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.
Statements by a Republican legislative candidate about AIDS being God’s punishment for homosexuality, and a defense of those statements by an anti-abortion activists running for the state Senate, are a disturbing indicator of the state of Republican politics, according to the leader of the state’s largest LGBT-rights organization.
Jeremey Walters, who is running for the Iowa House in district 67, sparked outrage when he posted anti-gay statements on his Facebook page. After he was denounced by Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn, Walters apologized and took down the posts. But Dave Leach, a Republican candidate best known for his close relationship with the man convicted of murdering Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, criticized the GOP for abandoning Walters for simply telling the truth.
“Considering Leach’s background and his most recent statements, we’re beginning to see a disturbing pattern of Iowa GOP candidates who use violent rhetoric and misinformation as a political weapon,” said One Iowa Executive Director Carolyn Jenison. “These remarks fan the flames of bigotry and hatred and they have no place in our civic dialogue.”
Leach is running against state Sen. Matt McCoy, who is openly gay. At a recent anti-gay marriage rally in Des Moines, Leach referred to McCoy as “Iowa’s chief sodomite.” Leach publishes a newsletter called “Prayer & Action News,” which advocates the doctrine of justifiable homicide in the case of abortion doctors.
As for Walters, after apologizing and removing the Facebook postings, he did an interview with the liberal blog Think Progress where he said he is still unsure whether AIDS is in fact a punishment from God for homosexuality. On his Facebook page, Walters lamented being ostracized by the Iowa GOP, saying “I am ban from any events that the Republican party puts on, so now what?” In addition to the party rescinding his invitation to volunteer at the GOP booth at the Iowa State Fair, Walters said he is also banned from the Republican Party of Polk County’s upcoming event featuring Steve Forbes.
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