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.
This week, the Iowa Democratic Party launched a new volunteering drive on its website just days before former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin headlines the Ronald Reagan Dinner — the Republican Party of Iowa’s largest fall fundraiser.
Invoking both her image and strong rhetoric against the tea party favorite, the IDP is calling on Iowans to pledge a total 945 volunteer hours – one hour for every day she served as governor of Alaska– before Friday’s event.
“We know Palin’s incendiary rhetoric and extreme policies are not what Iowans want and they fail to move our country forward,” the webite reads. “Help us send Sarah Palin a message!”
At the Harkin Steak Fry on Sunday, President Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe also invoked Palin to rile up the crowd of 1,400 Democrats.
“You have a good opportunity to remind your neighbors, your friends and your family members about who the real Republican Party is,” Plouffe said. “The very best organizer and fundraiser in the Democratic Party is going to be here in Iowa — Sarah Palin.”
That was not the only moment in which Palin was brought up. When introducing the two keynote speakers for the steak fry — Plouffe and White House senior advisor David Axelrod — U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin poked fun at both the former governor and Fox News host Glenn Beck.
“We asked Glenn Beck to estimate the size of the crowd. He said 500,000,” Harkin said, referencing Beck’s Washington, D.C. rally on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. “We asked Sarah Palin. She said it was so big that she could see it from Wasilla.”
Telling from Sunday’s event, the mention of Palin’s name seems to bring about the passionate responses that Democratic politicians need to rile up its base. This may in fact be the start of a Democratic message switch, invoking Palin’s name as opposed former President George W. Bush — a favorite for Democrats in 2008.
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