Search
After some quiet early months following the 2016 elections, the Democratic field to take on Kim Reynolds (or maybe Ron Corbett) is quickly taking shape. Last week Representative Todd Prichard officially launched an exploratory committee for governor and appears to be...
Guest post from Ken Sagar, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor Decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court have a direct impact on the livelihoods of working people – the right to a discrimination-free workplace, to safe working conditions, to be paid for the hours...
Editor’s note: Following the 2016 losses in rural America, Democrats are struggling to find the magic sauce that will bring these voters back to the Democratic Party. This article by a rural Iowan provides a snapshot at why Trump and the Republicans were so successful...
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...
The 2017 Iowa legislative session has been disheartening for many Democrats, progressives and people who care about a fair, just Iowa. But there is one silver lining: tough people step up in tough times, and Democrats have had several leaders to rally behind in these...
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...
Governor Terry Branstad’s bill signing ceremony for the most anti-labor bill in recent Iowa history was reserved for a very special guest. Drew Klein, the state director and lobbyist for the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP) got an extraordinary front row...
Second-term U.S. House member Rod Blum could face second-term Iowa House member Abby Finkenauer in his reelection campaign in 2018. Finkenauer, the 28-year-old Democratic legislator from Dubuque, has been strongly considering a run against the Republican incumbent for...
Guest post from Josh Hughes, Iowa's youngest school board member It has been a rough, rough few weeks for public education both in Iowa and nationwide. Last Monday, Iowa House and Senate Republicans underfunded Iowa schools with a meager 1.1% increase in public...
If you turned on your TV in Iowa recently, you'd think we're back in campaign season. Priorities for Iowa is running many TV ads in support of Republicans' union-busting, anti-collective bargaining bill. The group's other operations have been funded by giant corporate...
Democrats stalled the vote on Republicans' fast-tracked bill to gut Iowa's collective bargaining bill for as long as they could, but the legislation eventually prevailed this afternoon. Senate File 213 passed on a 29-21 vote, with all Republicans voting in favor. All...
The debate over the collective bargaining bill will end at noon today in the Iowa House and 2:00 PM in the Iowa Senate, after Republicans passed on a party line vote a "time certain" measure to finish then. House Democrats offered amendments to extend debate until...
In the highly contentious battle to extinguish public worker rights, Iowa Republicans have attempted a divide-and-conquer approach to pit unions against each other. Their legislation splits public workers into two groups, one that's "public safety workers," and one...
I won’t beat around the bush. I’m dismayed by President Donald Trump’s decision to keep people from entering the United States if they are citizens of one of seven nations where a majority of people are Muslims. I am worried about the message his order sends to our...
Angry crowds of Iowans packed legislative forums and listening sessions across the state once again this Saturday. Opponents to Republicans' far-reaching and fast-tracked agenda easily outnumbered supporters at close to a dozen events around Iowa. Emotions ran high as...
Yesterday the Republican controlled Senate Labor Committee passed the most devastating blow to the rights of public service employees in over 40 years. Republican Senator Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, who managed the bill opened the hearing by claiming this devastating...
Republican legislators are moving swiftly on their just-released bill that would make vast changes to Iowa's collective bargaining law. The House will fast-track the bill through both a labor subcommittee and the full committee today. The Senate brings it up in...
If you weaken collective bargaining laws, you hurt Iowa veterans. That was the message from a group of labor union members who are veterans that met at the Statehouse this week to lobby legislators. Although they have yet to unveil their plans, many fear the new...
Guest post from Sean Bagniewski 2016 will mark the year that a reality star who likely doesn’t pay his income taxes won a minority vote to be the President of the United States. A far right comedian convicted of vehicular homicide unseated the prime minister of Italy...
The biggest battle at the Iowa Statehouse this year will likely center around collective bargaining rights for state employees. At issue is Iowa's "Chapter 20," the section in Iowa code that governs collective bargaining, and the sweeping changes the new Republican...
The promise by Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix to “kick in the door of government” should leave no question about the Iowa Senate Republican leadership’s extreme agenda. Senator Dix’s threat certainly sounds like a declaration of war on moderation, cooperation and...
The information age has created a totally new landscape of news sources. The shift from traditional print journalism to radio, TV and digital is dramatic and concerning. A decade ago consumers relied on newspapers as their main news source. Today according to Pew...
Iowa, this place we call home, has been a state since it was admitted to the Union 170 years ago next week. In that long arc of history, there has not been an Iowa political figure quite like Terry Branstad. Many politicians start plotting their next campaign for a...
Some people fear a vacuum of power post-election, but the wide-open race for IDP chair has generated some much-needed discussion over what has gone wrong with our party, and what we need to do differently. Rather than having a hand-picked chair, the uncertain coming...
Editor’s note: At the September Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) State Central Committee (SCC) meeting a resolution was introduced to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline. The resolution failed, but there were several extenuating circumstances surrounding that vote. This past...
I have reached the age where I don’t particularly enjoy being reminded I’m getting old. Another reminder came last week and hit close to home --- close to my childhood home. John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, died Thursday at age 95. He was the last...
Seven of the eight candidates who are vying to lead the Iowa Democratic Party next year gathered to take part in a forum at Grand View University in Des Moines last night. The Political Party, an organization formed this year to engage young progressive millennials,...
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...
The path back to victory for Democrats will start with a host of gubernatorial races in 2018, with many of the most competitive contests located in the Midwest. Of the 38 governorships up in 2018, 27 are held by Republicans, including Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and...
Fresh off a sweeping victory in November that was won in large part to support from working class voters, Iowa Republicans have found their first place to make cuts: police officers' health care benefits. With complete control of Iowa's government for the first time...
