2016
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What It Was Like To Witness History In Philadelphia
A guest post from Zach Wahls on his experience as a delegate at the convention Last week, Iowa’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention witnessed, and helped make, history. Alongside dozens of other Iowans from every walk of life, I watched Hillary Clinton become the first female Presidential nominee of any major party. The speeches we…
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Time to Pull the Plug on Branstad’s Medicaid Mess?
A guest post from House Leader Mark Smith A few months ago, Governor Terry Branstad and Republicans privatized health care for over 500,000 Iowans on Medicaid. After months of delays, confusion, and scandal, Branstad’s privatization scheme is now officially a disaster. All around the state, we’ve been hearing horror stories from Iowans and local providers…
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Statehouse Fundraising – Who’s Ahead, Who’s Underperforming
The late July fundraising report for Iowa candidates is often the most important – the next filing deadline isn’t until October 19. Many of the state’s major PACs and donors use these numbers in determining who to send extra funds to help push over the top. There’s not a lot of public data available on these…
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Time to Pull the Plug on Branstad’s Medicaid Mess?
A guest post from House Leader Mark Smith A few months ago, Governor Terry Branstad and Republicans privatized health care for over 500,000 Iowans on Medicaid. After months of delays, confusion, and scandal, Branstad’s privatization scheme is now officially a disaster. All around the state, we’ve been hearing horror stories from Iowans and local providers…
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Either Could Win. But Could Anyone Govern?
The polls out post-Democratic convention show a bounce for Hillary Clinton, putting her back into the lead nationally, but few are expecting 2016 to be a blowout election either way anymore. And despite Donald Trump’s almost hourly verbal gaffes, he still has a real path to the White House. But what happens after when she or he…
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How Iowa’s LGBTQ Movement Is Expanding
Guest Post from Nate Monson, executive director of Iowa Safe Schools All students, including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ), deserve a safe, supportive, and nurturing learning environment and community to live in. This has been the focus of Iowa Safe Schools since the organization’s founding in 2002. Iowa Safe…
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An Iowa Delegate’s Experience At The Convention So Far
Iowa delegate Josh Hughes is writing up his experience at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Here’s his takes from the first two days. We’ll update throughout the week on this post: Day 2 Hello again! Tuesday proved to be a very busy day indeed again. We began with breakfast with speakers Amy Klobuchar, the…
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The View From The Iowa Delegation At The Democratic Convention
After a rather rocky start to the Democratic Convention, the first evening ended on a positive note with strong speeches from Cory Booker, Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. I’m not personally at the convention myself this week (cost too much and I haven’t raised enough for Starting Line’s regular operations yet – probably…
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Why Western Iowa Keeps Voting For Steve King
After two straight weeks of Steve King racial controversies, much of the country is once again asking: how on earth does this man keep getting reelected? It’s an understandable conundrum about a Congressman who displays a Confederate flag on his desk, who repeatedly defended his belief that white Christians contributed more to civilization than any…
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Chuck Grassley Doubts TPP Will Pass Anytime Soon
During a visit to Emmetsburg on late Friday afternoon, Senator Chuck Grassley expressed doubt that the Trans Pacific Partnership would become reality anytime soon. While the trade agreement is expected to benefit Iowa’s agricultural exports , concerns over workers rights, environmental protections and manufacturing have stalled its advancement. “It’s my feeling that right now TPP…
