Category: Iowa

13 States Sue Biden Administration, Demand Ability to Cut Taxes

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West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey

Thirteen states sued President Joe Biden’s administration over an American Rescue Plan provision prohibiting states from cutting taxes after accepting coronavirus relief funds.

The 13-state coalition argued that the provision included in the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package preventing states from cutting taxes if they accept relief from the federal government is unconstitutional. The coalition, led by Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

“Never before has the federal government attempted such a complete takeover of state finances,” Morrisey said in a Wednesday statement. “We cannot stand for such overreach.”

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Iowa Ambassador Attorney Jim Larew Speculates Top Four Candidates and an Unpredictable Surge

Julie Carr

In a specific discussion, Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy spoke to Jim Larew who is a long time friend and resident of Iowa. Larew is also a leading Democrat from Iowa who served as an aid and chief of staff to former Senator John ‘Chet’ Culver.

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Sanders’ Field Organizer Kyle Jurek Bailed Out After Arrest, Still No Comment from Campaign Over ‘Gulag’ Rants Caught on Camera

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by Debra Heine   In the latest Project Veritas sting video, Kyle Jurek, the self-proclaimed anarcho-communist Soviet Gulag fan who is a field organizer for the Bernie Sanders Campaign in Iowa, admits that he was recently arrested for “weed” after knocking on doors for the campaign. Jurek told the Veritas reporter that the Sanders Iowa field director quickly bailed him out. Anonymous tipsters from within the Sanders Campaign in Iowa have since told Project Veritas that they are concerned about Jurek’s behavior and fear that he could be a threat to the president. As American Greatness reported on Tuesday, Jurek was arrested on January 7 in Saylor Township, Iowa, for operating while intoxicated (second offense), possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to provide proof of financial liability, and violation of probation. Project Veritas founder and president James O’Keefe wonders if the bail money came from Sanders’ campaign coffers. Jurek was caught on camera describing his arrest to the Project Veritas undercover journalist. “I got busted for weed by the f*cking police,” he said, adding that he was still going through “that process.” “Went to f*cking jail. The whole G*d-damned thing. F*cking right after we got done knocking on doors one night in Urbandale,”…

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Iowa Officials Laud Landmark Trade Deal Expected to Generate $200 Billion in U.S. Exports to China

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Local and national government officials and agricultural advocates are expressing their respective pleasure over Wednesday’s signing of the first phase of a sweeping trade deal between China and the United States.

Among the provisions of the deal are agreements from China to import an additional $32 billion in agricultural products; $80 billion in manufactured goods; $50 billion in energy products; and $35 billion in other services.

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IOWA: Jim Larew Weighs in on Democratic Presidential Field and Caucus Strategies

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmaker line by longtime friend and ambassador to Iowa, Jim Larew to examine the current positioning of the Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa.

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Jim Larew Weighs In on Iowa’s Justice and Liberty Event and Buttigieg’s Self-Proclaimed ‘Obama Moment’

Julie Carr

On Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy was joined by good friend and famed Iowan attorney Jim Larew to chat about last weeks Liberty and Justice event in Iowa and how it’s changed the pace of the campaigns.

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NEED TO KNOW: Jeff Angelo Interviews Michael Patrick Leahy LIVE at WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa

Julie Carr

  In a special interview, Friday morning on the Need to Know with Jeff Angelo Show – broadcast on Des Moines, Iowa’s Talk Radio WHO 1040 AM weekdays from 9:00 am to 11:00 am – host Jeff Angelo sat down with Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of Star News Digital Media and discussed the recent fake news New York Times article about the Tennessee Star and also Leahy’s reasons for being in Iowa for the Democratic events. During the interview, Leahy expanded upon why Iowa was a great place to start the presidential election process because of it’s battleground state position and explained how it allowed people to get up close and personal with candidates. He states: “And Iowa is a battleground state. It has been of sorts Democrat and it’s gone Republican in the past 40 years. It’s a good place to start. It’s small enough where every candidate can go out and talk to people. If you want to talk to a candidate for president and they are looking for your support here in Iowa you can talk to them.” Angelo: Michael Patrick Leahy. He’s the CEO and editor and chief of Star News Digital Media which…

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LIVE FROM IOWA PART II: Jim Larew Further Details the Mechanics of the Iowa Caucus

Julie Carr

  On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am from the historic WHO radio studios in Des Moines, Iowa – Leahy was joined in studio with good friend and famed Iowan attorney Jim Larew to continue their discussion on the historical mechanics of the Iowa caucus. Towards the middle of the segment, Larew and Leahy discussed a few of the key players in molding the political dynamics in the Iowa caucus by citing Harold Hughes in a particular. “And Hughes’s insistence that we have new procedures and processes that would allow the cream to come to the top I think was a moral imperative. And the reform required that people be allowed to express themselves. That you do not have the unit rule. You do not have unit bosses controlling the outcome,”  said Larew. Leahy: In the studio with me my good friend Jim Larew. A life long democrat. Knows Iowa backward and forwards. Welcome, Jim. Larew: Nice to be here with you Michael. Leahy: We were talking about why Iowa. Why is Iowa the first in the nation you’ve explained it a little bit…

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LIVE FROM IOWA: Jim Larew Explains Iowa’s First Place Standing in a Presidential Election and Defines Caucus vs Primary

Julie Carr

  Live from WHO studios in Des Moines, Iowa Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy was joined in studio by long-time good friend, Jim Larew and discussed Iowa’s political history while differentiating between caucus and primary in both New Hampshire and Iowa states. Leahy: I am broadcasting live from the studios of WHO radio in Des Moines, Iowa. And I am joined in the studio, we had a reunion last night, with my longtime friend, Jim Larew. Good morning Jim. Larew: Good morning Micheal. Leahy: And so Jim is, well, you’re a Democrat Jim, aren’t you? Larew: I am and I have been for a long time. Leahy: I’m just curious as to what you think is happening here in Iowa. Let’s see if we can go back to the original question. So you and I were roommates. We knew each other in college. We had a friend there, the late great Alan Brinkley. A historian. He was your thesis advisor. Larew: Yes, he was. Leahy: And you wrote a thesis on how Iowa in 1974 elected for the…

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DIVISIVENESS: Leahy and Larew Talk About the Importance of Respecting Liberal and Conservative Differentiating Views

Julie Carr

  In a specific discussion Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy was joined live at WHO radio studios in Des Moines, Iowa with Democratic attorney Jim Larew to discuss the ability communicate although on different ends of the political spectrum. Towards the end of the segment, Leahy questioned Larew about the impeachment process creating a more divisional environment in the country. Larew responded by stating that Nancy Pelosi had expressed concern that the impeachment would create divisiveness and had been previously reluctant to pursue it. However, he also conceded: “the other side of it is if there is the behavior of a president that exceeds legal constitutional lines to the extent that Congress is almost required by law to at least examine it. If not to remove the president. Of course, the impeachment is just the process of one to examine the behavior of the president to see whether it constitutes a serious enough breach to result in his removal.” Leahy: You are life long Democrat. Do any of these arguments that the president is being denied due process…

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IOWA: The Tennessee Star Report Chats with Ambassador to the Democratic Presidential Field Jim Larew

Julie Carr

Live from music row Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by longtime friend and Iowan Attorney, Jim Larew to discuss the current climate on the Democratic Presidential field in Iowa.

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Live From Iowa, Jim Larew Reviews the Current Trends in the 2020 Democratic Presidential Race

Julie Carr

In a special interview Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with good friend and Iowan attorney, Jim Larew about the current front runners in the 2020 Democratic Presidential race.

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Iowa-Based ‘Ambassador to 2020 Dem Field,’ Attorney Jim Larew Talks to Leahy About the Justice and Liberty Dinner for Democrats and Bernie Sander’s Health and It’s Effects on His Campaign

Julie Carr

In a specific discussion Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Michael Patrick Leahy spoke to long-time friend and resident of Iowa, Jim Larew. Larew is also a leading Democrat from Iowa who served as an aid and Chief of Staff to former Senator John ‘Chet’ Culver.

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Field of Dreams: Michael Patrick Leahy Reflects with Jim Larew About Iowa’s Historical Politics and Current Caucus Trends

Julie Carr

  On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to good friend, attorney Jim Larew direct from Iowa about how the state has shifted historically from Republican to Democrat and now purple. Towards the end of the show, the men discussed current poll numbers showing Warren leading Biden. Larew disclosed that believes Biden is still in the lead based upon his “celebrity status.” Leahy: We are joined now on the line by my very good friend, Jim Larew from Iowa. Jim and I went to Harvard together. He was a year ahead of me and we were roommates one summer in Washington, D.C. We were Democrats at the time. Jim has remained a Democrat. Has been very active and has had very key roles in the Chet Culver administration to Chief of Staff of former Governor Chet Culver. Larew: I was general council there for four years and policy director and chief of staff for a four-year term. A great experience. Leahy: I don’t know if there’s anyone who knows about grassroots Iowa on the Democratic side…

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The Tennessee Star Report Talks to Jim Larew About How 2020 Democrat Presidential Contenders are Being Received in Iowa

Julie Carr

In a specific discussion Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy spoke to long time friend and resident of Iowa, Jim Larew. Larew is also the leading Democrat from Iowa who served as an aid and Chief of Staff to former Senator John ‘Chet’ Culver.

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Bannon Says Biden Is Making ‘Happy Talk’ to Hide His Financial Ties to Chinese Communist Party

Jason M. Reynolds

  Joe Biden is “a useful idiot” for the Chinese Communist Party, Steve Bannon told The John Fredericks Radio Network. The full interview with Bannon is available here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vz2H25yyIBo&feature=youtu.be Bannon, with Citizens for the American Republic, has long said it is globalists like Biden who are managing the decline of economies all over the world, Fredericks said. Bannon criticized a story by The Hill as “an outrageous attack” on Trump concerning China. Biden, in Iowa, is trying to “happy talk his way past China.” However, Biden has not addressed his being compromised by China’s communist government and how his son Hunter allegedly took $1.5 billion from the Bank of China. “That’s how the Chinese Communist party does influence peddling,” Bannon said. The Community Party provides capital for politicians. Yet Biden blames Trump for China’s economic war against America, Bannon said. Biden supported NAFTA and every trade deal to destroy middle-class jobs. Trump is the first president to engage the Communist Party in an economic war and bring the supply chain back to the U.S., Bannon said. “He’s the only president who stood up for the middle-class people.” In The Hill story, Biden called Trump an “existential threat” to the nation,…

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US Ambassador to China Visiting Tibet This Week

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Reuters   U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad is scheduled to visit Tibet this week, a U.S. embassy spokesperson said, the first visit to the region by a U.S. ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. The visit follows passage of a law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. “This visit is a chance for the ambassador to engage with local leaders to raise longstanding concerns about restrictions on religious freedom and the preservation of Tibetan culture and language,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Branstad was traveling to Qinghai and neighboring Tibet from May 19 to May 25 on a trip that will include official meetings as well as visits to religious and cultural heritage sites, the spokesperson said. In December, China criticized the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, saying it was “resolutely opposed” to the U.S. legislation on what China considers an internal affair, and it risked causing “serious harm” to their relations. The U.S. government is required to begin denying visas by…

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US Records 71 New Measles Cases Last Week as Outbreak Spreads

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Reuters   The United States recorded 71 new measles cases last week, a 13 percent increase as the country faces its second-worst outbreak of the disease in almost two decades, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had recorded 626 cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease in 22 states as of April 19, the highest rate of infection in five years. The CDC had previously reported 555 cases in 20 states between Jan. 1 and April 11. The current outbreak will likely surpass the 2014 outbreak in number of cases, the CDC said on Monday. Iowa and Tennessee were the two states that joined the CDC list with new measles cases. More than half the cases recorded this year occurred in New York City, primarily in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The U.S. outbreak is part of a worldwide rise in the once nearly eradicated disease. The World Health Organization reported last week that global cases had risen nearly four-fold in the first quarter of 2019 to 112,163 compared with the same period last year. A vocal fringe of parents in the United States oppose vaccines believing, contrary…

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Tim Ryan Says It Is ‘Intellectually Dishonest’ to Call Obama-Turned-Trump Supporters ‘Racist’

Zachery Schmidt

Ohio’s Rep Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) once again went against traditional Democratic talking points by saying it is “intellectually dishonest” to call 2016 Trump voters “racist.” The Presidential hopeful made these remarks in a recent appeal to people in Iowa who were Obama and Trump supporters, according to the Iowa Gazette. “I think it would be helpful for us to say why did they vote for Trump. They voted for Obama twice. So I think it’s intellectually lazy to say everyone’s a racist,” Ryan said. “There are people who are hurting and hurting economically.” Ohio Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) believes he can win back the Barack Obama voters who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election,  according the Gazette. “Trump did well in my district. I did well in my district. I believe I can communicate to a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump that I have a plan that will actually get us home,” Ryan said. “I think communicating with people in Youngstown, Ohio, is not much different than Davenport or Dubuque or Des Moines or Sioux City. These are working-class towns, working-class people. They want to trust you, and they want to know you have a plan.…

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Democrat Pundit Says Klobuchar’s Line ‘I Can See Iowa from My Front Porch’ Playing Well in Hawkeye State

Anthony Gockowski

Michael Patrick Leahy and Steve Gill, hosts of The Tennessee Star Report, recently spoke with attorney and Iowa insider Jim Larew to get his take on the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Larew said Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) catchphrase that she can “see Iowa from her front porch” seems to be playing well among Democrats in the state. “That’s a good line. That’s a good line, Jim,” Leahy said. “It is. And she does well with that group. She comes across as being, you know, the young woman next door. And it’s a friendlier chord that she has,” Larew said of Klobuchar. The latest poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers, however, had Klobuchar sitting at just three percent, while former Vice President Joe Biden led the poll at 27 percent, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at 25 percent. She led six other candidates who were all tied at just one percent. Klobuchar campaigned across Iowa in mid-March, making stops in Dubuque, Waterloo, and Independence. “I followed the Mississippi River down from our snowy announcement and ended up in Dubuque! Great conversations with Iowans who are looking forward to 2020,” Klobuchar said of her visit, attempting to use her status as one…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Jim Larew Gives His Take on the Democratic Field From Iowa and the Road to the White House

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to good friend, attorney Jim Larew direct from Iowa with the inside scoop on the twenty twenty presidential candidate playing field and what he thinks will determine the road to the White House. Towards the end of the segment, the men touched upon whether or not the recent allegations against Joe Biden would hinder his run. Leahy: We are joined by my very good friend Jim Larew direct from Iowa. Jim and I many years ago when I was a Democrat, hadn’t seen the light yet. Jim and I were summer roommates in Washington, D.C.  Welcome to The Tennessee Star Report Jim! Larew: Well thanks so much and good morning to you. Leahy: So tell us what’s going on. You have been tracking everything happening with the presidential candidates out in Iowa. What is the latest? Larew: Well I have not made a choice myself yet, sort of observing and I think that’s what a lot of Iowans, it’s almost a moveable feast, large crowds, enthusiastic…

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Tim Ryan Goes After Trump, NRA at Iowa Event Alongside 2020 Dems

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) was a panelist Saturday at the Heartland Forum in Iowa, and was the only speaker at the event who hasn’t officially declared candidacy for president. The event, sponsored by Huffington Post, Open Markets Action, and the Iowa Farmers Union, featured panelists such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro—all of whom have declared candidacy. Ryan, who said in February that he’s “seriously considering” a run, was asked what his vision for the country would be if he were to do so. “The stock market’s as high as it’s ever been. Unemployment’s as low as it’s ever been, and yet there is a chronic level of stress in our society today because of chronic uncertainty,” he said. “I think it’s time for a new way of doing things.” “The only way forward is for us to come together politically. It’s the division today in our country that’s preventing us from getting to where we need to be, and that’s innovating our way out of this thing, caring about each other, loving each other, being concerned about each other, respecting each other, and then building an…

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Klobuchar Campaigns Across Iowa: ‘Everyone Has to Clap for That’

Anthony Gockowski

2020 Democratic contenders descended upon Iowa over the weekend, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who made stops in Dubuque, Waterloo, and Independence. “I followed the Mississippi River down from our snowy announcement and ended up in Dubuque! Great conversations with Iowans who are looking forward to 2020,” the Minnesota senator wrote on Twitter. I followed the Mississippi River down from our snowy announcement and ended up in Dubuque! Great conversations with Iowans who are looking forward to 2020. pic.twitter.com/ut8V71DnKW — Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) March 16, 2019 Politico’s Elena Schneider was on the ground following Klobuchar across the state and reported on a humorous gaffe Klobuchar made while visiting Dubuque. “Everyone has to clap for that,” Klobuchar told a crowd gathered for the campaign stop, immediately prompting comparisons on Twitter to Jeb Bush’s infamous “please clap” moment. Klobuchar started the day by stumping for Eric Giddens, the Democratic candidate in a Tuesday State Senate special election who was also joined by Democrat Beto O’Rourke Saturday. .@amyklobuchar in Waterloo for canvass launch for Eric Giddens, State Senate special election candidate. pic.twitter.com/5DUraIogRs — Elena Schneider (@ec_schneider) March 16, 2019 During a stop at a Pizza Ranch in Independence, Klobuchar was asked about the…

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Klobuchar Campaigns as the ‘Senator Next Door’ During First Stop in Wisconsin

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) made her first campaign stop Saturday morning in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a state 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton skipped visiting. Klobuchar spoke to a crowd of about 300 supporters at SHIFT Cyclery and Coffee Bar where she repeated several themes from her announcement address, but also promised to bridge the rural-urban divide. “That was one of the points I wanted to make by coming to Eau Claire. Eau Claire is a place of a great university and education. It is also in the middle of a rural area,” she said, calling herself the “Senator next door.” Packed house ahead of @amyklobuchar’s first campaign stop at an Eau Claire bicycle and coffee shop pic.twitter.com/i9NiYm4W15 — Torey Van Oot (@toreyvanoot) February 16, 2019 “I came here because I am the ‘Senator next door’ and I will be traveling to every single state in the Midwest,” Klobuchar said, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and touted her family’s roots in Wisconsin. “I am so pleased to be in Wisconsin, the state where my mother was born,” she said. “And my mother’s parents, actually, both came here from Switzerland. My grandma came here when she was three. And what do you…

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CNN Airs Video of Sherrod Brown Endorsing Positions That He Called the President ‘Racist’ for Supporting

Andrew Shirley

The man who many Democrats consider to be the best hope to defeat President Donald Trump may have more in common with him than he’d like to admit. On Monday, during CNN’s OutFront with Erin Burnett, Ohio Senator, and 2002 presidential hopeful, Sherrod Brown was shown a short montage that showed just how much the Senator’s past rhetoric has echoed President Trump’s. In 2006, while running for office, Brown released campaign ads that ended with the tagline “America First.” He also recently argued that a lack of “fair trade” was crippling to American workers. Lastly, he argued that the U.S. “has not done globalization well.” Each one of these points was juxtaposed with a statement from Trump that was almost identical to Brown’s. This poses a significant problem to the Ohio Senator. Many Democrats have aggressively argued that much of Trump’s rhetoric is a series of “dog whistles” and coded calls for racism. One of the most consistent criticisms is that one of Trump’s most prominent slogans; “America First” is steeped deeply in bigotry and nationalism. Recently, Democrats have also argued that critics of globalization, trade deals and most forms of isolationist rhetoric are inherently xenophobic, bigoted and racist. Even when Senator Bernie…

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Iowa Poll Shows Trump Trouncing Kasich In A Potential Head To Head 2020 Match Up

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by Chris White   Former Vice President Joe Biden remains the best option Democrats have at beating President Donald Trump heading into the 2020 election, according to a poll of Iowa voters published Saturday. Biden would beat Trump in a squeaker, pulling in 51 percent of the vote to the president’s 49 percent, Emerson College found in a survey. The poll’s results show other Democratic candidates have their work cut out for them in terms of name recognition. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Kamala Harris of California earned enough support in the survey, which was conducted Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, to fall within the research’s margin of error. Biden holds a nearly 20-point advantage over Warren in the Hawkeye State. The Democratic Iowa Caucus is a year away. The poll also finds Trump would best  Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a head-to-head-match-up in Iowa: 90 percent to 10 percent. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s potential candidacy would be a death knell for Warren, according to the poll, which surveyed 831 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Other recent polls have made similar discoveries. Biden holds a high favorability rating among black people…

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Iowa Judge Strikes Down State’s Pro-Life Heartbeat Bill on Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Anthony Gockowski

A state judge ruled Tuesday, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, that Iowa’s “heartbeat bill” banning abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat is unconstitutional. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) in May 2018, but was placed on hold after Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and Emma Goldman Clinic sued the state. On Tuesday, Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert ruled against the state and declared the heartbeat bill to be “unconstitutional and therefore void.” “In summary, it is undisputed that the threshold for the restriction upon a woman’s fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy (the detection of a fetal heartbeat) contained within Iowa Code chapter 146C constitutes a prohibition of previability abortions,” Huppert stated in his ruling. “As such, it is violative of both due process and equal protection provisions of the Iowa Constitution as not being narrowly tailored to serve the compelling state interest of promoting potential life.” Huppert borrowed language from the Iowa Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling against imposing a 72-hour waiting period on abortions, which he frequently cites throughout his decision. Like Huppert, the Iowa Supreme Court declared in its 2018 decision that “a woman’s right to decide whether to…

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Iowa Employee Fired for Signing Emails ‘In Christ’ Loses Court Battle

Anthony Gockowski

An Iowa state employee who sued his former employer after being fired for signing his emails “In Christ” lost his court battle Wednesday. According to the Sioux City Journal, a federal jury found Wednesday that Michael Mial, a former employee of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute’s Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders, failed to demonstrate that his employer didn’t accommodate his religious practices. The ruling puts an end to Mial’s two-year court battle, which started in January 2017 when he filed a religious discrimination suit against his former supervisors. Mial claims that he was told his “deeply held religious beliefs are great for helping” patients, but was then asked to keep his beliefs out of his work, and was later fired. The lawsuit argued that his use of “In Christ” in the signature line of his emails was protected by the First Amendment, and did not violate a state endorsement of religion, but was rather a “minuscule accommodation on behalf of the Plaintiff and his protected beliefs.” “By firing Mial and by limiting their employment to persons whom agree with the organization’s religious beliefs, or lack thereof, and the stifling of the expression of religious viewpoints, Defendants have violated and…

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Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Makes Early Moves for 2020 Presidential Bid

Andrew Shirley

The only Ohio Democrat to hold or win office in the 2018 midterm elections appears to have his sights set on the White House. Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown announced that he will tour four early, and key, presidential primary states. His team refers to the trip as the “Dignity of Work” tour and will travel to Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Concurrent with this announcement was the launch of his new website, “DignityOfWork.com.” The website is funded by America Works PAC, the senator’s personal political action committee. As of now the site only lists some of his key issues, an email registration link, and a donation page. The crux of this early campaign appears to be an appeal to the blue-collar working class that largely abandoned the Democratic party in the 2016 election in favor of President Donald Trump. He emphasizes that “dignity of work means hard work should pay off for everyone, no matter who you are or what kind of work you do.” The campaign revolves around the point that it’s not enough to have a job, but rather a well-paying job. This is a clever messaging manipulation that both emphasizes the bipartisan call for a strong…

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Lamar Alexander Supports Federal Funding for the Wall (In Iowa)

Chris Butler

After years of debate, U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has finally and successfully helped acquire federal money for a wall — in Iowa. We’re talking about a $117 million flood wall in Cedar Rapids. Alexander, according to that city’s primary newspaper, The Gazette, has political connections to Cedar Rapids’ former mayor Ron Corbett. When asked Monday, Alexander’s spokesman Ashton Davies did not comment to The Tennessee Star on whether her boss is committed to federal funding for another type of wall. This is a wall many of his Tennessee constituents have long clamored for. That other wall, of course, is one along the Mexican border. But Alexander was reportedly happy to push for the wall in Iowa. According to The Gazette, a 2008 flood caused $5.4 billion in damages to Cedar Rapids. Federal aid was not immediately forthcoming. Over the years, federal representatives worked with a lobbyist to help get the money. But, as the paper went on to say, assistance did not come through until last July. The Gazette then reported that Corbett knew Alexander, who chairs the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee. “When Alexander ran for president in 1996, Corbett campaigned for him…

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