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.
Both of Iowa’s two major political parties are attempting to censor political speech by threatening litigation, instigating government investigations and other intimidation tactics, a First Amendment watchdog group that opposes many campaign finance reform measures said this week.
Jeff Patch, communications director for the Center for Competitive Politics in Virginia and a former press secretary for Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Latham of Ames, said the home to the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses should be a “model marketplace for free political expression.”
“Leaders in Iowa’s Republican and Democratic parties should step back and let that process unfold instead of seeking to censor Iowans exercising their First Amendment rights,” he said.
The first instance of “censorship” Patch condemned was an announcement by Republican Party of Iowa Executive Director Jeff Boeyink that the party would ask the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to investigate the party behind a flyer critical of former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, a rumored potential candidate for governor in 2010.
A group called Iowans for Truth and Honest Government takes credit for the piece. But because Branstad is not yet a candidate, and the flyer doesn’t “expressly advocate” for or against him, there is no need to threaten a state investigation, Patch said.
“Perhaps the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board would have investigated the authors of the Federalist Papers if it had existed during America’s nascent years,” he said. “The authors wrote under the pen name ‘Publius.’ Since then, anonymous speech has been upheld by the Supreme Court as a legitimate contribution to political expression.”
Patch also criticized Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan, who said Monday that Republican gubernatorial candidate Christian Fong could legal action if he doesn’t remove a radio advertisement he deemed “false and misleading.”
“Ultimately, the dispute is a matter of opinion, and candidates are free to boil down complicated issues in 30 and 60 second radio and TV ads,” he said. “Voters and the media should be the arbiters of campaign ads — not political lawyers or government bodies.”
Follow Jason Hancock on Twitter
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