New Iowa Political Blog: Iowa Matters
Lucas
Forte, the former volunteer coordinator for the Art Small for Senate
campaign, has started up a great new Iowa political blog called Iowa
Matters. Click here to check out the blog for yourself. Or read an excerpt below.
Yepsen Demeans the Debate on the Death Penalty
Has David Yepsen turned into a partisan hack? In his April 26th column “Stop ducking death penalty vote,”
Yepsen calls Democrats “chicken”, “gutless”, and “weaselly.” He even
manages to squeeze in cheap shots at Sen. Grassley’s former opponents,
the judicial filibuster in the US Senate, and the voters in Iowa City.
This type of juvenile name calling hurts the real debate over this
important issue.
If the
death penalty is such a good idea, why didn’t the Republicans bring it
up when they controlled both houses of the state legislature? Only now,
after the tragic [death] of a child, when the passions of the populace
are bent on retribution, do we hear the call to reinstate state
sanctioned killing. As in the Schiavo case, partisans see the
opportunity to exploit a personal tragedy by turning it into a divisive
political wedge.
Yepsen’s
column is emblematic of the current state of political discourse. His
shrill cries drown out discussion on the merits of the death penalty.
They serve only to deride and divide, rather than inform and persuade.
To paraphrase Jon Stewart, when he was confronted with similar
outrageous rhetoric on CNN’s Crossfire: Stop, stop, stop hurting Iowa.
Blog For Iowa 
Nobody really takes yepsen seriously, do they?
LikeLike
Hey IOWAvolunteer,
I don't take that “blow-hard” serious for one corn picking minute. He doesn't know what's going on in the state since he spends all his time in the ivory towers of Des Moines. He wouldn't know the diference between the Mississippi River or the Missouri River. Much less the diference between terra cotta or riccota cheese. That's my 2 cents.
LikeLike
Hello everyone — this is completely unrelated to this post, but I live in Los Angeles and just had to reach out to all of you in Iowa a few days away from what I believe to be the most important election in this nation's recent history.
I hope all of you are caucusing on the 3rd (regardless of your candidate). I have never voted before this election in 20 years and Obama has brought me into this election. His passion, honesty, and intelligence lead me to believe he can and will be one of the great leaders this country has known. Thanks for your time!!
LikeLike