What an amazing day it was at the Polk County Steak Fry Saturday. Twelve thousand plus Democrats all in one place. Candidates and tee-shirt clad campaign volunteers everywhere. So much positive energy. The rain held off for the most part. The event was well organized and everything seemed to go off without a hitch. Democrats in Iowa have reason to celebrate.
A couple of things that Reich doesn’t mention in here are:
Labor union are the most effective deterrent to an accretion of power in an executive in a democracy.
Labor voting for the party of money and business are cutting their own throats. It is literally like the chickens voting FOR Colonel Sanders. Do they really think a billionaire who had a history of screwing workers again and again would be lobar’s savior?
The following video focuses on the divide and conquer strategy that the rich and powerful have employed not only this century but since the dawn of humanity. You didn’t think the confederate soldiers were the sons of wealthy people did you?
Don’t you just love the Iowa caucus season? Going to the mailbox can be an adventure sometimes every 4 years. Just yesterday I went to my mailbox and pulled out the latest letter from the – WTF – Republican National Committee! What the hey?
Seems I have been getting mailings from the RNC for about the past 6 months. Oh, and mailings from the NRA also that includes my temporary membership card. A friend says he is getting the mailings also. He thinks it is because we dared go to a Grassley town hall last year.
My normal response is to put such trash back for the fireplace for the winter, figuring if I do not respond they will get the message. But they don’t. So yesterday I got one from the RNC reminding me that I had answered their last survey. So they sent me another. And I dutifully filled it out as I should have before. Often my answer for a question was not among the choices, so I wrote it in.
And I did include a donation of $.01 American so they would not think I wasn’t appreciative of their efforts.
By the time you read this we may know if the Chosen One tried to extort the Ukraine. How silly of me, of course he did.
Tensions rose in the Middle East as the US – with little evidence – blamed what country for an attack on a Saudi oil refinery?
What country said that there was no evidence for the US claims about the Saudi attack?
The first auto strike in a long time is taking place as workers walked off the job at what Detroit auto maker?
Once again charges of bribery and extortion are swirling around what major US government official?
Perhaps one of the most remembered speech in US politics, what VP candidate went on national TV to dispute claims of financial finagling ending with a story of his children’s cocker spaniel took place on Sept. 23, 1952?
Corey Lewandowski mocked his way through a hearing before what US House committee?
No you haven’t missed it! What season starts tomorrow morning at 02:50 AM CDT?
A drone strike in Afghanistan killed 30 workers who were resting during a day harvesting what food staple?
Once again the Chosen One revealed secrets inadvertently(?) while discussing what along the US-Mexico border?
Robert C. O’Brien may be a name you won’t need to remember, since he is taking over what position that changes heads frequently?
What North American politician has recently been embarrassed by revelations that he dressed in blackface and brown face for parties in the early 2000s?
What gun manufacturer has called a temporary halt to manufacturing AR15 assault weapons?
The Manhattan DA subpoenaed how many years of The Chosen One’s state tax records?
A pizza waitress in McAlister, Oklahoma was arrested last week when she told another waitress she wanted to do what?
The tale of the whistle blower in the administration kept getting more intriguing by the day. What cabinet officer has blocked the whistle blower from turning evidence over to congress as the law states?
What country had to hold a second round of elections last week since no party could form a ruling majority after the first election?
What pronoun has a new added definition that means “a single non-binary person”?
The Chosen One will use his executive power to bar California from setting its own what? (Hint: think cars)
Reporter Cokie Roberts died last week. She was the daughter of what former Democratic House Majority leader in the 1960s and early 1970s?
Which country outlawed vaping altogether?
Transportation secretary & wife of #MoscowMitch is being investigated for ethics violations. I always wondered what attracted him to her, now I know! – Bette Midler
Answers:
Iran
Japan
GM
The Chosen One
Nixon – this was the famous “Checkers” speech
Judiciary
Autumn
Pine nuts
The border fence
NSA
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau
Colt – not because of the harm they do, but Colt feels the market is currently saturated
8
Kill about 400 people for fun with her new AR15
Attorney General William Barr
Israel
They
Fuel economy standards
Hale Boggs of Louisiana
India
After watching Pompeo destroy the State Dept, Barr weaponize the DOJ and Trump defile the presidency, it’s a naive notion to believe these scoundrels will ever allow themselves to be voted out of power.
We must use every Constitutional weapon to fight this evil. – Tea Pain
This week comes to an end with our current president once again – ONCE AGAIN mind you – being accused of some sort of major breach of security. Does it rise to the level of treason? So far we don’t know, because the administration has defied the whistleblower laws and so far squashed the required turning over of evidence to Congress.
A while blower apparently from one of the security agencies overheard something that caused great alarm. Evidence was turned over to the Director of National Intelligence who in turn is supposed to relay it to the proper committee(s) in Congress. Is this why former DNI head Dan Coates left suddenly last month to be replaced by a person much more loyal to the president and not loyal to the country and its laws.
At almost the same time former Trump campaign chair Corey Lewandowski tried his best to make a mockery of a legitimate and legal inquiry into corruption and conspiracy with Russia by the Trump campaign. Lewandowski’s performance was that of a criminal who acts as if he knows he will get a pardon for any criminal acts he will commit from the big boss.
The smirk on his face was that of a spoiled toddler. Undermining congress’s power to investigate totally undermines the ability to make laws to fix problems. The administration’s refusal to enforce laws and going so far as to openly and proudly break laws certainly undermines the whole premise of the country.
Meanwhile the administration is on what seems to be a war on our environment and a war on the coming generations by ruining the very planet on which they live. Logging in the Tongass National Forest and allowing oil exploration in the ANWR National Reserve are glaring examples of the pure disdain that the administration has for our environment and the low regard they have for future generations.
Add in the strange, just plain strange legal fight they have initiated with California trying to force California to lower vehicle gas mileage standards. The strange part of this is that if companies lower vehicle mileages, their cars will be unsaleable in foreign markets.
And of course the master stroke of putting totally incompetent, highly prejudiced judges whose loyalty is to Trump and not to country, in office for life. Thus the chances of the Courts acting as the disinterested third party able to legitimately decide conflicts between the administration and anyone. This surely makes the administration much harder to hold accountable for for their policies. Count Grassley and Ernst as proud contributors to this policy.
There are Republicans in congress who seem to cower like whipped dogs at the very mention of Trump’s name. For what is supposed to be an equal branch of government, Republican congress critters act much more like Trump employees or wait staff than equal members of government. You can see the fear on their faces.
I get so pissed off when I hear one of the corporate pundits ( and yes this at NPR also) talk about the “Congress” as one body that won’t face up to problems. It is not “Congress” that won’t face up to problems, it is Republicans. Those Republicans not only refuse to face problems, they actively OBSTRUCT and attempt to even investigate problems.
“Congress” isn’t stopping trying to make our elections more transparent – Republicans are! “Congress” isn’t stopping common sense gun laws, Republicans are! “Congress isn’t driving the country into huge debts, republicans are! Do you get it pundits and people? “Congress” is not the problem, Republicans in congress are.
Republicans are now in the business of creating problems and then exploiting them for campaign donations. It is a little game they are playing. They purposely refused to even consider fixing the immigration system. Now they sue the broken system coupled with their own brand of racism as one of their top fund raising tools.
The administration with no push back from spineless republican congress critters has dismantled trade agreements with little idea what to do after that. They are in the process of dismantling longstanding defense agreements with little thought as to the consequences. As the president canoodles with dictators, wasting our treasure and our long built up good will, his party in congress does nothing.
Finally for today let’s talk about guns and our kids. Our kids are back in school. In our culture today they become a captive group for crazies in America who can buy weapons of war to carry out some kind of dystopian dream of revenge or something.Rights in our constitution have had limits placed on them when the extension of the right causes harm to society. Except for the second amendment.
Yet Republicans in congress spinelessly regurgitate the talking points of their major under, the NRA, and refuse to do anything to help our children and grandchildren. Ask Joni Ernst. She pretends to be a second amendment absolutist. She is one of the people to blame for the next Sandy Hook, the next El Paso, the next Las Vegas.
If Joni Ernst doesn’t have the spine to stand up to the gun lobby, then she shouldn’t have a job where a spine should be required.
This is another one of many things that our corporate media will either probably not carry or if it is carried will be done so as a story with little information around it.
This is also a story that breaks some of the myths of our political life in this country. Farmers and ranchers in this country are painted with a broad brush by the media as a group that is nearly 100% loyal to trump no matter what. They are also painted as being nearly 100% against any environmental rules.
The myth of the united front of farmers and ranchers was exploded Wednesday when a coalition representing over 10,000 farmers and ranchers held a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to support the goals of the Green New Deal. From Common Dreams:
At a press conference on Capitol Hill and in a letter to lawmakers, farmers and ranchers from across the country said reducing fossil fuel emissions to net zero by 2030 is needed to sustain their livelihood and is achievable—but only with congressional support for large-scale reforms to the agricultural industry.
“We stand ready to help achieve all of these [Green New Deal] goals,” wrote the coalition, led by the Sunrise Movement and Regeneration International. “But we need Congress to work with us to develop food and agriculture policies that support climate-friendly organic and regenerative farming, ranching, and land-use practices.”
Washington must shift its attention from the consolidated corporate agribusiness sector back to small family farms, the coalition said.
“We also ask that Congress stop subsidizing monopolistic, extractive industrial agriculture practices that pollute the environment, produce unhealthy food, and disproportionately devastate rural communities and economies,” reads the letter.
<<snip>>
“With a Green New Deal, we have a historic opportunity to break corporate control of farming, invest in rural America, and stand behind the hard-working people who grow our food every day,” he Garrett Blad, national press coordinator for the Sunrise Movement added.
The Green New Deal calls on lawmakers to work alongside farmers and ranchers to remove pollution from the agricultural sector—which creates about 13 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions—by supporting family farming rather than subsidizing corporate factory farms and investing in sustainable farming.
Moving to net zero carbon emissions by 2030 is achievable, the coalition wrote, but only with a rapid shift to a renewable energy economy and large-scale reforms to farming systems, such as a shift to regenerative agriculture—farming practices including no-till farming and composting, which increase biodiversity and enhance ecosystems by capturing carbon in soil and foliage.
“New agricultural policies could provide greater support for practices such as cover cropping, rotational grazing, agroforestry, and silvopasture,” the coalition wrote. “These practices are proven to restore ecosystem health, including the soil’s potential to sequester carbon. Policies that support better farming and ranching practices would make our farming businesses less vulnerable to the impact of climate change and more financially resilient.”
<<snip>>
“Farmers are our allies in the fight against climate change. For them, change is already at their door, and they’re feeling the effects,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) in a statement. “Farmers and ranchers have a critical role to play in mitigating the devastating effects of greenhouse gas emissions. As this Congress prioritizes bold solutions to the climate crisis change, we must remember to bring farmers to the table.”
Farmers and ranchers are not a homogenous group that has one belief and almost totally supports rolling back environmental standards. Forward thinking farmers and ranchers understand that their future is tied to a healthy planet. They also understand that they play a vital role in making the planet healthy.
Follow Iowa Environmental Council for information about the fight to protect Iowa’s water.
From their website:
“The Iowa Environmental Council is the largest and most comprehensive environmental coalition in Iowa.
Our mission: A safe, healthy environment and sustainable future for Iowa.
Through education, advocacy and coalition-building, we raise awareness, generate action and create large-scale change that makes Iowa a better place to live, work, explore and enjoy.”
IEC: Iowa’s Private Wells Contaminated by Nitrate and Bacteria
Des Moines Water Works has struggled for years to provide safe drinking water to its customers, battling nitrate contamination from upstream farms. But contamination from agricultural practices may be even worse for the estimated 230,000 to 290,000 Iowans whose drinking water comes from private wells, an investigation by Environmental Working Group and Iowa Environmental Council finds.
Between 2002 and 2017, unsafe levels of nitrate, coliform bacteria and fecal coliform bacteria were found in thousands of wells across Iowa. Farms are among the main source of the contamination, especially in rural areas of the state.
Almost three-fourths of private wells polluted by these contaminants were in rural counties. Nitrate from fertilizer and animal manure and bacteria from manure applied to farm fields seep through soil or run off poorly protected fields to contaminate drinking water.
Contamination of Iowa’s private wells poses serious health hazards, including elevated cancer risk and birth defects. Yet no state or federal agency requires testing or regulation of private wells. The state requires testing only once, for newly dug or repaired wells.
Public water systems have strict rules about how much nitrate and bacteria are in drinking water. But private well owners are left to deal with harmful pollutants on their own.
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Click on the map to explore which private wells have the most contamination.
During the Democratic presidential debate on Thursday, ABC stations — including those owned by notorious right-wing broadcaster Sinclair — ran a racist ad targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
A powerful woman of color, Ocasio-Cortez is a favorite target of the GOP and affiliated right-wing groups, including Fox News. The ad showed the representative’s face burning in effigy before it cut to images from the Cambodian genocide — attempting to connect her political ideology with the one that led to the deaths of nearly 2 million people.
Let’s be clear: This ad is racist, dishonest and violent and it never should have aired. ABC should apologize for running it.
The language in the ad, which was paid for by New Faces GOP, echoes the dehumanizing, racist rhetoric spewed by President Trump and his enablers and amplified by Fox and Sinclair.
As the 2020 presidential campaign heats up, we’re going to see more and more ads designed to demonize people of color and divide our nation. But the lives of communities of color are more important than the networks’ bottom lines.
Elizabeth WarrenSep 19, 2019, 6:45 p.m.
University of Iowa IMU River Amphitheater, 125 N Madison St, Iowa City, IA
Town hall. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. RSVP
Joe BidenSep 20, 2019, 1 p.m.
Indian Creek Nature Center, 5300 Otis Rd SE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Town hall with Joe Biden. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.
Kamala HarrisSep 20, 2019, 4:45 p.m.
Maucker Union, University of Northern Iowa, 63 Sabin-Maucker, Cedar Falls, IA
A campus event at the University of Northern Iowa.
Joe BidenSep 20, 2019, 7-8:30 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues.
Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Biden will speak at 7:30 p.m.
Sponsored by One Iowa, The Advocate, The Gazette and GLAAD.
Marianne WilliamsonSep 20, 2019, 7-8:30 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Joe SestakSep 20, 2019, 7-8:30 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Julián CastroSep 20, 2019, 7-8:30 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Cory BookerSep 20, 2019, 7 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Kamala HarrisSep 20, 2019, 7 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Elizabeth WarrenSep 20, 2019, 7 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Amy KlobucharSep 20, 2019, 7 p.m.
Coe College, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Forum on LGBTQ issues. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Michael BennetSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Joe BidenSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Cory BookerSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Steve BullockSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Pete ButtigiegSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Julián CastroSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Bill de BlasioSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Tulsi GabbardSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Kirsten GillibrandSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Kamala HarrisSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
John HickenlooperSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Amy KlobucharSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Seth MoultonSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Tim RyanSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Elizabeth WarrenSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Marianne WilliamsonSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Andrew YangSep 21, 2019, 1-4:30 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Joe SestakSep 21, 2019, 1 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Tom SteyerSep 21, 2019, 1 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Beto O’RourkeSep 21, 2019, 1 p.m.
Des Moines Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines, IA
Polk County Steak Fry. Sponsored by Polk County Democrats.
Michael BennetSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IA
Youth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
Bernie SandersSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IA
Youth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
Tulsi GabbardSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IA
Youth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
Tim RyanSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IAYouth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
Bill de BlasioSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IA
Youth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
Joe SestakSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IA
Youth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
Tom SteyerSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IA
Youth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
Andrew YangSep 22, 2019, 9 a.m.
Des Moines Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St, Des Moines, IA
Youth Voice Forum. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Public Schools. Reserve a seat:Student registration form
In the past 3 years protests of various stripes that have been co-ordinated across the country have had a single website or Facebook page that reported where and when the events were taking place across the country. I assumed (let’s hear the old joke) that a website called “Global Climate Strike” was the single point information source for the Climate Strikes this weekend.
I thought it weird that Iowa would not have any events within its borders.
Rally In Support of the Global Climate Strike Friday, September 20, 2019 • 12:00 PM Fairfield, Iowa – Central Park West Burlington Avenue and North Main Street Fairfield , IA 52556
Iowa Climate Strike Friday, September 20, 2019 • 10:00 AM Iowa State Capitol
1007 E Grand Ave. Des Moines, IA 50023
Ames Iowa Strike Friday, September 20, 2019 • 3:00 PM City Hall plaza
515 Clark Ave Ames, IA 50010
Youth Climate Strike Friday, September 20, 2019 • 8:00 AM Omaha City Hall steps
1819 Farnam St Omaha, NE 68102
Omaha Climate Strike Vigil Friday, September 27, 2019 • 6:00 PM Memorial Park
6005 Underwood Avenue Omaha, NE 68132
The 2016 election was a loud wake up call, driven by profound unhappiness with business-as-usual powerful special interest politics. The ensuing chaos has been unsettling and corrupt. The 2020 election is about two things; stopping the crazy and breaking the grip of corporate special interests on our democracy.
I enthusiastically support Elizabeth Warren for president because she can win and is best suited to transform our politics once she’s in office. She has the energy, experience and guts to take on powerful entrenched special interests in Washington to solve daunting problems facing the American people and our planet.
As I’ve watched the Iowa caucuses unfold over the past several months, I’ve seen Elizabeth organize a grassroots campaign rooted in big ideas and person-to-person connections. She is campaigning in small towns, rural communities and big cities. That time she spends listening and learning about the lives of everyday Americans makes her a better candidate — and will make her a better president. She’s proving she knows how to win.
Elizabeth values what we value. Like her mom who went to work at Sears to save their family home, my mom worked at J.C. Penney’s to put food on our table.
Our moms both worked long hours for their families. They instilled in us the notion that hard work deserves respect and an honest paycheck and that people who work hard to make ends meet shouldn’t be ripped off if they live in a mobile home park, are paying off a student loan, a credit card bill or saving for retirement.
Unfortunately, those values aren’t very well-represented in politics nowadays. I know all too well how the most powerful interests can set the terms of the debate — and dictate the outcomes. I spent eight years as a state senator trying to crack down on the predatory payday loan and car title lenders. While we successfully drove the car title loan schemers out of Iowa, we’re still fighting the predatory payday loan sharks.
Beating these interests is no easy task, but Elizabeth has done it.
Prior to her election to the U.S Senate in 2012, Elizabeth worked for decades as an effective citizen advocate in Washington on behalf of struggling families facing financial ruin. She fought the big banks’ attempts to weaken bankruptcy protections and represented taxpayers’ interests in the bank bailout after the 2008 crash. And against fierce opposition, Elizabeth employed her expertise and savvy to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency that defends working people from predatory financial schemes.
Income inequality driven by corporate greed and ineffective government are tearing away at the American dream and the hopes of millions of hardworking families. Money in politics is crushing our democracy. Old school, business-as-usual politics won’t fix it —only a courageous, relentless fighter like Elizabeth will.
Elizabeth Warren is the clear choice for transformative, experience driven problem solving. A powerful woman president is the best hope for the positive change we need right now. That’s why I’ll be caucusing for her on February 3.
Joe Bolkcom is an Iowa state senator from Iowa City. Follow on FB and Twitter
Governor Kim Keynolds: (515) 281-5211 U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Iowa Members of Congress - Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) - Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) - Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) - Rep. Zach Nunn (R) Iowa US Senators - Senator Joni Ernst (R) - Senator Charles Grassley (R)
Follow Iowa Environmental Council for information about the fight to protect Iowa’s water.
Media action alert from Free Press:
Joe Bolkcom endorses Elizabeth Warren. 
