Dear Friends,
On this week’s program, we’ve got a great slate of guests, offering important perspectives on the climate crisis: David May, Jerry Schnoor, and David Courard-Hauri. Kathy Byrnes joins me, too, for our seasonal garden Q and A.
LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S FALLON FORUM HERE
Let’s discuss voter suppression. It’s all the rage these days, and Iowa is no exception. Thanks to a Republican trifecta, the upcoming municipal and school board elections will operate under more restrictive rules.
Among other changes, the new law will:
— Slash the number of days allowed for absentee voting by one-third. Maybe, just maybe, that change has something to do with the fact that, leading up to the 2020 election, twice as many Iowa Democrats requested early ballots as did Republicans.
— Close Election Day polls at 8:00 p.m. instead of 9:00 p.m.
— Allow only a family member, household member, or caregiver to return an absentee ballot.
This last change is the most egregious. Apparently, in the minds of Iowa’s governor and Republican legislature, a ballot delivered by a neighbor, friend, or volunteer with a candidate you support is somehow tainted. The change also ignores the reality that many people live alone, without access to a family member or caregiver.
But the worst may be yet to come. This week, Republicans at the Iowa Statehouse voted down the proposed redistricting map, submitted by the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency. Here’s what that map looks like:
Fair and balanced, right? For comparison, here’s a gerrymandered district Texas Republicans dreamed up in 2011:
Wow! Were they modeling an amoeba? No, actually, they were reducing the political clout of the state’s Black and Latino voters, which is what a federal court ruled in 2017 when it nullified this and two others Texas congressional districts.
Unfortunately, most gerrymandered districts are allowed to stand. And it’s getting worse. Here’s a map showing the increased gerrymandering of an area of Pennsylvania from 1952 to 2012:
The Iowa Legislature will vote on a second map on October 28. If Republicans reject it, they’ll draft their own map, and Iowa will have gerrymandered congressional and state legislative districts for the first time in modern history.
Sad to say, given the hyper-partisan nature of today’s politics, I suspect that’s what will happen.
I hope I’m wrong, but Iowa Republicans like Bob Ray and Jim Leach are relics of the past. So is the Chuck Grassley of the 1980s and ‘90s, when Iowa’s senior senator would sometimes vote his conscience and work across the aisle.
The Iowa Legislature was certainly a partisan place when I served from 1993-2006, and it’s gotten worse. Way worse. During my years at the Statehouse, Republican representatives and senators worked with me to pass my proposals on urban sprawl, eminent domain, teen pregnancy, drunk driving, gambling, skateboarding, and bow hunting, to list a few. I can’t imagine that happening today.
Iowa’s 21st-century Republican has shown little desire or capacity to work with Democrats. To be fair, Democrats have also embraced a hyper-partisan approach to politics. Look at the upcoming municipal and school board elections. Those seats are non-partisan, yet the Polk County Democrats have been beating the drum loudly for candidates running as Democrats.
It’s hard to blame them, given that Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has done the same thing for Republicans in those races.
The pathway back to sane politics is hard to imagine. How do we get from negativity and half-truths (or outright lies) to campaigns focused on a sincere, respectful exchange of ideas? Money in politics is a big part of the problem, as are the lopsided perspectives presented by corporate-owned media.
For now, wherever you live, let me suggest this:
CALL TO ACTION: Contact your legislators and tell them to oppose any effort to gerrymander your state’s congressional and legislative district map. If you live in Iowa, click here to find your state representative and senator.
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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PODCAST:
(01:48) Biodiesel’s carbon footprint, with David May, biofuel consultant;
(13:50) Global climate report is serious business, with Jerry Schnoor;
(28:22) Iowa scientists speak out on climate, with David Courard-Hauri;
(41:40) Fall election and redistricting update;
(54:13) October garden Q&A, with Kathy Byrnes.
Listen to the program on these and other local affiliates:
– KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames, Iowa)
– KICI.LP 105.3 FM (Iowa City, Iowa)
– WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana)
– KPIP-LP, 94.7 FM (Fayette, Missouri)
– KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, New Mexico)
– KRFP 90.3 FM (Moscow, Idaho)
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Thanks for supporting the progressive alternative to the right-wing shock jocks!
Ed Fallon