Political promises: On collision course with reality?
On the sidewalks of New York, longtime mayor Ed Koch, would ask passersby “How’m I doin’?” Iowa legislators would be ill advised to ask that, given the awful record of [...]
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Posted June 17, 2015in Guest Commentary
Posted May 20, 2015in Guest Commentary
The Iowa caucuses versus the U.S. Constitution
For all the red-white-and-blue hurrahs and chest thumping so dear to the hearts of those who promote the Iowa caucuses, it is sobering — even depressing — to consider how [...]
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Posted April 22, 2015in Guest Commentary
Iowa’s Straw Poll and Caucus: dream or nightmare?
The Iowa dream of homespun democracy now seems like more of a nightmare of electoral folly. The notion of grassroots selection of presidential candidates — thanks to the Iowa caucuses [...]
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Posted April 08, 2015in Guest Commentary
Time to update GOP platform, ala Cruz and Lane
The Iowa GOP needs to update the party’s platform to welcome what Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas sees as his Christ-driven presidential candidacy and to endorse the mission of David [...]
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Posted March 11, 2015in Guest Commentary
Charmed, I’m sure
By Kent Carlson Maybe it was the period in time I was raised, or maybe it was who raised me, but the term “charming” really wasn’t a big part of [...]
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Posted February 18, 2015in Guest Commentary
Sadly, for today’s Iowa GOP, it pays to be ignorant
GUEST #1 By Herb Strentz Although the Iowa press has not reported it yet, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has taken himself out of the Iowa caucus scene and the race [...]
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Posted February 11, 2015in Guest Commentary
Mirror, oh mirror, upon the wall, who is the government, after all?
Some people can’t take a joke. Like me, for instance — even when the joke is about a faceless government or government agency. And that’s a timely topic now, as [...]
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Posted February 04, 2015in Guest Commentary
A ‘dirty’ deal on those burdensome regulations
By Randy Evans You hear a lot of politicians talking these days about burdensome government regulations. Gov. Terry Branstad is one of them. But a proposed regulation moving through state [...]
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Posted January 21, 2015in Guest Commentary
Straw Poll kept alive by money, press and religious right
Brace yourself: The Iowa Straw Poll, endorsed by the State GOP, will return this summer in its role as a quadrennial horror story. Given how the maligned Poll was brought [...]
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Guns in church
A faith group in our town recently held a worship event with about 350-plus people in attendance. They expected people from several states and foreign countries including Nigeria, South Africa, [...]
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