Governor Branstad says that he wants Iowa to be a healthy state.  How can this be when the Governor says he will deny 84,000 low income Iowans to have good, accessible health care, which happens with his emphatic refusal to expand Medicaid in favor of IowaCare?   The new Healthy Iowa Plan, which Branstad announced, would still deny 61,000 Iowans coverage compared to Medicaid expansion, covering 150,000 eligible citizens.  Branstad’s proposed plan would cost Iowa Taxpayers annually $163 million or more.   Under Medicaid expansion, the federal government will share in the health care cost 100% for the first three years and a minimum of 90% by 2020, which very much lessen the burden on Iowa Taxpayers

The Healthy Iowa Plan seem to be based on patient responsibility assuming patients’ need for medical services was their fault for not taking care of their selves.  Under this Plan Iowans would pay small premium or take on healthy habits such as, regular checkups instead of getting numerous tests and treatments.  Although it may sound good, it seems rigid and limiting.  What if Iowans need certain tests and treatments?   The new plan sounds like anything to save money on medical services for the poor.  It is too soon to know all the answers.

The Governor being so against Medicaid expansion, which is already appropriated, does not make logical sense.  By any chance, if the federal government can’t keep its funding promises; Iowa can always re-evaluate its participation in Medicaid expansion.  Could all of this end up by being another political strategy?

An online petition was started urging Governor Branstad to expand Medicaid, which covers 150,000 Iowans and save the state $131 million.  Currently, a total of 1,230 Iowans’ signatures are gathered by this online petition plus off line.  This petition is still going on, so if you haven’t signed, please do so and show the Governor and legislators that Iowans really want Medicaid expansion.  To sign this petition, go to the Web Site, SignOn.org and find the petition under the title of “Urge Governor Branstad to expand Medicaid. “  Click on this petition, sign and, maybe, comment.

Written by

Kathleen O’Leary

by

Thomas O'Donnell

Bill Brauch, Chair, Third Congressional District Democrats

When people, including Mitt Romney, state that Obama isn't keeping his promises for improving the economy and employment, they unintentionally, or intentionally, ignore the economic situation thorough which the country has been.   The deficit Obama inherited created a very deep hole from which the United States had been working to traverse.   This eleven trillion dollar hole occurred when George W. Bush paid for two massive wars and two huge tax cuts for the rich on a credit card.  I was astounded at the time when he did this and wondered where it would lead.   Mitt Romney's cowboy attitudes against China and other countries are the same as those of George W. Bush, which took the U.S. to war in Iraq.  So, if Romney takes the U.S. into war, he could use his two trillion dollars military budget, which the military says is not needed.

Despite of this huge deficit, under the Obama Administration, the economy is coming back with great reviews.  This began with saving the auto industry in the bailout.  At a recipient of the stimulus money in Ames, Iowa, Governor Romney in a speech said it would take four or more years to reach the goal of twelve million more jobs. I guess it DOES take time to get the economy back on solid ground.  However, under Obama, we already have 5 millions more jobs, the unemployment rate is down, in the 7 o/o digits, and the GDP figures are up by 2%.

Romney's plan for dealing with the economic recovery is sketchy at best. All is known is Romney said it would take about eight years to get out of debt.  He wants a two trillion dollar military budget and to not raise taxes on anyone.  That doesn't add up mathematically. Romney said he would make up the money by eliminating deductions and loopholes, but which ones?   Romney states that, perhaps, deductions would be put in one pot and set an arbitrary monetary limit a person can take.  People would have to choose the deduction(s) they want within this limit. There is no telling what people's programs will be cut or eliminated and who will pay taxes to make up the difference.

President Obama has laid out a detail plan of an economic recovery that will last.   This plan includes creating 1 million manufacturing jobs by 2016; already 500,000 of such jobs have been established. Small businesses will be helped by cutting their taxes; investing money in entrepreneurs; and making sure that overseas markets will expand.  Obama recognized that quality education is an important building block to prepare the middle class for good paying jobs, thereby providing numerous jobs for good teachers. Increasing reliance on clean American energy is shown in Obama's goal of cutting the oil export in half by 2016, which is already being done by nearly 30% earlier in this year.  The deficit can be cut by 4 trillion dollars with closing special loopholes and those for the wealthy plus cutting expenses where it can be done.  Obama will cut the middle class' taxes. One of the biggest benefits of the Obama Administration is the health care reform, putting the individual's health in their own hands.  This reform let young people until 26 years old stay on their parent's health insurance; let those with pre-existing conditions have coverage; have no co-pay for preventative care; close the donut hole and make insurance affordable.

Let's stay with OBAMA, who is currently staying with the national citizens going through a huge hurricane with directing FEMA.  This is the caring OBAMA for all, especially the middle class.  Vote for OBAMA, so he can grow the economy from the middle class out, NOT from the top down.  I have not seen anything that has "trickled down."

by Kathleen O'Leary

That economic calamity took 12 years to climb out of and along the way 25% of the working population were out of work. The immediate priorities, then, didn't involve austerity measures and deficit reduction, as even President Hoover recognized when he called for higher tax rates on the wealthy. It entailed government leadership, driven by President Roosevelt's vision in many areas including securities reform, rural economic development, and economic productivity enhancing investments, such as the creation of hydropower assets in the South and West.

George W. Bush and his Republican policies of deregulation, tax cuts for the wealthy, and an unpaid war with Iraq that cost us $1.9 trillion dollars, about $6,300 per American, set the stage for much of today's deficit mess. Mitt Romney's proposed solution to lower tax rates won't increase the demand for more jobs. We create consumer demand by putting more cash in the hands of middle-class consumers to spend.

Diversity and community building are a couple; wedded by the needs of our children and families to become all of who they were created to be, both individually and collectively. Providing a community where each one can find themselves clearly and positively in our legislation, our school superintendent’s office and our school board as well as in the ownership of our neighborhood stores, neighborhood parks and recreation facilities.  When a child's name is called it should be synonymous with endless possibilities for great outcomes. We must remove the names of our children from any list that targets them and their families for least likely to succeed and for loading up on negative consequences..

A better nation, a better place, a safer place unfolds when every life is considered important and serves a much needed purpose for building the tapestry of difference. Each child and family celebrates their unique self, while recognizing and building on our strong threads containing shared goals and positive mutual expectations.

Let’s be the change we seek in the world.  Join the wave of people moving forward. It is up to each of us to be our sister, our brother’s keeper. We can learn to keep our eyes, our words, our hands and our hearts in a perpetual state of support and understanding for one another. Preserving the rights and dignity of those who share the planet with us is our job. After all it is the least we can do when God has done so much for us! 

I’m in, are you?

Mary L. Madison, State Affirmative Action Chair

Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee

            While today's Democratic Party is a more disciplined, well-run operation, there's still some truth to this. We have difficulty agreeing on some issues and congressional Democrats, in particular, are well-known for voting across party lines. It's because we welcome candidates and members with a range of political views, although they're bound by principles focused on relieving suffering,recognizing human dignity and striving for the common good. We don't excommunicate people for espousing less-than-hard left views. (This is, of course, in contrast to today's Republican Party, whose radical conservative wing has “primaried”anyone considered moderate and open to compromise. But that's a subject for another blog post.)

            The diversity of Democratic membership is just one reason right-wing conspiracy charges are so ludicrous. The latest, of course, is that somehow the September unemployment figures were too good to be true. Former General Electric chief executive Jack Welch led the charge (he later backed off) with other conservative bloggers and pundits – and at least one GOP congressman – chiming in.

            Of course, this is utter manure, as Harry Truman might have said. How could anyone conduct and keep secret a plan to twist data from an agency with an air-tight reputation for security and precision? Even more wild: Democrats somehow plotted to lie in mass numbers about their employment status to push unemployment down.Really? They give us too much credit for being devious.

            If you want conspiracies, there's a lot more evidence for organized efforts on the Republican side. In fact, they're not really conspiracies, in that such plots usually are secret. Republicans have made no bones about what they want to do –and have done.

            “Plot”No. 1:  Pass a huge tax cut largely directed at the top earners. Don't do anything to pay for it.Add in a prescription drug benefit for seniors – but don't pay for it, either, and prohibit the government from negotiating lower costs with pharmaceutical companies. Go into two wars and do nothing to pay for those, either. Then sit back while a huge financial crisis unfolds, sending millions into unemployment, tanking revenues and exploding a deficit you created out of a surplus.

            In essence, Republicans created a debt “crisis.” Now they want to use it as an excuse to gut government programs for the poor and middle class while cutting taxes at the top – again – in the failed belief this will miraculously improve things for all of us. So, to restate: Run up a huge deficit, then use it as a bludgeon to kill programs you've opposed for years while helping your pals at the top of the economic ladder. A conspiracy? Maybe, maybe not, but that's the way it's played out.

            “Plot”No 2: This really is a plan – one their top leader in the Senate openly declared.

Start by blocking virtually all of the president's attempts to jump-start the economy, then blame him when growth is slow. Next, enlist  billionaires to back super PAC campaigns funding mendacious attacks on the president. Then, stage an organized effort to suppress minority votes for Democrats under the guise of stopping nearly nonexistent voter fraud.

            What do Democrats have to counter these machinations? Our biggest weapon is faith in Americans' common sense. But we also must respond with action, money of our own, and most importantly, the truth. As Mitt Romney has learned,Will Rogers was right about something else: “I guess truth can hurt you worse in an election than about anything that can happen to you.”

By

Thomas R. O'Donnell

By

Bill Brauch

By Gracie Brandsgard

When asked if he supported medical marijuana in 2008, President Obama said he did. President Obama also said he would be too busy with the war in Iraq and the Affordable Health Care Act to do anything about medical marijuana.  We've never had a President of the United States that has come out in favor of medical marijuana before.

In 2010, our own Iowa Board of Pharmacy (the branch of the Iowa Department of Public Health charged by the Iowa Legislature with evaluating controlled substances in Iowa) voted unanimously in favor of medical marijuana and recommended that Iowa legalize marijuana for medical use, followed soon after by the American Medical Association, the Iowa Medical Society, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and the Iowa Pharmacy Association.  So, Democrats have the support of medical professionals on this issue.

Here in Iowa, Senators Joe Bolkcom (D. Iowa City) and Jack Hatch (D. Des Moines) have consistently introduced bills in the Iowa Senate to have marijuana legalized for medical use and this year Representative Bruce Hunter (D. Des Moines) introduced identical legislation in the Iowa House.  What did Republicans do?  They introduced their own bill in opposition to the Iowa Department of Public Health bill.

Republicans have been as mean spirited on this issue as it gets and don’t deserve our support. Please vote for Democrats across the ticket this coming November.

By Carl Olsen

Democrats aim to provide a better future, while preserving the best of the past. We want government that is good, does good, and works good. We want more schools, fewer prisons; more health, less disease; more cultivation of our better natures,less contention; more equity, less injustice; more sustainability, less degradation of nature; more hope, less despair; more jobs, less poverty; more peace and no wars.

We want leaders who do the right thing in the right way for the right reason and say so. We want people ranked above property, facts instead of ideology, and country ahead of partisanship. We want democracy at home, jobs here, and support for the Middle Class and those who have least. We welcome all who support these goals.

To achieve our goals, we support these core principles and fight for them:

•                  equal rights and opportunity under law.

•                  educating to the fullest through education at all levels.

•                  putting people ahead of property.

•                  peace through preparedness.

•                  good stewardship of land with clean air, water and energy in bio-diverse ecosys­tems.

•                  right to choose in family planning and marriage.

•                  government services consistent with a balanced budget.

•                  preservation of Constitutional rights and freedoms.

•                  affordable health care for all.

•                  open trade with countries with open trade, and fair dealing in all markets.

•                  free and open elections everywhere.

•                  assistance for the needy.

•                  collective bargaining.

•                  accountability for those who place government or economy in peril.

•                  enforcement of anti-trust laws and ending Constitutional personhood for corporations..

•                  support and care of veterans, and those in active service.

•                  public and political discourse that is civil.

•                  treating others as we would be treated.

•                  Supporting unions, civil rights organizations, minority groups, and others who support our principles.

•                  advocating,organizing, fund-raising, and campaigning to advance our principles.

If you believe in at least half of these, you’re a Democrat, too.

Here’s what we’re against.  Those who deregulated greed; allowed investment banks to go wild; turned a surplus into deficit; let the dollar plunge and trade deficit soar; cut taxes for those who had most; and enabled the Great Recession.

Those who resisted health care for the needy and a higher minimum wage; increased homelessness and hunger; foisted a litmus test on Supreme Court nominees;defended the unborn against the living; mortgaged students to banks;deregulated the environment; ignored laws; spied on citizens; suspended habeas corpus; supported rendition; opened concentration camps; invaded under false pretenses; killed 100,000 in an unnecessary war; and tortured.

Those who seek to cut aid to education; restrict reproductive rights; reduce access to health care; disestablish unions; restrict voting; cut services without raising taxes; and take “security” out of social security.  We denounce their drift to plutocracy. Their plan is “more to the top, less to the bottom, and squeeze the Middle.” This threatens democracy, because no democracy has been created or long endured in the absence of a strong middle class.

We oppose government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. This has given us unemployment, weaker schools, less opportunity, children burdened with debt,degradation of the environment, grid-locked government, inequity, inequality,injustice, greed, a shattered economy, unnecessary war, and a shrinking Middle Class.

The immediate task of the Democratic Party is to undo the ruin that ideologues have foisted on us and to prevent them from doing it again. That’s why I’ll be voting Democrat and why you should, too.

By Jim Sutton

President Obama scrutinizes a situation before shooting from the lip. He is a leader, who carefully analyses situations and has made the best calls in foreign policy that he could, rather than engaging in histrionic rants like Mitt Romney did after the attack in Libya at our consulate. President Obama understands the “Cold War” is over. Mitt Romney claims Russia and China are our enemies. The mistaken notion Romney has of the world comes from listening to Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, John Bolton, and Condoleezza Rice. These neo-cons got us into a war in Iraq that should never have been prosecuted. Romney’s statements in his presidential campaign could wind up starting another nuclear arms race and possibly World War III.

President Obama listens to his advisors. He has surrounded himself with highly qualified cabinet and military advisors. He also expresses himself knowledgeably, unlike Mr. Romney. President Obama is not wishy-washy, or flip-flopping on other issues. His positions on Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Health Care, and women’s health care issues have not changed one bit.

President Obama has a jobs bill that has been pigeonholed by the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner. The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell stated his number one objective was, “to make Barrack Obama a one term president” the day after President Obama was sworn into office. This partisan gamesmanship and brinksmanship have slowed the economic recovery and harmed many families. The Republicans have obstructed every idea, plan or piece of legislation the President has proposed. They even let the farm bill languish until after the election.

I was a registered Republican until 1992. The Democrats have compassion, vision and a can do attitude in getting things done. Democrats put the nation first and take care of the veterans far better than Republicans. We are all in this together. Mitt Romney has dismissed 47% of us as lazy, moochers and slackers. He does not understand the plight of anyone who is not in his financial stratosphere. President Obama has the maturity, background and understanding to lead all of us effectively if he can get Congressional cooperation. It is time to move FORWARD! Let’s win back the House, 60 Democrats in the Senate and President Obama and Vice President Biden.

Please do all you can in getting people registered to vote and to the polls. This election is the most important one in my 61 years of being on this earth. Let’s get going FORWARD!

Mark Challis

by John Lippincott

Much of recent political comment centers on the belief that hard working people are supporting those who refuse to work. We have to face the fact that to some extent this is true. While I’m sure their percentage is far far less than the 47% of Americans disparaged in Gov. Romney’s speech, there is likely some.

So what are we to do? Some say the American tradition from Jamestown on is,“Those who don’t work don’t eat.” (Though one should point out the policy was directed at the gentlemen who refused to work because they thought it was beneath them as our country’s first one percenters). Some have suggested drug testing as a prerequisite for welfare payments (even though Florida tried this and it didn't work and was prohibitively expensive).

Work should always be encouraged but let’s say that a person simply will not work or has a drug problem and will not, or cannot quit. Do we let them starve? Before we say yes, we must consider the unintended consequences. Some might turn to crime. Some have children who cannot be blamed and could perhaps overcome their condition with some help. The assumption that a hungry person will find work assumes that there is work and the person has not made himself unemployable through a poor work history or lack of skills.

We also have the enormous task of deciding who is deserving. There lacks a consensus. Some would simply say that all are children of God and deserving of charity. Others would be more hardline. At some point someone would have to decide that this person would be left to starve or steal and another person deserves help. Who would make the guidelines to establish a threshold for being deserving? How many Solomon’s would it take? A civilized society does not make that decision.

We have the welfare system we have because we have faith as Americans that if we help everyone through non-judgmental guidelines there will be a leavening affect and they will have a much better chance to escape poverty, and if not them, their children. It’s the American way.

By
Karl Schilling

       Stereotypes exist, usually due to lack of knowledge. Unfortunately, Democrats have the stereotype of spending more than Republicans. I’m not sure how this fallacy came to be because the facts chew up and spit out this stereotype.

       Republican presidents over the past two decades have racked up far greater increases in the debt than Democratic presidents. Share these numbers with anyone who starts complaining about Democrats spending too much:

%Debt Increase by President:     Source:Congressional Budget Office

Reagan  186%

Bush       54%

Clinton   41%

Bush II   72%

Obama   23%

       Now let’s set the record straight regarding the current Democratic administration:

       Republicans say the deficit is President Obama's fault, because he has exploded government spending and failed to fix the economy.

       Democrats counter that President Obama inherited a catastrophic economic mess, that this mess will take time to clean up so our massive deficit is therefore President Bush's fault.

       So, who'sright?

       President Bush inherited a budgetsurplus (the first in decades). Then, hit with a recession, he took the budget intodeficit. Bush chose to ignore the deteriorating financial system and cut taxes,growing the deficit to $400 billion a year.

       President Obama took over during the worst recession since the Great Depression. Faced with this grave situation, he signed an $800 billion stimulus at the same time that the gross domestic product and tax collections tanked. The combination of these two factors did raise the deficit.

       It’s true that President Obama has increased the size of federal government but President Bush actually increased federal spending by more than 2X as much as Obama.

       Today, the deficit is decreasing thanks to Obama’s policies. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office,the federal budget deficit for the just-ended 2012 fiscal year shrank by $207 billion from the prior year. The CBO also noted that the deficit’s percent of U.S. economic output has shrunk every year Obama has been in office.

       Since taking office, President Obama has found solutions to repair much of the damage done by Bush’s extreme mismanagement. It was Bush’s lack of leadership that produced a massive US debt, a failing economy, collapsing banks, bankrupt businesses and a record number of mortgages in default.

       With Obama’s intelligent and strong leadership, the US is making a comeback. The Obama administration has generated 31 consecutive months of positive job growth, saved 1.4 million jobs in the auto industry alone, enacted Wall Street Reforms to protect consumers and activated 18 tax cuts for small businesses.

       Let’s spread the word now, before the election -- Democrats are not big spenders.It’s Republicans that have spent money recklessly and pushed our country’s economy deep in the red. Fortunately, President Obama, a Democrat, is getting us back on track.

What’s Obama done for you?

PLENTY!

by Rose Brandsgard

Pat Ward did not show up. I was disappointed,but I learned that it was an unfortunate family illness that prevented her from being there. Moderator Dennis Goldford from Drake explained that in these circumstances they’d allow the party who was present, Desmund Adams, would be given 10 minutes to speak.

One of the final points Desmund made was how he hopes his moderate position would promote a much more civil climate in local politics. He illustrated this saying his 17-year-old son Kahlil, “ doesn't know what a card catalog is – all he knows is Google.” He followed that with he thinks that this abrasive or nasty political climate is normal, it’s all he’sever known. If you were born in the ‘60s or ‘70s, you remember a much more dignified and proper climate where politicians and public figures from opposite sides would treat each other with genuine respect, as a general rule. Desmund values such a climate and knows we can turn this ship around and return to such a climate.

 This point was especially timely after a rather ugly little outburst at the very start of this very brief event.  A man stepped to the podium to explain late start and that Pat Ward was unable to attend. The words were barely out of his mouth when the man directly behind me shouted,“What do mean?! Why? Why isn't she here?” Apparently not a fan of hers. The man at the podium was taken aback and explained it was an unfortunate family illness, something to that regard.

A man directly in front of me turned around to sort of scold the shouting man behind me with a short, “Hey, show some class.”The man behind me was still huffing and puffing a bit, he clearly came loaded for bear and torqued off that Ms. Ward didn't show. Man, I wish I had said something to the idiot who was spouting off.

Honestly, I’m glad that Pat Ward stayed home. As much as I wanted to hear her speak and explain her positions (somewhat contrary to mine), I would've been embarrassed if she’d been peppered with rude questions or heckling from this man and perhaps others in the crowd. It’s OK to be opinionated and active in politics. It’s just unfortunate when a few zealots end up spoiling a perfectly civil public discourse. That’s something we averted today, but I fear there’s more just around the corner. People like this come from both sides of the aisle, even a third camp when you count the Ron Paul Libertarian crowd. Yes, it’s a free country where we’re encouraged to speak our minds. Unfortunately, it’s not illegal to be an idiot. What you and I can do is stand up to rude and ugly behavior or this will keep getting worse. As Ron Burgundy would say, "Stay classy, people."It's almost over.

In this photo, Desmund Adams puts real sweat equity into his campaign. On a hot, sweaty night in August he was pounding stakes into signs like this in my front yard. A genuine hard worker, Desmund will roll up his sleeves to get things done in a very classy manner.

Since that day, I have been a volunteer for both parties andworked for candidates I felt were worthy. Switching back and forth from the GOP to the Democratic Party was notonly fun, but very informative.  Ilearned the philosophies of both parties and really understood what they stoodfor and what they wanted to accomplish. They had different ideals, but they were not really so far apart.

This campaign of 2012 has changed all that, and hassurpassed any disagreements ever expressed by the two parties. Even in the 60’sand 70’s, when there was more rhetoric and social outrage, we didn’t have suchdivision of the populous.   Now I find that both friends and family aremoving away from me because I am “too liberal”. I have not changed my views. But somebody has. Suddenly my family andfriends are becoming narrow-minded and hateful. It seems to stem from a news source, and certain rabble-rousingcommentators who influence people for purposes known only to them.  I don’t know how to battle these half-truths.I have shown my friends where the fallacies are, but they refuse to see.  “None are so blind as those that will notsee”. 

I am certain that President Obama will win this election, as most Americans are sensible and caring, sharing people.  They see him as a guiding light in a wilderness of greed and legal thievery.  If I have to pay a price of losing the camaraderie of friends and family members, so be it. We obviously never had anything in common in the first place. 

Maybe when this election is over, people will see that they have been manipulated and will return to their sensible beliefs.  Certainly, we as a Nation will move forward,with or without them. 

by

Saundra Ragona

Please allow me a few minutes to explain.  The last four years have been extremely difficult for millions of Americans struggling with unemployment, foreclosure, medical issues, and rising student debt, no doubt.  But we are a heck of alot better off than where the last Republican President left this economy.

President Obama has steered the nation away from the brink of Depression, a frightening time beginning in the fall of 2008 when this nation was in danger of a run on the banks and total financial collapse.  Detroit, and all the suppliers to the auto industry, about 15% of our economy, and by the way, the backbone of our national defense during periods of world war, was facing a wholesale manufacturing meltdown with General Motors and Chysler staring into the abyss of bankruptcy and widescale million+ job loss.
 
At the end of the Bush administration, 800,000 jobs were being lost monthly vs. the 200,000 or so private sector jobs that are being created now, though this latest August jobs report was disappointing about half of that likely, I believe due to uncertainty leading up to the election and what will happen on such policy issues as the "fiscal cliff."  Still, this recovery includes 30 straight months of job growth, and is progressing at about the same rate of job creation as the last 1980s recession, the biggest difference being the job loss hole dug by President Bush and 8-years of deregulation, two wars, and free spending, was much larger.
 
WALL STREET BAILOUT AND THE FEDERAL STIMULUS
 
It is important to keep in mind all the positive economic indicators.  The stock market has doubled since March of 2009, home prices posted their strongest gain in six years according to today's WSJ, and foreclosures are down.  Republicans would have us believe "the Stimulus" and the "Wall Street Bailout" were mistakes because they represented wasted government spending.  This is silly logic.  Without the Wall Street Bailout of the Banks (which President Bush and Secretary Paulson initiated), you and I and likely 20%+ of the U.S. workforce would be out of work in the midst of a Great Depression because our global financing system would have crashed.  And without the Stimulus, the states would have been forced to layoff tens of thousands of police, fire fighters, and teachers impacting your public safety and our children's education.
 
In addition, without the Federal Stimulus spending laid off workers would have been without medical insurance, veterans without benefits, and there would have been no extension of the Bush Tax cuts.  Isn't it strange how the Republicans don't like to talk about the fact that the about 40% of the Stimulus was, in fact, directed toward tax cuts, only it was more focused on putting money back into the pockets of the middle class so it could be spent to stimulate the economy?

Clearly, our $4 Trillion federal deficit needs to be addressed over the next four years using some basic common sense.  The Republicans propose to solve our deficity spending by continuing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, cutting a raft of entitlement related expenditures and programs that many Americans and Iowans rely on, and spending more on our military.  We already have the largest military budget in the world by a long shot -- 50% larger than the next 10 nations combined!  Isn't it time to ask the rest of the free world to contribute more to world security while we cut back on things like cold war troop deployments and getting the hell out of Afghanistan while we focus on the greater threats of global terrorism and nuclear proliferation?  Moreover, take a look at Paul Ryan's plan to solve our medicare spending problem which is to turn it into a voucher system for those of us who are still working.  I'm not in favor of a voucher program that will limit access to our health care system based on ability to pay.  I suspect many of you aren't in favor of that either.  Let's figure out how to lower costs, cut waste, and deliver services more efficiently and effectively like many of our European neighbors, which by the way have better health outcomes across many measures like average life expectancy and infant mortality.
 
NEW PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS
 
What is needed over the next four years is a vision that includes investing in America's energy grid and key infrastructure improvements that will drive productivity gains as the building of the great hydropower dams under the Roosevelt Administration during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and by such investments as the National Highway System by Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s.  President Eisenhower sold that program under is benefits for national defense during the Cold War, but in fact it provided tremendous gains in transportation efficiencies because trucks could travel efficiently across the country, saving gas and time. The system was largely paid for and is now maintained by user fees on gas.  
 
The same productivity concept applies to dams. They are largely self-financing. In the case of northwest hydropower they facilitated the development of the aluminum industry and our  aerospace industry because aluminum production requires access to inexpensive electrical power. The dams in the northwest actually helped us win World War II because Boeing was able to produce thousands of lightweight aluminum bombers and fighters at low cost.  Another area for gains in productivity is even related to tourism.  Our National parks need upgrading to accomodate more visitors, domestic and foreign.  These investments can be self financing.  In contrast, upgrades to high speed rail across the country are largely ill-advised.  In the Northeast, track improvements could possibly be self-financing, but in places like the Midwest and West most of these projects don't pencil out due to lack of population density like there is in Europe and Asia.
 
REFORM TRADE AND TAX POLICIES
 
The other major structural change that needs to be happen is to re-align our trade policy so that companies are not encouraged to produce good and services abroad by factories that wouldn't be allowed to operate in this country because they don't meet environmental or labor standards.  This makes no sense. We apply regulations in this country to manufacturing that are critical for protecting our our air, water and public health, and yet we don't have a level playing field for imported products that don't meet these same standards. We then scratch our heads when we wonder what happened to millions of manufacturing jobs. Huh?

The solution to our manufacturing and trade problems isn't as the Republicans would like us to believe to lower our regulatory standards.  We see what happens to markets when deregulation goes too far.  We have derivative markets go haywire, we have commercial banks that use far too much leverage and then go bankrupt, and we have catastrophic oils spills in places like the Gulf that cost billions of dollars in lost economic activity not to mention the environmental impacts.  The better and wiser path forward is to raise the bar so that other nations have to meet our environmental and labor standards if they want access to our markets.

We also need to realign our approach to foreign taxation of U.S. corporations such that U.S. countries are incentivized to manufacture in this Country and to continue critical R&D work here and not abroad as is beginning to happen.  We need to get tough with countries like China which are shaking down U.S. companies for technology and intellectual property in exchange for market access.  How do we think China's military and space programs got to the point where they are today? 

We gave away a good deal of our technology, or they took it, or stole it while we largely turned a blind eye so that corporate chieftans could continue to report record profits. I, too, have benefited from shareprice improvements to my retirement portfolio, but this approach is self-defeating and it needs to change.  It won't be long before countries like China are competing with us on many more technology fronts like autos and planes. Just you wait.
 
THE PATH FORWARD REQUIRES STRENGTHENING THE MIDDLE CLASS
 
I agree with President Obama that the path forward is not an easy one, but the American people and America continue to be a place where people from around the world want to come for a chance at the American Dream. For example, I have had the good fortune to work with a number of Chinese businessman who dream to have their children come to live in this great nation. Why? Because of its freedom and opportunity, they tell me.

America can continue to be the land of big and small dreams if we recognize as Henry Ford did at the turn of the 20th century that we need a strong middle class.  The recent trend lines showing more concentration of wealth in the top 1% of Americans since the 1920s needs to be moderated if we are to remain the world's most productive and innovative and we can do that by creating a more level playing field for U.S. workers competing with those abroad.

This November, Americans can send a message to Congress by re-electing the President and demanding that members of Congress work collaboratively for the common good.  We need a Congress that is willing to work with the President on a bi-partisan basis as President Reagan did with House Speaker Tip O'Neil during the 1980s, and as President Clinton did with Newt Gingrich and the Republican Congress of his time.

A vote for President Obama in November will be a vote to strengthen the Middle class and continue down the road to a full recovery and prosperity.


John Norwood
West Des Moines

The costs of my brother's care were largely covered by insurance. But what about those Iowans who lack health care coverage? As the issue of health care reform is debated and discussed, it's not uncommon to hear a claim that citizens already have access to "free" care. However, for patients who have medical bills they can't pay, and forhospitals mandated to provide coverage at significant and sometimes unreimbursed expense, it is easy to see that services are not "free." The real question is, "Who pays?"

The question of payment responsibility was further complicated by the 6/28/12 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act but substantially limiting the law’s expansion ofMedicaid, a joint federal-state program that provides health care to poor and disabled people. Expanding Medicaid was one mechanism in the law to bring health care coverage to millions more Americans, including an estimatedadditional 150,000 poor and disabled Iowans. Now states are allowed to choose between participating in Medicaid expansion while receiving additional federal Medicare payments, or not expanding and continuing to receive existinglower payments. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad recommends that Iowa should NOT expand its coverage since he fears the federal government MIGHT NOT meet its payment obligations at some point in the future.

Personally, I think we should listen to the Iowa Hospital Association, whose members include hospitals from across the state such as Virginia Gay Hospital in my home town of Vinton, Iowa, and Mercy Medical Center - West Lakes which is located in Iowa House District 43. The Iowa Hospital Association recommends that Iowa SHOULD expand its Medicaid coverage as failure to do so is estimated to cost Iowa hospitals $2.3 billion in future Medicare funds over the next decade while still requiring them to bear much of the cost of caring for poor, uninsured patients.

Refusing to participate in the federal program does not mean the future medical service costs will go away. It simply means the question of "Who pays?" is left unanswered.

by

Susan Judkins

Candidate for House District 43

       In the tragicattack, U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others were killed.  Stevens was the American responsible forshaping the militias and politicians into a cohesive unit which caused thedefeat of the brutal dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Chris Stevens should beremembered as the American who was responsible for the spread of democracythroughout Libya.

       Apparently,Romney did not bother to get acquainted with the fact that the “statement ofapology” followed a demonstration in Cairo, a protest over a film created by anAmerican – a film which vilified the prophet Muhammad. The statement was thatthe administration “condemns the efforts by misguided individuals to hurt thereligious feels of Muslims,” as the film is said to be the cause of thedemonstration in Cairo.  A largepercentage of the Middle East is of the Muslim faith.  Does Mr. Romney feel that freedom of religionshould NOT be encouraged in this area?

       It was manyhours later when gunmen stormed the consulate in Benghazi and four Americanswere killed. Intelligence officers have stated that this attack was most likelyplanned long before, by a faction of al-Qaida, having secret camps in Libya,and that is had been planned to coincide with September 11.  Romney did not find is necessary to get allthe facts regarding the time line of these events and the time line couldn’t bemore critical! 

       The MuslimBrotherhood, on Wednesday, condemned all violence in the region.  Of course, Obama not only condemned theviolence, but also sponsored the dispatch of two warships to the Libyan coaston Wednesday.  The ships carry cruisemissiles and the commanders are capable of responding to any mission ordered bythe president. “And make no mistake. Justice wil be done,” said the President.

        Investigatorsare still trying to determine what savage militants are definitely responsiblefor the death of U.S.Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.  However, many are leaning toward the theorythat it was a terrorist attempt, commemorating the anniversary of 9-11.

Cynthia Coppock

•             Provide leadership on equality – My opponent is on record to, for the first time in our states’ history, codify discrimination.  I will provide solid,inclusive leadership for all the citizens of the district and Iowa;

•             Provide leadership on economics – The middle-class is the engine of our economy. I will fight to stop the tax shift from business to property owners while being a good steward of the taxes we collect;

•             Provide Leadership for education – To cut funding for education while burdening our graduates with more debt is cutting the future of Iowa’s economic success. I will work to provide leadership to restore Iowa’s legacy of great higher education and job training;

•             Provide legislative leadership – For too long Iowa has been held hostage to old ideas that have failed in the past and will fail our future.  I will bring a sharp mind and fresh ideas to move Iowa forward for all our people.

Leadership is what sets my candidacy apart from my opponent.   I invite you to examine my plans through my website, www.DesmundAdams.comand click on my video to learn my story.   We can also connect there as well. No matter where in the county you live my election to help hold the Iowa Senate is critical.  I invite you to join me.

Desmund Adams, Democratic Senate Candidate – District 22(Clive, Waukee, WDM, Windsor Heights)

For media and further information you may also contact:

Michael P. Libbie, Director of Media/Communications

Michael@AdamsForSenate.org

515-570-2220 (Cell)

The President has cut taxes for all working families and enacted Wall Street Reform to end risky bank practices. Through America's new Affordable Health Care Act insurance premiums are reduced, children can be covered on their parent’s policy until they are 26 years old. Millions of uninsured Americans are now, for the first time in many cases, insured.

The President has shown great understanding of the need to invest in our students, by doubling funding for Pell Grants to help students pay for college and get good jobs once they graduate.

President Obama is respected at home and globally. The American   President Mr. Obama is hailed abroad. Because of his leadership, our allies rest assured of our commitment to a safer world for all of us, at home and abroad! President Obama is the leader we need for such a time as this.

Don't blow it America!   Re-elect President Obama for an America built to last!

by Mary Madison

Whereas Senator Tom Harkin wants to use the CPIE - Consumer Price Index Elderly to determine cost of living adjustments for Social Security, the Ryan Republican budget proposes using the Chained CPI. It is based on the assumption that a lower COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) is acceptable for people on a fixed income because consumers substitute cheaper products when prices go up.

Where does this idea fail? It creates an immediate and future cut in Social Security. For example, health care costs consume a large amount of seniors' income. These costs cannot simply be substituted with a cheaper version. A senior cannot just substitute triple bypass surgery with a double because it's cheaper. The chained CPI ignores this reality and instead is a back door way of trying to balance the budget on the backs of our nation's seniors.

It is an immediate Social Security benefits cut, a real cut to the benefits you have earned every year into the future.

It hits today's Social Security beneficiaries. Some politicians say their cuts to Social Security will not affect those getting benefits today. WRONG! Switching to the chained CPI would hit all current beneficiaries now! Immediately a 65-year-old senior would lose $106, at age 70 that jumps to $318, at 75-$477, at age 80-$689, at age 85-$848, at age 90-$1060, at age 95-$1219. This looks even worse when considering that the average Social Security income for a single 65+ in Iowa is $13,920, for a couple, $14,710. The average costs for a single w/o a mortgage is $18,576, for a couple, $29,580. So we are already behind, and the chained CPI would put us even further away from attaining economic security in our older years.

We need a higher COLA, not a lower one. The CPIE - Consumer Price Index for the Elderly - is part of Senator Sherrod Brown's (D-OH) bill, called the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act, S.1876 that would require the establishment of a price index that accurately reflects costs for Social Security beneficiaries. This would be used when computing increase in the COLA and would consider typical seniors' costs, including medical care and housing costs to ensure that seniors' Social Security benefits keep pace with inflation.

by Midge Slater

            Kirkwood called the legislature into special session and on Sept. 11, 1862 Iowa became the first state to accept the Morrill Act’s terms. The sale or lease of more than 200,000 federally owned acres provided an $800,000 endowment – a huge sum in those days – for the fledgling Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm – the ancestor to Iowa State University. ISU’s Extension Service has helped Iowa farmers modernize operations and boost productivity with the latest research-based practices. It’s helped parents raise children and feed them better. It’s helped businesses run more efficiently. No one can deny Kirkwood made a good bet: ISU research, graduates and service have helped the state prosper.

            Now imagine if Terry Branstad was governor in 1862. “Not interested,” he might say. “Too many strings attached,” he might say, or “it’ll just cost us more later.” You have to wonder, because that’s what Branstad says about another too-good-to-pass-up deal: the Affordable Care Act’s funding to extend Medicaid to thousands of Iowa’s uninsured working poor. The federal government pays all the expansion cost in the early years and 90 percent in later years. It’s a bargain, but the governor’s threatened to reject it – largely because, like many hardline Republicans, he opposes the entire health care act and doesn’t want to be seen participating in any of it.

            It’s not just stupid; for some Iowans, it could be fatal. A study released last week showed that when states expanded their Medicaid programs to give more poor people health insurance, fewer people died (as the New York Times reported).

            Branstad’s rejection is a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Too bad the Iowans least able to bear the consequences will suffer the most.

Thomas R. O’Donnell

Urbandale, IA

            James Madison, the father of the Constitution, was one of the most monumental flip-floppers in American history.  He helped develop the first political party, the Federalists, to build national support for the new Constitution; this new Constitution did not include a written Bill of Rights, and Madison wrote that it was unnecessary.  As a member of the First Congress from Virginia in 1790, however, Madison’s first order of business was to propose a national Bill of Rights, which he saw as necessary to unify the country.  (Interestingly, while Madison initially believed the states could adequately protect individual rights, one of his failed amendments actually denied states the right to deny certain rights to citizens, setting the stage for what would later evolve into the 14^th Amendment after the Civil War.)  Later in his career, as Federalist President John Adams restricted free speech and free press with the Alien and Sedition Acts, Madison helped form a new party, the Democratic-Republicans, in response.  I sincerely doubt Madison’s “flip-flopping,” based on one of our history’s most brilliant minds working through complex issues, would be viewed as a lack of character.

            Another great American hero, Abraham Lincoln, experienced a dramatic evolution in his political thought that ultimately saved the nation.  Lincoln originally expressed that his ultimate goal was to save the union, and he didn’t care whether that meant maintaining slavery.  Later, as he realized that he could no longer support slavery morally or politically, he considered colonizing newly freed slaves in Latin America so they would not live among whites in the U.S.  As the Civil War went on and continued to shape his psyche, he would later support emancipation, allow black regiments to serve in the military, and write the brilliant words of the Gettysburg Address which finally began to connect the African American population to the Declaration of Independence.  This evolution helped shape Lincoln’s legacy as one of our greatest Presidents.

            This brings us to President Obama and the same sex marriage debate.  When campaigning in 2008, Obama said he supported equal rights through civil unions for same sex couples, but that marriage was between a man and a woman.  I disagreed with this stance and still do, believing it to be a new version of separate but equal.  As times have changed over the last few years, including the Supreme Court of our great state recognizing that a ban on same sex marriage was a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14^th Amendment, President Obama has changed, or “evolved,” to realize that civil marriage and all of its legal implications is a right that should be protected for same sex couples as well; his executive order to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court was a step in the right direction toward promoting the equal rights proclaimed in the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and protected against state intrusion by the 14^th Amendment.

            When President Obama explains that he has evolved on the same sex marriage issue, he is showing greater strength of character in his ability to think through issues, recognize mistakes, and grow as an individual and a leader.  Marriage equality is under attack by the conservative wing of the Republican Party for reasons that have nothing to do with the Constitution, and the results are an affront to anyone who claims to support American principles of liberty and equality.  Let us hope that those who would deny equal civil rights to fellow citizens have the ability to evolve as well.

By Jason Danielson

By Rose Brandsgard

Since taking office in January, 2009, Barack Obama has found solutions to repair much of the damage done by Bush’s extreme mismanagement.

With Obama’s intelligent and robust leadership, the US is making a comeback. During his administration, Obama has accomplished so much yet Republicans, Independents and even some Democrats have forgotten his accomplishments and dwell on the negative.

Remind these non-believers that Bush’s lack of leadership produced the largest US debt ever, a failing economy, collapsing banks, bankrupt businesses and a record number of mortgages in default. This is what President Obama had to deal with beginning on his first day in office.

Despite this pessimistic outlook, The President dug in and fought for changes that benefit the working middle class and those who are struggling to stay ahead of debt. He has enacted brilliant policy changes including changes that cut taxes, save and create jobs and protect our environment.

Now it’s easy to defend the President’s record. Just cut out and carry this condensed list of President Obama’s top 14 accomplishments so you can share it with your doubting friends:

1.    Health Insurance Reform that provides the largest health care tax cuts in history for middle class families & provides coverage for pre-existing conditions.

2.    Medicare trustees say that the savings from health reform will extend Medicare by 12 more years.

3.    Recovery & Reinvestment Act which has already created 3.7 million jobs.

4.    Financial Regulatory Reform protects consumers and ends bailouts.

5.    Cash for Clunkers saved the auto industry & tens of thousands of jobs.

6.    Doubled funding for college Pell Grants.

7.    Cut taxes for large and small businesses & implemented incentives to create more jobs.

8.    Closed tax loopholes to discourage sending jobs overseas.

9.    Signed an $858 billion tax cut for the middle class & extended unemployment insurance.

10.    Re-established US ethical & trustworthy reputation around the world.

11.     Announced Osama Bin Laden’s death.

12.     Set new fuel efficiency and emission standards for the auto industryto protect the environment.

13.     Nominated 2 women to serve on the Supreme Court.

14.     Repealed the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

By Rick Smith

            Fortunately, the magazine also does significant journalism, including covering politics with profiles and analysis of the national scene. In 2008 Esquire named Iowa Republican Steve King one of the 10 Worst Members of  Congress – a list that included people from both parties. The magazine also regularly makes predictions about nearly every Congressional race in the country.

            Esquire's May issue included a column by Charles P. Pierce, one of their political observers and bloggers. Titled “Into the Wilderness,” argues that the Republican Party has lost its way, overtaken by extremists. With the tail of the Tea Party wagging the dog of mainstream conservatism, few GOP candidates can be elected today without denying the science behind human-created climate change, pledging to block tax increases of all stripes no matter how dire the fiscal circumstances, and promising to block the rights of women to control their bodies.

            All of this was familiar to me, having watched Republican presidential candidates race to the hard right to appease Tea Party activists. But in his last paragraph Pierce gives voice to a fear that I hadn't fully recognized: “The state legislators now passing all manner of crazy laws represent the next generation of national Republican leaders.”

            Evidence of this is unmistakeable in Iowa. In the last year or two, we've seen extremist Republicans push for a “constitutional carry” law gutting gun regulations. They've tried to weaken public employee collective bargaining rights, giving management license to dismantle the middle class. They've sought to declare that life begins at conception, denying a woman's right to choose and petitioned the state to block Medicaid from covering abortions for rape and incest victims. And they've introduced a constitutional amendment denying a segment of Iowans the right to marry whom they choose.

            As Pierce predicted, these extremists are planning moves to the national stage, led by Tea Party favorite Kim Pearson of Pleasant Hill. In her one term representing House District 42, Pearson has proudly touted her extremist philosophy, especially when it comes to a woman's right to choose. She's sponsored provisions banning abortion in all forms – even when a pregnancy endangers a woman's life.

            Now Pearson is seeking a seat on the Republican National Committee, hoping to move party policy further to the right and recruit like-minded candidates.

            It's a travesty that this post was held for  many years by Mary Louise Smith, a traditional Republican respected by both sides. If Smith were alive today, she'd undoubtedly be cast as a RINO: Republican in name only.

            Just as ominously, the Tea Party has turned its attention to finding more Pearsons. At a June 10 rally at the Iowa Capitol, Des Moines Tea Party founder Charlie Gruschow told The Des Moines Register he and other leaders are “shifting their focus to statehouse and congressional races where there are candidates who embrace their beliefs.”

            In his Esquire piece, Pierce asserts that for the good of the country's political system, the Democratic Party “has an obligation to beat the Republican Party so badly, over and over again, that rationality once again becomes a quality to be desired.”

            He's right, but given that state legislatures are where extreme right-wing policy gestates, it's critical to start at that level. In Polk County and across Iowa, we must recruit, finance and support strong local and legislative candidates, ones unafraid to spotlight the draconian nature of hard-right policy. As Pierce notes, the Republican right wing will not listen to reason; they are pure ideologues unafraid of defeat. So defeat them we must.

by Thomas R. O'Donnell