August 2019
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What Didn’t Work: Jay Inslee, Seth Moulton Withdraw
The great winnowing has begun. With the August 28 qualification deadline for the September debate fast approaching, we’re starting to see several candidates deal with the stark reality that they simply have no hope of winning this primary. Even if you can find a way to break out in the race outside the debate, missing…
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Bernie Sanders: Political Revolution Will Sway Senators
For Bernie Sanders, the campaign he’s built won’t end if he makes it into the Oval Office. There’s a lot he’ll still be asking of the movement he’s mobilized, though a President Sanders would be turning his supporters’ focus away from $27 donations and toward lobbying their members of Congress. “We’re trying to do things…
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Iowan To Joni Ernst: The ACA Helped My Rural Hospital
Sen. Joni Ernst told a crowd of constituents at a recent town hall meeting her “commitment to rural America is very strong” because she lives in rural Iowa. Josh Dahle challenged that statement, explaining to Ernst how the Affordable Care Act benefited a rural hospital where he used to work, and how her votes to…
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Cedar Rapids Judge Eyed Again As Possible SCOTUS Nominee For Democrats
Soon, a progressive judicial group advocating for court reform will release a list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court that they hope the Democratic presidential candidates will consider. It appears that Jane Kelly, a judge from Cedar Rapids who currently serves on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and was once on Barack Obama’s…
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After Judiciary Appointment, Joni Ernst Backs All Trump Judges In 2019
President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have taken it upon themselves to stack the federal courts with conservative judges, an effort Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has aided in lockstep. Ernst, Iowa’s junior U.S. senator, was appointed to the influential Judiciary Committee in January, tasked in part with vetting judicial nominees. “As a…
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Ernst Plans Visit With Trump On SREs, Hopes For USMCA Resolution
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst said she and Senator Chuck Grassley were able to slip messages about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proliferation of the Small Refinery Exemptions to Ambassador to China Terry Branstad before he met with President Donald Trump on Monday. Ernst said at a town hall meeting in Rockwell City Thursday morning that Branstad…
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Rep. Cindy Axne Calls For Federal Investigation Into EPA’s Biofuel Waivers
In the wake of news an Iowa-based biofuels producer will cut jobs and production due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proliferation of “Small Refinery Exemptions” for oil companies, Iowa congresswoman Cindy Axne called for a federal investigation into the Trump Administration’s controversial policy. Axne held a press conference Wednesday afternoon at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy…
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From Skeptic To Whole-Hearted Warren Democrat: My Caucus Choice
A guest piece from I-35 School Board Member Josh Hughes. When Elizabeth Warren announced her candidacy, I was initially dismissive. I was open minded about the field but not actively considering her. I met with a Warren organizer named Morgan mid-spring out of courtesy and came away impressed by the scale of the campaign’s efforts…
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Key 2020 Quotes And Messages From Major IFL Labor Convention
More than 200 union members showed up to the Iowa Federation of Labor Conference in Des Moines Wednesday to hear from over half the crowded Democratic presidential field. Before any of the candidates took the stage, union leaders welcomed the crowd to the conference and warned the Republican Party is trying to strip unions of…
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Trauma Surgeons Among Those Calling For Assault Weapons Ban
Any discussion about restricting the sale or possession of assault rifles must include input from trauma surgeons working to repair the monstrous wounds these military weapons create. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump have promised a discussion on gun safety when Congress returns to Washington, D.C., next month after its August recess.…
