Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
According to CNN, former Sen. John Edwards will accept public financing for his presidential campaign. The news comes just days before the Federal Election Commission’s third-quarter fundraising deadline, prompting some to speculate that Edwards’ numbers will be disappointing. Edwards himself, however, claims that his decision was based on his principled support of the public financing system rather than issues of practicality.
The FEC regulations for state-by-state campaign expenditures may put a damper on Edwards’ ability to focus most of his resources on Iowa, the state that most pundits agree Edwards must win Iowa to continue his campaign.
Although the FEC has not released the final expenditure limitations for 2008, they have released estimates based on 2007 data. According to the estimates, Edwards would only be allowed to spend about $1.4 million in Iowa on paid media, direct mail, phone banks, overhead for office locations, etc. The former senator’s chief rivals, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have not accepted public financing, so the spending limits will not apply to them. Both national frontrunners will likely spend significantly more than that amount in Iowa before Jan. 14.
Traditionally, publicly financed candidates have used media markets in Iowa’s border states to reach caucus goers when they cannot spend more on in-state on advertising. The Illinois side of the Quad Cities has media outlets that reach much of eastern Iowa, and Omaha’s media outlets reach many western Iowa caucus goers. Spending in those two markets would not count (in full) toward the Iowa expenditure cap. (Likewise, candidates hoping to reach voters in New Hampshire have been known to use media outlets in Boston, Mass..)
Still, this decision will likely put Edwards at a disadvantage in the TV ad war that is likely to break out in the month leading up to the Iowa Caucuses.
But Dan Leistikow, Iowa Communications Director for the Edwards campaign, remains optimistic. “History shows us that winning Iowa isn’t about big money, it’s about big ideas,” he told Iowa Independent, “and John Edwards believes that public financing of campaigns is an idea worth fighting for. We will have all the resources we need to win Iowa as well as the general election.”
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