June 2019
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How A Census Citizenship Question Would Impact Steve King’s District
The Supreme Court of the United States is expected to decide tomorrow whether the Trump Administration can add a question to the census asking about respondents’ citizenship, a decision that will impact some communities in Iowa. If the question is added to the 2020 census, households and communities with undocumented immigrants will face a hard…
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Ep108: Previewing The First Democratic Debate
Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard talks with Erin Murphy, the Des Moines Bureau Chief for Lee Enterprise Newspapers, about how the first Democratic debate could play out.
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AARP’s ‘Stop Rx Greed’ Campaign Kicks Off
Prescription drug prices are rapidly outrunning inflation rates, coverage options and people’s income, speakers at today’s AARP event in Des Moines warned. AARP brought together their members, volunteers, advocates from other agencies and representatives for Joni Ernst and Cindy Axne to kick off their “Stop Rx Greed: Cut Drug Prices Now” campaign this morning. They…
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Laid-Off Iowa Factory Worker Fed Up With Trump’s ‘Lies’
Robert Morrison, 64, hasn’t always been involved in politics. The self-described introvert said he gets easily tongue-tied when he speaks, so he usually keeps to himself. “I’ve always been led to believe if you work hard and you’re productive, you’ll get taken care of,” Morrison told Starting Line. So, he never worried about much. That…
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Internet Mocks Joni Ernst’s Socialism Claim
The Twitter-verse has not taken kindly to Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s rallying cry that socialists soon will take over Iowa and the United States if they’re not stopped by Republican voters. Fear of the “radical left” was a central theme of her 2020 campaign kick-off earlier this month, with Ernst telling the Roast and Ride…
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Whose Climate Change Plan Will Stand Out In The Debates?
Iowa Democrats evaluating presidential candidates in this week’s debate will weigh a number of issues and factors in making their choice. How big a role will climate change play in the debate, and who will be the best climate candidate? Addressing climate change has become one of the major policy issues that has leap-frogged ahead…
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Bernie Sanders’ Iowa Campaign Helps Rally Local Unions
Photo from Bernie Sanders in a march with striking McDonald’s workers in Cedar Rapids three weeks ago. In a show of solidarity with labor, Bernie Sanders’ Iowa campaign used their extensive email list to help rally union members in Southeast Iowa for a march this weekend. The campaign sent around emails encouraging Iowans to show…
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Tulsi Gabbard Makes Iowa TV Buy
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is set to go up on the Iowa airwaves this week, according to a media buy schedule that Starting Line has seen. Her campaign is making a statewide ad buy worth around $42,000 from June 25 to June 30. Hers will be the second presidential campaign to launch Iowa TV ads this…
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How Bono’s ONE Campaign Is Organizing In Iowa
Foreign aid is often used more in political campaigns as a punching bag than as an applause line, but more Iowans may be pressing their candidates and elected officials on the subject if the ONE campaign is successful here. ONE, a non-partisan advocacy organization co-founded by Bono, works to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases,…
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Joni Ernst Doesn’t Want To Be Your Senator
Joni Ernst is running for reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2020. She just isn’t necessarily running to be your senator. In her announcement speech last weekend, as well as in subsequent tweets this past week, Ernst laid out her central rationale for another six years in the Senate: fighting and defeating Democrats and the…
