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.
The Ron Paul Revolution will have a new face on its campaign in Iowa as veteran GOP activist Dr. Drew Ivers assumes the reins as Iowa’s campaign chairman. Ivers replaced Deputy Campaign Manager Joe Seehusen, who returned to Arlington to ramp up Ron Paul’s national campaign effort. The campaign raised $1 million last week in the final push before the end of the fund-raising quarter.
Ivers brings a wealth of veteran experience to the Iowa campaign front, not only as a Republican activist but also as a Vietnam veteran who received the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in combat. Since Ron Paul is the only GOP candidate against the war in Iraq by way of non-intervention, Ivers’ military experience should serve as an asset to the campaign’s outreach efforts to veterans and military members who share the same sentiment. Moreover, Ivers’ son is currently in the military and has served one tour in Iraq, which provides a new perspective on the current war.
Ivers also has sustained battle wounds from working in the political trenches while campaigning for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and serving as Iowa state campaign chairman for Pat Robertson in 1988 and Pat Buchanan in 1996 and 2000. Ivers, who helped lead Reagan to a victory in his district, touts his role as a campaign district coordinator as his first major steppingstone in his career as a political activist. Drawing comparisons to what he called the Reagan Revolution during the 1980 campaign, Ivers sees the same thing happening with the Ron Paul Revolution and wanted to take an active role in the cause.
“The cause for me is a sovereign, free, independent, prosperous people governing themselves and dictating their future through their actions and through the actions of the leaders in restoring the Republic,” Ivers told the Iowa Independent during a telephone interview. “We’ve now become absorbed in socialism, so much so that it’s becoming culture. The young and not-so-young don’t have a solid grasp of our heritage, so trying to revive that heritage and spirit of non-dependence on government control is why I’ve joined Dr. Paul’s campaign. I’m committed to helping Ron Paul steer us back to a government that inspires individual responsibility.”
(Read below the fold for rest of the article and exclusive interview with Dr. Ivers)Ivers believes the GOP began losing sight of its ideology and conservative tradition after Reagan’s departure, beginning with President George H.W. Bush, who, during his inaugural address promoted a new world order. “I believe the planet can work better with a number of sovereign nations working together in peace, in lieu in the current amalgamation of nations,” Ivers said. “Right now, the globalization culture is being dictated by national finance dictates such as the World Bank, NAFTA and the WTO. Bush Jr. called this nation building, and I’ve heard some of the Republican presidential candidates use this as well, including Rudy Giuliani.”
The Iowa Independent discussed the Ron Paul candidacy with Dr. Ivers during a telephone interview Sept. 24:
Iowa Independent: How would you respond to Ron Paul’s GOP rivals’ arguments that we need to engage and maintain global alliances or that otherwise unstable countries will become breeding grounds for terrorism, and the war will come to the United States?
Dr. Ivers: We’ve been on this globalization pathway for the past 50 years, long before 9/11 happened. In essence, 9/11 has become a good rallying point for the globalists. We see some exploitation of a national tragedy that is now being used by the international mentality to expand their agenda. It’s an exploitation of circumstances that’s heavily embedded in the Republican, and even more so the Democratic, culture of our country.
Iowa Independent: By their agenda, who are you specifically speaking about? Who are the they, or the them?
Dr. Ivers: The they is the two-party bipartisan system, mostly at the federal level, but it has a natural trickle-down effect as the states end up following suit.
Iowa Independent: Where would you place the neoconservatives in this spectrum?
Dr. Ivers: From my perspective as an Iowa citizen and as an observer from within the Republican party, I see the neoconservatives as a bridge from the traditional conservative viewpoints on issues to those conservatives leaning toward a globalistic stance. They’re somewhere in between.
Iowa Independent: Most of the Republican candidates are touting themselves as the true, real or authentic conservative? Where does Ron Paul fit into the conservative label scheme?
Dr. Ivers: Limited government. Look at Ron Paul’s record and you’ll find that he’s been incredibly consistent on limited government. Less taxes, less bureaucracy, and more accountability at the individual level. If you try to distinguish Ron Paul from all the other candidates, Republican and Democrats, all you have to do is ask them if they voted for proposals that would limit government, and they’re going to back off. They’ll try and wriggle around it and feed you some rhetorical clich
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