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.
Despite polls showing a growing lead for Democrat Barack Obama in Iowa, Republican presidential nominee John McCain will campaign in Davenport Saturday morning.
McCain’s focus on the Hawkeye State, where polls show Obama up anywhere from nine to 16 percentage points, has many pundits scratching their heads. This will be his third trip to Iowa in less than a month.
After McCain’s visit to Des Moines, the Los Angeles Times wondered why McCain would spend so much time in a state that no longer seems to be a battleground.
We can only assume that he and his political advisors know something that the polls of that state’s voters aren’t detecting. They’d better, because with one exception, several recent surveys in Iowa have shown Barack Obama solidly ahead in the fight for its seven electoral votes…
Not only does winning Iowa loom as a difficult challenge for the Republican ticket, it’s hardly key to victory.
McCain’s former adviser, Mike Murphy, cut to the quick in a column on Time Magazine’s Swampland blog.
What the Hell was McCain even doing there in the first place?
For their part, the McCain camp says they still believe Iowa is in play and will focus on the personal to try to dislodge Obama from his perch atop Iowa polls. The campaign told the Washington Post that their polling shows the race much closer than nearly every other poll.
Asked why, if he has given up on Michigan, McCain has not given up on Iowa, a state that looks strong for Obama in public polls, [McCain Political Director Mike] DuHaime said because the campaign’s polling has Obama’s lead in the low single digits.
Dennis Goldford, professor of political science at Drake University, told the Iowa Independent that the real test of whether McCain’s campaign thinks Iowa is competitive will be if he is still on television in Iowa two weeks out from Election Day. With how inexpensive it is to operate a campaign in Iowa, some candidates will stick it out until the last minute to see if there is any chance of success. That strategy changes if, two weeks out, a bigger more competitive state is still in play.
If McCain is losing Florida or Ohio, Iowa suddenly just isn’t important. They’re going to spend their limited resources where it will be the most useful.
McCain will appear Saturday at Davenport’s River Center, 136 E. Third St. Doors open at 8:30 a.m., and the pre-program begins at 10:30 a.m.
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