January 2017

The first early signs of an electoral backlash against Republicans’ plans for 2017 started to show in Iowa and elsewhere today at rallies in support of the Affordable Care Act. Iowans worried about the future of their and their family’s healthcare and lives turned out in 30-degree weather and looming freezing rain in Des Moines, Cedar…

Guest post from Sean Bagniewski 2016 will mark the year that a reality star who likely doesn’t pay his income taxes won a minority vote to be the President of the United States. A far right comedian convicted of vehicular homicide unseated the prime minister of Italy in a constitutional referendum. Britain ended Winston Churchill’s…

The Iowa Legislature is back in full swing this week, so you know what that means: Republicans are introducing all kinds of crazy-sounding legislation. The big difference this year? With Republicans in control of all Iowa government for the first time in 20 years, this stuff actually has a chance of passing. Republicans are expected…

Following the 2016 election defeat, Democrats are in a real funk. The coming Trump presidency combined with Republican control of the House and Senate gives Democrats little hope that they can have any real impact on passing meaningful legislation. They’re concerned that they lack the power to defend current laws like Obamacare let alone push…

The biggest battle at the Iowa Statehouse this year will likely center around collective bargaining rights for state employees. At issue is Iowa’s “Chapter 20,” the section in Iowa code that governs collective bargaining, and the sweeping changes the new Republican majorities want to make to it that would weaken or eliminate workers’ ability to…

The Iowa Legislature convened this week for the 2017 session. Republicans now control both chambers in the Statehouse and the Governor’s mansion, but Democrats aren’t backing down from the fight. Senate Democratic Leader Rob Hogg gave the following speech on opening day of the legislative session:   Good morning, Mr. President, Mr. Majority Leader, returning…

A wide array of progressive organizations gathered yesterday at the Capitol to speak out against the new Republican legislative majorities’ far-right agenda. Nathan Blake of Des Moines took the podium to criticize Secretary of State Paul Pate’s voter suppression proposal that would impose new restrictive identification laws on Iowa voters. Blake was speaking on behalf of…

The T-ball mentality has spread to many colleges and universities. This trend should concern parents, grandparents, students, prospective employers and others. It should concern us because access to a rigorous education has helped make the United States an academic powerhouse in the world and has moved our nation forward economically and socially. But the attitude…

Last week Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate unveiled his voter suppression proposal that would impose many new voter identification restrictions on Iowa voters. One part of Pate’s plan that stuck out was its refusal to accept student IDs that Iowa colleges already provide to be used for voting purposes. While Pate insisted all voters…