If Mike Matson pulls the trigger on a gubernatorial run and wins, it will be the revenge of the local official on Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds’ legacy. A member of the Davenport City Council for the past ten years, Matson is fed up with the unfunded mandates...
Guest post from Representative John Forbes As a small businessman in Urbandale for 35 years, I know numbers don’t lie and you must pay close attention. To be successful, you need to keep an eye on your income and expenses, and watch the bottom line. At the...
Here at Starting Line, I've written several posts looking at precinct-by-precinct results from both the 2016 election and the Iowa Caucus to give readers a sense of how and why Iowa's voting trends are changing. No swing state shifted more than Iowa in the general...
Guest post from Matt Chapman on the workers compensation and minimum wage preemption bills that passed the Iowa Senate this week. At this point I don’t even see these as separate bills. They are all running together in a nightmare for the working class folks. No...
A mere four years ago, Iowa's budget sat at a healthy $927 million surplus. Fiscal Year 2013 saw the state in a very strong budgetary position. Now? Fiscal Year 2017 is estimated to bottom out at a $130 million deficit. So what happened? Well, it turns out that...
The People's Climate Movement is gaining momentum for what should be a landmark day of action on April 29, marking the 100th day of the Trump Presidency. The major event is in Washington, DC -- a march for climate, justice and jobs. Hundreds of related marches,...
In the world of Iowa politics, people move around from job to job a lot. This is especially so in the months after an election, as former campaign staffers figure out their next move. It hasn't been an easy transition for many Democratic operatives, as when all...
A very bizarre moment occurred during last night's committee hearing over Iowa House Republicans' 20-week abortion ban. Republican Representative Shannon Lundgren, during an exchange with Democratic Representative John Forbes, suggested that a woman who suffered a...
Mike Carberry, a Johnson County Supervisor, said in a recent interview he was considering beginning an exploratory committee in a run for Governor. That admission sounds like he could be persuaded to run if he received sufficient encouragement. He said his interest...
Democrats and their grassroots supporters’ victory at blocking the Republicans’ Obamacare repeal provides a much-needed boost to morale. Since the election, national Republicans have been riding a wave of enthusiasm as they anticipated turning back the clock on...
