2015

Too early to talk about 2018? Never! Certainly not on Starting Line, anyway. Seriously though, forget the 2016 presidential election or the close races in the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts. Nothing will have a bigger impact on Iowa’s future than who wins the race for Governor in 2018 (though the State Senate races in…

Dave Price, one of Iowa’s resident political experts, recently penned an article for Politico entitled “Is Iowa Over?” In his article, Mr. Price suggested that this caucus season “looks different” and that various Iowans are worried that our first in the nation contest is about to pass into history. Mr. Price’s article was a hit…

If you follow politics closely, you hear the same ideas repeated over and over. A common refrain repeated on cable news every few days (or hours) is: Talking Head 1: “No one can beat Hillary Clinton,” Talking Head 2: “That’s what people said in 2008. And then Obama did.” Every time I hear those statements…

Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in America. This year alone, it will cost $226 billion to care for the 5 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s. Those numbers are only expected to climb as the baby boomer generation ages because, unlike the other top ten killer diseases, Alzheimer’s (ranked 6th) is the only disease…

Don Avenson once told me, “The next election won’t be much different from when I was speaker. Democrats will win the urban seats. Republicans will win the suburban seats. A majority will be made in the rural seats.” There is still some truth to this but we are seeing a shift which should be troubling…

So does anyone want to beat David Young, or what? The Democratic field has been excruciatingly slow to develop for the 3rd District, frustrating the DCCC (or so we hear). Many insiders worry that if Young wins his first reelection, he could be there for life (Starting Line does not subscribe to this theory in…

Tomorrow, Republican presidential candidates galore descend upon Boone to attend Senator Joni Ernst’s inaugural Roast and Ride fundraiser. There’s a fun, carnival-style level of excitement building around the motorcycle- and pork-focused event for Republicans, much in the same way Democrats once got pumped up for the Harkin Steakfry. And that raises a question: What are…

After 2012, Rick Santorum’s world fell apart. As set out in Politco, Santorum’s 2011-12 team – the team that got him the 34 caucus votes that made him a contender – has broken up. Not Simon and Garfunkel sometimes-we-still-do-shows-together broken up, Taylor Swift we are never, ever, ever getting back together broken up. Santorum’s former…

After a year of delays, the EPA finally released its new proposal on the Renewable Fuel Standard, governing how much ethanol is blended into the country’s fuel supply. The decision angered many. The EPA proposed setting the amount of renewable fuels to blend at 17.4 billion in 2016, considerably less than the 22.3 billion amount…

It’s not every day you get Democrats Ed Fallon and Rob Hogg on the same side of an issue with Republicans Bobby Kaufmann and Greg Heartsill. But that’s exactly where leaders from both sides of the aisle find themselves when it comes to opposing or restricting the Bakken Pipeline. The mix of interests and issues…