Iowa
updated
9:28 p.m.
Iowa Independent's Jason Hancock recently interviewed Jackie Norris, who ran Barack Obama's Iowa campaign during the general election. (She conducted the interview before Norris accepted her new job as First Lady Michelle Obama's chief of staff .) I found this exchange particularly interesting: II: What effect do you think the Obama campaign will have on future campaigns, especially here in ...
Bleeding Heartland - 9:28 p.m.
A recount for Iowa House District 37, an area that encompasses primarily northeastern Cedar Rapids, is set to begin Monday morning. When certified by the Linn County Board of Supervisors Nov. 12, Republican challenger Renee Schulte had a 14 votes edge over Democratic incumbent Art Staed. When requesting the recount on Nov. 14, Staed indicated his [...]...
Iowa Independent - 8:28 p.m.
It seems that the medal for first robocall in Iowa following the 2008 general election goes to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee’s recorded voice is used on the call, which is a phone survey that, based on the questions asked, seeks to identify politically active opponents of abortion and to request contributions. Call recipients are asked [...]...
Iowa Independent - 8:28 p.m.
The number of Iowa students for whom English is a second language has more than doubled in the last decade, according to a new report by the Iowa Department of Education. The report, titled “The Annual Condition of Education Report for 2008,” shows that in the 2007-2008 school year there were more than 20,000 students for [...]...
Iowa Independent - 8:28 p.m.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa unsealed new charges against Agriprocessors and five members of the meatpacking company's management team today....
Iowa Independent - 8:28 p.m.
The four Iowans arrested while attempting to perform a citizen’s arrest of Karl Rove during a visit to Des Moines in July were found guilty of trespassing today in Iowa District Court in Polk County. Methodist minister Chet Guinn, 80, as well as three Des Moines Catholic Workers, Edward Bloomer, 61, Kirk Brown, 25, and Mona [...]...
Iowa Independent - 8:28 p.m.
At Talk Left I saw a reference to the Gender Analyzer , which uses artificial intelligence to "determine if a homepage is written by a man or a woman." You enter the address, and it analyzes the text and gives you a prediction and a probability ratio. When I checked this site, I got this: We think http://www.bleedingheartland.com is written by a man (79%). Better luck next time, computer!...
Bleeding Heartland - 1:43 p.m.
The more I think about it, the more I think Hillary Clinton should stay in the Senate. However, most analysts are speculating she will accept Barack Obama's offer to become Secretary of State. Here's a roundup of recent coverage on the appointment . Tom Harkin thinks Hillary will be secretary of state, and he likes the idea : Harkin said he was confident that former President Bill Clinton wou...
Bleeding Heartland - 12:03 p.m. - 6 clicks 
One of the most encouraging post-election developments was the House Democratic caucus's vote yesterday to put Representative Henry Waxman in charge of the Energy and Commerce Committee . It turns out that Iowa's own Bruce Braley was a strong advocate for Waxman : Waxman was generally respectful of [John] Dingell in his speech before the caucus, according to people who were in the room, but h...
Bleeding Heartland - 12:03 p.m. - 6 clicks
Civic Skinny, the political gossip column published every week in Des Moines’ alternative newsweekly (Cityview), says sources inside the Iowa Democratic Party expect Lt. Gov. Patty Judge to become the party’s next chair. The idea, Skinny says, is that the move would bolster Gov. Chet Culver’s standing leading up to his re-election bid in 2010. Here’s the [...]...
Iowa Independent - 11:01 a.m. - 8 clicks
In a phone interview with the Iowa Independent conducted before the announcement of her new job, Jackie Norris talked about what it was like to be a part of the historic campaign that elected America’s first black president, what lessons can be learned from the organization and what the future may hold for the political couple who got engaged at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angel...
Iowa Independent - 11:01 a.m. - 6 clicks
I was disapointed to her that Jane Napolitano is going to become Homeland Security Secretary, not because she isn't qualified, but because I wanted her to run for Senate in 2010. Polls from earlier... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - 11:01 a.m.
If you want to go to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and you live in Iowa’s Fourth or Fifth Congressional District, you may be in luck. Republican Congressmen Tom Latham and Steve King are asking constituents who are interested in attending to contact their office by Nov. 28. Each has only a limited number of [...]...
Iowa Independent - 9:29 a.m. - 10 clicks
The former Arkansas governor who shocked the nation and shook up the race for president when he won January’s Iowa Caucuses was back in Iowa Thursday promoting his newest book....
Iowa Independent - 9:29 a.m. - 3 clicks
In December the Minnesota State Canvassing Board will review hundreds of challenged ballots to see whether voter intent can be discerned. Their rulings could determine the outcome of the Minnesota Senate race, where fewer than 200 votes separate Al Franken and Norm Coleman. Many votes remain to be recounted before the canvassing board meets. Minnesota Public Radio has posted photos of 11 ballots...
Bleeding Heartland - Thu 9:07 p.m.
Congratulations to Jackie Norris, who has accepted an offer to be chief of staff for First Lady Michelle Obama, according to the Washington Post. She was among Barack Obama's key early supporters in Iowa and headed Obama's Iowa campaign during the general election. I will update this post when I find out whether her husband John Norris plans to stay on the Iowa Utilities Board after the fami...
Bleeding Heartland - Thu 9:07 p.m. - 10 clicks
Last week I wrote about some of the problems related to the Wall Street bailout . Among other things, no one knows what the Treasury Department has been doing with the money. On November 18 Representative Bruce Braley sent a letter to leaders of the U.S. House "urging them to finish naming members of a congressional oversight panel charged with overseeing the implementation of the $700 billion...
Bleeding Heartland - Thu 9:07 p.m.
An earthquake hit Capitol Hill today, as the House Democratic caucus voted 137 to 122 to make Representative Henry Waxman of California chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He will replace Representative John Dingell of Michigan, who has served in the House for more than 50 years (after his father represented the same district for more than two decades). Dingell has been the t...
Bleeding Heartland - Thu 9:07 p.m.
I know it's amazing. Barack Obama won the largest county in dark red Utah, Salt Lake County. Bush beat Kerry 60%-38% in 2004 in Salt Lake County. Updated vote tallies show that President-elect... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Thu 6:42 p.m.
Despite offering the court $3.75 million for bail, former Agriprocessors chief executive Sholom Rubashkin will remain in federal custody....
Iowa Independent - Thu 3:31 p.m.
Yesterday, the Washington Times took a look at the growing strength of social conservatives in the Iowa Republican Party and how that might affect the future of the Iowa Caucuses.Possible Republican... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Thu 8:50 a.m. - 14 clicks
As you've no doubt heard by now, Mark Begich took the lead as the early votes were counted, and seven-times-indicted Ted Stevens has conceded the Alaska Senate race. That makes seven Democratic pickups, with Georgia and Minnesota yet to be determined. The Democrats hold 56 Senate seats, and two independents (Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders) also caucus with Democrats. The polls in Georgia have s...
Bleeding Heartland - Thu 12:03 a.m. - 2 clicks
Josh Goodman alerted me to this piece he wrote for Governing.com : "Move Over Missouri, Iowa Is the New Bellwether State." John McCain appears likely to take Missouri's 11 electoral votes, which would be the first time since 1956 that the state did not vote for the winner of the presidential election. However, Goodman argues that Missouri has not been the best bellwether for the last few cycles...
Bleeding Heartland - Wed 4:23 p.m. - 10 clicks
Clean coal techonology has become even more important after last weeks decision by the EPA saying that coal plants must limit CO2 emmissions. Cullen West of the American Coalition for Clean Coal... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Wed 2:27 p.m.
Looks like the Guardian jumped the gun ; Hillary Clinton has not accepted the Secretary of State position and is reportedly still weighing Barack Obama's offer. Apparently Senator Ted Kennedy wants Hillary to lead the efforts to get health care reform through Congress. That's where I'd like to see her as well, though the cynic in me wonders whether Kennedy is primarily trying to clear the path...
Bleeding Heartland - Wed 2:27 p.m. - 11 clicks
Iowa Senate Republicans voted out Ron Wieck as minority leader on Tuesday. New leader Paul McKinley of Chariton promised "to rebuild this party from the ground up." Wieck, of Sioux City, was selected for the job by Senate Republicans in 2007 after Sen. Mary Lundby of Marion chose to step down from the leadership role. He will continue to serve in his District 27 seat. McKinley, former owner o...
Bleeding Heartland - Wed 2:27 p.m. - 12 clicks
Jonathan Narcisse, the odd man out on the Des Moines school board , did something dumb recently : Craig Richman, 16, a sophomore wrestler at Roosevelt High School, wrote an e-mail to school board members last week that voiced his frustration with the state's "no pass, no play" rule, which benches athletes whose grades slip. Richman blamed his academic struggles on advanced math classes. He sa...
Bleeding Heartland - Wed 6:21 a.m. - 13 clicks
"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change." President-elect Barack Obama Across the country, food banks are struggling to keep up with increased demand. And with the holidays approaching, Democrats Work is doing something about it. We need your help. Today, we are launching the Yes We Cans Virtual Food Drive to h...
Bleeding Heartland - Tue 9:50 p.m.
Via nyceve at Daily Kos I learned about a new study called "Class and Race Inequalities in Health and Health Care." The three authors found that very few Americans lacking health insurance receive organ transplants, although the uninsured often become organ donors. Eve's diary includes a link to the full report in pdf format and summarizes one of its findings: Strikingly, lack of insurance w...
Bleeding Heartland - Tue 2:07 p.m.
Only 13 Democratic senators think Joe Lieberman should pay a significant price for actively campaigning against, and repeating Republican lies about, Barack Obama. In contrast, 42 Democratic senators think Lieberman should be rewarded for his poor judgment and disloyalty. So, Lieberman keeps control of the powerful Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He loses only a meaningl...
Bleeding Heartland - Tue 2:07 p.m.
The Democratic Steering Committee in the US Senate will be voting on a secret ballot tomorrow on what to do with Joe Lieberman. Lieberman strongly backed John McCain for President, spoke at the... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Tue 5:11 a.m. - 7 clicks
If this report is accurate , shame on the Beltway press corps for getting scooped by the Guardian's Washington correspondent. Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned. Obama's advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton's foundation, which dis...
Bleeding Heartland - Mon 5:46 p.m. - 9 clicks
Sobering news emerged today from the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses : A report released Monday concluded that "Gulf War Syndrome" is a legitimate condition suffered by more than 175,000 U.S. war veterans who were exposed to chemical toxins in the 1991 Gulf War. [...] "Scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes ...
Bleeding Heartland - Mon 4:51 p.m. - 2 clicks
An eighth-grader from Waukee who knows how to think big and aim high : When Talia was 10 years old, she saw television clips of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and decided to help. She galvanized other kids and started a movement to trick-or-treat at Halloween for coins for hurricane victims. The movement caught the public imagination, Talia made it on the "Today" show, and the campaign ra...
Bleeding Heartland - Mon 4:51 p.m. - 2 clicks
Last week the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board ruled that new and proposed coal-fired power must limit CO2 emmissions. From Bleeding Heartland... In a move that signals the start of the our... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Mon 12:02 p.m. - 2 clicks
I keep hearing chatter about a possible primary challenge to Governor Chet Culver in 2010. This scenario strikes me as extremely unlikely, but I want to encourage others to weigh in on this comment thread. Running a statewide primary campaign is expensive. Who has the money for that? I can't think of any self-funding candidate who would step up to challenge Culver. Anyone else have names in mind?...
Bleeding Heartland - Mon 12:02 p.m. - 13 clicks
Days Until Bush Leaves Office = 64 This one, from Tod Lindberg in today's Washington Post , puts a fork into the GOP's post election soufflé that Reaganism, or conservatism, or whatever is the euphemism of the day for "We're not really as dead as Herbert Hoover" is still alive and well and awaiting its inevitable comeback just over the next electoral horizon: "I can see how supporting a bailou...
iPol - Mon 5:43 a.m. - 2 clicks
Johnson and Linn Counties are the two largest counties in the 2nd Congressional District, so it can be said as they go, so goes the district. In the general election, 113,721 Linn County voters (a 77.74% turnout) and 73,231 Johnson County voters (79.41% turnout)made it to the polls. As the suburban parts of Johnson County continue to grow at a faster rate than Iowa City, it can be expected that th...
Popular Progressive - Sat 7:12 a.m. - 17 clicks
Dear Virginia, There is an economy. It may not be something you see, but like Santa Claus, if you can just believe, it is there. How do we know there is an economy? There are things called predictors; things like consumer buying behavior, and housing starts. When these things are up, the economy is likely to be good. When things like unemployment and interests rates are up, the economy is likely...
Popular Progressive - Sat 7:12 a.m. - 2 clicks
Earlier this week, the state of Wisconsin denied Alliant the necessary permit needed to build a 300 megawatt coal-fired power plant near the the Mississippi River in Cassville, Wisconsin. From the... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 14 - 2 clicks
Iowa House Democrats named their leaders for the upcoming legislative session yesterday. One of the Representitives named as an Assistant Majority Leader was Elesha Gayman (D-Democrat). Elesha, the... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 13 - 13 clicks
The 2008 election saw an increase in turnout by youth voters (those age 18 - 29) and those voters overwhelming supported Democrats up and down the ballot. Here are some updated numbers on youth... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 12 - 2 clicks
Former Iowa 2nd district Congressman Jim Leach and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright are scheduled to attend meetings at the G20 economic summit that President Bush is hosting in Washington, D.C. While President-elect Obama will not be in attendence, Leach and albright are expected to brief him and Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden on the conference at his request. According to Bloomberg...
Popular Progressive - Nov 12 - 8 clicks
So it looks like Jim Nussle is really going to run to be the next chair of the RNC. From the Politicao (via Marc Ambinder)... This White House's formal link to the GOP's post-Bush era? Jim Nussle,... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 11 - 10 clicks
John McCain lost the election because his campaign was so far removed from the maverick John McCain everyone got to know back in 2000. Maverick McCain once said the Bush tax cuts were immoral... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 11
Not a whole lot has been said about the machine behind Barack Obama and the unprecedented amount of cooperation and planning that has gone on behind the scenes to prepare our soon to be 44th President to take over the reins at the White House. Without the work of former Bill Clinton Chief of Staff, John Podesta to work with the Bush team to set the stage for the Obama administration, it is likely ...
Popular Progressive - Nov 11 - 5 clicks
I wrote last week about how absentee ballots gave Elesha Gayman (D-Davenport) victory in her race in House District 84. Absentee ballots played a key role in many races in Scott Co. It also... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 10 - 6 clicks
Exit polls show that young voters (age 18-29) strongly supported Barack Obama this election. Without that support we would have seen yet another close election.. Exit polling indicates that Mr Obama... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 9
There was unprecedented support for Obama by youth voters and Millennials, but we can't let up... If you hear this message, wherever you stand I'm calling every woman, calling every man We're the... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 9
Jeff Danielson has pulled ahead in Senate District 10 after the latest count of provisional ballots... Jeff Danielson of Waterloo, the Democratic incumbent in the Senate 10 race, overtook Walt Rogers... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 8 - 9 clicks
In the midst of an economic crisis, the United State government has passed out economic stimulus checks to taxpayers, passed a $700 billion bailout, and nationalized some of the nation's... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 7
Here are some great pictures from the Obama rally in Chicago on election night and quote from President Obama... America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do.... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 6
On election day, I headed down to Democratic Headquarters here in Marshalltown to volunteer as soon as I got out of work. I made some phone calls and went canvassing to make sure everybody made it... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 6
At 11:00 last night the numbers didn't look good for incumbent Elesha Gayman D-Davenport in House District 84. She was losing to Republican Ross Paustin 53.6% to 46.4% and all the precincts were... ...
Century of the Common Iowan - Nov 5 - 10 clicks