Iowa

Obama and Democrats Fighting Hard on GOP Turf

Paul Jenkins | Posted 10.01.2008 | Politics

Read More: Barack Obama, North Dakota, Rick Noriega, Mitch McConnell, Nebraska, Al Franken, West Virginia, George W. Bush, Oregon, Colorado, Mary Landrieu, Democratic Party, Missouri, Sarah Palin, Virginia, Montana, New Mexico, John Kennedy, John Kerry, New Hampshire, Ohio, Saxby Chambliss, Elizabeth Dole, Mississippi, Republican Party, North Carolina, Florida, John McCain, Alaska, Ronnie Musgrove, Louisiana, Presidential Election, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Texas, Lindsey Graham, Pennsylvania, Bob Conley, Minnesota, John Cornyn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Wyoming, Georgia, Iowa, Jimmy Carter, Jeff Merkley, Hillary Clinton, Utah, Senate, Indiana, Electoral College, 2008 Election, Electoral Map, Politics News
Paul Jenkins

All told, 20 states are currently at high risk of loss by the Republican party in either the presidential election, the Senate race, or both. How is that for expanding the playing field?

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Obama-Biden: A Match Made In Iowa

Beverly Davis | Posted 08.23.2008 | Home

Read More: Sen. Clinton, Biden Vice President, Sen. Biden, Democratic Debates, Edwards, Obama, Pennsylvania, Biden, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain, Obamacans, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, John Edwards, Sen. John Edwards, Keystone State, Roman Catholic, Republicans, President Musharraf, Iowa Caucuses, Battleground States, Iowa, Battleground, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Home News
Beverly Davis

Obama's decision is no surprise to those of us who witnessed how well the Biden and Obama camps worked together during the Iowa caucuses. Biden's many supporters there are jumping for joy.

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Rubber Sidewalk Installed In Iowa Town To Prevent Keg Damage

AP | Posted 08.18.2008 | Home

Read More: Iowa, Beer, Kegs, Stupid News, Home News

AMES, Iowa — A sidewalk project means there may be a little bounce to the beer kegs instead of dings in the pavement when delivery trucks unload...

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Worker Abuse At Nation's Biggest Kosher Slaughterhouse Prompts Ethics Debate

AP | RACHEL ZOLL | Posted 08.11.2008 | Home

Read More: Workers Rights, Kosher, Iowa, Slaughterhouse, Judaism, Food Politics, Politics of Food, Home News

NEW YORK — Very little goes unexamined in the kosher world. From meat and poultry to the coating on vegetables and the ingredients in mouthwash...

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McCain's Problem with White Voters

Paul Jenkins | Posted 08.04.2008 | Politics

Read More: Barack Obama, Polls, African-American Voters, North Dakota, Ronald Reagan, Affirmative Action, George W. Bush, Colorado, Immigration, Michael Dukakis, Arizona, West Virgnia, South Dakota, Mark Penn, Democratic Party, Missouri, Echo Boom, Nevada, Virginia, Montana, Cuban-Americans, New Mexico, Latino Voters, John Kerry, New Hampshire, Ohio, Plains, Racism, Mississippi, Republican Party, Northeast, North Carolina, African-American Issues, Bill Clinton, Latino Issues, Alaska, Florida, John McCain, Karl Rove, Appalachia, Presidential Election, Texas, Baby Boom, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Young Voters, Midwest, Wisconsin, Advertising, Michigan, Iowa, Georgia, South Carolina, Hispanic Voters, George H. W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Southern Issues, Dnc, Libertarian Party, Indiana, White Voters, Politics News
Paul Jenkins

It is McCain who needs to score exceptionally well among white voters, better in fact than any other Republican presidential candidate in the past 20 years, including George H. W. Bush.

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How to Perform a Citizen's Arrest of A Bush Administration Official

Nathan Robinson | Posted 07.27.2008 | Politics

Read More: Obstruction of Justice, Law, Karl Rove, Citizen's Arrest, Justice, Iowa, Politics News
Nathan Robinson

What the four Iowans who tried to arrest Karl Rove did is courageous, and is exactly how we should use the citizen arrest power.

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Unity: Not Exactly Woodstock '69, But Close

Beverly Davis | Posted 06.27.2008 | Home

Read More: Former President Bill Clinton, Barb Leach, De-Facto Leader, Hotel Savery, Des Moines, Team Hillary, Democratic Party, Msnbc, Clinton, Quinnipiac Poll, New Hampshire, Presidential Nomination, Fall Elections, Clinton Campaign Debt, 08 Campaign. Obama, Sen. Clinton, Iowa Caucu, Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, The New Yorker, Primary, Unity, Primary Elections, State Convention Iowa Democratic Party, Barack Obama, Biden, Nomination, Mayhill Fowler, Michelle, Sen. Obama, New Hampshire Primary, Iowa, Swing States, Primary Season, Campaign 08, Home News
Beverly Davis

It's the season premiere 2008 general election campaign. The music will be blaring, the crowd jumping, the loudspeakers booming. But the real story is that Democratic "unity" is well under way.

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The Floods: Army Corps Says PR Firms Transform "Babblers" into "Spokespersons"

Georgianne Nienaber | Posted 06.23.2008 | Green

Read More: New Orleans, USACE; Army Corpss of Engineering, Public Relations, Iowa, Katrina, Floods, Media Spin, Levees, Green News
Georgianne Nienaber

The Army Corps has known for some time that the levee systems needed restructuring. It appears that rather than improving them, they chose to hire PR firms to help with crisis communications.

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On the Ground: Disaster Flood Engineering

Georgianne Nienaber | Posted 06.17.2008 | Green

Read More: Katrina, Floods, Mary Landrieu, US Army Corps of Engineers, Naomi Klein, Tom Harkin, Iowa, Green News
Georgianne Nienaber

With the epic dimensions of this flood and the scope of infrastructure failures, how can the Army Corps of Engineers say to the devastated people that they had better get busy and "top the levees?"

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Flooding Closes Bridges Between Iowa, Illinois

AP | MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER | Posted 06.17.2008 | Home

Read More: Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi River, Midwest Flooding, Iowa Illinois Bridge, Sandbags Flooding, Home News

GULFPORT, Ill. — The rising Mississippi River broke through a levee Tuesday, forcing authorities to rescue about a half-dozen people by helicopt...

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Midwest Editors Shifting On Gay Marriage

Dan Treul | Posted 06.17.2008 | Home

Read More: Des Moines Register, Iowa, Midwest Politics, Newspapers, California, St. Louis, Ohio, Media, Journalism, California Supreme Court, Cleveland Plain Dealer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Des Moines, Gay Rights, Chicago Tribune, Midwest, Cleveland, Chicago, Missouri, Supreme Court, Illinois, Michigan, Media Trends, Gay Marriage, Advocacy, Midwest Conservativism, Midwest Gay Rights, Gay Midwest, Home News
Dan Treul

In another signal, perhaps, that the country is ready for change, newspapers across the Midwest showed either even-handedness or excitement for an issue that only years ago was considered taboo.

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"Elite" Obama on the Front Lines--McCain AWOL

Paul Abrams | Posted 06.16.2008 | Politics

Read More: John McCain, Wisconsin, Cindy McCain, Iowa, Katrina, Floods, George W Bush, Barack Obama, Indiana, Michelle Obama, Heiress, Ranch, Politics News
Paul Abrams

Obama is on the front lines of the flood, helping residents clean up and start over. Where is McCain in this effort? Is he pitching in to help? Or is he off to another party at the Bush "ranch" in his wife's jet?

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Receding Cedar Rapids Floods Revealing 'Incredible Destruction'

AP | ALLEN G. BREED and JIM SALTER | Posted 06.15.2008 | Home

Read More: Midwest Flooding, Iowa, Iowa Flooding, Midwest Weather, Tornadoes, Cedar Rapids Flooding, Midwest Flooding Receding, Midwest Flood Damage, Home News

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A week's work of frantic sandbagging by students, professors and the National Guard couldn't spare this bucolic college town f...

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Dear President, From Postville

Sally Kohn | Posted 06.12.2008 | Politics

Read More: Community Values, Raids, John McCain, Iowa, George W. Bush, Immigration, Election 2008, Barack Obama, Barack Obama Iowa, Politics News
Sally Kohn

Postville, Iowa is a half-way house for the American dream, a dream deferred for many. And it's a microcosm of the issues facing our next President.

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Source Asks "What is the Real Water Policy of the United States?"

Georgianne Nienaber | Posted 06.11.2008 | Politics

Read More: New Orleans, Louisiana, Iowa, Watershed, Floods, Aquifer, Cedar Rapids, Army Corps of Engineers, Mary Landrieu, Cedar Falls, Ncmr, Politics News
Georgianne Nienaber

It is easy to blame nature, but what or who is behind a water management policy in the United States that allowed the city of New Orleans to be ruined?

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No Longer Staring Into the Abyss of an Obama-Clinton Ticket

Paul Jenkins | Posted 05.25.2008 | Politics

Read More: Jews, Lloyd Bentsen, Vice President, Gas Prices, Jack Kemp, Latinos, West Virginia, Democratic Party, White People, California, John Kerry, Ohio, West, John Edwards, Health Care, Jewish Voters, Bill Clinton, Women, John McCain, Karl Rove, Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Barack Obama, Foreign Policy, Iraq War, Wisconsin, Presidential Campaign, South, Arkansas, Michigan, Iowa, Hispanic Voters, Tennessee, Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Gay Issues, Politics News
Paul Jenkins

Clinton's increasingly desperate quest to show something for her decades of campaigning has taken on a vaguely insane turn, for which we should be grateful, even as it makes us queasy.

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Iowa Republican Change Candidate

Mayhill Fowler | Posted 05.23.2008 | Home

Read More: John McCain, Iowa Caucus, Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama, Iowa, Obama Iowa, Republican Midwest, Obama Change, Midwest, Republican Change, Gas Tax Holiday, Deb Satern, Home News
Mayhill Fowler

"Personally, I think the sales gas tax holiday being proposed is like peeing your pants on a cold winter's day: It feels nice and warm for a little while, but very soon begins to feel quite cold."

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Interview With Political Science Professor Kenneth Janda

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.21.2008 | Politics

Read More: Caucus, Primary Calendar, Superdelegate, Canada, Northwestern University, Campaign, Republican, Nevada, Janda, Nomination Race, Rnc, Mike Huckabee, 2008, Political Science, Ohio, New Hampshire, John Edwards, Superdelegates, Super Tuesday, 2008 Campaign, Primary Election, Florida, Primary, Payson S. Wild, Mitt Romney, Woman, Democrat, 2008 Elections, Minority Voters, 08, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Election, Primary Race, 08 Election, Nomination, Elections, Rudy Giuliani, 08 Campaign, African American, Michigan, 2008 Presidential Race, Kenneth Janda, Northwestern, Iowa, South Carolina, Smoke Filled Room, Hillary Clinton, Dnc, National Primary, Politics News
Chris Weigant

Last Thanksgiving, I took a vacation from the blog and (while I was gone) I ran a series of speech transcripts from all eight of the Democratic candid...

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Obama's Clouded Victory Rally

Mayhill Fowler | Posted 05.21.2008 | Home

Read More: Oregon, Kentucky, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Iowa, Democratic Nomination, Obama Des Moines, Obama Victory Rally, Iowa Obama, Clinton Race, Iowa Voters Hillary, Home News
Mayhill Fowler

In the VIP line at the rally were those who had caucused for Edwards, Kucinich, Richardson, Biden and Dodd. There were Iowans for all the Democratic candidates. Except one. And there were no Republicans.

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Does Everyone Matter Equally?

Sally Kohn | Posted 05.18.2008 | Politics

Read More: Superdelegates, Equality, Community Values, Raids, Immigration, Farm Bill, Iowa, Postville, Politics News
Sally Kohn

From the superdelegate process to the farm bill to the recent raid on immigrants in Iowa, elitism is rearing its nipped-and-tucked head all across America.

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Reading The Pictures: Preparing For The Second Coming (Of Obama-Mania)

Michael Shaw | Posted 05.08.2008 | Media

Read More: Photos, New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio, Alan Chin, Obama, Media, Campaign, Nomination, Indiana, North Carolina, Media News
Michael Shaw

2008-05-08-china_shaw_obama.jpg At the moment at which the Democratic race apparently reached its tipping point, I saw as quick and dramatic a flip in the visual tone as I've ever seen before.

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Superdelegates Still Splitting Support: Clinton Picks Up Two; Obama Three

Erin Medlicott | Posted 04.29.2008 | Home

Read More: Sen. Barack Obama, Rep. Bruce Braley, Time Magazine, Superdelegates, California, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Bill George, 2008, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Rep. Lois Capps, The Atlantic, Iowa, Luisette Cabanas, Nominee, Rep. Baron Hill, Indiana, Obama Superdelegates, Democratic Nomination, Superdelegate Undecideds, Committed Superdelegate, Super Delegates, Uncommitted Superdelegate, Undeclared Superdelegates, Puerto Rico, Superdelegate Nomination, Home News
Erin Medlicott

Reflecting recent seesawing in the race for the Democratic nomination, which seemed all but won by Obama two weeks ago, Party superdelegates, far from tipping the race, are still divided.

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Clinton: Not Exactly The Great White Hope

Paul Jenkins | Posted 04.26.2008 | Politics

Read More: Nebraska, George W. Bush, Colorado, General Election, Media, Electoral College, China, South Dakota, Nevada, Virginia, Ohio, Superdelegates, West, Racism, North Carolina, African-American Issues, Bill Clinton, Islam, Alaska, John McCain, Rural Voters, Presidential Election, Clintons, Texas, Pennsylvania, Democrats, Minnesota, Barack Obama, Idaho, Japan, Midwest, Religion, Urban Issues, Muslims, South, Iowa, San Francisco, Hillary Clinton, Republicans, Indiana, White Voters, Politics News
Paul Jenkins

Were Hillary the great rural white savior that her campaign is depicting, she would have been able to dispatch a presidential neophyte like Barack Obama.

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Hillary Clinton Supporters -- The Global Warming Deniers of Democratic Politics?

Cenk Uygur | Posted 04.25.2008 | Politics

Read More: Iowa, Math Deniers, Primary States, California, New Hampshire, Barack Obama, Global Warming Deniers, Caucus States, Hillary Clinton, Popular Vote, Politics News
Cenk Uygur

The Clinton team is now trying to make the specious argument that she is winning in the popular vote. The first problem with that argument is that it's not true.

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The Day Hillary Clinton Knew She Had Lost

Paul Jenkins | Posted 03.21.2008 | Politics

Read More: Polls, John McCain, Campaign Finance, Democratic Primary, Congress, Pennsylvania, Democratic Party, Missouri, Bill Richardson, Barack Obama, New York, California, New Mexico, Michigan, South Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Superdelegates, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Election, Politics News
Paul Jenkins

That she has been able to stay in the race at all is a testament to the power of the Clinton name, the Dem's ludicrous electoral system, and her hold over a petrified media and the party's bureaucratic elite.

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