Iowa Democratic Party Michael Kiernan met with supporters in Cedar Rapids and other Iowa cities Tuesday to discuss Terry Branstad's official entry into the 2010 gubernatorial race.

Branstad, who previously served four terms as governor, officially kicked off his fifth campaign Tuesday in Des Moines, billing the event as “a historic comeback” and speaking in front of an old airplane at the State Historical Building to complete the revisiting-the-past theme. Following that first official rally, where Branstad pledged the creation of 200,000 new jobs and increased income for Iowans, the campaign began a multi-city “Comeback Tour” of the state.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Michael Kiernan launched a tour of his own to coincide with Branstad’s, hoping to counter the former governor’s message with a dose of skepticism.

“This has been a long-awaited announcement — and one that I believe was politically motivated and strategic so that [Branstad] wouldn’t have to talk about his record,” Kiernan said. “I think he now enters the toughest race of his life — candidate Branstad versus Gov. Branstad. He says he wants to run on his record, on his experience and leadership, yet he does everything he can to run away from his record.”

For months since it was first rumored that Branstad might be considering re-entering Iowa politics the IDP has been on his heels, pointing out that while candidate Branstad has criticized current Democratic Gov. Chet Culver for spending, former Gov. Branstad raised sales tax by 67 percent, increased the gasoline tax by five cents per gallon and attempted to tax Social Security benefits.

“When confronted with the differences between his record and what he is now promising, Bradstad says that he made mistakes and has learned from those mistakes,” Kiernan said. “Frankly, Iowans can’t afford any more learning experiences.”

The IDP’s attacks against Branstad, many of which stem from his rivals in the GOP primary, are evidence to some that the former governor is the only Republican challenger Democrats believe could be a serious threat to Culver.

Just this week, when Branstad’s Republican opponent Bob Vander Plaats disclosed that he had raised more than $500,000 in contributions and donated goods and services, the Iowa Democratic Party issued a press release noting that Branstad’s record was pushing Iowa’s social conservative base away from his campaign. While the press release could not be construed as any sort of endorsement of Vander Plaats, it still managed to raise a few eyebrows.

Jeff Angelo, a former Republican state senator from Creston, said the IDP had to be shocked at Branstad’s 24-percentage-point advantage over Culver in a recent poll, a factor that contributes to their focus on only one of the four men seeking the GOP nomination.

“The only way to erase that type of lead is to attack early and often,” Angelo told The Iowa Independent. “One clever way of doing it is to simply use a primary opponent’s message against the target. That way, a spokesman for the opposing party doesn’t look so ‘mean.’ The spokesperson is simply echoing what’s being said within the primary. If Branstad becomes the nominee, the Democratic Party can use these initial attacks to further create doubt in the voters’ minds as the general election campaign continues.”

As evidence of what Angelo was explaining, Kiernan, who met with Linn County Democrats on Tuesday afternoon, pointed to the changing landscape of the Republican Party of Iowa, saying the Terry Branstad of the 1980s and 1990s may no longer garner public support. Although his selection of Joy Corning for lieutenant governor was widely accepted during his previous tenure, even the tenuous connection that remains between the two irks social conservatives in the state who do not find Corning pure enough on issues such as same-sex marriage.

Branstad has been publicly attacked by members of his own party for campaigning on behalf of Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat in the U.S. Senate who ultimately supported a national health reform package. The influential conservative group Iowa Family Policy Center not only gave its endorsement to one of Branstad’s opponents but pledged that it would not support Branstad should he become the party’s nominee.

But as recent polls have shown, Branstad is not alone when it comes to problems with his base. Culver has his own demons to battle when it comes to full-throated support from grassroots Democrats. His 2008 veto of a collective bargaining bill supported by organized labor has led to rifts in long-held friendships and further stress between the governor’s office and the Democratically-controlled Iowa House and Senate. While Culver might have been forgiven for not calling a special session to deal with the massive 2008 floods, few in the gay-rights community have forgotten that he once promised such a special session to “deal with” an Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Still others are dismayed by his reaction to bus advertisements purchased by the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers.

Branstad, Vander Plaats, and Iowa Reps. Chris Rants and Rod Roberts will face each other on June 8 in a Republican gubernatorial primary.

“[Opponents] can talk to their legislators about amending the constitution,” Culver said. “They will have the option on the ballot in 2010 to call for a constitution convention. So the voters will have an opportunity to weigh in on this.”

When the court’s ruling was made public Friday, Culver issued a statement saying only that he would study the decision before making any further statements. Tuesday, he ended his silence, saying he was “reluctant to support amending the Iowa Constitution to add a provision that our Supreme Court has said is unlawful and discriminatory.”

Opponents had hoped Culver, who had previously said he would be to so far as to call a special session to “protect marriage between a man and a woman,” would take a firm stand against the ruling, bolstering their efforts to pass a constitutional amendment overturning the court’s ruling.

After four days of consideration, Culver rejected that argument.

“We have to be very respectful of the Equal Protection Clause of the Iowa Constitution,” Culver said. “This court in a unanimous decision has stated that it is discriminatory to deny people rights given to them in our constitution.”

Culver said he waited to make a decision in order to avoid a “knee-jerk reaction.”

“This decision took more than four months to come down from the court,” he said. “I think it’s appropriate to take as much time as necessary, in my case four days, to thoroughly read the decision. It’s 69 pages long. It involves a lot of complex legal arguments on both sides. I also thought it was important for me to sit down with the Attorney General.”

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller released a statment Friday supporting the court’s ruling.

Culver said the voters will ultimately decide the issue due to the fact that the option to hold a constitutional convention is on 2010 ballot.

“We have not had one since 1857,” he said. “So, we’ll see what the people of Iowa have to say about that.”

If a convention is held, it will be “much broader than this one issue.”

“Might be the opportunity to have a convention to reaffirm our commitment to hardworking people; to work at that convention to ensure we continue to fight for our teachers; to work at that convention to protect seniors and their rights; to work at that convention to protect veterans,” Culver said.

David Redlawsk, associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa, said in an interview that the future of the same-sex marriage debate in Iowa would most likely follow in the footsteps of Massachusetts. In 2004, that state’s Supreme Court issued a ruling stating it was unconstitutional to allow only heterosexual couples to marry. Efforts to amend the constitution and ban same-sex marriage began immediately, and while at first it seemed inevitable, support dwindled and the effort stalled.

Redlawsk predicts a similar scenario.

“It’s hard to amend the constitution in Iowa. You can’t do it overnight,” he said. “My prediction is that this will be a lot like Massachusetts, in that there will be a reaction, some people will be unhappy, but over the time it takes to enact a constitutional amendment, people will simply become more accepting, especially as younger people get older.”

A new University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll released Thursday shows 60 percent of Iowans under age 30 support same-sex marriage, and three-fourths of Iowans under 30 favor some formal recognition of same-sex relationships. That indicates that passion objection could fade over time.

“There is a huge generational difference,” said Redlawsk, who oversees the poll. “For younger Iowans, this approaches a non-issue. They are not sitting there worrying about whether people who are gay can get married. I think that is very clear in the data.”

Democratic leadership in both legislative chambers seemed to close the door on amending the state’s constitution in a joint statement after the high court’s decision was made public. And on Thursday, even members of the Republican leadership agreed the issue is unlikely to surface during the final weeks of the 2009 legislative session.

But Democratic Gov. Chet Culver has previously said he would be willing to call a special session to “protect marriage between a man and a woman,” and Republicans have promised to hammer Democrats on the issue in 2010, when the House and governor’s mansion will be up for grabs.

“I think you’re going to see more tension between the governor and Democratic legislative leadership,” said Jeff Angelo, a former Republican state senator from Creston. “The governor has said he would call a session to deal with a verdict in this case and legislative leadership issued a statement lauding the decision.”

Angelo pointed to a Des Moines Register poll of legislators last year that showed 123 of 150 lawmakers said they believed marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

“You have a number of legislators who said ‘I believe marriage is between a man and a woman but I’m going to wait for the court to rule,’” he said. “Now, you’re going to pull that statement up and say ‘So, how are you going to vote now that we have a ruling.’ This issue certainly has traction in 2010.”

If Culver calls a special session, legislators will be put on the spot, Angelo said.

The effect same-sex marriage will have on 2010  legislative elections will be decided district by district across the state, Angelo said, so it’s unclear right now which party will have an advantage.

State Rep. Mary Mascher, an Iowa City Democrat, told blogger John Deeth that in previous years, Democrats have managed to pass bills that gave gay and lesbian students protection from bullying at school and civil rights protections to LGBT citizens.

“We passed those and no one got beat because of it,” Mascher said.

A more likely first step opponents will take will be to change Iowa’s marriage law to add a residency requirement. Several conservative activists are already calling for such a change, fearing same-sex couples from around the country will come to Iowa to be married, return home and challenge their state’s marriage laws. U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Kiron Republican, said Iowa has the potential to become a “gay marriage Mecca.”

Redlawsk said there is little doubt Republicans will make the court’s ruling an issue going forward. Whether it will get much traction is unclear.

“My sense is that it is really hard to get traction on issues that aren’t economic in nature,” he said. “There will be some backlash, but since we’re a year-and-a-half from voting, in the end I think it won’t matter as much. A majority of Iowans isn’t bothered by the idea of same-sex relationships.”

If a vote could be held tomorrow, opponents could “whip up a majority,” Redlawsk said. “But there is a lot of time for Iowans to get used to the idea of same-sex marriage.”

Time will be an effective tool for supporters of same-sex marriage, Angelo said.

“I think if you’re a proponent of gay marriage you’re going to take the next couple of years to demonstrate to people that no bigger societal damage is being done,” he said. “Whether that means there won’t be the votes to pass a constitutional amendment, I just don’t know.”

Overall, only one-third of Iowans polled say they are opposed to any form of same-sex relationships. The rest either favor same-sex marriage or civil unions, although the court’s ruling clearly eliminated civil unions as an option.

The poll, which was conducted prior to Friday’s ruling, also asked Iowans what the state should do if the Supreme Court upholds a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry.

The question provided three options: Amend the Iowa constitution to ban same-sex relationships; amend it to ban same-sex marriage but allow civil unions; or accept the decision to allow gay marriage in Iowa.

Across the entire sample, 30.4 percent of Iowans favor accepting a ruling to allow same-sex marriage. One-fourth supports the creation of civil unions as an acceptable alternative. One-third believe the constitution should be amended to ban any same-sex relationship.

“This represents a very small increase in support for marriage following a court ruling, drawing mostly from respondents who generally prefer civil unions,” Redlawsk said.

Another poll, paid for by a conservative 527 organization founded in 2004 by former GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Gross, found that 60 percent of Iowans survey would be either “not very” or “not at all” willing to support a candidate who supports allowing same-sex couples to marry.

“You have to enlarge the pie and the voting bloc,” he said.

Rants served as leader of state House Republicans since 2002. But three straight elections that saw the GOP not only lose seats but lose control of the chamber to the Democrats caused his party to select Kraig Paulsen to replace him last week. Rants told the paper that new leadership must work hard to register more voters to try and overcome the Democrats widening margin. He also said the party needs to do a better job of promoting early voting.

“When they are voting early, they are voting straight ticket,” he said.

However, Rants isn’t opptimistic.

Rants said he doubts the Republican Party of Iowa will quickly respond. The state party doesn’t recognize the problem, he said, and further doesn’t have much money. He said the state party relies too heavily on the national party for funding.

“My little project for the future is to see if I can’t find people of a similar mindset — that agree with me that this is a problem and that this is the way to fix the party — and see if I can’t enlist their aid in trying to deal with this,” Rants said.

In a separate story, the Journal reports that Rants is still mulling a run for governor in 2010.

Rants said the leadership demotion won’t hasten his departure from the House. He’s mulled a run for governor previously, but said Thursday he hasn’t made any decisions on running for governor in 2010 or another position like Congress.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to support those who have given so much for our country,” Ken Brickman, Iowa Lottery Acting CEO, said in a statement. “We thank our players for recognizing the importance of this cause and helping us provide a stable, ongoing source of revenue for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.”

The alliance between the Iowa Lottery and the VTF was spearheaded by Rep. McKinley Bailey, D-Webster City, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He sponsored legislation, House File 2359 earlier this year that authorized the lottery games and appropriated the funds to the VTF.

“Iowa’s veterans have served with dignity, and with excellence, and all veterans have the gratitude of every citizen,” Gov. Chet Culver said in a statement. “I was proud to sign this legislation earlier this year authorizing new lottery games to help support the Veterans Trust Fund. And now, the proceeds from those games will play a vital role in helping veterans and their loved ones around the state.”

Lawmakers created the VTF in 2003 with the intent of giving the state flexibility with regard to Iowa’s returning veterans and their families, in particular when it comes to issues that aren’t covered by federal funding, such as job training, unemployment assistance, travel expenses for wounded veterans related to follow-up medical care, nursing home care, counseling programs and honor guard services.

The trust fund was supposed to eventually contain $50 million in 10 years, but only $5 million has been appropriated to the fund thus far, and Gov. Chet Culver’s 2008 budget did not contain any additional revenue for the fund, thus prompting Bailey to find an alternative source of funding.

The new lottery games are estimated to generate up to $3 million a year for the trust fund at a minimal impact on the general fund. The lottery’s second set of games to benefit veterans are scheduled to begin sales in January.

In 1874, German immigrants in Carroll County launched The Demokrat, a  German-language newspaper, with the declaration that the publication would battle to preserve the interests of recently arrived immigrants against “nativisim and fanaticism.”

Sound familiar?

The Demokrat was the forerunner of publications like La Prensa, the western Iowa Spanish-language media organization that wins the Google Search title for Hispanic newspapers in the Hawkeye State. It’s based in Carroll, nicely positioned in western Iowa within speedy reach of many Latino-rich communities.

The emergence of Spanish-language papers in Iowa shows why learning Spanish is a key asset for Iowa’s white native population. Let’s look at the numbers:

What The New York Times says:

At the moment, an estimated 114,700 Latinos are in Iowa, a 28 percent increase since 2000, according to the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs. In some small towns, nearly a third of the citizens are Hispanic, although about half the Hispanic population is concentrated in five Iowa cities, including Des Moines.

Iowa, like other parts of the nation, is in the midst of change as more Spanish-speaking immigrants move into the state, taking jobs in meatpacking, corn and egg processing plants. Evidence of their growing presence comes in the form of new Spanish-language newspapers, radio shows and mom-and-pop stores in fading downtown areas.

Let’s look at some even more localized numbers.

Using 2005 and 2006 estimates, the Census  reports that 16.7 percent (2,830) of Crawford County’s population of 16,948 is Hispanic. In the county seat of Denison, using the latest Census numbers from 2000, 17 percent (1,274) of the city is Latin.

These numbers clearly show a demand for the product La Prensa editor Lorena Lopez is putting out in western Iowa twice a month. But her enterprise is more than just commercial. She is an advocate for the Latin community.

Why is that needed?

The answer is simple: brown is the new pink. Here is excerpt from a story I wrote last spring.

East Carolina University political scientist Peter Francia says he doesn’t generally quote comedians.

But Francia, co-author of a provocative study on the gay marriage issue in rural America’s presidential voting in 2004, says funny man Bill Maher has the perfect description of the 2008 election: “Brown is the new pink.” In other words, a possible GOP strategy will be to scapegoat Hispanics with immigration issues in much the same way homosexuals were politically posterized in rural areas with Bush team posturing against gay marriage and Karl Rove-inspired hyperbole that made the debate over same-sex unions sound like a collective referendum on the Bible, country music, cold beer at college football games and the right to smoke cigarettes while fishing.

Now let’s get into the history of La Prensa in a story I wrote for the Carroll Daily Times Herald about a year ago.

The 2-year-old Spanish-language paper, La Prensa (The Press), is a family operation, the product of an ambitious mother-son team originally from Nicaragua but with deepening roots in Carroll.

Published twice a month, La Prensa, a free tabloid, is distributed at several locations in western Iowa including Carroll, Storm Lake, Denison, Spencer, Perry, Ames and Fort Dodge. Distribution stands at about 6,800.

Editor and founder Lorena Lopez, a former television personality in Nicaragua, launched the publication in May 2006 with her son, Carlos A. Arguello, a Carroll High School and University of Northern Iowa graduate.

With a master’s degree in communications from Central American University, which has a campus in Managua, Lopez became a recognizable face on Nicaraguan television in the 1980s. She even hosted the Miss Nicaragua pageants for a time.

But the same professional drive that finds Lopez getting exclusive interviews with major American politicians landed her on the persona non grata list with the Nicaraguan government. She produced a controversial piece about homosexual activity among teen-age boys forced by the Army into remote areas for service.

Lopez said the fallout from that series is complicated to explain, but it is one of the major reasons that she found herself in California in 1993, along with sons Carlos and Nauj (Juan spelled backward).

While La Prensa is Hispanic-owned and operated, Latinos aren’t the only ones spying opportunity for these papers in Iowa.

This is from a story I wrote on Iowa Independent.com a few weeks ago.

Humboldt newspaper publisher Jim Gargano sees parallels between Iowa’s burgeoning Hispanic community and his own Italian family.

Coming of age in the 1950s and 1960s in Fort Dodge, Gargano listened to his grandmother, Rosalia Maggio, speak Italian in his hard-working home.

“I learned both languages when I was growing up,” Gargano said. “Fort Dodge had a lot of Italians back then.”

He recalls hearing anti-immigrant smears about Italians from time to time.

Today, as a community leader in north-central Iowa, an area that is increasingly Latino-rich, Gargano on occasion will hear echoes of that bigotry in comments from some white native Iowans about Hispanics.

His answer is simple:”You can like or dislike the Hispanics, but they are going to be here.”

With shared immigrant experience as motivation, Gargano Communications launched the Spanish-language newspaper La Voz “The Voice” in late 2007.

The Daily Times Herald and Iowa Independent have collaborated on a number of project in the last year, including much political coverage:

Here is an example:

Chris Dodd is interviewed by Lorena Lopez, editor of La Prensa, and Douglas Burns of the Carroll Daily Times Herald and Iowa Independant on 10/25/07 at the Moose Lodge in Carroll.

The interview with the Democratic presidential candidate and veteran U.S. senator from Connecticut is in both Spanish and English with Lopez asking the first three questions and Burns the following four.