Posted September 04, 2019in Political Mercury
Slate of events, national attention expected for Sept. 7 event on town square. California Congressman Ro Khanna sees so much potential in Jefferson that he brought a delegation from Silicon Valley, the technology center of the nation, to visit the Greene County seat in December. Just weeks later, Iowa Gov.
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Posted July 31, 2019in Political Mercury
Vilsack influence emerges in former vice president’s national rural plan. Interviewing surrogates, family members, friends or political associates of the actual candidates for office is most often an eye-rolling obligation more than an opportunity for journalists. But there are some notable exceptions. Former Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia was far
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Posted July 03, 2019in Political Mercury
Meanwhile, many are confused to the point of feeling trapped in a looping Abbott and Costello “Who’s-on-First” routine. In the war over pronouns, people who identify as neither fully male nor female on the sexual spectrum, are increasingly demanding respect, and Iowa State University’s president unequivocally backs a position of
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Posted June 05, 2019in Political Mercury
Democratic candidate contends senator’s military background hamstrings independence. Republicans forcefully pushed back on Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Eddie Mauro’s contention that Iowans deserve a “different kind of courage” than Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, showed in the military — a hierarchical environment Mauro suggests restricts independent thinking and forces veterans to
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Posted May 01, 2019in Political Mercury
Presidential candidate delves into rural issues, immigration. Onica Ulveling of Carroll stumped a stumping White House aspirant. If but for a moment. The 41-year-old pharmacist, a mother of two, asked Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke — who frames his candidacy as something of an urgent generational answer to questions he
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Posted April 03, 2019in Political Mercury
Buttigieg thinks he has chops to take on Trump. Ascending to the Oval Office is a “seismic jump” for senators and governors and national figures, says the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is in Iowa mulling his own bid for the presidency and making a case for generational
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Posted March 06, 2019in Political Mercury
She backs reparations for slavery in the form of $100 billion. Marianne Williamson contends the United States needs a visionary more than a “political mechanic.” It’s why the high-profile author and lecturer — a well-known guest on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” — is running for the presidency. Williamson — who
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Posted February 06, 2019in Political Mercury
Two more years of embarrassment will be an object lesson to King voters who looked the other way for years at his racist words and outrageous observations. (Editor’s note: The following column also published in the Carroll and Jefferson newspapers, which are both owned by Doug Burns’ family and serve readers in Congressman
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Posted January 02, 2019in Political Mercury
There’s a software revolution in America today, and rural Americans need to be armed. It’s possible Ro Khanna did more for Greene County, Iowa, in 16 hours on a past weekend than Steve King has in 16 years. Khanna, 42, a product of rural Pennsylvania who is in his first
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Posted December 05, 2018in Political Mercury
Abortion questions elicit extraordinary responses. Back in 2002, Doug Gross smiled widely as he fielded the question. “Your reputation proceeds you,” the Republican candidate for governor said in my office. I’d asked Gross a question I regularly pose to pro-life candidates: If your position on abortion prevails and the procedure
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