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.
(Commentary) Today’s ruling in favor of gay marriage, in the largest county in the first (?) caucus state, could have a national ripple effect on the presidential campaign. Will the hot-button issue move to the national front burner again?
On the Democratic side, only long shot candidate Dennis Kucinich supports gay marriage. The other contenders support civil unions. But the ruling may increase pressure on the front runners to support true equality, and complicate the balancing act of attracting progressives to win a nomination without alienating general election swing voters. It would be interesting to see how a stance of persuasive leadership, ahead of public opinion, would play coming from a top tier candidate.Larry Craig’s sad, self-hateful story is the polar opposite of the committed, lifelong relationships of the six Iowa couples who were plaintiffs in this case. But the Republican Party’s overnight abandonment of Craig illustrates the GOP’s deep hostility to all things gay. The impact on the Republican nominating contest will be a race to condemn the ruling and outdo each other rhetorically. It may also re-focus attention on Rudy Giuliani’s relatively moderate social views. Rudy’s no gay marriage backer, but he’s clearly more comfortable with gay issues and gay people than the rest of the field.
Republican legislators are already saying the gay marriage issue needs immediate attention in January’s session. Will the motivated and enraged conservative base demand action even sooner — say, at a special session? They can’t call one, as Democrats control the gears. But there’s been some discussion of a possible special legislative session to amend Iowa’s “eight days before any other nominating contest” law. Could this issue complicate that already difficult question?
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