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.
When one is confronted with a sea of Democratic campaign barn signs and placards, the temptation is to look for what stands out. On Drake’s campus today, the only Republican sign-holder I could find after the debate was holding a sign marked with an insignia invoking Soviet politics and large letters urging us to “DEFEAT HILLARY CLINTON ABND JANE FONDA.”
The man holding the sign, John Strong of West Des Moines, is a veteran of the Vietnam War. Noting the lack of other protesters backing him up, he explained, “Conservatives don’t get out and hold signs very often,” except when it comes to the issue of abortion.
Without mincing words, he launched into his answer to the “Why?” question. He had one main voting issue, and one main reason for supporting the Republican candidates and opposing the Democratic candidates: national defense. Electing a Democratic President “would send a signal to terrorists and our enemies that we have a weak national defense,” he explained.
And, after some more thinking, he decided that he also had a second voting issue: economics — specifically “with China and India and unemployment.” Strong himself is unemployed, and he left the impression that he was strongly against immigration. His reaction when a Hispanic gentleman walked up to the two of us during our interview and started asking him questions showed a fair amount of discomfort.
It also turned out that Strong had a third voting issue: veterans’ health care. “Candidates come here and don’t say anything about veterans,” he noted. At first, he claimed that this was a reason why he supported Republicans, but when prodded on whether Republicans have a better or worse record providing veterans’ health care, he equivocated. “I’m not sure,” he said, noting the recent scandals in the VA system.
Finally, Strong said he does not like the influence of America’s left coast on Democratic politics. “The top three get a lot of money from Hollywood,” he explained. Before I left, he told me that he has tried to get college Republicans to dress up in costumes to look like the candidates and celebrities and then get them to lie in a bed with each other outside on Iowa’s campuses.
The idea, he said, would be to highlight “political bedfellows.” No word on whether this tactic would be more effective than Strong’s current strategy of showing up with a black-and-white sign and standing near an intersection.
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