2017
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Iowa Main Street Alliance Warns Congress Of ACA Repeal Impacts
Guest post from ICAN The Iowa Main Street Alliance small business owners and others who depend on the ACA for health care released a new Health Care for America Now (HCAN) report that details the impact of repealing the ACA on individuals and on Iowa’s economy. Iowa small business owners from across the state call…
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Get Ready: Joni Ernst Announces Forums In Des Moines, Cedar Rapids
Finally, one of Iowa’s Republican senators has scheduled a public forum in the state’s largest cities. Joni Ernst announced this morning that she will host town hall meetings on college campuses in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids on March 17. Here’s the details: Linn County Town Meeting Noon Coe College – Sinclair Auditorium 1220 1st Avenue…
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How Prosperity Gospel Delivered Rural Iowa To Republicans
Editor’s note: Following the 2016 losses in rural America, Democrats are struggling to find the magic sauce that will bring these voters back to the Democratic Party. This article by a rural Iowan provides a snapshot at why Trump and the Republicans were so successful at appealing to rural voters. He also provides some answers…
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Four Potential Republican Challengers To Dave Loebsack In 2018
Republicans may have wished they’d had a better-funded 2nd District candidate in 2016 when Donald Trump won the Democratic-leaning seat held by Dave Loebsack. The six-term Democrat has weathered every difficult year in Iowa politics and remains in a good position heading into 2018. But that won’t keep serious GOP candidates from taking a close look at…
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Waterloo Legislator Ras Smith Demonstrates Danger Of Stand Your Ground
The Iowa House passed the Republican omnibus gun bill yesterday, but not before many Democratic legislators made impassioned pleas to vote it down. The most striking moment came when first-term Representative Ras Smith showed his colleagues how he could easily be seen as a “threat” under the new law, donning a grey hoodie and headphones.…
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As Voter ID Bill Advances, Iowans Slam Paul Pate For 5,842 Uncounted Votes
Secretary of State Paul Pate’s “election integrity” bill is scheduled to come to a vote in the Iowa House tonight, though a long-running discussion on the gun omnibus bill may push it into tomorrow. Either way, passage is coming soon for the wide-ranging election legislation that adds voter ID requirements, signature verification, shortens the timeframe…
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Dave Loebsack Named As A Top Defend District For Democrats In 2018
The best chance for Democrats to stop President Donald Trump’s agenda is to retake the U.S. House in 2018. To do that they’ll have to pick up about two dozen seats, as well as not lose any. Here in Iowa, a top priority will be protecting Iowa’s 2nd District and Congressman Dave Loebsack. If Democrats…
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A Brave New World Lies Ahead With Trump’s America
Guest post from Tim Urban Aldous Huxley published Brave New World in 1932, a dystopian novel projecting psychological manipulation and social conditioning that profoundly changed society. As we consider President Trump’s speech to Congress, his tweets, executive orders and philosophy of his advisors and cabinet members, and watch Republican legislatures trash established policies and institutions, we face…
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Residents Warn Water Works Bill Will Lead To Flint, Michigan Conditions
Hundreds of worried Central Iowa residents flooded the Iowa Statehouse Monday morning for a public hearing on the Republican bill to dismantle Des Moines Water Works. Opponents to House File 848 outnumbered supporters 177 to 8 on the speakers list beforehand. Dozens of Des Moines-area residents, local elected officials and water board members – both from Central…
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GOP Plan On Water Quality All About Revenge, Not Solutions
Here’s a prediction — and I hope I’m wrong. The Iowa Legislature will deal with the state’s lousy water quality in lakes, rivers and streams about the same time that Congress decides to deal with climate change. Which is to say, neither the Legislature nor Congress show any inclination to confront the two problems. And…
