Stories

(Update: Dems Shoot Down McCain’s Alternative GI Bill

Senate Democrats held off a Republican ambush to advance its own version of a new GI Bill Wednesday, shooting the amendment down by a 55-42 vote.)

During an election year, there is no such thing as a sure thing in congressional politics. The latest uncertainty surrounds Sen. Jim Webb’s [...]

Election-year politics has taken center stage on the Hill in D.C. as the House prepares to do battle with the White House over the Iraq war funding bill. In the battle between the legislative and executive branches, the Democrats have switched tactics.

Last year Democratic leaders tried to tack on timelines for troop withdrawal to several [...]

During his 27-year tenure in Washington, D.C., Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has been a tireless advocate and watchdog when it comes to accountability. Whether protecting whistle-blowers or probing televangelists to divulge their tax records, the ranking Republican of the Senate Finance Committee has no reservations about sticking his nose into other people’s business, and now [...]

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other “liberals” are opening a “back door” for terrorist attacks in the United States.

King, a Kiron conservative who represents the sprawling 5th District in western Iowa, made comments that echoed those of President George W. Bush earlier this weekend. Bush says the inaction [...]

[Commentary] John McCain’s presidential candidacy has now collapsed so completely that, in a recent poll back home in Arizona, he is trailing for re-election to his own Senate seat in 2010 to popular, term-limited Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano.  Another poll, this one from Strategic Vision, shows 51 percent of likely Republican — Republican — caucus [...]

Iowa Independent has been covering the ongoing White House debate over Iran. Up until now, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had argued for diplomacy, had won the president's ear. But now the Guardian reports that Vice President Dick Cheney, who supports military action against Iran, has won the day, at least for now:
The [...]

This is Eric Black's first column on Iowa Independent.  To read more about the work he will be doing here and on our Center for Independent Media sister sites, click here.

As Congress prepares for a new raft of votes on funding for Iraq, an unnamed White House official tells the Associated Press that President [...]

[Commentary] Via Jonathan Martin, Chris Cillizza has an interesting profile of Alex Gage, the brains behind the 2004 Bush campaign’s microtargeting efforts. Microtargeting is the practice of sending tailor-made messages to specific voters based on their buying habits and demographics, among other traits. Though often used in commercial marketing, it's now a frequent factor in [...]

Chairs were hard to come by at the Blue Strawberry in Cedar Rapids Tuesday morning as roughly 100 individuals stopped by to hear Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden.
“If there is one thing I could tell you today that I hope you take with you, it is that the American people have never, ever let [...]

[Commentary] If there is one piece of advice given to parents that has remained solid through generations it is this: “Be consistent and follow through.”
From the time our children begin to test their boundaries, pediatricians, guidance counselors, therapists and teachers all agree the best thing a parent can do is set limits and adhere to [...]