2017
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Will Congressional Shooting Produce A Unifying Moment?
The initial reaction following yesterday’s shooting of Congressman Steve Scalise and others was political unity. There has been some politicizing of the shooting, yet most of Congress has pulled together. It was a unifying event much like the reaction following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. This attack on a Republican baseball practice was seen…
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Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Jeff Merkley To Headline Progress Iowa Event
Progress Iowa announced their headline speakers for their annual Corn Feed fundraiser this year: South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. Congressman Dave Loebsack will join them on stage. They’ll be part of a large speaker list, as every gubernatorial and congressional candidate have been invited as well. In past years…
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Bernie Sanders Back In Iowa On July 15th For CCI Convention
Senator Bernie Sanders will be the keynote speaker for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement’s Action Fund’s (CCI Action) annual convention in Des Moines on July 15th. This will be the first time Senator Sanders has returned to Iowa since the 2016 presidential election. CCI Action is describing the event as “Revolution Iowa – From Protest…
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Cindy Axne’s Path From Community Activism To Congressional Candidate
While raising her two young sons in West Des Moines, Cindy Axne found a problem: the school district claimed there was only enough space for half of local children to attend full-day kindergarten. A lottery system was used to decide who got to get in, which her first son lost out in. So she started…
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Cathy Glasson Pitches Progressive Vision For Struggling Iowans
“Something Different.” That could easily be the slogan for Cathy Glasson’s campaign for governor in 2018, as she said at one point in an interview with Starting Line that “Iowans want to see something different.” She believes Iowans will find just that in her candidacy, where she’s pitching what she calls a “bold, progressive vision”…
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Look West, Democrats: California Leading Progressive Fight
Democrats searching for a national progressive message should look west, toward California. Governor Jerry Brown and Democrats have complete control of both houses of the state legislature and they are pursuing a bold progressive agenda. We continually hear Democrats criticizing other Democrats for not being progressive enough. We have had front row seats at the…
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Should Democrats Push For A 30-Hour Work Week?
In 1938 the Roosevelt Administration passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that established the 40-hour maximum work week, a national minimum wage, and time-and-a-half for overtime pay. The primary goal was to increase employment by spreading the available work among more people. It was recognized by President Roosevelt and the Democrats that the massive…
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The Real Reason Why Iowa Republicans Keep Winning
Time and again this legislative session, Republicans passed legislation that supposedly polls very poorly with Iowa voters. And yet most political pundits predict that Kim Reynolds and the GOP ticket holds the upper hand heading into the 2018 election. A victory then by the new Reynolds and Adam Gregg team would solidify Republicans’ electoral stranglehold on…
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Rich Leopold Ends Gubernatorial Campaign
Polk County Conservation Director Rich Leopold announced this morning that he was ending his campaign for Iowa Governor. Leopold, the state’s former DNR director, was the first candidate to announce back in January. He cited the difficulty of running an effective-enough outsider campaign to actually win statewide. The challenge of raising sufficient funds to fully compete…
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Trump’s Retreat On Climate All About Political Tribalism
Trumps rejection of the Paris Climate Agreement isn’t based on the facts nor does his base need any facts to support his climate denial position. For Trump’s loyal base of supporters, facts are irrelevant because climate denial has become a proxy issue for the support of the much larger conservative view of the world. Climate…
