November 2017
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Iowa Now Dead Last In GDP Growth Under All-Republican Control
Very bad news this week for both Governor Kim Reynolds and the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported the second quarter economic growth by state (GDP). Iowa’s economic growth was a negative .7%, dead last among all 50 states. Of the 50 states, 48 had positive growth in this period.…
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What Should Iowa Politicos Be Thankful For This Year?
As we near the holiday season, there’s a lot for Iowa elected officials, candidates and activists to be thankful for. Some will look back at the year as the breakout moment of their political career. Most will just be happy when 2017 is finally over. Unless next year turns out to be worse. Which it…
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Todd Prichard Backs Fred Hubbell For Governor
Former gubernatorial candidate Todd Prichard has made his pick for the office he sought earlier this year, reports Ed Tibbetts. The Charles City state representative announced today that he’s endorsing Fred Hubbell in the Democratic primary for governor. “I’m endorsing Fred for two simple reasons: he would make an outstanding governor for all Iowans, rural…
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GOP Awards Massive Tax Cuts To Companies Sitting On Piles Of Money
Why can’t Republicans just be honest about their massive tax cuts? They want to give the bulk of their massive tax cuts to the richest Americans and profitable corporations while claiming their cuts benefit middle class Americans. They allege that their proposal to slash the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, an enormous 42%…
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GOP Tax Reform: Winners And Losers
As the Republican Congress wraps up its “Tax Reform and Jobs” bill, the committee and floor debates provide a stark contrast on how the two parties see the state of the economy and the role of government. The Republicans argue that allowing “hard-working taxpayers to decide how to spend their hard-earned money is preferable to…
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Bill Dix Is A Very Dumb Man
It is not often in Iowa news cycles you see a politician completely melt down in such a way that Republican Iowa Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix did this past week. The sexual harassment scandal, trial and settlement in the Senate had already dominated Iowa headlines for months, but Dix found inventive new ways this…
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How Iowa GOP Legislators’ Actions Have Hurt Veterans
This past week, Progress Iowa, a statewide organization representing over 70,000 progressive Iowans, issued a stunning research report on the legislature’s treatment of Iowa veterans. The report details 25 ways in which Iowa Republican Legislators voted against the interests of Iowa veterans. The last legislative session forced severe cuts to various veterans’ programs. The GOP…
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We Polled Troy Price’s Favorability Just For Kicks. Here’s What We Found
When putting together Starting Line’s poll, there were a number of suggestions of people outside of the gubernatorial and secretary of state race to test their favorability among likely primary-going Democrats. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price’s name was one suggestion, to which I figured, hey, why not? Just how well does the Democratic base…
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Starting Line Poll: Jim Mowrer Starts With Wide Lead In Sec. Of State Primary
In the Democratic primary for next year’s secretary of state nomination, Army veteran and former congressional candidate Jim Mowrer begins the race with a large lead. In the poll that Starting Line commissioned with 20/20 Insight, 27% of likely Democratic primary-goers picked Mowrer in the race, compared to 9% for Des Moines small businesswoman Deidre…
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A Letter To Members Of The Democratic Party
As a political junkie, when I am not listening to the machinations and tweets of Donald Trump, I find myself listening to Democrats continuously berate themselves over the last election. Some blame Hillary, some blame the party apparatus, and many blame the Russians or WikiLeaks. So far, no one, except Trump, has foisted blame on…
