Tag Archives: Jennifer Konfrst

Why the Right hopes Biden does well in the debate

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June 27, debate day, is the most important date in this election cycle. Second is Election Day. Third is August 9, when Democrats hold their national convention. 

Why is June 27 so important? Because it will determine the Democratic nominee for president.

“But wait!” says you. “It’s Joe Biden, Ed. We already know this.”

Nope. You can regale me with all kinds of verbal barbs if I’m wrong, but I would be shocked to learn that the Democratic Elite (i.e., the Party’s big-money donors and a handful of elected and ex-elected officials) want Biden to do well in the debate. The Elite can read the polls. They see where this is going, and they’re rightfully concerned that Biden will not beat Donald Trump.

Here’s what I think will happen on Thursday. Trump, of course, is likely to spew all manner of lies, mutter incoherently, maybe even make up a new word or two. But that won’t matter to his base or to commentators, whose expectations on Trump’s debate performance set the bar pretty low.

Pundits and commentators will, however, rate Biden’s performance somewhere between mediocre and a total bomb. Over the course of the next two months, the Party Elites will roll out Biden’s chosen successor. (Sorry, Kamala Harris, it’s not you. My prediction: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.) Continue Reading →

“You’re probably getting screwed”

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This is solid, progressive-prairie populism, and it has deep roots in northwest Iowa. (The 1932 Farmers’ Holiday sported this poetic slogan: “Lets call a Farmer’s Holiday, a holiday let’s hold. We’ll eat our wheat and ham and eggs, and let them eat their gold”.)

J.D.’s message is timely and resonates with most voters. Which brings me to the obvious question:

WHY ISN’T J.D.’S MESSAGE THE IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S MESSAGE!?
Continue Reading →

My St. Pat’s Day reflection on fairies and fracking

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Stopping the abuse of eminent domain has become the defining issue in Iowa this year. A recent Des Moines Register poll found 78% of Iowans across the political spectrum oppose using eminent domain to build CO2 pipelines. That’s an astounding preponderance of opinion on one side of a very important issue.

Seventy-eight percent oughta be way more than enough to compel politicians to take action. To quote Senator Zaun from our conversation, “If Republicans don’t protect property rights, they’ll be on the road to being in the minority.”

Zaun believes the House and Senate will pass eminent domain legislation this year. That’s encouraging. Still, it’s remarkable that Senate Republicans were unable to push an eminent domain bill through committee before last week’s “funnel.” At least a promising bill is alive in the House, though it may take every ounce of public pressure and political courage to pass it.

I believe Zaun is correct when he says that if Republicans don’t rein in the abuse of eminent domain, they’ll probably lose seats in 2024. Continue Reading →

Eminent domain bills on the move at the Iowa Statehouse

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If you live in Iowa, please contact your state rep and senator immediately regarding eminent domain legislation.

Several bills are on the move at the Statehouse, and now is a critical time to contact lawmakers.

Yesterday morning, I reached out to four Republicans and four Democrats about the issue, including the House and Senate minority leaders. I immediately heard back from three of the four Republicans, but not a single Democrat. (UPDATE: Two Democrats, Rep. Austin Baeth and Sen. Janet Peterson, have since responded.)

Yesterday, one Republican lawmaker shared this with me: “Today, for the third week in a row, we had dozens of landowners at the Capitol seeking legislative relief and protection. SF 101 has received registered support from the Iowa State Association of Counties and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. SF 104 addresses the 90% threshold and is supported by the Iowa Farm Bureau. House companion bills are being drafted, and there’s an even stronger 90% threshold bill in the works in the House that might stand a decent chance of movement.” Continue Reading →

If Iowa Democrats lose in November, blame this

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Why do I think Democrats are headed for another train wreck? Let me take you back to 2006, when I ran for governor. Rural Iowans of all political stripes were fed up with Republicans’ unwillingness to fix the Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) problem. That issue was a key factor in Democrats winning the governor’s office that year and taking control of the Iowa House and Senate.

With a new party in charge, Iowans expected results. Voters gave Democrats four years to fix the CAFO problem. Democrats failed — miserably, in fact, arguably making the problem worse.

Today, the political landscape in Iowa is much the same. Republicans refuse to help rural Iowans threatened by 2,000 miles (yes, 2,000!) of CO2 pipelines. Once again, they’ve handed Democrats a winning issue.

And what does the leadership of the Iowa Democratic Party do? So far, it has refused to take a stand against this property-rights-trampling, public-health-menacing, faux-climate-solution greenwashing scheme. Continue Reading →

Midterm Election: The Color Purple

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Dear Friends, First, I want to thank Matt McCoy for calling out Matt Whitaker (President Trump’s new acting Attorney General) for Whitaker’s politically-motivated witch hunt against McCoy in 2007. Whitaker Continue Reading →