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.
Des Moines civil rights attorney Roxanne Conlin has confirmed she will “more likely than not” enter the Democratic primary in hopes of unseating Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Conlin told Des Moines Register reporter Tom Beaumont that it was Grassley’s inflammatory rhetoric this summer during the debate over health care reform that first pushed her towards running.
Conlin accused Grassley of being disingenuous, noting that he circulated a fundraising brochure stating he was working to defeat “Obama-care,” while continuing to participate in bipartisan negotiations.
“That’s not the Chuck Grassley I thought this state elected, and it really was a watershed moment for me,” Conlin said.
Although she has not run for elected office since her unsuccessful 1982 gubernatorial campaign, Conlin has long been active in Democratic politics, both as a staffer and a donor. Most recently, she was co-chair of John Edwards’ Iowa Caucus campaign in 2008.
She has promised to raise $10 million for the campaign without taking contributions from lobbyists or political action committees. That might be a difficult task for most, but Conlin’s personal wealth and her time served as president of the nation’s trial lawyers association give her a huge leg up in regards to building a campaign war chest.
If she does indeed enter the race, she will join Bob Krause of Fairfield, Tom Fiegen of Clarence and Sal Mohamed of Sioux City. Both Krause and Fiegen told the Cedar Rapids Gazette they will remain in the race, saying Conlin’s entrance will do nothing to excite grassroots activists.
“People look at her and say, ‘been there, done that,’” [Fiegen] said. “One analogy I heard is that she’s our party’s Doug Gross — rich, intelligent, well-connected, but can’t talk to rural Iowans. People say she’s already proved that.”
Doug Gross is a Des Moines attorney and adviser to Branstad during his tenure as governor as well as other Republicans and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 2002.
A poll conducted by Research 2000 and commissioned by the liberal blog Daily Kos found that Grassley beats all potential competitors in 2010. However, while he beats Fiegen and Krause by around 20 points, he only defeats Conlin by 12 points.
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