Barack Obama and Scott Walker have something in common. Both famously declared that "Elections have consequences" as they enacted policies that proved to be politically highly-charged. Conversely, those consequences often set the frame for the next election. In Iowa, Republicans benefited from the Red wave brought in with Trump at the helm and with the ALEC playbook firmly in hand, they have decimated workers rights, reduced the impact of state regulatory agencies, privatized Medicaid, closed mental health facilities, turned Iowa into a 17 county/river-to-river oil pipeline state, and most recently gave t the most stringent abortion laws in the country. From their perspective, Heckuva job, Brownie, and "Mission Accomplished."
Iowa has also gone from having an elected governor to having two appointed acting executives in Kim Reynolds and Adam Gregg. With the Iowa House and Senate in firm control of the Republicans, they have had carte blanche to go to town on tax cuts and other pro-business agenda items, extending gun rights, adding to the pro-life agenda, and walking all over state employees' rights to organize and negotiate contracts. Under the Reynolds/Gregg regime with have seen a full-court press to showcase all the wonder job opportunities in Iowa, while simultaneously under-funding schools, universities, and, now, making the state medical school a back-up because of the 6-week abortion rule, essentially making practicing the full gamut of OB/GYN an impossibility because of liability issues.
They have made it impossible for counties to decide what the wages should be in their area, they have made it more likely that property taxes will go up around the state to make up for the tax breaks that they just passed through despite not having the funds to pay the state's current bills. They have made it such that persons with disabilities are unable to get needed support services thanks to a lack of not-for-profit insurance providers.
In the words of Professor Harold Hill, "We've got trouble, my friends, right here in River City." With the state Democrats needing desperately to get their house in order and multiple candidates vying for state offices including 6 candidates running for Governor including two women (Cathy Glasson and Andy McGuire) , one African American candidate (my city's former mayor, Ross Wilburn) and three White guys (Nate Boulton, Fred Hubbell, John Norris). All of them are running with plans to publically-fund Medicare, improve schools, improve mental health, protect women's' right to choose, increase the minimum wage, restore the union worker right to collective bargaining. Of course, the question will be who stands the best chance to defeat Reynolds/Gregg. I would suggest that the best-organized campaigns at this time appear to be Glasson, Boulton, and Hubbell, with Norris peaking interest among those wanting a voice that scrapes votes out in the rural areas. Polling in late January showed that Boulton and Hubbell polled the best against Reynolds, but still lag her by 4-5%.
By mid-June, when the primaries take place. it will require that one of the six candidates is able to break the 35% threshold or the party nomination will go to a statewide convention. At that point, it would be up to party insider arm-twisting and gnashing of teeth. All of which would lead to some people wanting to go away mad. But hold the phone, the one thing Team Blue needs to do is unify to wrest away control of the Governor's office and hope that also rubs off on the House and Senate races, as well as the down ticket offices for Auditor, Secretary of State, Agriculture, and so on.
They have got their work cut out for them and will need help from those folks who can knock on doors, drive people to the polls, and so forth. It will be important that the Democrats seize on the fact that while their opponent wears the crown, it was handed to her, not earned.
Iowa has also gone from having an elected governor to having two appointed acting executives in Kim Reynolds and Adam Gregg. With the Iowa House and Senate in firm control of the Republicans, they have had carte blanche to go to town on tax cuts and other pro-business agenda items, extending gun rights, adding to the pro-life agenda, and walking all over state employees' rights to organize and negotiate contracts. Under the Reynolds/Gregg regime with have seen a full-court press to showcase all the wonder job opportunities in Iowa, while simultaneously under-funding schools, universities, and, now, making the state medical school a back-up because of the 6-week abortion rule, essentially making practicing the full gamut of OB/GYN an impossibility because of liability issues.
They have made it impossible for counties to decide what the wages should be in their area, they have made it more likely that property taxes will go up around the state to make up for the tax breaks that they just passed through despite not having the funds to pay the state's current bills. They have made it such that persons with disabilities are unable to get needed support services thanks to a lack of not-for-profit insurance providers.
In the words of Professor Harold Hill, "We've got trouble, my friends, right here in River City." With the state Democrats needing desperately to get their house in order and multiple candidates vying for state offices including 6 candidates running for Governor including two women (Cathy Glasson and Andy McGuire) , one African American candidate (my city's former mayor, Ross Wilburn) and three White guys (Nate Boulton, Fred Hubbell, John Norris). All of them are running with plans to publically-fund Medicare, improve schools, improve mental health, protect women's' right to choose, increase the minimum wage, restore the union worker right to collective bargaining. Of course, the question will be who stands the best chance to defeat Reynolds/Gregg. I would suggest that the best-organized campaigns at this time appear to be Glasson, Boulton, and Hubbell, with Norris peaking interest among those wanting a voice that scrapes votes out in the rural areas. Polling in late January showed that Boulton and Hubbell polled the best against Reynolds, but still lag her by 4-5%.
By mid-June, when the primaries take place. it will require that one of the six candidates is able to break the 35% threshold or the party nomination will go to a statewide convention. At that point, it would be up to party insider arm-twisting and gnashing of teeth. All of which would lead to some people wanting to go away mad. But hold the phone, the one thing Team Blue needs to do is unify to wrest away control of the Governor's office and hope that also rubs off on the House and Senate races, as well as the down ticket offices for Auditor, Secretary of State, Agriculture, and so on.
They have got their work cut out for them and will need help from those folks who can knock on doors, drive people to the polls, and so forth. It will be important that the Democrats seize on the fact that while their opponent wears the crown, it was handed to her, not earned.
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