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.
Former Congresswoman and current Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen L. Thurman urged Floridians to contact the DNC in support of their Jan. 29 primary date via mass email today. In the email, Thurman compares Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation statuses to the disenfranchisement of black and elderly voters that has occurred in past Florida elections without mentioning that Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s records on voting rights are cleaner than her own state’s.
Thurman will go before the DNC committee in charge of primary dates at a meeting in Washington, D.C., this Saturday. Below is the text of her email:
Dear Friend,
As Chair of your State Party, I will go before the Rules & Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Saturday to fight to preserve Florida’s full and diverse representation in the presidential primary process.Under the Rules, the DNC has the authority to slash the delegate voting power of states that hold unauthorized presidential primaries prior to February 5, 2008, essentially making their votes meaningless. Because the Republican-controlled state Legislature moved our state’s primary to January 29, 2008, Florida Democrats may be subject to severe penalties.
On Saturday, we will make our case to the DNC. I’m going to fight to have Florida’s votes counted, but in reality, I’m only one out of more than four million Florida Democrats. The DNC really needs to hear from people like you.
Can you take just a few moments to tell the DNC why you believe it should make Florida count? I’m going to take your messages – and your voices in spirit – with me to Washington. The meeting is Saturday morning, so get your comments in by Friday at 5 PM.
As you may recall, we’ve had success in the past when your voice was heard, such as when Democratic legislators read your comments on the floor of the Florida Senate in the heat of the class-size debate in 2006. We succeeded then because of your support, and I have faith that your action now will help make the difference.
You have the power. Tell DNC Chairman Howard Dean and the Rules & Bylaws Committee how important it is that Florida’s votes be counted on January 29. I truly believe they will listen.
Florida Democrats must stand together and demand that our votes be counted. In this discussion, there is nothing more important than making sure that Florida Democrats are not disenfranchised.
Our state has seen far too much of this in the past: the 2000 election debacle, eligible voters purged from the voting rolls based on race, Black voters intimidated at the polls, 18,000 votes vanishing because of touch screen machines in 2006, the list goes on and on.
Send a message right now. There’s no time to waste.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication.
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Karen L. Thurman
Chair, Florida Democratic PartyP.S. Send me your comments right now, and be sure to forward this email to your friends, neighbors and families. Please don’t put this off. Thank you again.
[Note: As a former resident of Palm Beach County, Fla., Chase Martyn still receives emails from the Florida Democratic Party.]
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