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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.
[Commentary] Poll-topping John McCain and Rudy Giuliani should eye closely the Iowa movements of McCain’s lower-profile colleague in the U.S. Senate, Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas.
Brownback is a true believer social conservative, and a Christian who expands his scope of issues beyond abortion and homosexuality to matters of poverty, forced prostitution in foreign nations, fighting AIDS and recidivism in U.S. prisons.
Iowa evangelicals looking for a new, exciting voice, one with a Midwestern accent and fireplace-in-the-family-room personality, could opt for Brownback over the flashier former New York mayor and war hero McCain.
On Iowa Press this weekend, Brownback parried challenges solidly, and offered perhaps on the best lines on abortion and morality in the race so far, saying he wanted to protect the “child in the womb and the child in Darfur.”
He has an issue no candidate in the race talks about much, if at all: prison reform. Brownback actually believes convicted felons have innate value as humans (he's really burnishing his pro-life street cred here) and seems genuinely willing to talk about rehabilitation programs. This isn’t a top-tier issue by a long shot, but Brownback’s message of saving the worst sinners may find a place with Christians.
Brownback spent a night recently in the notorious Angola prison in Louisiana (on a fact-finding visit) to understand recidivism.
Many conservatives in Rotary Clubs and in Iowa churches are drawn to prison issues. They believe faith-based initiatives can turn lives around. What better place to showcase this than in prisons?
“There is a real need in our country to rebuild the family and renew our culture and there is a need for genuine conservatism and real compassion in the national discussion,” Brownback said in a statement.
Throughout our nation’s history there’s been a great deal of discussion about whether Christianity should mix with politics — and not as much focus on what kind of Christianity should inform political decisions.
If nothing else, Brownback sparks debate on the latter and redefines the “Christian candidate.” The Kansan likely will lay claim to the “compassionate conservative” label that George W. Bush minted but has yet to spend as president.
If Brownback is smart — and there’s every reason to believe he is — he comes to Iowa and spends some nights in our max prisons in Anamosa and Fort Madison, pre-Civil War structures.
He’ll garner media attention and attract more interest from the Christian right, which is suspicious of McCain’s bona fides, and uncomfortable with Giuliani’s comfort with gays.
At the racetrack — someplace one would never find Brownback — wise bettors always try to get a “good price” on a thoroughbred, one you think may be 3 to 1 but carries odds of 12 to 1 because other folks don’t see what you do. Sam Brownback fits perfectly into this framework where the Iowa Caucuses are concerned (with apologies for applying the gambling analogy).
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