Upcoming debates on Iowa PBS
Iowa Governor Debate
Monday, October 17
Deidre DeJear (D – Des Moines) and Governor Kim Reynolds (R – Des Moines)
2nd Congressional District Debate
Tuesday, Oct 18, 2022
Candidates U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson (R – Marion) and State Senator Liz Mathis (D – Hiawatha)
You can watch KCCI’s earlier Mathis v Hinson debate here:
Watch Cindy Axne v Zach Nunn on KCCI here:
https://www.kcci.com/article/cindy-axne-zach-nunn-iowa-debate/41545586
Watch Christina Bohannan v Mariannette Miller-Meeks
It appears the Republicans have been coached to say “I’ve always supported exceptions” when confronted about their votes for a national ban on abortion or in Zach Nunn’s case, no exception bills in the Iowa legislature. Nunn voted to amend the Iowa constitution to repeal the right to abortion in 2020 and other abortion restrictive votes. You can find them on VoteSmart all in one place.
As if they don’t know or care votes are recorded and can be looked up, they feel perfectly free to lie. In fact they seem to enjoy it. Obvious lying is a display of contempt for others, and that’s what today’s Republicans are all about, after all. So we shouldn’t be surprised.
Hinson and Nunn also each shamelessly added that their opponent was lying about their records even though they are the ones lying. Feenstra also co-sponsored the Life At Conception Act but has refused to debate his opponent, Ryan Melton.
In the 2nd District debate:
Here is a direct quote by Ashley Hinson after the moderator confronted her about her vote not matching what she says.
KCCI to Ashley Hinson: “..yet you have pushed for national limits on abortion by co- sponsoring 16 bills that would restrict abortion access, like the Life at Conception Act, which would ban all abortions with no exceptions.”
Hinson: “Well, I think it’s first and foremost, really important to clarify my position on this because my opponent is frankly lying about my record. I have always supported common sense exceptions.” [Nope. Check her co-sponsorship for the Life at Conception Act at congress.gov.]
Yet Ashley Hinson outright lied right there on the TV saying her opponent was lying about her record. You know she is lying about it because she didn’t correct the KCCK moderator for incorrectly citing her abortion banning votes when the question was posed to her, which someone telling the truth would naturally do. So she was clearly following Republican marching orders just to say her opponent is lying. If you haven’t noticed they all tell the same lies, you haven’t been paying attention.
In the first district debate:
Iowa Press dropped the ball and forced Bohannan to get the truth out there herself – Miller-Meeks’ co-sponsorship of the Life at Conception Act which allows no exceptions, is documented at congress.gov.
Miller-Meeks: “First and foremost my position on abortion has always been that I am pro-life with exceptions for life of the mother, rape and incest, and that has not changed.” Oh yes it has. Check her co-sponsorship for the Life at Conception Act at congress.gov
The Zach Nunn v Cindy Axne debate on KCCI was such a hot mess I had to bail before it was over. Nunn shamelessly lied saying Axne voted for a bill that would allow killing a baby after it was born (Miller-Meeks suggested this as well). When Axne responded that this was absolute crazy talk, Nunn rebutted by turning toward her, pointing his finger at her and saying, “You voted for it!” (obviously, performance art). The moderators responded by moving on to the next question.
One has to wonder if these debates cause more harm than good when they are denigrated by Republicans who see them as an opportunity to advance their guerilla warfare on democracy by forcing us to endure outlandish lies and falsehoods.
Let’s watch the DeJear/Reynolds debate and see if Kim Reynolds got the memo… “First and foremost…”
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