2015

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has been receiving rave reviews of his campaign appearances during his second try for the White House, and it wasn’t hard to see why at a West Des Moines event last night. Perry passed on standing behind the podium, instead walking among the crowd and getting up close to audience…

Consisting of the Iowa cities of Bettendorf and Davenport, and the cities of Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois, the Quad Cities provide a unique facet to Iowa geography. Combined, the cities are about three-fourths the size of the Greater Des Moines area. The Quad Cities are a frequent stop alongside places like…

During a high-profile debate on collective bargaining rules and education funding, Republican State Representative Ross Paustian decided to crack open a book entitled “Sex After Sixty.” Des Moines Register reported Brianne Pfannenstiel snapped a photo of the Scott County legislator, which quickly went viral in the Iowa polito-sphere. Starting Line compiled a number of the…

There’s no green beer in sight at the Statehouse this evening, but Iowa House Republicans appear drunk on partisanship with their latest push to slash workers’ collective bargaining rights. Republicans brought House File 549 to the full floor late Tuesday afternoon, a bill that would significantly change the way public school employees negotiate their contracts.…

Starting Line focuses on Iowa politics, and I’ll be reporting from the Statehouse later today, but I’ve had a nagging desire to write about the recent deplorable situation of Missouri politics, the state I was born and raised in. Several weeks ago the leading Republican candidate for Governor, State Auditor Tom Schweich, committed suicide following…

During the same weekend where Jeb Bush and Scott Walker were swamped by supporters and a large chunk of the national political press corp in New Hampshire, Carly Fiorina embarked on a lower-key swing through Iowa. The former Hewlett-Packard CEO and 2010 California Republican Senate nominee met with GOP activists in central Iowa, touting her…

Good morning readers! As always, a lot happened in the political world this week. Enjoy our Sunday Grab Bag of shorter takes on a number of Iowa and national political topics: Paul Pate Brings Matt Schultz’s Crusade to an End Give credit where credit’s due. The Secretary of State’s office dropped its appeal of Matt…

Starting Line has learned from multiple sources that former Senator Jim Webb has hired Rania Batrice to head up a potential Iowa Caucus campaign. From Texas, she is scheduled to begin work in the lead-off caucus state in April. Batrice has worked on Iowa campaigns in the past. She was Congressman Dave Loebsack’s campaign manager…

There’s nothing quite like a Clinton press conference to bring out the madness of today’s political news cycles. Reports came out early last week that Hillary Clinton used a personal email for her work at the State Department, setting off an all-out media frenzy on the topic. She addressed the concerns on Tuesday at a…

In a room full of evangelical Christian conservative leaders on Monday, Texas Senator Ted Cruz did not hold back in his criticism of President Barack Obama. Cruz blasted the President on foreign policy, focusing in on his strategies against the terrorist group ISIS, labeling Obama an “apologist for radical Islam.” He’d made the incendiary comments…