2016

The wide open race to serve as the next Iowa Democratic Party chair will be a crowded one, with six contenders officially in the race as of yesterday. Julie Stauch announced in a post on Facebook yesterday afternoon that she would seek the position, while Kurt Meyer emailed friends and activists to let them know he…

Interviews with past and present Iowa Democratic Party Chairs provides a fascinating inside look at how they see the requirements of the job. Following the crushing Democratic election losses in Iowa, the role of the next IDP Chair will be crucial in rebuilding the Iowa Party. The new Chair will likely need to play a…

There is one dominant issue emerging as Democrats sift through the recent election losses and search for answers: the developing debate over the role that “Identity Politics” played in the losses. Identity Politics refers to the way Democrats have divided themselves into their various constituent interest groups. In recent years Democrats have gradually divided into…

Trump’s hyper-rhetorically fueled schemes to take America backward have already hit it a wall, and it’s not a wall Trump built on the Mexican border. It’s a wall Trump ignored throughout his campaign. It’s called the wall of reality. Suddenly, the Trump campaign has collided head-on with the reality of governing. Trump voiced the most…

It was 7:00 p.m. on December 23, 1967 on the floor of the United States Congress. Just two days before Christmas, former Iowa Congressman Neal Smith finally got his anti-nepotism legislation passed. 49 years later Smith’s legislation may prevent President Donald Trump from hiring his children or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Congressman Smith’s late night…

Guest post from Tim Urban Donald Trump captured the anxieties of middle America with the theme  MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN. America is already a great nation, but not for all Americans. President Obama and candidates Sanders and Clinton built their campaigns around minorities, immigrants, women and LGBT Americans. We assumed that these groups would outvote the…

For Democrats looking to rebuild in Iowa following our 2016 losses, two dates in 2017 loom large: September 12 and November 7. That’s when Iowa’s elections for school boards and municipal elected positions are to be held, respectively (there’s also a October 10 primary date for city offices in some counties). This is where the first…

President Obama and David Plouffe, his 2008 political strategist, joined a national conference call last week with Organizing for Action (OFA) volunteers. OFA is the non-partisan 501(c)4 issue advocacy organization that formed after the 2012 Obama campaign. It is the community organizing group that has been advocating for many of the key issues of President Obama’s agenda.…

  Guest post from Sean Bagniewski and Jason Frerichs The Republican Party has won the popular vote just once in the last 28 years. Our Democratic Party witnessed significant issues throughout the Iowa Caucus process and the conventions thereafter. We are immensely disappointed at our Party’s inability to make a compelling argument to the working…

There’s something Democrats, Republicans and independents can all agree on now that the election is over: The campaign ads have ended! We can sit in front of our televisions now without the fear of being bombarded by ads talking about despicable or deplorable people, crooks or liars. All we have to cope with now are…