I had an answer to that I'd write a book."

The campaign has also taught him that there was "a lot of misinformation"
about the immigration issue.

"We have less immigrants (per capita) than Britain or France," he said.

It's not true, Bolivar said, that immigrants take jobs away from natives.

Latham And Medicare

Incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Latham says fixing the low rates of Medicare
reimbursement is a top priority. Iowa is last in the nation in Medicare
reimbursements to hospitals.

Latham says he's willing to stop legislation on prescription drug issues
until Iowa's Medicare problem is solved.

"It the only train that's going to leave the station (on health care)," he
said. "(Fellow Iowa Congressman) Jim Nussle and myself have stopped that
until we can make sure that included in that package is reform for Iowa
hospitals."

What Latham wants to do is alter the wage index that's used to fix payment
levels to Iowa hospitals and doctors - an index he says is outdated.

Latham is also points to his congressional seniority - and influence over
agricultural policy - as one reason he's an asset to the new Fourth District.

He pointed to his help in such efforts as getting $100 million for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture facilities in Ames, what Latham called the
"greatest research facility livestock has ever seen."

One reason he voted against the farm bill, Latham said, was that it was
short on research money - much of which would have flowed to Ames and Iowa
State University.

As far marijuana decriminalization, Latham said doing so would render
marijuana use a "normal" behavior.

He said he would "look at it in a study," but said it was "simply a bad idea."