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.
With the U.S. House reconvened in a special session to pass a crucial state aid bill Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., took to the floor to deliver a rambling and emotional 37-minute long defense of the ethics charges held against him — against the wishes of Democratic leadership and his own lawyers:
The New York Democrat and 40-year House veteran had a sharp message in dismissing fellow Democrats who, worried about election losses, want him to quit: “If I can’t get my dignity back here, then fire your best shot in getting rid of me through expulsion.”
It wasn’t so much what Rangel said, but when he chose to do it, that infuriated Dems. Already worried about the impact of his ongoing trial on their upcoming House races, Democrats were doubly annoyed that Rangel’s rant held up an important vote and threatened to distract from the main messages Democrats were trying to promote: Saving jobs.
Iowa Republicans have tried to turn Rangel’s ethics probe into a problem for two incumbent Democrats in the Hawkeye State – Leonard Boswell and Dave Loebsack. The Republican Party of Iowa called on Boswell to return campaign contributions he’s received over the years from Rangel, and Loebsack’s GOP opponent this fall — Mariannette Miller-Meeks — criticized the Mt. Vernon Democrat’s vote on an ethics investigation of Rangel back in 2008.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., attempted to cut Rangel’s remarks short, reminding him that their proper forum was before the House Ethics subcommittee, but Rangel persisted. He may very well have too many friends in the House to resist any effort to remove him, but outbursts like the one he engaged in Tuesday certainly aren’t wining him any more.
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