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Health care discussions in the presidential primary have increasingly begun to include specific ideas for the LGBTQ community. Beto O’Rourke recently rolled out his "LGBTQ+ Equality" policy proposal aimed at ensuring everyone can “live openly without fear of...
Back during Elaine Baxter’s childhood, party loyalty was a simple matter. “When I was growing up, it would be unthinkable if you worked in a factory and were a Republican,” Baxter explained to Starting Line last week. “The two didn’t go together.” Now 86, Baxter, who...
Sunshine Week will be observed across the nation next week. The week shines a spotlight on the important role open government and citizen accountability play in our democracy. Open meetings and open records are the tools that enable the public to know what their...
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seems to be reneging on his pledge to bring bi-partisan criminal justice reform to the floor of the Senate for a vote during the lame duck session. It is ironic that Senator Grassley is complaining about McConnell’s so...
Republicans may yet lose two senate majority leaders in the same year. That's seems to be the goal of the Senate Democrats as the party launched a massive ad blitz today to take down Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver in his Ankeny district. Amber Gustafson, a gun...
Earlier this year, Facebook began making public every political ad that is run on their platform as part of their effort to create a more transparent process following criticism of Russian influence in the 2016 election. You can now easily find every ad deemed...
There was snow and ice on the ground in Burlington on the morning of Jan. 6, 2015. About 10:30 a.m., police were summoned to 104 S. Garfield Ave., where Autumn and Gabriel Steele were arguing outside their house. Less than a minute after Officer Jesse Hill arrived to...
If you go out East this week and swing by places like Mount Vernon, Monticello and Montpelier, don’t be surprised if the soil has been disturbed over the graves of our Founding Fathers. Those founders of this beacon of freedom known as the United States of America...
Democratic primary voters finally saw a new side to the six-candidate field for governor in last night's IPTV debate. Tough questions from the moderators and various attacks from individual candidates (all aimed at Fred Hubbell) put the candidates on their toes and...
That priest in Australia nailed it with his message on the Anglican church sign last week: “When Will They Love Their Kids More Than Their Guns.” The sign was a pointed reference to the latest St. Valentine’s Day massacre in the United States. This massacre didn’t...
It was, for the most part, the Cathy Glasson party last night at the Meredith Middle School caucus location in Des Moines. Although many caucus goers chose not to outwardly show support for a gubernatorial candidate, Glasson’s volunteers were well-organized, nor shy...
A guest post from Matt Chapman, an activist from Dallas County, with an in-depth look at one Iowa Republican senator's Facebook posts. It's a long but interesting consideration of how legislators use their social media during the legislative session. Some politicians...
The Des Moines Register’s editorial on Sunday suggested Congressman Steve King is so extreme he could never be elected in Iowa’s 3rd District, which is currently represented by David Young. They contend that the public in the 3rd District is more moderate because it...
This is the debate Democrats are continuing to have following the 2016 losses. As Democrats attempt to craft a winning message for 2018 and beyond, the internal debate within the Party is focused on how far left they should or must move the Party’s messaging. The...
It's official: State Senator Nate Boulton is running for Iowa Governor. Like, literally running. In an up-beat video that resembled a sports pep rally more than a typical campaign ad, Boulton showed off his marathon-running skills as he declared his candidacy. Asking...
In the first ninety days of Donald Trump’s presidency, his actions speak more to his business background than of politics. He has been frank about his disapproval of government laws, which are oftentimes burdensome to businesses but essential for the safety of...
The people of the state of Iowa have been subjected to arguably the most sweeping, malicious legislation in the state’s recent memory. Public schools and family planning services were underfunded. Collective bargaining rights have been quashed, local minimum wages...
Guest post from Leadership Team of the Main Street Alliance of Iowa, including: ReShonda Young, Waterloo, owner of Popcorn Heaven, Chris Petersen, Clear Lake, family farmer, Mike Draper, Des Moines, owner of Raygun With decision after decision out of the Supreme Court...
The Republicans in the lowa legislature must be suffering from whiplash as they have suddenly slammed their party into reverse by opposing “local control.” The Republican mantra for years has been to repeat the quote credited to Thomas Jefferson: “The government...
Guest post from Tim Urban Aldous Huxley published Brave New World in 1932, a dystopian novel projecting psychological manipulation and social conditioning that profoundly changed society. As we consider President Trump’s speech to Congress, his tweets, executive...
Guest post from Tim Urban In an Op-ed in the New York Times titled “Trump Voters Are Not the Enemy,” Nicholas Kristof cites three reasons why “it’s shortsighted to direct liberal fury at the entire mass of Trump voters, a complicated (and, yes, diverse) group of 63...
Guest post from Eric Saylor Statehouse Republicans have mounted several high-profile legislative attacks on their political opponents this session, Planned Parenthood and public sector unions chief among them. However, Republicans are also pursuing their goals through...
For a party that hasn't seen a major, non-presidential statewide victory in over a decade, Iowa Democrats are looking for a special kind of candidate in 2018: one that can win. Friends of State Representative Todd Prichard believe he could fill that role, and Prichard...
The Iowa Legislature is back in full swing this week, so you know what that means: Republicans are introducing all kinds of crazy-sounding legislation. The big difference this year? With Republicans in control of all Iowa government for the first time in 20 years,...
The Iowa Legislature will return this January with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, eager to implement a broad-reaching conservative agenda. They have waited 20 years for full control of Iowa government, and with Terry Branstad and/or Kim Reynolds...
A jury verdict in Portland, Ore., a few weeks ago was all but obscured in the news by the presidential campaign. That’s unfortunate, because the verdict falls into the same “oh, you’ve got to be kidding” category as the acquittal of O.J. Simpson on murder charges in...
By Tim DeLong For quite some time it has been apparent to most that Republicans lie a lot more than Democrats. So I decided to put together my own list of what I consider to be lies told by Republicans, as well as significant policy positions – most of which involved...
Good morning readers! As always, a lot happened in the political world this week. Enjoy our Sunday Grab Bag of shorter takes on a number of Iowa and national political topics: The Catch-22 of Keystone and Eminent Domain The most interesting exchange I've seen so far...
A passion for improving educational opportunities drives Charlie McConkey in the Statehouse. Raised by a mother with an eight-grade education working minimum wage, McConkey and his four siblings learned early on the value of hard work and determination. Born in Carter...
