As Emeritus Chair of the Des Moines Committee on Foreign Relations and former board member and officer of the American Committees on Foreign Relations, I have been privileged over many years to hear the best and the brightest experts talk extensively on U.S....
Sometimes elections are about movements. In my view, the 2016 election was certainly that. Lots of issues came together to defeat Hillary Clinton, but the rise of a disgruntled white, working class made up of semi-skilled males was the core of the movement. With...
The second session of the 115th Congress begins January 3 of 2018. Given the trials and tribulations of the 1st session of the 115th, what might the next year bring? Frankly, any comments are based upon speculation, but here are a few I think might be on the table....
I know it seems a long way off, but I am an optimist, so put on your 3D glasses and go to the movies with me, here is what I see (or generally hope to see). It is a review of what politics and the presidency might look like after the 2020 elections. It’s not...
There is one thing I know for sure, and that is the decline in the middle class earning power is a real, possibly the greatest, threat to our democracy. That slow but steady erosion has put the middle class looking for scape goats and it, in a negative way, affects...
I thought I had seen it all in politics, but I guess I haven’t. Also, just to let everyone know, I’m not some Yankee telling Southerners how to run their politics. Chattanooga, Tennessee, right over the Alabama line, is on my birth certificate and I have any number...
As a political junkie, when I am not listening to the machinations and tweets of Donald Trump, I find myself listening to Democrats continuously berate themselves over the last election. Some blame Hillary, some blame the party apparatus, and many blame the...
When a major piece of legislation on healthcare or American’s retirement is brought before the Congress, which party would you rather have in power? A look at historical voting patterns might give some answers. One piece of legislation practically all Americas...
Bear with me for a bit and let’s do a little pretending. Let’s assume a portion of the Democratic Party was high-jacked by some very left-wing radicals, beyond socialist and very dogmatic. Let’s further assume that a very poor, very left-wing (sometimes), very...
For some time, both across the nation and recently in Iowa, the issue of raising the minimum wage has been hotly debated. Although the Iowa General Assembly has failed to ac - and working to stop it all together - it looks like Polk County and other parts of the...
