When The Door To Democracy Closes

On By guest-post

Call them liberals, progressives, activists, or Indivisible, but do NOT call them paid protesters or political operatives. What they do is not dictated by some outside entity, it is matter of personal belief and their actions come from the heart. The payment they seek is an America where each is able to live their life to his or her full potential under the constructs of the Constitution. Like many concerned citizens after the election of 2016, these individuals were looking for a way to communicate with their elected officials. For those whose beliefs did not match the far-right ideology, they […]

A One-Word Concept That Can Help The Democrats Win Again

On By guest-post

There are times in a person’s life when an epiphany occurs that changes the way one thinks about events or even life itself. I had such an occurrence in the summer of 2015, which revamped my thinking on all sorts of issues. It occurred over dinner with Ambassador Ryan Crocker, currently head of the George Bush School of Government at Texas A&M. The Ambassador was in Des Moines to speak to the Des Moines Committee on Foreign Relations of which I was chairman at the time (now Emeritus). The Ambassador’s Foreign Service career stretched over 37 years. During that period […]

Iowa GOP Congressmen Put Women In Danger With Abortion Vote

On By guest-post

After months of legislative failures and unforced errors, it’s clear that Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are desperate for a win. But last week they sunk to a new low in search of a political win. Last Tuesday, GOP leaders in the House voted to outlaw abortion nationwide after 20 weeks of pregnancy. As if that weren’t bad enough, Republican leaders now claim this vote was motivated by the Las Vegas massacre. You read that right. The GOP is rationalizing their latest attempt to prohibit women from accessing their constitutional right to abortion by invoking the lives […]

How Dave Loebsack Beat The Trump Bump

On By guest-post

Guest post from Grant Gregory In the 2016 presidential elections, Iowa shifted away from Democrats more than any other swing state in the country, realizing a total margin shift of 15.2%. This shift yielded large losses for Democrats down the ballot as well – Democrats in Iowa’s 1st District, 3rd District, and state legislative races across the state failed to secure victories. Interestingly, Dave Loebsack of Iowa’s 2nd District managed to defy odds and secure a win despite his district voting for Donald Trump by 4 points, a margin wider than both Iowa’s 1st and 3rd Districts. Loebsack performed so […]

Should Iowa Democrats Adopt a Senator? And Who?

On By guest-post

Guest post from Josh Hughes It’s not necessarily a fun time to be an Iowa Democrat. After 30 years of Tom Harkin’s steady hand, us Democrats are in the proverbial “wilderness”. With just one of six federally elected positions in our column, and a teetering, one seat majority in the State Senate, Iowa Democrats are in a precarious situation. We are living in a post-Tom Harkin reality- one where we can’t take for granted having a level headed, progressive voice in the US Senate. While we have several outstanding candidates that are running for Senate in 2016, and surely more […]

How Democrats Are Expanding Access To The Iowa Caucus

On By guest-post

Guest Post from IDP Chair Andy McGuire The Democratic Party is proud to be the party of inclusion. We believe that our party, our state and our country are strongest when everyone has a seat at the table and has an opportunity to shape the future. Here at the Iowa Democratic Party, we have been hard at work to make sure that our caucuses reflect the values our party holds dear. One of the things that makes that Iowa caucuses so special is that Iowans come together with their neighbors at the same time and the same place to discuss […]

The Best Way To Ask An Iowa Caucus Gun Control Question

On By guest-post

In today’s charged political atmosphere, the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting can turn sharply partisan and accusatory rather quickly. It increasingly seems like both sides are talking past each other, and that no act of gun violence, no matter how horrific, seems to really move the debate forward at all. The frustration is real and understandable. At a Jeb Bush event in Dubuque on Tuesday, however, one man framed the question of gun control to the candidate in an interesting way that avoided the charged rhetoric. Robert Baugh, a retired high school language arts teacher, expressed his concerns in one […]

Iowa Democrats Must Build A Deeper Bench. Here’s Some Ideas

On By guest-post

Guest Post Bench Building Problem Democrats. The party of the young and idealistic. The party that looks toward the future and not the past. The party with policies to help the struggling 20 and 30-something’s get a job, buy a house, and start a family. The party which builds its campaign structure from the vigor and enthusiasm of dozens of young, hardworking paid staffers, fellows, and volunteers. Democrats. The party with less total people elected under the age of 40 in the Iowa Legislature compared to the Republicans. The party which has a frustratingly hard time building the bench. The […]

Ames Opens Climate Conversation Floodgates

On By guest-post

Guest Post from Climate Reality Project Wednesday afternoon students, professors, and activists gathered in the Biorenewable Complex at ISU to kickoff Senator Hogg’s Climate Solutions Tour and open a discourse around the UN Climate Negotiations in Paris this December. The discussion, hosted by the Climate Reality Project, featured a diverse group of concerned individuals familiar with the industries, policies, and environmental practices here in Iowa. “The science is clear: we must urgently act to safeguard our people and our property from the dangers of climate change,” said State Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids.  “The good news is we have […]

Only In Iowa: My Summer With Hillary

On By guest-post

Guest post by Sean Bagniewski I can still remember it. I was standing in line at the grocery store and got a call from my friend, Brenda Kole, who had been helping with Hillary Clinton’s exploratory committee. She asked if I remembered a film crew who had stopped by my house several weeks before to talk about whether my wife and I thought Hillary should run for president. I said I did and she said the footage about our home renovations and our rescue lab puppy was going to be used in Hillary’s launch video, which would go live in […]