2016
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Is Governor Branstad Preparing Another Holiday Veto Spree?
Tick tock, tick tock. A stack of budget bills passed from the Iowa Legislature this session remain sitting on Governor Terry Branstad’s desk, probably collecting dust at this point. It’s been nearly a month since the Legislature adjourned on April 30th, but the Governor still hasn’t acted on many important pieces of legislation. So we’re waiting. And…
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A New Progressive Caucus Recommended By IDP Central Committee
The soon-to-be-new members of the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee are quickly making their mark on the organization. Those elected at the district conventions several weeks ago won’t be seated on the party’s governing body until after the state convention, but many still attended the central committee meeting in Des Moines this weekend. Roughly half…
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Patty Judge’s Awesome Time-Traveling TV Ad
Iowa Senate candidate Patty Judge put out a new TV ad today two weeks in advance of the June 7 primary. It highlights her leadership as the Homeland Security advisor for Iowa during the 2008 floods. It’s a little heavy on the “let’s work together” rhetoric, but seems to lay the foundation for her eventual…
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Another Look At Updated Early Vote Numbers For The Primary
With just two weeks left before Iowa’s primary elections on June 7, let’s take another look at the early vote totals across the state. A lot has changed since we first discussed the numbers three weeks ago. The Secretary of State’s office is posting these totals regularly now, so you can always go check yourself on…
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Behold: The Most Pointless, Vapid Political Speech Ever, By David Young
What does David Young stand for? Who the hell knows. Two days after switching his vote at the last minute on a LGBT provision in the U.S. House after it looked like it might actually pass, Congressman Young took the stage at the Iowa Republican state convention. What followed could generously be described as the…
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A Day On The Trail With Rob Hogg
What good is an endorsement? That’s an open question in any political campaign. Some bring an army of volunteers, others bring only the single vote of the endorser. State Senator Rob Hogg has a lot of public endorsements in his quest for the Democrats’ nomination for U.S. Senate: AFSCME, the Iowa Federation of Labor, over…
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EMILY’s List Ad Nearly Word-For-Word From Monica Vernon’s “Action Alert”
Monica Vernon is getting some help in her campaign for the Democrats’ 1st District nomination. EMILY’s List, which has endorsed Vernon, is running a new ad under part of their Women Vote Project that looks to elect pro-choice female candidates. Women Vote is organized as a Super PAC, so it can’t coordinate with an…
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A Day On The Trail With Desmund Adams
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Desmund Adams was on the road again. This day he was headed west, to campaign stops in Adair County and Council Bluffs. Adams, one of three Democratic candidates in the 3rd District primary, has logged a lot of miles during his campaign across the district’s 16 counties, meeting Democratic organizations,…
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David Young Just Did A Last-Minute Vote Switch On LGBT Protections
Republican Congressman David Young today voted for a measure that would have protected LGBT individuals from discrimination in government contracting. Well, until he switched his vote to a “No,” that is. Why? Because it looked like the amendment might actually pass. A amendment to a Veterans Affairs spending bill would have prevented government contracts from…
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Iowa Democratic Party Releases List Of 2016 Honorees
The Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Hall of Fame Dinner is coming up next month, scheduled for June 17 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. This year North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp will give the keynote speech. The IDP also released today its list of honorees for the event that thanks the party’s outstanding…
