2018
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An Open Letter To Joni Ernst On Tax Cuts And Deficits
We spoke at a town hall in Boone this past January after the Republican tax cut passed, and agreed that the proof of its value would be whether it would produce increased revenue – whether it “pays” for itself. The figures are in for fiscal year 2018: the deficit was up by 17 percent to…
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Ep73: Starting Line Updates & National Trends
Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard updates you on where Starting Line is headed for the rest of 2018, and we recount a recent forum with national reporters at ISU, discussing their takes on identity politics voting, the new Democratic Party and the future of the Iowa Caucus.
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The Whitaker/Clovis Connection Demands A Recusal
There has been a chorus of criticism demanding that acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. It’s primarily based on Whitaker’s previous statements referring to the Mueller investigation as a witch hunt and his loyal support for President Trump’s push-back on the probe. That combined with Whitaker’s previous statements on ways…
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Joni Ernst Puts National Ambitions Ahead Of Iowa Once Again
Senator Joni Ernst had a busy Thanksgiving break, forwarding her national political ambitions at the expense of Iowa’s reputation. Ernst spent part of Sunday in Mississippi, campaigning with Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the runoff race against Democrat Mike Espy. Hyde-Smith has come under significant scrutiny in the final weeks of her campaign over recent…
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What Many Democrats Still Don’t Get About Rural Campaigning
Fred Hubbell campaigned extensively throughout rural Iowa during the 2018 election. Voters may just not have noticed it. As Iowa Democrats pick up the pieces from another stinging statewide loss, a lot of focus has been paid to the party’s continued lopsided defeats throughout rural Iowa. Carrying only 11 counties statewide, as Hubbell did against…
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Time To Reverse Iowa’s Extreme Stance On Voting Rights Restoration
We Iowans like to think of ourselves as the true occupants of middle America, the geographic and societal equivalent of Baby Bear’s porridge. We are not as conservative as some sections of our country, nor as liberal as other sections. We don’t have the wealth that some regions do. We don’t have the poverty that…
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New House Majority Should Find Bipartisan Plans That Can Pass
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seems to be reneging on his pledge to bring bi-partisan criminal justice reform to the floor of the Senate for a vote during the lame duck session. It is ironic that Senator Grassley is complaining about McConnell’s so well-established duplicity. Grassley, as lame-duck chairman of the Judiciary Committee, can…
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The Beginning Of The End For Steve King?
Steve King may have narrowly survived his closest reelection yet earlier this month, but he’s not out of the woods just yet. The firestorm of outrage over his latest dalliances with white supremacists and groups with Neo-Nazi ties appears to be having lasting impacts with both Republican insiders and voters. A primary to King is…
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Trump’s “Make America Rake Again” Ignites Climate Change Debate
The devastating California wildfires should completely erase any skepticism about the crisis of climate change. However, President Trumps suggested that the fires resulted because America isn’t raking its forests and dismissed climate change as a major cause. It seems incomprehensible America could have a Commander-in-Chief so ignorant of science or the basic facts about forest…
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Ep72: What’s Next In Iowa Politics, Todd Prichard Interview
Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard and Statehouse reporter Caroline Cummings discuss what the 2018 election means for the next big stories in Iowa politics, including Steve King, Joni Ernst and the Iowa Caucus. And we interview Todd Prichard about being elected leader of the House Democrats.
