The Iowa Republican Party held its annual fall fundraising dinner last night (Wednesday) on the state fairgrounds, with dire warnings from Iowa’s two Republican congressmen about the country’s future should Democrats win in November. Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kiron, told the crowd the country is “under siege” from the left.  “They will float us off the fiscal waterfall into the situation like Greece without any reservations whatsoever because they believe they will get power in the chaos that would ensue from an American economic collapse,” King said. “That’s why. They’re about power.”

Congressman Tom Latham, a Republican from Clive, made a similar pitch to the G-O-P crowd. “Do all of you believe, like I do, in your heart and your mind and your soul that if we don’t have change we are going to lose this country?” Latham asked, and the crowd applauded. “Our very freedoms, our liberties are at stake.” Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus agreed that Republicans are worried “for the future of this country” if President Obama wins a second term. “I don’t know about you, but are you ready to fire Barack Obama and save America?” Priebus asked the crowd. “Are you ready to win?” The crowd responded in unison with a “yes.”

The evening’s keynote speaker was Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, who reminded the audience that both Iowa and Virginia are now among the seven so-called “swing” states that could determine the outcome of the presidential race. He urged the party activists to write one more check and make one more phone call than they’d planned, to help push Romney across the finish line ahead of Obama. “So here’s the deal: You win Iowa. I win Virginia and we’ll have a celebration on November 6th,” McDonnell said. “Deal?” Iowa’s governor, Republican Terry Branstad, did not attend last night’s Iowa G-O-P fundraiser in Des Moines, choosing to attend Romney’s rally in Cedar Rapids instead.

(Radio Iowa)