July 2019
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Are Divisive Debates Helpful To Iowans?
Last night, the CNN-hosted Democratic debates featured a lengthy, sometimes-heated discussion about health care policy. The heat was purposeful. The moderators paid special attention to having candidates respond to each other’s answers. To mixed results. In Ames, Iowa, gathered caucus-goers reacted positively to some of the incendiary moments like Bernie saying he “wrote the damn…
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Iowa Debate-Watchers Unsure On Health Care Differences
Undecided Iowa voters watching this round of Democratic debates aren’t that interested in the finer points of the private option vs. Medicare for All discussion. They want health care for all, they say, but they’re largely unsure how it should be achieved. Voters at Des Moines debate watch parties both Tuesday and Wednesday night weren’t…
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Native American Outreach Rising In Importance For Democrats
The first gathering of presidential candidates to talk specifically about issues important to Native Americans will take place next month in an Iowa city well-versed in the concerns of tribal nations. The Frank LaMere Presidential Candidate Forum is a first-of-its-kind event, “focused entirely on the concerns of Native Americans.” The two-day event will be held…
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Meet The Judges Who Will Decide ACA’s Fate
Judges in photo from left to right: Carolyn Dineen King, Kurt Engelhardt, Jennifer Walker Elrod. In December of last year, headlines screamed about the end of the Affordable Care Act. A district court judge in Texas had ruled that the whole health care law is unconstitutional in the most recent Texas v. United States case. He…
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Ernst Claims McConnell Not Blocking Election Interference Bill
At a recent town hall meeting in Wright County, Sen. Joni Ernst was asked why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had blocked election security bills from being debated. In a video of the exchange with Ernst, a member of the audience said he was “baffled” by McConnell’s inaction on bills to make “our voting system…
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Trump’s EPA Pulls Another Bait-And-Switch On Farmers
In a whirlwind week for trade and agricultural policy, the EPA’s Andrew Wheeler defended their approach to Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) in a closed-door meeting with farm state senators. In other parts of a busy day, President Trump approved $16 billion in trade aid for 2019, but 2018 trade-aid analysis shows that a majority of…
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Buttigieg’s Labor Plan Will Protect Women, Undocumented Workers
Pete Buttigieg unveiled a plan to end the systematic attack on labor and organized workers during his most recent trip to Iowa. His plan will allow undocumented workers to report labor violations without fear of repercussions, force companies to reveal their gender pay gap numbers and his administration will give contractual preference to companies who…
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Who Convinced Iowans In The 2nd Democratic Debate (1st Night)
Iowans watched from bars, house parties and restaurants tonight as ten Democratic candidates faced off in the first night of the second debate. Team Starting Line was once again out at neutral debate watch parties organized by Democratic Party groups. Our reporters went to Ames, Des Moines, Keokuk and Winterset to see how caucus-goers reacted…
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3 Democrats Meet In Sioux City For 1st IA-Sen Candidate Forum
Three Democrats participated Tuesday in the first multi-candidate event of Iowa’s U.S. Senate race, introducing themselves to Siouxland voters. Siouxland Progressive Women hosted the forum in Sioux City with Eddie Mauro, a businessman and former educator from Des Moines; Kimberly Graham, a children’s rights attorney from Indianola; and Michael Franken, a retired Navy admiral. About 70…
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Steve Bullock Recalls Stories Of Working As Labor Lawyer
Instead of bedtime stories, Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s children used to fall asleep hearing the stories of the people he was about to represent as a union-side labor lawyer. In an interview with Iowa Starting Line earlier this month, Bullock spoke about his experiences representing organized workers. Bullock specifically mentioned one man who was a…
