Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
As much as any other American leader Harry Truman is identified as a man of the people, proof positive that, buoyed by the rest of us, the nation is so strong that anyone can grow up to be president.
But this conventional characterization of Truman spectacularly undersells his rare intelligence and foresight. And the Truman myth does us all a great disservice as we search for the common in our politicians.
These days we seem to want a candidate who would handle the television remote much as we would.
We think we want representatives, not leaders, and as a result the best and the brightest are too often overlooked in favor of candidates with next-door-neighbor appeal.
It’s time for a change.
I think we ought to try something different in western Iowa, give it a two-year shot at least: let’s send one of Iowa’s smartest, most well-connected Washington, D.C., insiders to the U.S. Congress on our behalf.
Carroll native Kim Zimmerman, 35, director of government relations for biopharmaceutical company Cephalon and a former key strategist for U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., is not a candidate for anything. But she should be, and if the Iowa Democratic Party bothered to realize that the state’s western border is not Interstate 35 it would fund and field Zimmerman.
“I think Kim has a future in anything she decides to do,” Nelson said. "She takes great care to cover all of the bases. She’s mastered the art of negotiation, which is key to getting anything done in Washington. The folks of Carroll should be proud of her. I think she’d be a great representative in Congress for Iowa but a better one for Nebraska.”
Zimmerman was one of the chief architects of Nelson’s health-care policies. She’s personally seen to it that the federal government fund rural hospitals with millions more. She understands the levers of power, she knows how the system works and people return her phone calls. With western Iowa’s aging population, health care is right up there with agriculture as a key interest. Zimmerman, who worked for more than two years for the American Nurses Association, knows the intricacies of health-care policy, and more important, how to get things done.
Like her old boss and mentor, Ben Nelson, a middle-of-the-road, results-oriented Democrat with rural roots, Zimmerman would be more likely to send out news releases announcing highway funds than colorful, politically charged commentary.
Adopted by John and Lois Zimmerman as a baby, Kim grew up on Main Street in Carroll, going on to be the Carroll High School valedictorian. Later she earned her master’s degree at Duke University.
Her resume is so good that it reads like one of those fake examples you see in job-search books. But it’s very real and includes a stint with the U.S. Department of Justice, where she worked with grants for local law enforcement.
She’s worked for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa on civil rights and environmental matters. Zimmerman served on the campaigns of Ted Kennedy and U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts, and worked in the office of former U.S. Sen. Brock Adams. Zimmerman also interned in President Clinton’s White House.
While at Duke, with a full-tuition, merit fellowship and Reader’s Digest scholarship, she interned with the “Face the Nation” news program.
Now, right away, some are going to see the names “Kennedy” and “Clinton” and dismiss her on ideological grounds. But they should stop and reconsider. The experiences and connections Zimmerman developed with those political figures could translate into results for western Iowa. Simply put, she understands Washington.
In the end, of course, Kim Zimmerman would face a Mount Kilimanjaro climb in western Iowa, mainly because she’s a she.
Iowa has never elected a woman to Congress or the U.S. Senate. There are a lot of reasons for this. But really it’s because too many older women don’t like to see younger ones succeed — even one blessed with uncommon intelligence and the work ethic to build a 45-year-old’s resume by age 35.
Zimmerman would have instant credibility on health care and could be a leading figure for rural medical facilities, an interest Iowa Republicans and Democrats share. Moreover, because of her rage and recent staff status in the Senate, she could mine Capitol Hill for the best staff members, people who know how the system works. She would make a real difference in our lives.
All of this being said, she’s not a candidate.
And that’s a shame.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter