Also on the legislature’s plate is Gov. Chet Culver’s $750 million bonding plan to pay for flood repairs and work on Iowa’s aging infrastructure. On top of it all, opponents of same-sex marriage have said they will push for legislative action on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage before the session is over.

Four pieces of legislation backed by labor unions are also still on the table, although their future appears bleak.

The session isn’t officially scheduled to end until May 1, when lawmakers’ daily expense payments run out. But Democrats set a goal of ending the session early in order to save money and help with the state’ budget shortfall.

The first hurdle for Democrats will come Tuesday, when debate is scheduled for their controversial tax reform bill that includes ending federal deductibility. A public hearing on the plan last week became so heated House Speaker Pat Murphy asked state troopers to clear the public from the gallery.

But privately, several state legislators concede that recent difficulties trying to pass prevailing wage legislation in the House have hurt the chances of any other labor bills this session.

“Time will tell what we can get passed,” said Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City. “[The Senate] can only vote on what the House sends us. It’s unclear what other labor bills are going to move forward if the House can’t regroup and pass prevailing wage.”

The prevailing wage bill called for minimum pay and benefit standards for workers on certain public projects. It garnered 50 votes in the House, one shy of passage, despite the fact that Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, kept the chamber in session for the entire weekend.

Bolkcom was confident that labor bills passed by the House would easily pass the Senate because of the much larger Democratic majority in that chamber.

“We’re being patient and hoping we’ll get a shot at passing something,” he said.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, said recently that those claiming victory in defeating the bill might be doing so prematurely.

“There’s a lot of session left,” he said on a recent taping of Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Press. “At this point last year we were struggling to find consensus on the smoke-free places bill, we brought up the model core curriculum bill, which failed, and we had to put a motion to reconsider on it, and it took three more weeks to find the 51st vote. This is part of the process.”

While Democrats have majorities in both chambers, the party’s coalition is much more fragile in the House. Several Democratic lawmakers from rural, traditionally conservative districts have been outspoken in their criticism of labor legislation in the past. One of those lawmakers, Rep. McKinley Bailey, D-Webster City, was expected to be the 51st vote on prevailing wage before a failed amendment to the bill caused him to change his mind.

Bailey has since drawn criticism both publicly and privately from members of his party. Some are quietly concerned that he could join Rep. Dawn Pettengill, R-Mount Auburn, who switched parties in 2007 after publicly battling with the House Democratic caucus over issues such as union fees and the cigarette tax increase.

Bailey told The Des Moines Register last week that House leadership had stripped him of some of his authority, a move some believed was punishment for his prevailing wage vote. Rep. Ray Zirkelbach, D-Monticello, told the newspaper his party had “trust issues” with Bailey.

Bailey did not respond to interview requests from the Iowa Independent.

Ken Sagar, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, said organized labor needs to do a better job educating the public in order to convince legislators.

“These bills are about working families,” he said. “They are about the middle class, which needs help right now.”

Sagar doesn’t believe the failure of prevailing wage will hurt the chances of other labor bills.

“We try to push ahead with all of our issues, and when we think we’ve got 51 votes, we push to get it to the floor,” he said. “We thought we had 51 on prevailing wage. We just need to keep pushing.”

“Fair Share” legislation, which would allow unions representing government workers to collect a fee from nonunion employees for certain services, and “choice of doctor” legislation, which allows employees who are injured on the job the right to choose their own doctor, were introduced in the House Wednesday.

Marcia Nichols, political and legislative director for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61, said the Legislature has been active on several labor bills, with public sector Fair Share passing the Senate in 2007 and open scope bargaining passing both chambers last year. Every time one of labor’s priorities is debated, it allows for the opportunity to educate the public as to why the changes are important, Nichols said.

“I think they are doing the right thing by hearing these proposals, and we’re educating the public,” she said. “I don’t see any of them as being dead or defeated. I think all those bills are live rounds; it just takes time to get people to an understanding.”

Iowa hasn’t had a serious discussion of its labor laws in many years, Nichols said, so it isn’t surprising that Iowans at first blush are hesitant to make significant changes.

“So I think this is just the first step in the process that is going to benefit the middle class and working Iowans,” she said.

A bright spot for organized labor, observers say, was Gov. Chet Culver’s breaking his silence and throwing his support behind prevailing wage legislation. Culver’s veto of the collective bargaining bill last year caused some tension between the Democratic governor and labor unions. An Iowa Federation of Labor newsletter shortly after the veto said 2008 would go down in history as “the session when a Democratic governor turned his back on the unions that enthusiastically supported him and helped get him elected.”

Nichols said she wasn’t surprised at Culver’s support because she has always known the governor to be a “strong supporter of working men and women.”

“Last year there was a communication problem in terms of the subjects covered in the open scope bill,” Nichols said. “We continue to work with the governor to find something everyone can work with and can be satisfied with. Last year I thought this was a communication problem that could be fixed, and I think it has been fixed.”

As for the 2009 session, Bolkcom said the goal has to be educating the public and working to convince legislators that prevailing wage is “pro-family.” At a recent legislative forum, Bolkom said he was able to have a long discussion of prevailing wage with Rep. Larry Marek, D-Riverside, who was one of the five Democrats to vote against the measure.

“We’ve got a lot of educating to do here in Des Moines and in our districts,” Bolkom said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Regardless of the outcome of the 2009 session, Nichols said organized labor is not going away any time soon.

“We truly believe these proposals benefit the middle class,” she said. “Iowa currently ranks 42nd in wages. All these bills are about wages. So we have got to continue to march forward.”

“With the issues facing African-Americans, there is an urgency,” said Gretchen Woods, youth adviser for the Des Moines Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “We really just don’t have time to waste.”

Blacks across the state have formed study groups and new community organizations. They’ve packed town hall meetings and conferences. They’ve learned new techniques — like how to participate in the Thursday Iowa Caucuses. They’ve begun implementing detailed strategies in their cities as part of the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans’ Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa.

Their voices, sometimes tinged with anger and frustration, have brought out the human side of cold statistics about the racial disparities affecting blacks in Iowa’s prisons and public schools. The problems even inspired three high-profile black leaders in Des Moines — two of whom are Iowa legislators –  to set aside their personal differences to work jointly for community betterment. 

So why the unusual mobilization?

“I think that overall, we have become less cynical and more hopeful that change can take place and that it will require some effort on our parts,” said Abraham Funchess, division administrator for the commission. “No one is going to just give it to us; it must be demanded.”

Iowa leaders can’t brag about the state’s being a national leader in renewable energy and tout its educational system when such serious inequities exist for blacks, Woods said.

“You certainly don’t want to be recognized as the national leader with the disproportionate rate of blacks in prison,” she said. “Those are the things causing people to speak up.”

Many blacks said they’ve grown increasingly concerned about their cities, neighborhoods and schools, about the disproportionate number of blacks in prison and about the employment concerns faced by ex-offenders. As news of the staggering problems has spread, it has jolted young and old into action.

Lindsay Cannaday, 17, a senior at Des Moines’ Roosevelt High School, said high-profile racial incidents in Jena, La., and racial slurs by radio host Don Imus have shocked some people her age into action.

“I think this has opened the eyes of many people, especially African-Americans,” said Cannaday, who is a member of the Des Moines NAACP Youth Council, which held a rally in Des Moines for the six black Louisiana teen-agers known as the Jena Six. “These incidents have made people realize that racism and hate crimes are still going on and that the fight for change still needs to continue.”

Genie Bundy morphed from ordinary citizen into activist after learning about the disproportionate number of blacks in prison. Iowa tops the nation for imprisoning blacks at a rate 13.6 times that of whites, according to national study by The Sentencing Project. Bundy, a family support worker at Primary Health Care in Des Moines, organized three community forums this fall about the issue.

“I think that it has to take something like this to get the community truly riled up like dealing with the overrepresentation of blacks in the prison system,” she said. “Our families are truly being destroyed by the black men being removed from the home.”

T.K. Anderson, president of the NAACP in Davenport, said there is much work to do because blacks face “disparities of every description.”

“There seems to be a growing number of African-Americans lobbying for change, . . .” Anderson said. “I’m seeing more conferences addressing the profiling of African-Americans. There seems to be a broader spectrum of issues and topics being discussed.”

Blacks must step up their involvement in all areas and alter their tactics for dealing with the problems, he said.

“The need is for us to be more proactive and eliminate the reactive mode of existing,” Anderson said.

Funchess and others are urging blacks to participate in the caucuses, vote and make their concerns and wants known to state lawmakers in 2008. Meanwhile, pressing problems remain, like the rising number of HIV/AIDS cases and the lack of health care and health care disparities, among others. Many blacks said the growing movement to improve the lives of black Iowans will require new recruits.

So will the increased awareness, activism and pressure make a difference?

“It must or we will perish,” said Anderson. “I’m convinced that real change is and will take place.”

“This is a distinction that we don’t want,” Culver said. “And we all know that we must and can do better.”

Culver laid out three steps his office has taken to reduce the racial disparities in Iowa’s prisons, juvenile justice system and public schools.

“Unfortunately, on too many occasions, racial disparities still exist in our society and in our institutions,” Culver said. “This is wrong and it is time for us to do something about it.”

But a researcher and adjunct professor from the University of Iowa who organized the three-day conference, which ends tomorrow, said it could take years before the racial disparities are reduced — and it probably won`t happen while Culver is in office.

“I think we can bring the numbers down considerably, but can we bring them down one to one? I don’t know if we’ll ever reach that,” said Brad Richardson, coordinator of Iowa’s DMC Resource Center, which is part of the National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice.

About 350 people attended the conference. Dozens of experts from across the nation presented information on the causes of the racial disparities and how to better serve minority populations. The conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at the Downtown Holiday Inn.

Blacks are the hardest hit by the disparities found in Iowa’s prisons, juvenile detention centers and school discipline rates. Blacks account for just 2.3 percent of Iowa’s population, but 25 percent of its prison population. Black juveniles are arrested at five times the rate of whites. Blacks account for 5 percent of Iowa’s public school enrollment, but 22 percent of school suspensions.

Culver told conference-goers the state will work to “eradicate the problems of racial disparity in Iowa, whether it exists in hiring practices, in our schools, in our businesses or in our correctional system.”

Proposals from a group Culver convened last April to study the racial disparities in the prison system will go before the Iowa Legislature in January, he said. His office is working with the Iowa Department of Education to identify why black children are suspended at a higher rate than whites. Culver signed an executive order last month creating the Youth Race And Detention Task Force that will make recommendations to ensure that young minorities are “fairly and justly” treated by the system and to develop policies to combat recidivism.

“Let me make it clear, it is my administration’s policy to end the overrepresentation of minorities in Iowa’s correction system for adults and juveniles,” Culver said.

Shay Bilchik, director for the Center for Juvenile Justice Report and Systems Integration at Georgetown University, told gatherers that most studies show there is no evidence that the racial disparities in the child welfare system occur because of higher rates of abuse and neglect. The studies show there is “no significant difference” in the crime rates between blacks and whites in the juvenile justice system, he said.

“I will take the position that it is indeed both of these things that come into play that leads to the disproportionality that’s present both in child welfare and juvenile justice — a broad set of underlying societal issues and system decision-making contributing to the problem as well,” he said. 

More must be done to help families mired in poverty, improve access to job training for adults and youth, and keep families connected to education, among other things, Bilchik said.

“We have failed our children, and in particular we have failed our children of color,” he said. “We have failed to treat them and their families equitably and equally in how we ensure children of color have the connections to people who provide not only safety and well-being, but a permanence that includes those intimate relationships to provide healing power and a bridge to a healthy future.”

“We need to get others engaged in this effort to address the real racial bias we have in this state in so many areas — child welfare, prisons, juvenile justice; the list just goes on and on,” said Brad Richardson, coordinator of Iowa’s DMC Resource Center, which is part of the National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice.

About 400 people are expected to attend the conference, scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and at the Downtown Holiday Inn. Some preconference activities began Wednesday.

Iowa tops the nation for imprisoning blacks and suspending black students from public schools, according to national reports. Blacks account for 5 percent of Iowa’s public school enrollment, but 22 percent of school suspensions. Blacks account for just 2.3 percent of Iowa’s population, but 25 percent of its prison population.

The DMC conference was originally designed to increase awareness and find ways to reduce the racial disparities in Iowa’s juvenile justice system. Topics were expanded this year to include inequalities in school discipline, said Richardson, who is also a research scientist and adjunct professor at the University of Iowa.

“We have the worst record on school disciplinary action in the country,” he said. “Now we’re the worst state in overrepresentation in the adult prison system.

Obama took the stage and delivered his standard stump speech to more than 250 Cedar County residents who packed into the Matthews building on the fairgrounds’ site. While stating his case for why he should receive the nomination over his Democratic rivals, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Obama pitched his ability to get people who think differently to work together. “I have experience bridging the current division together in our society, and this is something I’m uniquely qualified to do.”

While most of Obama’s speech illustrated how he would offer a new face to politics that will repair all the damage left behind in the Bush administration’s wake, the focus shifted to Clinton during the question-and-answer session. Clara Oleson, a longtime Democratic activist of Cedar County, said, “I’m a 65-year-old retired female, and this year’s presidential election is revolutionary for women, because we have a viable female candidate running. Why should I vote for you and not Hillary?”

Obama was quick to indicate the reasons he cited earlier in his speech before beginning his response on a diplomatic note. “Hillary Clinton is a very capable person. She’s smart, tough, she cares about Democratic values, and she will try and advance them.”

To differentiate himself from his rival, Obama proceeded to answer the question. “But I also think what is needed in America is what she does not have. We need to bring the country together, because we can’t get things done with the kind of politics we now have,” Obama said.

“You can’t run a strategy that listens to the polls and only tinkers around the edges. This `50 + 1′ strategy of appealing to the middle will not advance major changes or reforms in Washington. You cannot pass major health-care reform with a slim majority,” Obama said. “With me, you’re taking a risk, whereas Hillary is a known commodity. With Hillary, we know what we are going to get, and if you want small change or a conventional approach to some of the biggest problems we face, then vote for Hillary. Don’t get me wrong here; Hillary’s conventional views are vastly different than those of George Bush, but not enough to repair the damage that has been done all over the world.”

Obama’s sentiments about divisive, appealing-to-the-middle politics were echoed by the Tipton locals who came to hear him speak searching for a new beginning in politics. Oleson said she was supporting Obama because of his judgment and leadership abilities. “He’s our best hope to get away from divisive, partisan politics,” Oleson said. “Besides, I’ve had a large dose of Clinton fatigue.”

The Clinton fatigue must have been contagious, for some of the Tipton residents felt the same way about a Clinton nomination and were drawn to Obama, who, for them, symbolizes a refreshing new face in politics. “I caucused for Edwards in 2004, and though I still like Edwards, I’m more drawn to Obama this time around,” said Shane Boeve, an elementary-school principal who lives in Tipton. “Obama’s character persuaded me to support him. We need somebody we can trust and follow, and I think Obama is the best choice.”

“Although I’m still a big supporter of Bill Clinton, I don’t feel the same way toward Hillary,” Boeve added. “In fact, she’s at the very bottom of my list, and I can’t see how she’s leading in the polls. I haven’t met anyone who is supporting her, but I keep hearing she’s leading by significant margins. Who are these people supporting her, and where are they?”

Tipton resident Troy Peters, who recently returned to college to get his teaching degree, shared Boeve’s sentiments. “Obama brings a fresh face to politics, and we need this to help turn around the divisive nature of D.C. politics,” Peters said. “I see Obama as somebody who can reach across the aisle and build consensus, unlike Hillary, who brings a great deal of ’90s baggage to the table that will only serve to polarize both parties. I realize most of this isn’t her fault, but regardless, the baggage is still there. I’m not ready for another four, or worse, eight years of polarizing politics that will divide the country even further. The past seven years have taught us firsthand what this can do to our country.”

It’s not so much the time factor — according to the Dodd campaign’s much distributed Talk Clock, Dennis Kucinich got nine minutes and Mike Gravel talked for five.  Removing them would thus free up only two and a half minutes each in a two hour debate for the other six candidates, assuming the time was distributed evenly (which it wasn’t).Rather, it’s a matter of party message.  Digby says Kucinich puts the debate in a harmful frame:

I like Dennis Kucinich and I am glad he’s in these debates to voice certain positions that wouldn’t get heard otherwise. But I really hate it that he said Iraq is the Democrats’ war. I would hope that candidates could play hardball with one another without undermining the single most important rationale for a Democratic president, which is that the Republicans are responsible for the mess in Iraq.

I don’t think it matters all that much right now — as GOP strategist Mike Murphy said on CNN, this isn’t really about the voters yet, it’s about the media and money. But still, it takes almost nothing to gain currency in the mainstream media and that particular notion is a very dangerous one.

Kos is more blunt:

So is there really a point to having Gravel, in between advocating English as an “official” language and promoting his right-wing flat tax, sit on the debates doing nothing but attack other Democrats?

He polls on the question; the no Gravel position narrowly leads.

Republicans are likely to ask similar questions about Ron Paul again after tonight’s GOP debate — which I’m planning to liveblog.