Category: Republicans

Time and again this legislative session, Republicans passed legislation that supposedly polls very poorly with Iowa voters. And yet most political pundits predict that Kim Reynolds and the GOP ticket holds the upper hand heading into the 2018 election. A victory then by the new Reynolds and Adam Gregg team would solidify Republicans’ electoral stranglehold on the Hawkeye state where they control both U.S. Senate seats, three of four congressional districts and five of seven statewide offices. So why have Republicans been so successful here the last four campaign cycles, despite Iowa’s swing state reputation (former reputation after 2016, perhaps)? The answer is obviously many […]

Under a blazing hot sun yesterday, Senator Joni Ernst drove into her annual Roast And Ride fundraiser with Vice President Mike Pence at her side. Both were on motorcycles. But had just a few political calculations gone differently last year, it might have been Ernst who wore an official vice presidential riding jacket. Last June and July, during the speculation over who Donald Trump would pick as his running mate, Ernst’s name came up often as being on Trump’s short list. There was chatter in some Republican circles that she was actually the favorite, so long as she wanted it. It’s […]

In very sad(!) news today, Donald Trump announced he will be cancelling his planned Thursday rally in Cedar Rapids, due to an “unforeseen change in President Trump’s schedule.” It will be rescheduled at a later date, possibly as soon as early in the following week. Some people were a little surprised when Trump scheduled a campaign rally in Iowa, just five months into his presidency. He’s held political events like these in a few other states since taking office, as it seems to rejuvenate the president, who loves events where he’s cheered on by thousands of supporters. Their purpose beyond that, however, […]

At this point nothing really surprises me anymore about Donald Trump, but that doesn’t make his actions any less shocking or disturbing. There were many theories just before and after the election about what kind of president Trump would become. Would he settle down, be surrounded by smart advisers and become a more traditional Republican president? Or would he govern as he campaigned, recklessly with little clear indication of any ideology other than an obsession with power, lurching from one self-created crisis to the next? I always figured it would be the latter, that what you see is what you get […]

As many predicted, Governor Terry Branstad has emerged as the top contender to be President-Elect Donald Trump’s ambassador to China. Branstad will meet with Trump in New York this week, and then appear with him at a “Thank You Tour” in Des Moines on Thursday. Were such an appointment to be made, it would cause a huge shake-up in Iowa’s typically stable politics. But would Branstad accept and how would it change the Iowa political landscape? First off, frankly, from a purely foreign policy perspective, Branstad would probably do a good job at it. He’s a longtime friend of Chinese […]