Kyle Payne, who is awaiting criminal sentencing in connection with the January 2007 incident, says that he wrote today’s post as an example that he has the courage to “own” what he has done and to open himself up to criticism.

While I still wholeheartedly identify with feminism – and in fact, started a personal blog as an attempt to become more in touch with feminist principles – there is no question that my actions have grossly contradicted these principles. Furthermore, by failing to address these contradictions openly, while presenting myself as any sort of ally to women, I have not been completely honest. There was no malicious intent to withholding this explanation – for legal and psychological reasons, I was not prepared to address them. As part of my attempts to make amends, however, I will not post any new material on my blog until such time that I have been welcomed back into a community of feminists.

Kyle Payne

According to Payne, he is currently undergoing therapy for “various mental health issues.” He claims to be a victim of childhood sexual abuse and that his work with survivors of sexual violence triggered flashbacks, panic attacks, insomnia, depression and anxiety.

On June 30, Payne signed a plea agreement with the state, agreeing that he was guilty of felony attempted burglary in the second degree and two counts of invasion of privacy. Sentencing was originally set for Aug. 11, but his attorney, citing a need for Payne to continue therapy and time to gather more letters of support, has requested a continuance.

At the time of the incident, Payne was employed by Buena Vista University as a dormitory resident adviser. Police reports indicate that while attending to an intoxicated and unconscious female student, Payne reportedly assaulted and photographed her. The guilty plea he entered with the court did not include assault charges. Tips received by police and campus security following the incident led to a 10-month investigation that resulted in Payne’s arrest in February.

As the national scandal builds, the Mainstream Iowan writes:

“Senator Larry Craig Should Resign Because Cruising Johns For Sex Is Unbecoming Of A Married United States Senator.”

Blog Hawkeye GOP focuses on the hypocrisy angle:

More stunning than the stupidity, is the hypocrisy. Craig has been known as a family values guy. He is a married father of three who has been an outspoken opponent of the homosexual agenda. He has a 100% ratings from the American Family Association and the Christian Coalition. (Both organizations are calling for Craig’s resignation.)

Rumor also associated Craig with the 1983 Congressional page scandal. Craig was never charged in the incident but it brought down another Republican, Dan Crane. (But not Democrat Gary Studds who continued to be re-elected by his district.)

Apparently there were other allegations about the senator. The Idaho Statesman reports that a gay man claimed to have had sex with Craig in a men’s room at Washington DC’s Union Station in 2004. The paper only published the allegations after Craig’s guilty plea in Minnesota.

At this point, the best thing that Craig could do is resign and let Idaho’s Republican governor, Butch Otter, appoint a replacement and set up a Republican incumbent for the next term. Craig’s problem is not that he is gay – it is that he is a hypocrite.

Included on the site include numerous links to social networking utilities like YouTube, Facebook and MySpace as well as newer features like Veoh and Eventful.

On a conference call with bloggers yesterday Harkin spoke about his new website and his goals for the 2008 campaign.  Harkin was joined on the call by Ryan Alexander, campaign blogger and online strategist.

Harkin said the website relaunch, including a new campaign blog and the social networking features, was part of his natural campaign approach.

“This is a valuable medium that I want to get really involved in,” he said.  “I believe in grassroots politics, I always have.  To me, doing this is about as bottom up as you can get.”

Alexander added, “From our campaign events, to our online fundraising on ActBlue, to our campaign blog, the new TomHarkin.com is focused making Iowans an active participant in our collective campaign to move Iowa and America forward.”

During Harkin’s last re-election campaign in 2002 there wasn’t an Iowa blogosphere to lean on for support or to campaign with.  But the elections of 2004 and 2006 have prompted most campaigns to overhaul their sites and begin working with Web 2.0 applications.

“The first time I ever blogged my steak fry was with Howard Dean in 2003,” said Harkin. “I thought ‘Hey, that was a pretty good idea.’”

The campaign is also using progressive funding intermediary ActBlue to conduct online fundraising for the campaign.  ActBlue allows users to contribute online and then cuts checks to each campaign that is listed on their site.  It also allows individuals to create their own fundraising pages and invite their friends to give and raise money for Harkin and other Democratic candidates as well.

Harkin said that by using ActBlue he was hearkening back to when he first started campaigning for office in the 1970s via house parties and other fundraising mediums that focused on progressive activists and their friends.

Expanding into social networking sites also fits in to the campaign’s strategy of reaching out to progressives across Iowa as well as across the country.

“We are reaching out to users on social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace because they have been proven to be effective tools in facilitating a two-way and multidimensional conversation with voters, particularly younger voters, in an environment that is comfortable to them,” Alexander said.

Harkin added, “We don’t have a concentrated population, and in the areas with a few progressives, this is a way to reach out to them. They’re some of your best progressives out in those areas.”

Harkin has yet to line up a strong challenger in 2008.  So far only Cedar Rapids businessman Steve Rathje has declared candidacy against Harkin.  However Reps. Steve King and Tom Latham, both of Iowa, have been pondering a challenge.

“I’m approaching web strategy just like the rest of my campaign,” Harkin said.  “I’m going to campaign like I’m the Republicans’ top target, which I usually am.”

Harkin is also calling on bloggers to put the pressure on Senate Republican defectors of President Bush’s Iraq strategy.

“You’ve got to hold their feet to the fire,” he said.  Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa has more here.

One of the congressmen the AP named was Jerry Lewis, a Republican from California; Robert Novak suggested Lewis would not seek re-election next year. Cole, who had not heard that rumor, was incredulous. “I would be surprised,” he said. “I am not convinced that’s the case. I would have to hear that from Jerry. That would be a tragedy because, honestly, he’s a tremendous legislator… a loss to the House.” Cole said that despite allegations of Lewis’ abusing his role as chair of the Appropriations Committee, there has been “nothing proven, and frankly, I choose to—you’ve got to demonstrate to me that somebody has broken the law, and I would be shocked if Jerry Lewis had.”

Congressman Ken Calvert, a Republican from California, has also come under fire after delivering an earmark to a place close to property he owned. Calvert joined the Appropriations Committee by replacing John Doolittle, another California Republican, who recently resigned from the committee after the FBI began investigating his wife's business association with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is now in prison.

"John Doolittle had to make a very tough decision. I think he made the right decision,” Cole said. “He put the well-being of his conference first, and he didn’t want his constituents to have any doubts, so he’s gone further than he had to and he’s hopeful that the legal process can resolve itself before the election.”

But “the Calvert charges are just bogus,” Cole said. “There’s no indication he’s done anything wrong or inappropriate, so we’ll wait and see, but there’s no indication that he’s under any investigation whatsoever.”

Erick Erickson, the editor of the popular RedState blog, however, is not convinced. He has announced a “declaration of war” against the GOP House leadership for allowing Calvert to remain on the Appropriations Committee and in his “battle plan,” called on RedState readers to “pledge not to give not one dime nor bit of energy to the NRCC.”

Cole said that the bloggers’ actions are “perfectly legitimate” but that he disagreed with their intent. “People have a right to voice their opinion,” he said. “All I would caution anybody is why don’t you trust the collective—If someone has done something wrong, the FBI is investigating or will, if it’s blindingly obvious. I think it’s dangerous if you don’t know the individuals and you don’t know the circumstances.”

Cole said Calvert made his case to the GOP conference and his fellow Republican congressmen sided with Calvert. “We don’t think it’s true,” he said. Cole said his office has not contacted RedState to talk about the issue. “They didn’t bother to ask our opinion beforehand, and again, that’s fine, they’re not required to,” Cole said. “In this case, I just think they’re wrong; again, they have every right to take that action and express their displeasure, but I think in the case of Ken Calvert, they’ve made a mistake.”

Despite the current conflict, Cole is a fan of blogs. “They are one of the more exciting frontiers in political communications,” he said. “It’s a great medium for insurgent political communication regardless of ideological point of view. It’s a tremendous way to link up people that are passionate and committed … They’re noisy and boisterous and full of vitality and that threatens political establishments on either side. But that’s the legitimate voice of democracy.”

He said that the NRCC is working with conservative bloggers to further the GOP message “We try to be accessible to them,” he said. “We’ve revamped our communications department and brought in people of comparable skills.” But he said Republicans are still trying to catch up to Democrats in the blogosphere. “It’s interesting,” he said. “The Democrats have never been able to crack talk radio … [but] they have seized the lead here.” Cole said he hoped to better rely on conservative bloggers in the future. “We certainly recognize conservative bloggers as an exceptionally important point in arguing our case,” he said. “And frankly, we need to do a better of job of communicating with them.”

“That was my entrance into the world,” Henderson said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Henderson grew up in a politically engaged home, she said, where she watched CBS anchor Walter Cronkite with her parents and often went to Des Moines with them to lobby on farm issues. Her dad, a farmer, was quite active in the Farm Bureau. “I remember going to political events at a very young age,” she said. In fact, she thinks there is a 1967 Des Moines Register photographof her as a toddler on the Senate floor.

Henderson was hooked on politics and radio by the time she got to college. As a sophomore at Iowa State University, she served as a statehouse correspondent for WOI-AM. She used to sit on the balcony and give play-by-play coverage of the legislators’ debates — the original live-blogging as it were.

The first time Henderson was live on the air, the Legislature was debating the legalization of the Iowa lottery system. “My full-time WOI supervisor, who provided primary coverage for the radio station, was out of town at a wedding,” she said. “I was the only one there so I got to go live on the air for six straight hours. … It was a great learning experience because, as you know, debates have long lulls or intervals while decisions are being made on the floor about amendments or the ebb and flow occurs. During those intervals when legislators were not on the floor, I had to fill that time.”

In June 1987, Henderson, having recently graduated college, became one of three founders of the Radio Iowa network newsroom, which is approaching its 20^th anniversary; she became news director in 1994.

Henderson said that she liked radio as a medium more than newspapers or television. “I enjoy radio because the voices of news reporters paint a word picture in your mind and convey emotions in a way that quotes in a newspaper story can’t [do],” she said. “And in television, one gets lost in the pictures,and often the words float away to Pluto and no one can digest them.”

She called radio “a great joining of words and audio to paint those word pictures” and furthermore, “it was something I was good at.” Plus,“I just found that I had an affinity for it.”

Along with the job, technology has changed over the years. “I started on a manual typewriter,” she said. Now she uses a computer and digital recording for her sound work. “The transformation of the industry in which I work has been remarkable from a technological point of view.”

That change is also evident in the fact that Henderson, like others in the Iowa mainstream media, has a blog. “I enjoy blogging,” she said. “It gives me an outlet for telling people the rest of the story that I’m not able to tell them in 40-50 seconds on the radio. It allows me to sort of take people on the roller-coaster ride that is covering a political campaign.”

She finds blogging similar to her childhood when she would tell her parents what happened at school that day. “I imagine I’m sitting down with my parents and explaining them the pageantry, the verbiage, the whole package,” she said. “Painting a word picture for them.”

Henderson said she reads a lot of national and Iowa blogs. She mentioned Ben Smith’s and Jonathan Martin’s blogs at The Politico. She said “of course” she reads ABC’s The Note, as well as the New York Times blog, the Hotline blog and Time magazine'sblog. “I basically consume as much of the stuff that’s out there,” she said. “When I read blogs or read stories, what I’m trying to find out is the context of the campaign. And that’s what I try to bring to the listeners. I try to provide them context. These events don’t happen in a vacuum.”

She also mentioned several Iowa blogs she read, though she said she feared she had left some out. She said she used to read Krusty Konservative. She reads Bleeding Heartland, as well as John Deeth’s Blog and Political Forecast by Chris Woods; the latter two currently write for Iowa Independent.

Henderson is one of the top reporters in her field; she also happens to be one of the limited number of women covering politics nationwide. “Obviously it’s something that professional organizations talk about,” she said. “I talk about it with my peers.” Still, she said,the number of female political reporters is increasing, at least in Iowa. Only two female reporters covered the Iowa statehouse when she started, but now most of the legislative reporters here are women, she said.

Henderson said she's grateful her parents let her choose her own path. “I was born when my dad was 52, and it’s very unusual for someone in his generation to encourage a daughter in the ways he did,” she said. “I showed cattle. There were never any gender roles laid out. I think I was lucky that I was encouraged to pursue whatever career I chose. It just so happens that I chose a career in politics.”

Yepsen, who has been a columnist since 2000, said that when he sits down to write a column he usually chooses between two kinds, rant or analysis. With a rant, “you’re just mad about something,” he said. “And you just rant and rave a little bit.” As for an analysis: “You’re taking a situation and trying to examine what is happening … and what it may mean.”

“I view my job as trying to explain politics to our readers and what it may mean. The function of journalism is to make a community better. I’m committed to making it better.” Doing so means he’s often on different points across the political spectrum.  “Sometimes that puts me on the conservative side of things. I think that government spends too much money,” he said. “But I’ve got views that are seen as liberal,” noting he supported gay civil rights as well as an increase in the minimum wage. “I think columns get too predictable.” He said he hoped that even when readers disagreed with him on an issue, that the column was interesting and made them think about it. “If I’ve given them a new perspective,” he said, “I’ve succeeded.”

When first reached by phone Wednesday, Yepsen asked if he could postpone the interview until later in the day — he needed to finish his latest blog post. That the dean of the Iowa political press corps is now a blogger undoubtedly says something about the changing media environment. “Clearly the arrival of the Internet and the blogosphere has changed journalism and I think it’s healthy,” he said. “I work in the mainstream media and some in the mainstream media complain about it. I don’t. I think it’s a great democratizing thing.”

Yepsen said that he was pleased with the emergence of the blogosphere even when he has found its guns trained at him. “I think it’s wonderful that people are expressing their opinions and have that outlet — even when they’re critical of me,” he said. “It’s the First Amendment in action.” Yepsen said he had a few favorite blogs on the Iowa and national scene but declined to identify them for fear of leaving someone out. “I try to spend a little time each day because I know that it has an impact on politics,” he said. He also noted that blogs “come and go. … Look at Krusty Konservative, he just hung it up. Never did know who it was.” Yepsen said the blogosphere “does get a little uncivil at times but it’s a free country.”

The latest polls out of the Register show Mitt Romney with a large lead among GOP caucus-goers and John Edwards ahead by a smaller margin among Democratic caucus-goers. Yepsen, however, cautioned against reading too much into these polls, which have a 4.9 percent margin of error. “For both parties,” he said, “there is a long way to go.”

On the GOP side, “Romney is clearly ahead,” Yepsen said. “He’ll take that but two-thirds of Iowa Republicans want something else.” The poll also noted that 87 percent of respondents said they could be persuaded to support someone else.

Edwards’ lead in Iowa shouldn’t be surprising, Yepsen said, because he’s still the favorite son for many Iowa Democrats. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s third-place standing in the polls, however, should be worrisome to her campaign — and we’ve seen that it is. “I think Clinton’s got problems,” Yepsen said. “Her trend lines are headed down.” He thinks Iowa Democrats have two opinions of Clinton. “[Some] are not happy with her handling of the war in Iraq. They want her to apologize for her vote.” Others, he said, like Clinton but don’t think she could win the 2008 general election. “When you’re dealing with caucus goers, they also care about electability. That’s what killed Howard Dean. They liked what he had to say but…”For these Democrats, it’s “nothing personal, just business,” he said.

On the other hand, Sen. Barack Obama has the potential to seriously challenge Edwards for the hearts of Iowa Democrats, Yepsen said. “He’s steadily moved up [and is] working the state hard.” Many people appear to be looking for something fresh, he said. The big crowds coming to see Obama suggest “there’s something going on there–the challenge is turning them out on caucus day.” Nonetheless, the electricity surrounding Obama is real, he said, and “it’s something for us to watch.”

Yepsen urged Iowans to learn about the campaigns and to attend the caucuses next year. “We’re fortunate in Iowa to see these people up close, to interact with them. We can learn a lot. [It's] unfortunate that some people complain about things but don’t go to the caucuses. More than any other Americans, Iowans have an opportunity to influence who the next president is.”