New Poll: Many Iowans Still Have No Opinion On Kim Reynolds

On By Pat Rynard

The political news site Morning Consult has their new round of gubernatorial polls out from all 50 states, and there’s good and bad news for Iowa’s Kim Reynolds. The poll found she had 45% job approval, 27% disapproval, with another 30% listed as Don’t Know/No Opinion (that, uh, adds up to 102%, so I’m guessing most of the numbers got rounded up from a .5). The 30% unsure number stands out. Reynolds has the highest percentage of unformed opinions of any governor in the country. Two other people near her with undecided constituents are first-term governors: South Carolina’s Henry McMaster […]

What If Democrats Had Their Own Trump? How Would We Handle It?

On By Dick Goodson

Bear with me for a bit and let’s do a little pretending. Let’s assume a portion of the Democratic Party was high-jacked by some very left-wing radicals, beyond socialist and very dogmatic. Let’s further assume that a very poor, very left-wing (sometimes), very charismatic (occasionally) person with a giant ego who lied about almost everything (most of the time) somehow got the Democratic nomination and at first blush we just gritted our teeth and tried to make the best of it. Then, even beyond expectations, this person won the presidency and we held both the House and Senate–we are now […]

Could Iowan Sam Clovis’ Actions Take Down Donald Trump?

On By Pat Rynard

In the middle of today’s stunning news of indictments and guilty pleas in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election collusion, a familiar name popped up this afternoon that Iowa politicos know all too well: Sam Clovis. The former conservative radio talk show host and Morningside College professor has been identified by Yahoo News as the “Campaign Supervisor” in George Papadopoulos’ guilty statement, which extensively highlights the Donald Trump campaign’s internal discussions and actions on Russia (read it all here). Given what the Campaign Supervisor is listed as doing in the document, Clovis could be in very serious legal trouble – […]

George W. Bush Reminds Us Of American Decency

On By Lanny Davis

I have told this story many times in print and on the air. Now it is even more important to repeat it. In the spring of 1966, my junior year at Yale College, a classmate of mine who would be called gay today, but back then much worse words were used, walked past a group of us sitting in the Davenport College common room after dinner, shooting the breeze. Someone in the group, now looking back, someone who was a bigot, chuckled and loudly whispered – loud enough for the individual walking past us to hear – the “F” word. […]

Democratic Legislators Present Bold Healthcare Public Option Solution

On By Rick Smith

Democratic Senator Matt McCoy and Representative John Forbes held a press conference last week and presented a simple, common sense health care solution for Iowans. Their proposal “Healthy Iowans for a Pubic Option” (HIPO) solves two Iowa health care emergencies facing thousands of Iowans. Republicans’ policies and actions have created two health care disasters for Iowans and now Republicans are ignoring the desperate pleas of these Iowans. The two urgent health care emergencies are the failed Medicaid privatization and the ballooning premium increases for Iowans buying insurance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange. The first healthcare emergency is the […]

Ted Cruz Gets His Revenge On Iowa

On By Pat Rynard

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey already had to wait an awfully long time for his anticipated nomination to an important USDA position. Now his final appointment may have to wait even longer. Politico reported today that Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has placed a hold on Northey’s nomination before the Senate Agriculture Committee, despite widespread support for the Iowan. The long-running conflict between the oil and ethanol industries was suggested to be the cause. “Northey’s name had moved out of the Senate Agriculture Committee by voice vote, but multiple sources in the refining industry told ME [Morning Energy] that […]

Will You Help Fight The GOP’s Tax Scam Plan?

On By Rick Smith

This week Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer held an emergency conference call with a number of progressive organizations warning about the coming GOP tax scam plan. His message was clear: “This is the worst tax plan in history!” Schumer’s call to action was to many of the same groups that played such an important role in defeating the Trump healthcare plan. Speakers representing Indivisible, Stand Up America, Not One Penny and Organizing for Action discussed what each group would be doing to defeat the Republican tax scam. Schumer and each of these groups are asking their activists, as well […]

Iowa Unions Defy GOP’s Effort To Kill Them – A Look At The Numbers

On By Pat Rynard

Iowa public employee unions voted overwhelmingly in favor to maintain their existence this week, despite Iowa Republican politicians’ best efforts to destroy them. Earlier this year, legislative Republicans and then-Governor Terry Branstad passed a wide-ranging collective bargaining bill that limited what Iowa public workers could bargain for. It also instituted re-certification votes with extremely cumbersome rules – local bargaining units needed a majority of all their members to vote in favor, not simply a majority of those voting. Iowa’s unions pointed out that if the same standards were applied to Iowa’s elected officials, no one would win election. By not voting, […]

Tom Steyer Launches $10 Million Effort To Impeach Trump

On By Rick Smith

Tom Steyer, the Democratic California billionaire, launched an in-your-face Trump impeachment ad campaign across the country this week. Timing and momentum is everything in politics. It certainly appears Steyer’s impeachment ad launch is timed perfectly considering the momentous exchange between President Trump and Senators Corker and Flake yesterday. Steyer is calling on Democratic lawmakers across the country to join him in an urgent call for Trump’s impeachment. But instead of Democrats speaking up, it was two Republican Senators that stepped forward and detonated a political grenade at the feet of President Trump. Consider the recent critical remarks of former President […]

Anthem Protests And Lessons On Standing Out In A Crowd

On By Pat Rynard

Details are tucked away in the distant crevasses of my memory about one of life’s teachable moments. That lesson has stuck with me for nearly 60 years. I wish I had that teachable moment on video so I could replay it for people today. It might help with all of the angst we are going through now over the issue of our flag and the National Anthem. Things were much simpler back in the 1950s. World War II was still a fresh memory for our parents, having ended only a decade in the past. Maybe that was why adults back […]