January 2017
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Collective Bargaining: A Bargain For Iowa Taxpayers
Guest post from Danny Homan, President of AFSCME Council 61 In the wake of the election results in November, there has been talk that Republican majorities in the state legislature will propose changes to the collective bargaining rights of public employees. The fact is, Iowa’s system works fairly and equitably for both taxpayers and public…
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Activists In Working Class Ottumwa Concerned For Future Of Party, IPERS
When the Donald Trump wave swept white, blue-collar voters away from Democrats in 2016, few places were hit harder politically than Wapello County, Iowa. Home to Ottumwa, a working class city of 25,000 that’s seen better times, the Southeast Iowa county was carried by Trump in a 58% to 37% rout. Wapello County has been…
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Bill Dix’s “Kick In The Door Of Government” Vow Underlines Extreme Agenda
The promise by Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix to “kick in the door of government” should leave no question about the Iowa Senate Republican leadership’s extreme agenda. Senator Dix’s threat certainly sounds like a declaration of war on moderation, cooperation and compromise. Democrats knew losing control of the Senate in the 2016 election would likely…
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Buttercup Bobby Gives Up On His Dumb Idea
The “Suck It Up Buttercup” bill is no more. Republican State Representative Bobby Kaufmann will not propose legislation to punish public colleges that hosted post-election discussions that Kaufmann saw as “political coddling” of upset students. Kaufmann was enraged by the idea that Iowa colleges might have programs that let students talk through their frustration with…
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Warning: Trouble Ahead At Iowa Statehouse
Guest post from House Democratic Leader Mark Smith The 2017 Legislative session starts on Monday and Iowans should know there’s trouble ahead. Swept into office with political outsider Trump, Iowa Republicans now control every branch of state government. While many Iowans are tuned into DC, the situation here at the State Capitol should is just as alarming.…
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Eyeing Tough Reelection, Paul Pate Proposes Voter Suppression Bill
With his own difficult statewide reelection race on the line in 2018, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate today proposed legislation that would effectively limit the amount of Iowans who could vote. Who does his plan target the most? The very voters who would be less likely to vote for him. Pate announced today his ideas for…
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Kurt Meyer Responds To Expanding IDP Topics Questions
The Iowa Starting Line post of December 23 – “Many Important Topics Missing From IDP Chair Discussion” – prompted the following thoughts from this Chair candidate. Paragraphs from the original blog appear in italics, with my responses posted below. I don’t believe I heard anyone, not a candidate nor a SCC member in the audience…
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In Fake News Era, Citizens Need To Be Better Fact-Checkers
The information age has created a totally new landscape of news sources. The shift from traditional print journalism to radio, TV and digital is dramatic and concerning. A decade ago consumers relied on newspapers as their main news source. Today according to Pew Research Center on Journalism and the Media, newspapers now rank last behind…
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Who Is Rich Leopold, Democrats’ 1st Gubernatorial Candidate?
The race for Iowa Governor in 2018 got kicked off on the Democratic side today, with Polk County Conservation director Rich Leopold announcing his candidacy. Leopold made his intentions official with a video of his announcement in his town of Huxley on his Facebook page, and he spoke with Starting Line yesterday. “I’m a scientist…
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Iowans Fear Healthcare Disaster If ACA Repealed With No Backup Plan
After years of Republicans promising and campaigning on an outright repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the new Congress that’s reconvening in Washington, D.C. this week looks poised to finally do just that. But so far there’s been little to no talk of an actual plan to replace what has become known as Obamacare, and…
