2017
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John Norris Weighing Run For Iowa Governor
As Democrats look to their developing gubernatorial primary field, one new name would bring an experience as close as you can get to being a former governor: John Norris. Tom Vilsack’s chief of staff for two years, few other Iowans have as long a resume in Iowa Democratic politics and governance than Norris. He’s been IDP…
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Iowa Legislator Proposes “Masturbatory Emissions” Fine
Iowa State Representative Lisa Heddens of Ames is simply looking to achieve “equality” in Iowa’s laws on men and women’s health procedures with a new amendment she proposed to Republicans’ 20-week abortion ban. Heddens is encouraging her colleagues to pass her “Men’s Right to Know Act,” which would allow doctors to refuse prescribing erectile dysfunction drugs…
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Why Former Army Ranger Mike Matson May Run For Iowa Governor
If Mike Matson pulls the trigger on a gubernatorial run and wins, it will be the revenge of the local official on Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds’ legacy. A member of the Davenport City Council for the past ten years, Matson is fed up with the unfunded mandates coming out of Des Moines, as well…
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Forbes: Iowa GOP Has Mismanaged The Store, Led Us To Deficit
Guest post from Representative John Forbes As a small businessman in Urbandale for 35 years, I know numbers don’t lie and you must pay close attention. To be successful, you need to keep an eye on your income and expenses, and watch the bottom line. At the Legislature, someone hasn’t been minding the store. As…
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Take Our Video Tour Of Iowa’s Changing Voting Trends By Precinct
Here at Starting Line, I’ve written several posts looking at precinct-by-precinct results from both the 2016 election and the Iowa Caucus to give readers a sense of how and why Iowa’s voting trends are changing. No swing state shifted more than Iowa in the general election (from Obama +6 in 2012 to Trump +10 in 2016),…
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Two Cruel Iowa Senate Bills Sucker Punch Working People Again
Guest post from Matt Chapman on the workers compensation and minimum wage preemption bills that passed the Iowa Senate this week. At this point I don’t even see these as separate bills. They are all running together in a nightmare for the working class folks. No raise for the working poor. Busting unions in the…
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From Surplus To Deficit: Branstad And Reynolds’ Sad Legacy
A mere four years ago, Iowa’s budget sat at a healthy $927 million surplus. Fiscal Year 2013 saw the state in a very strong budgetary position. Now? Fiscal Year 2017 is estimated to bottom out at a $130 million deficit. So what happened? Well, it turns out that four years of huge property tax cuts for corporations does…
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Climate Justice Unity March Coming In April
The People’s Climate Movement is gaining momentum for what should be a landmark day of action on April 29, marking the 100th day of the Trump Presidency. The major event is in Washington, DC — a march for climate, justice and jobs. Hundreds of related marches, rallies and events are planned in cities across the…
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Where Are They Now: Recent Iowa Political Hires Round-Up
In the world of Iowa politics, people move around from job to job a lot. This is especially so in the months after an election, as former campaign staffers figure out their next move. It hasn’t been an easy transition for many Democratic operatives, as when all your candidates lose in an election, there’s not…
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Does Iowa GOP Think Miscarriages Should Be Brought To Term?
A very bizarre moment occurred during last night’s committee hearing over Iowa House Republicans’ 20-week abortion ban. Republican Representative Shannon Lundgren, during an exchange with Democratic Representative John Forbes, suggested that a woman who suffered a miscarriage would need to carry that fetus to term. Forbes posed the question to Lundgren in relation to his…
