Category: Iowa Daily Democrat

The enthusiasm and energy generated at last week’s newly formed neighborhood group, the Des Moines West Side Democrats, made it feel like the 2018 midterm is right around the corner. It’s unheard of to have this much excitement barely over 100 days into a new Republican administration, especially following an election that swept Democrats from power at all levels. Rather than commiserating and mourning their recent losses, these Democrats are reenergized and already organizing like the midterm election is at hand. Their actions confirm that Trump’s election and the Republican legislative debacle has ignited a powerful organizational firestorm among Democrats […]

As Iowa Democrats strategize on ways to rebuild the state party, they can begin by focusing on strengthening their county party foundation. The Democratic county parties – especially in rural areas – are the building blocks that the state party is built upon. It’s the county parties that recruit the local volunteers, fundraise, execute “Get Out the Vote” and win local elections. Democrats recognize that their rural county efforts suffered huge setbacks in the 2016 election, and they need help in rebuilding. Democrats only won six urban counties out of the 99 county total. Woodbury County Democrats stand out as […]

The Iowa immigrant community is under great stress from the Trump Administration’s conflicting and contradictory statements on deportation. It’s not at all clear who is subject to deportation and how deep Homeland Security will reach into the community. Will they just deport those that have committed serious crimes or simply those that are undocumented? The immigrant community needs support from Iowans that recognize and celebrate the contributions that immigrants have made and continue to make to Iowa. A similar rally, “Day Without Immigrants,” was held in February that drew an estimated 9,000 to the Capitol. The goal of that event […]

Time is running out in order to slow and reverse the warming of the earth. The catastrophic consequences associated with climate change are rapidly becoming more evident. It’s not too late but the world must act soon in order to prevent the worst of these environmental disasters. Scientists predict the globe will reach a tipping point where the warming could become irreversible. The consequences of passing that tipping point would dramatically alter life as we know it. These dire warnings to act are coming from a wide variety of sources. The Pentagon warns that climate change is a primary national […]

Iowa Teamsters Local 238 has created an exciting new organizing group and are quickly reaching out statewide to partner with other progressive groups. In March they launched a Teamsters Community Action Network (TeamCAN), a 501(c)3 nonprofit which is separate from their traditional Teamsters labor union. The first TeamCAN organizational meeting in Cedar Rapids in March drew over 200 progressive leaders and activists composed of labor union members, civil rights groups, environmentalists, progressive religious leaders and progressive organizers including the Indivisible group. That initial organizational meeting led to TeamCAN partnering with the group Indivisible to jointly sponsor six regional training conferences for Iowa progressives. […]

The Iowa Democratic Party has been conducting a 2016 post-election postmortem on why they lost rural Iowa so badly.  One recommendation resurfaces in every one of these autopsies conducted over these losses.  The suggestion is that urban Democrats must listen to the needs of rural Iowans if they ever expect to gain their votes. However, one rural Iowan warns Democrats it will take more than fake listening and feigned concern to reconnect with rural Iowa. Doug Burns, co-owner of the Carroll Daily Times Herald writes a column, “Taking Note,” for the Herald’s editorial page. Burns also writes the “Political Mercury” […]

Science and fact-based scientific research is under attack by Republicans at all levels of government. The national scientific community is asking the public for support. There will be national Science Marches in cities all across the country tomorrow. Here’s the stated mission of the Science March: “The March for Science champions publicly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good, and for political leaders and policy makers to enact evidence based policies in the public interest.” You can show that […]

Yesterday’s shocking news on the deportation of Californian Juan Manuel Montes has increased the anxiety in the immigrant community. Montes, 23, came to the United States at age 9 and believed he was protected from deportation under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA). This is the first reported deportation of a DREAMer covered by the DACA program and it’s causing panic. Montes lawyer is suing the Trump administration over his deportation. “Juan Manuel was funneled across the border without so much as a piece of paper to explain why or how,” stated Nora A. Preciado, a staff […]

National tax day protests this past weekend focused on President Trump’s stubborn refusal to reveal his tax returns. His unsupported claim that he can’t reveal his returns because he’s under audit has been thoroughly debunked. The IRS is on the record confirming that Trump can make his returns public while under audit. Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer was peppered with questions about Trump’s tax returns on Monday. Following the massive tax-day protests the questions about Trump’s tax returns have resurfaced with even greater intensity than ever. Until now, Trump supporters haven’t seemed bothered by Trump’s refusal to show his tax history. […]