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.
While stumping for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, in Iowa City, high-level surrogate Bill faced a tough audience: college students. Unlike the former president’s 2003 visit to Iowa City, when he spoke to more than 13,000 people in Carver Hawkeye Arena, Clinton had trouble filling the Iowa Memorial Union Monday night. When gauging the crowd size in terms of past literary speakers, Clinton drew more than, say, Frank McCourt, but fewer than Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (not including the 2000 people who were turned away at the door).
Before Clinton’s arrival, which was hindered by inclement weather, the Iowa Independent conducted an informal inquiry of 20 UI students randomly picked from the crowd. Asked why they were there, all 20 said: “To see Bill.” Of these, 14 said they were committed to caucusing in Iowa. When pushed to elaborate as to whom they were supporting, not one of them said they were supporting Hillary as their first choice. Moreover, Hillary appeared on only one of the interviewees’ political radar.
“I’m split between Obama and Hillary right now, but I’m unsure about Obama because of his lack of experience,” said UI sophomore Ashwina Upreti, a computer science major and nearby Tiffin resident. “I’m drawn to Obama’s freshness and new kind of politics. Although, he really hasn’t been tested yet and this concerns me. Our country is in shambles right now, and I’m not convinced this is the right time to test a new idea.”
Upreti said she has also been drawn to Sen. Joe Biden lately. “I watched the last two debates and Joe Biden has been the most effective and sensible,” Upreti said. “I like his experience, and he has a way of making the big problems seem more sensible in dealing with, but I still need to look into him more.”
The first choices among those surveyed panned out as follows: Obama (11), Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware (4), New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (2), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (2) and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (1).
The latest political buzz on Iowa campuses is whether out-of-state students will return to Iowa in the middle of their winter break to caucus. This concern came up in the question-and-answer session, when someone asked Clinton: “Should students be able to vote and caucus in the community they live in and go to school?”
Clinton began by offering his take on the matter. “The caucus is not an election and it doesn’t cover everybody. The decision to have a caucus is the decision to not let everybody vote,” Clinton said. “Some of the people who have the biggest say in the caucus, our service men and women who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, don’t have a say, and there’s no absentee voting.”
Clinton said that Hillary has been completely unequivocal on this and that her stand is that if you live in Iowa and you’re registered to vote, then you should be able to vote. After this, the line between Hillary and Bill’s viewpoint became unclear. “This doesn’t mean you have to be a native Iowan, but it does mean you are committed to Iowa and you have a political identity here,” Clinton said. “If you’re a student here, you honestly spend more time here, and your primary political identity is here, then, according to the Supreme Court vote over 30 years ago, you are qualified to vote.”
Moreover, Clinton contends that the caucuses are based on an honor system and that nobody should vote in Iowa then turn around and vote in their home state later on during the party-nominating process. “Since nobody can really say what’s in your mind, it’s up to you,” Clinton said. “For example, if you show up to work on the campaign and have no connection here, than you shouldn’t be able to caucus.”
The political identity issue holds especially true at the UI, where a significant portion of the student body comes from neighboring Illinois, home of Obama.
Chicago native Lauren Bevineau said she is supporting Obama, but does not plan on returning for the caucuses. Asked if someone picked her up, drove her to Iowa City for the caucuses and drove her back, Bevineau said she still wouldn’t return — and that Monday night, she only came to see Bill. “Well, that and extra credit for my rhetoric class. I’m on the edge, and I need a bump,” Bevineau admitted.
On the other hand, Annie Kiehn, a UI student majoring in journalism, plans on flying back from California to caucus for Obama.
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