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.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has not confirmed that he will launch a bid for president in 2012, but all signs point to ‘yes.’
His political action committee is officially launching today, and it has hired an Iowa native who was credited with building a winning strategy for George W. Bush in the Hawkeye State before being implicated in a scandal involving the firing of U.S. Attorneys, allegedly for political reasons.
Sara Taylor, daughter of an Iowa pipe fitter turned state legislator, was just 24 in 1998 when she was tapped by Karl Rove and Bush to lead their Iowa strategy.
Sara Taylor
The strong foundation in Iowa led to her being dispatched to Florida to help with the campaign’s controversial recount efforts, and then to an oversight position in the Midwest political office led by Ken Mehlman. In total, Taylor held an eight-year working relationship with the Bush administration, her last assignment being White House Political Director and answering directly to Rove. She was the youngest person to ever serve in the position, and the first Republican woman to hold the post.
In May 2007, Taylor gave up the position, citing a need for “normalcy” in her life, but it soon became clear that she was a figure of interest in the U.S. Attorney scandal. In July of the same year, she was called to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she refused to answer several questions. That testimony, still available via YouTube, is probably what won Taylor the most notoriety in bipartisan circles, but she already was and remains a well-known and respected political operative in Republican circles.
Although she did move back to Iowa during the brunt of the U.S. Attorney scandal, she didn’t stay long. By the end of the August she had filed papers with the federal government, signaling her intention to begin lobbying for Ames-based Renewable Energy Groups, Inc. She also joined several other Republican operatives, including a former senior staff member for Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson, to found BlueFront Strategies, a private-sector advertising and public relations firm. The following year she co-founded Resonate Networks, a company positioned to capitalize on her expertise with political micro-targeting.
Our sister site The Minnesota Independent reports that Taylor has been tapped to serve as one of the senior advisors for Pawlenty’s political action committee. If and when the Minnesota Republican does decide to make his campaign official, however, there is little doubt that Taylor will provide a keen and strategic eye into Iowa politics, which can only benefit a candidate looking to make a name for himself in the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Follow Lynda Waddington on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter