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.
NBC Political Director Chuck Todd said the Republican Party of Iowa was in disarray, which could be summed up by the “lack of a challenge they’ve given to the usually vulnerable Tom Harkin.”
The analysis was part of Todd’s state-by-state election coverage, where he looked at the campaign of 2008 from the perspective of all 50 states.
He went on to compare Iowa’s GOP to other state parties that are struggling in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Virginia — all presidential battleground states.
Todd’s assessment:
Iowa: What has happened to the Iowa Republican Party? Just two years ago, the GOP held four of the five House seats. Now, if the wave hits hard enough, the party could be down to just one seat (the always conservative 5th District). The state GOP’s health can be summed up by the lack of a challenge they’ve given to the usually vulnerable Tom Harkin. In fact, Iowa is similar to a lot of battleground states where McCain is struggling; the state’s Republican infrastructure is just a mess. See also: Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Virginia, to name a few.
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