tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194661012010-02-09T09:45:16.271-06:00Administratornoreply@blogger.comBlogger3274125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-12164863779899276582010-02-09T09:43:00.001-06:002010-02-09T09:45:16.280-06:00

Excerpted from this post at The Iowa RepublicanNow that we are in the midst of another session of the Iowa legislature, the labor unions are once again trying to advance their agenda. Just a year ago, all four legislative priorities of the unions were defeated by the Democrat controlled legislature. That would make a normal person think that the chances of passing any labor bill this year is slim

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-38990561867937515692010-02-09T09:42:00.000-06:002010-02-09T09:43:11.816-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandState legislators have allowed clean water "anti-degradation" rules to stand, a step toward filling a significant hole in Iowa's water quality regulations. A last-ditch effort by Republicans failed to win enough votes on the Iowa legislature's Administrative Rules Review Committee (ARRC) to set aside rules adopted by the Iowa Department of Natural

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-53375813569818658812010-02-08T12:31:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:32:00.340-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Blog for IowaOn the dust cover of The Audacity to Win by David Plouffe, it says, "Plouffe was not just the architect of the campaign that put Barack Obama in the White House; he also built a grassroots movement that changed the face of politics forever and re-energized the idea of democracy itself." A bit self serving on the part of the publisher, Viking Penguin, but

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-87985405090452599672010-02-08T12:30:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:31:12.369-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandYesterday the Iowa House State Government Committee voted down a Republican plan to cut state spending by $290 million in the coming year. State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants offered the plan as an amendment to the government reorganization bill. He said his party was trying to "work in a bipartisan way" and make "tough

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-91713639912736208402010-02-05T12:29:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:30:04.180-06:00

Excerpted from this post at The Iowa RepublicanFor months, retirement rumors have surrounded Congressman Leonard Boswell. The seven-term Representative in Iowa's 3rd District tried to quash the retirement rumors early last month, but his statement that he is running has done nothing to dampen the rumors that keep resurfacing in D.C. and back home in Iowa's third district.

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-888878827521757672010-02-05T12:28:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:29:15.035-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Coralville CourierSenator Chuck Grassley is following up on the response he received from the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget with questions about what the response left unanswered. Grassley asked about new information related to the lack of reporting requirements for recipients of federal economic stimulus dollars, the apparent lack of

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-58888997571717936922010-02-05T12:27:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:28:21.384-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandIowa Republicans have been throwing around misleading talking points about the I-JOBS program since the Iowa legislature approved the infrastructure bonding initiative last spring. I'm still waiting for Republicans to address some basic questions, like where would they have found $45 million for flood recovery efforts in Linn County without I-JOBS?

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-63460792297467558792010-02-04T12:33:00.001-06:002010-02-08T12:34:19.213-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Cedar Valley VoicesIn considering the current state of our representation by Senator Chuck Grassley and his bid to continue it through 2018 when he will be eighty-five years old, I have two major areas of concerns, one politically incorrect, one simply of confounded amazement. As a lifelong Democrat, I have not particularly admired Grassley, nor thought him aboveboard

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-17565814680214923192010-02-04T12:33:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:33:40.529-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandSeven-term Representative Leonard Boswell is the 64th most vulnerable Democrat in the House of Representatives, according to new analysis by Crisitunity at Swing State Project. Crisitunity's "vulnerability index" takes into account both the partisan voting index of each member's district (based on presidential election results) and the House

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-26604920018488767812010-02-04T12:32:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:32:53.708-06:00

Excerpted from this post at New Generation RepublicanI sat on a Senate sub-committee this morning that dealt with a bill that would create mandatory combined tax reporting for Iowa businesses. This issue has been around for many years, the idea is very complex but the outcome is clear, it raises taxes on business. Since we have a vast black hole in the budget this becomes another idea of

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-8578082237925322862010-02-03T12:36:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:37:29.210-06:00

Excerpted from this post at The Iowa RepublicanEvery year, the legislature and the Governor must approve a balanced budget by the end of the legislative session. This process is always a tedious and difficult one, and this year, they only have 80 days to do it. Some years the process is easier than others. In fiscal year 2008, legislators had a relatively easy time dealing with the $137.1 million

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-42637348742697014802010-02-03T12:35:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:36:27.489-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Coralville CourierLast week she cried foul over the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC) budget. Calling its budget 'fat' in the local papers, here's what Rettig wrote on her Twitter account on January 25th: Very disturbed by the Joint Communications fiscal irresponsibility - up 28 percent this year in this economy. What?

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-60723302052623321282010-02-03T12:34:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:35:33.409-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandLast week attorney Ben Lange of Independence told Ed Tibbetts of the Quad-City Times that he will run against two-term incumbent Bruce Braley in Iowa's first Congressional district. According to Tibbetts, Lange will make a formal announcement next month and was collecting signatures for his nominating petitions at the January 23 Republican caucuses.

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-20102213097274313162010-02-02T12:39:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:39:47.899-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Blog for Iowa"If we consider that the United States is fighting two wars, it is hard to say anything other than it is despicable to play partisan games when it comes to supporting our active duty military's families." At one of the several legislative forums taking place around the state on Saturday morning, Representative Dave Jacoby (HD30) mentioned that there was a

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-32512036555916416062010-02-02T12:38:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:39:04.013-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandTalk about trying to be all things to all people. Branstad doesn't have a problem with same-sex couples living together, raising children, and having visitation rights. But give a same-sex couple a piece of paper saying they're married, and oh no! Society is doomed!

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-29366184319654744692010-02-02T12:37:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:38:15.280-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Coralville CourierWhen it comes to forecasting the economic recovery, a great deal of uncertainty looms. From my meetings with Iowans the last 12 months, I've gauged a growing discontent among people who feel that Washington is downright disconnected and out of touch.

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-54582998268120080312010-02-01T12:40:00.001-06:002010-02-08T12:41:25.384-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Blog for IowaLast week, as part of the Martin Luther King Junior Human Rights Week, a group of citizens in the labor and faith communities presented an event at the Iowa City Public Library on immigration and the idea of making Iowa City more welcoming to immigrants by becoming a Sanctuary City. On Monday, February 1 at 7:00 PM, the University of Iowa Graduate Social

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-5409065325365055102010-02-01T12:40:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:40:43.250-06:00

Excerpted from this post at The Iowa RepublicanThe June 8th primary is only 128 days away. Just three months ago, retired airline pilot Dave Funk was the only Republican candidate in the race. As the weather turned cold, Republicans began to sense that seven-term incumbent Congressman Leonard Boswell was on the hot seat. Since then, a number of candidates have joined the race, but only one thus

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-68513423033616791342010-01-29T12:44:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:45:27.995-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Coralville CourierYou've probably read, watched, or heard of the flap over the special tax levy for the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center (JECC). You are witness to a painfully transparent attempt to spin a tale far different from what is documented in county meeting minutes and the reality that supervisors had no business pretending to be upset with JECC

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-5495488643084766632010-01-29T12:43:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:44:29.774-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandRepublican Kent Sorenson's narrow victory over State Representative Mark Davitt in Iowa House district 74 was perhaps the biggest upset in the state in 2008. The Democratic-leaning district includes much of Warren County, including Indianola and the Simpson College campus. Sorenson decided to run against Staci Appel in Iowa Senate district 37 instead

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-17568547121976228862010-01-28T12:47:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:48:18.520-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Politically SpeakingAfter launching his Iowa 5th District congressional candidacy this morning before about 20 people in his hometown of Manning, Matt Campbell came to Morningside College, where he addressed a dozen people. Democrat Campbell got his undergraduate degree from Morningside College in 1993, and in that time he worked as an intern in the Sioux City office

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-57830012096673603052010-01-28T12:46:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:47:21.718-06:00

Excerpted from this post at The Iowa RepublicanJust when you thought that Planned Parenthood hadn't gained enough inroads into our society through access to our public schools and access to our tax dollars, we see that they are at it again. There is now a bill pending in the Iowa Statehouse that would fund birth control for all women (and vasectomies for men) up to 300% of the poverty level.

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-33381118156574323072010-01-28T12:45:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:46:26.675-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Bleeding HeartlandIowa Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley voted no on Tuesday as the Senate rejected an amendment to "establish a Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action, to assure the long-term fiscal stability and economic security of the Federal Government of the United States, and to expand future prosperity and growth for all Americans."

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-57117498497210650302010-01-27T12:49:00.001-06:002010-02-08T12:50:26.686-06:00

Excerpted from this post at Iowa House DemocratsDr. Dave Carlyle, an Ames family physician, chaired the commission. "Iowa health care providers, insurers and health care consumers were in agreement on the steps required to extend coverage to more Iowans. This legislation reflects our recommendations," Carlyle said.

Administratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19466101.post-7833858579170983422010-01-27T12:49:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:49:49.501-06:00

Excerpted from this post at The Iowa RepublicanDemocrats around the country are up in arms over last week's Supreme Court ruling that struck down a major component of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections.

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