IA-01: Rod Blum Appears to be a Loan Shark

[publicunofficial]

In a headline you've likely already seen today, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson declared bankruptcy after his parents spent large sums of his money and took predatory loans with massive interest rates.


What does this have to with politics? The name of one of the Johnson's lenders rings a bell.

[quote]
One day after the home loan was signed, on March 10, 2011, the Johnsons borrowed $2 million at an interest rate of 12 percent from a software developer in Iowa named Rodney L. Blum, who this month won a seat in the U.S. House.

Blum’s office did not respond to interview requests left with Blum’s spokesman by The Dispatch. It’s unclear how Johnson’s family came to know him or why he was making a personal loan at a high interest rate.

Barely a month later, on April 14, 2011, the Johnsons borrowed $3 million — at 24 percent — from Pro Player Funding in upstate New York, a company that “monetized” several NFL players’ contracts during a work stoppage. Former NFL stars Vince Young, who went bankrupt, and Bryant McKinnie, who was sued for default, were among the company’s clients.

Johnson was sued by both Blum and Pro Player Funding within a month of the loans being signed. He signed settlements, according to court documents, without appearing in court to contest the lawsuits.
To settle Blum’s suit, Johnson had $41,800 — or 25 percent — garnisheed from his bimonthly Blue Jackets paychecks over much of the past two seasons.
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[DrScholl]

I'm going to take a wild guess that he will not have the decency to decline to take office in light of this damaging information.

[Vega]

Meh. Pretty sure he's a 1 term wonder anyway.

[Dixie Reborn]

It's not like he was going to stay in office after 2016.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Jim Nussle held on to IA-01 for over a decade. Granted it is tougher territory now, but a decent candidate would at least have a chance of holding it.

[The_Doctor]

Question to the NRCC / Iowa GOP: why wsan't he vetted? This is the kind of thing that makes a Democratic win a slam dunk.

[Dixie Reborn]

Jim Nussle held on to IA-01 for over a decade. Granted it is tougher territory now, but a decent candidate would at least have a chance of holding it.

Any chance this guy gets primarie in order to have a legitimate Republican run?

[Dixie Reborn]

Question to the NRCC / Iowa GOP: why wsan't he vetted? This is the kind of thing that makes a Democratic win a slam dunk.

They never expected this race to be actually in play.

[KCDem]

D+1

[free my dawg]

Jim Nussle held on to IA-01 for over a decade. Granted it is tougher territory now, but a decent candidate would at least have a chance of holding it.

On the other side of the coin it took a nearly total implosion for Blum to even take office.

[IceSpear]

Doesn't matter. As others have stated, this was always going to be a one term rental.

Hopefully Murphy runs again.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Doesn't matter. As others have stated, this was always going to be a one term rental.

Hopefully Murphy runs again.

Nah, Murphy had his shot.  We surely have a strong bench here even without him, no?

[PAK Man]

Doesn't matter. As others have stated, this was always going to be a one term rental.

Hopefully Murphy runs again.

Nah, Murphy had his shot.  We surely have a strong bench here even without him, no?

Four other candidates ran in the primary (Ex-State Sen. Swati Dandekar, State Rep. Anesa Kajtazovic, attorney Dave O'Brien and Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon, who became Hatch's LG nominee after she lost the primary). Murphy also just barely got above the 35% threshold he needed to avoid going to convention (he got 36.7%).

The bench here is very strong (Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Dubuque are usually reliably Democratic) so Murphy shouldn't even try with a rematch. He ran a terrible campaign, anyway.

[Flake]

Doesn't matter. As others have stated, this was always going to be a one term rental.

Hopefully Murphy runs again.

Nah, Murphy had his shot.  We surely have a strong bench here even without him, no?

Four other candidates ran in the primary (Ex-State Sen. Swati Dandekar, State Rep. Anesa Kajtazovic, attorney Dave O'Brien and Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon, who became Hatch's LG nominee after she lost the primary). Murphy also just barely got above the 35% threshold he needed to avoid going to convention (he got 36.7%).

The bench here is very strong (Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Dubuque are usually reliably Democratic) so Murphy shouldn't even try with a rematch. He ran a terrible campaign, anyway.

Kajtazovic seems like the strongest option by far, I hope she runs again.

[KingSweden]

Doesn't matter. As others have stated, this was always going to be a one term rental.

Hopefully Murphy runs again.

Nah, Murphy had his shot.  We surely have a strong bench here even without him, no?

Four other candidates ran in the primary (Ex-State Sen. Swati Dandekar, State Rep. Anesa Kajtazovic, attorney Dave O'Brien and Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon, who became Hatch's LG nominee after she lost the primary). Murphy also just barely got above the 35% threshold he needed to avoid going to convention (he got 36.7%).

The bench here is very strong (Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Dubuque are usually reliably Democratic) so Murphy shouldn't even try with a rematch. He ran a terrible campaign, anyway.

Kajtazovic seems like the strongest option by far, I hope she runs again.

[Kushahontas]

Doesn't matter. As others have stated, this was always going to be a one term rental.

Hopefully Murphy runs again.

Nah, Murphy had his shot.  We surely have a strong bench here even without him, no?

Four other candidates ran in the primary (Ex-State Sen. Swati Dandekar, State Rep. Anesa Kajtazovic, attorney Dave O'Brien and Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon, who became Hatch's LG nominee after she lost the primary). Murphy also just barely got above the 35% threshold he needed to avoid going to convention (he got 36.7%).

The bench here is very strong (Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Dubuque are usually reliably Democratic) so Murphy shouldn't even try with a rematch. He ran a terrible campaign, anyway.

Kajtazovic seems like the strongest option by far, I hope she runs again.

She needs to work on her skills a bit, though. Her speaking style is a bit immature...

[Dixie Reborn]

I would actually vote for Kajtazovic, even as a Republican.

[Maxwell]

My guess is Blum doesn't run again, which would be great after this little revelation.

[jaichind]

Why is 12% interest a loan shark?  I see plenty of non-investment grade bonds out there that yield more than 12%.  I own a bunch of them too.