You will know the Republican effort to control our behavior has reached you when at a meeting someone says, “Can we not talk about politics?” My answer to such suppression of free will is usually “I don’t think that is possible.”
Politics is the lifeblood of much of society. The effort to suppress its discussion is distinctly Republican. They would pretend we should all be above such plebeian concerns. The last thing they want is for Iowans to discuss how we can improve our collective lives through better politics. The Republican way is they want to be the boss of us and just tell us what we should do. You have feelings and thoughts? Well too bad!
My father’s side of the family came down from the mountains of Appalachia where every discussion included politics. I recall making phone calls into Southwestern Virginia supporting a friend who was running for lieutenant governor. Not only did folks take my call, they wanted to ask who else I was supporting and cut some kind of deal: if they would vote for my guy, would I vote for theirs? Even though I was calling from Iowa, these folks I did not know seemed like family and if things go further south in Iowa, I could see moving there. Don’t be talking politics in group meetings here, though.
I forget what I even said. It was something about working to replace my Republican state senator and representative in the Iowa legislature. Apparently, I crossed a line. I had known everyone on the video call for more than 50 years. It never occurred to me discussion of politics was taboo, nor should it be in normal society. I remember wearing my Elizabeth Warren for president t-shirt on one of the calls. It was not intended although it was easy to see who was like-minded.
I was on the board of a local non-profit supporting the elderly. People would help out and we were glad for the help. Some made it very clear they didn’t want to get into discussions about politics as they knew some of us were Democrats who often wrote letters to the editor to the newspaper. We were able to do some good things with that group and we didn’t really suffer by holding off on political talk. I mean, have you been on social media lately? Who needs meaningless political chatter when there is actual work to be done?
What really sticks in my craw is when Governor Reynolds talks about policies that result in telling us how to do things. The recent six-week abortion ban serves as an example. Iowa women do not need the government involved with a discussion that should be between them and their doctor. State Auditor Rob Sand said recently in an email, the administration is just getting started in telling us how to live our lives:
That’s truly chilling, Paul.
Taking away reproductive freedom is bad enough, but they aren’t done yet.
They’re coming for fertility treatments, surrogacy, and contraception next.
If these partisans cared at all about their duty to serve the people of Iowa, they wouldn’t be pushing this dangerous agenda, because more than 60% of Iowans support reproductive rights.
But nope, they’re putting their own stakeholders and partisan agendas ahead of the people, which is a cardinal sin in public service. (Email from Rob Sand, July 8, 2024).
I doubt any of them, Kim Reynolds, Brenna Bird and their ilk will admit publicly they are sinners, yet here we are. The troubling aspect of this is their culture penetrates almost everything we do in public or with others. It begins with the simple request, “Can we not talk about politics?” My point is recognize it for what it is: Republicans trying to tell us how to live. Then, just say no, there is another way.
When I signed up for the District and State conventions, the Iowa Democratic Party required me to sign off that I supported Joe Biden for president. I did and I’m guessing there was a similar process in enough states for him to win the nomination at the August convention no matter what. In fact, I know he has enough delegates to be nominated. Biden has not changed substantially since then, so what is the hullabaloo? It is a media-driven distraction.
In a recent Washington Post article, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer report progressives in the Congress continue to support Biden’s candidacy for reelection. Specifically, progressive bastions Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Greg Cesar (D-TX), and Ayanna Presley (D-MA) support the president’s reelection. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told the authors, “Biden is one of the ‘more progressive’ presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
It’s not just Sanders. “Despite their criticisms, many of them say Biden has been the most progressive president in generations. They point to his investment in infrastructure, his work to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, an aggressive antitrust division at the Department of Justice and his willingness to appoint Lina Khan, a consumer advocate, to lead the Federal Trade Commission. They also champion acting labor secretary Julie Su, whom Biden has kept in place despite lacking the votes for Senate confirmation,” reported the Post. According to this progressive caucus, Biden is getting things done. He is also the president who will defend Social Security and Medicare from Republican wants and desires to fundamentally change the programs.
While these legislators differ with Biden’s approach in some areas, when they lobby for changes in policy, they feel Biden is listening, according to the Post. Biden’s staff is left-leaning, so when a member of the squad calls the White House, they find a sympathetic ear despite Biden’s history of being centrist in his politics. It is Biden who makes this positive reception of progressive ideas possible.
Who is publicly calling for the president to step aside? Senators who have had presidential aspirations themselves were the first: Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO). Part of this may have to do with state polling showing some weakness for Democrats in these malleable states. Christina Bohannan and Sarah Corkery, Iowa Democratic candidates for Congress called for Biden to step aside July 11. I don’t see how this helps their campaigns in a state Trump is expected to win and deliver coat tails for their Republican opponents. Everyone should be concerned about the results of the November election. The idea that Biden can’t do the job falls flat because he IS ACTUALLY DOING THE JOB EVERY SINGLE DAY. Biden’s performance in many areas of his administration is what progressives seek in governance.
What we have here, and progressives in the Congress appear to see it, is an ability to jump on the post-debate bandwagon as journalists, donors, and Democratic operatives appear to be doing. The Congressional Progressive Caucus appears to be able to see through the noise and focus on what is important in the Congress: getting work done for the American people.
Following is a fund raising email from Biden-Harris Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon that briefly explains the campaign strategy for a path to 270 electoral votes. Not only does Joe Biden say he will win against Donald Trump, he has a plan to do so. This is the public version of that. I consolidated the donation links into one at the bottom.
MEMORANDUM
FROM: Jen O’Malley Dillon, Campaign Chair DATE: July 11, 2024 RE: The Path Ahead
Jen O’Malley Dillon here, Campaign Chair on Team Biden-Harris. In the wake of last month’s debate, many of you have asked for an update on the path ahead and what we need to do to work together to defeat Donald Trump.
Going into the debate, our campaign was clear-eyed about the five things we needed to do to win this race:
Showing the strength of the President’s record of accomplishment, leadership, and support.
Going on the offense against Trump to draw contrast and show how dangerous another term would be.
Maintaining multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes, with a focus on the Blue Wall states.
Staying laser-focused on our coalition of voters and double-down on our grassroots support.
Driving a vision and ambitious agenda for the future.
Those imperatives remain true. What has changed following the debate is the urgency and discipline with which we need to pursue them. We believe if we follow the roadmap below, we will win.
If you want to learn more about how we are going to win and defeat Donald Trump, please read on below.
Where the Race Stands
While there is no question there is increased anxiety following the debate, we are not seeing this translate into a drastic shift in vote share. In fact, this morning, a new ABC/Ipsos poll showed a tied race with no change since April.
Our internal data and public polling show the same thing: This remains a margin-of-error race in key battleground states.
The movement we have seen, while real, is not a sea-change in the state of the race. While some of this movement was from undecided voters to Trump, much of it was driven by voters who have always been our core persuasion targets. Our post-debate net favorability is 20 percentage points higher than Trump’s among these voters based on internal polling. That said, we believe we have a very real path to consolidating their support.
Most importantly, we maintain multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes. Right now, winning the Blue Wall states — Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — is the clearest pathway to that aim, but we also believe that the sunbelt states are not out of reach. The consensus across internal and public polling is that these states largely remain within the margin-of-error.
In addition to what we believe is a clear pathway ahead for us, there is also no indication that other Democratic candidates would outperform the President against Trump. Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter. The only Democratic candidate for whom this is already baked in is President Biden.
There is a long way to go between now and Election Day with considerable uncertainty, but the data shows we have a clear path to win. As we’ve always said, in today’s fragmented media environment, it will take time for our message to break through with trusted messengers and a strong ground game. That remains the case.
What Comes Next: Shoring Up the Biden-Harris Coalition
Our campaign remains laser-focused on battleground states and prioritizing outreach to the coalition that sent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House in 2020.
Last Friday, the President rallied over 1,000 fired-up supporters in Madison, Wisconsin. On Sunday, he campaigned across Pennsylvania, speaking at a church in Northwest Philly, stopping by a field office with Senator Fetterman to fire up volunteers, talking with hundreds of supporters, including union members and local Democrats, at an organizing event in Harrisburg, and grabbing coffee at a small business in Harrisburg with Governor Shapiro. And tomorrow, he’ll be in Detroit, Michigan.
The President has also spent the weeks following the debate rallying key constituencies that make up our winning coalition, meeting with Democratic governors and mayors from across the country, talking with key congressional leaders, meeting with labor leaders at the AFL-CIO yesterday, and more.
Next week, as Trump and extreme MAGA Republicans put their toxic extremism front and center at the Republican National Convention, the President will be on the road. On Monday, he will mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in Austin, Texas, followed by a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for events with the NAACP, UNIDOS, and local leaders.
A Campaign Designed to Win Close Elections
Our campaign has been designed to win a close election from the beginning.
Since last fall, we have been building deep relationships in communities across the battleground states to register, persuade, mobilize, and turn out voters when it matters most. Using both in-person events and activities as well as engaging voters online, we are having conversations with voters to cut through media silos and political narratives.
At the same time, we made early and ongoing investments in a staff presence across the battleground states. We are presently at over 1,200 coordinated staff across key states. They are building an army of tens of thousands of volunteers who will talk to millions of voters. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s operation relies almost exclusively on name ID and earned media, which presently Democrats are giving him in spades.
Framing the Election as a Choice
People are continuing to vote on the issues they care about — which are also the very issues we are winning on. Many voters turned on the debate having forgotten how much they dislike Donald Trump. They left the debate with a fresh reminder of how extreme and dangerous a second Trump term would be.
With that in mind, our path centers on reminding voters that this election will be a choice between Joe Biden, who is fighting to move our country forward and make life better for working people, and Donald Trump, who is focused on his own revenge and retribution with no concern for who he hurts.
In our polling, we have seen that when we remind voters what Trump has done and said — bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade, saying that there has to be some form of punishment for women who have an abortion, proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare and tax cuts for big corporations — the voters who moved away from us after the debate came home. And, after hearing messaging about the stakes of the election, we move ahead of Trump in vote choice.
Our team has seized on this unique opportunity by amplifying Trump’s deeply unpopular agenda online and in ads. Project 2025 is now more frequently searched than Taylor Swift and the NFL, and President Biden himself weighed in, warning that Project 2025 “would give Trump limitless power over our daily lives and let him use the presidency to enact ‘revenge’ on his enemies, ban abortion nationwide and punish women who have an abortion, and gut the checks and balances that make America the greatest democracy in the world. It’s extreme and dangerous.”
When we reach our target voters with the President’s positive vision, they respond to it. This is not a simple task in this media environment, but it is a straightforward one. While we will aggressively attack the threat that Trump poses, we will simultaneously paint the picture of the America Joe Biden and Democrats nationwide are fighting for. One where we restore Roe, make billionaires pay their fair share in taxes, lower costs for American families, and protect our fundamental rights and freedoms.
During the 2022 midterms, Democrats were disciplined and banded together to expose Republicans up and down the ballot for their extremism on democracy and reproductive freedom, heading off a red wave the pundits said was inevitable. We have an opportunity to do that again over the next three and half months — and there is no better time than next week to start.
The Bottom Line
No one is denying that the debate was a setback. But the President and this team have made it through setbacks before. We are clear eyed about what we need to do to win. And we will win by moving forward, unified as a party.
We must focus on defeating Donald Trump every single day between now and Election Day. There’s never been a more important moment than right now to show that you are ready to defeat him once and for all. So, I have to ask:
One of the arguments that went under the radar this year was whether the Holocene era is over, giving way to the Anthropocene, the era of human dominance over the planet. For what it’s worth, the panel voted we are still in the Holocene, a period that began some 11,700 years ago with the end of the last ice age.
Few opponents of the Anthropocene proposal doubted the enormous impact that human influence, including climate change, is having on the planet. But some felt the proposed marker of the epoch—some 10 centimeters of mud from Canada’s Crawford Lake that captures the global surge in fossil fuel burning, fertilizer use, and atomic bomb fallout that began in the 1950s—isn’t definitive enough. (Science, March 5, 2024).
The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) has not given up and will be working the next ten years until another vote is taken. In the Science article, author Paul Voosen indicated the AWG are news hounds. “‘The Anthropocene epoch was pushed through the media from the beginning—a publicity drive,’ says Stanley Finney, a stratigrapher at California State University Long Beach and head of the International Union of Geological Sciences, which would have had final approval of the proposal.”
What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Expect climate deniers to be all over this news, saying humans don’t influence climate change. That would be hogwash. Luckily, there are people in Iowa doing something to mitigate the effects of human influences on the climate. People like the Iowa Environmental Council who announced this free webinar:
Communities near coal plants operated by Iowa’s power companies see higher rates of asthma, COPD, cancer, and other pollution-related diseases. A new report from the Iowa Environmental Council, written in partnership with the American Lung Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s Comprehensive Healthcare System, highlights how two coal-fired power plants outside of Sioux City affect the health of the region.
Join us Wednesday, July 24 for a lunch hour webinar about this new report examining the relationship between pollution from coal plants and lung disease in Woodbury County.
Coal in Siouxland Health Impacts – free webinar Wednesday July 24 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Online (Register Here)
The report finds that the two MidAmerican Energy coal plants have been associated with causing at least 1,400 premature deaths since 1999 and the region’s rates of asthma and lung cancer outpace statewide averages. Despite these impacts, MidAmerican Energy claims they will operate these plants for an additional 25 years.
Can’t make it for the live event? Register to attend and a recording will be made available to view later at your convenience. Contact us with any questions at iecmail@iaenvironment.org. We hope to see you there!
It is unsurprising that after two straight years of losing political battles over reproductive rights, the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America organization and their allies are at wits end. They lost every contest. I can imagine a scene from a conference room at the Susan B. Anthony headquarters where staff sits around a conference table brainstorming what to do next in their quest to ban abortion in the United States. “Maybe we should do what the left is doing,” someone says. They came up with $92 million to spend on battleground states doing just that, using personal testimonials by women who chose not to have an abortion. This tit for tat strategy misses the point.
Reproductive freedom means a woman and their doctor have the ability to do what is right about childbearing without intrusion by government. Under Roe vs. Wade there were rules about when a woman could have an abortion and a culture of compliance with them came up in society. Throwing the issue back to the states, as the U.S. Supreme Court did with the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has led to chaos and an environment that will eventually bring the issue back to the high court as it already has in Idaho vs. United States (emergency abortions) and FDA vs. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (mifepristone).
For the latest update, here is an excerpt from Megan Messerly and Alice Miranda Ollstein’s recent Politico article. I recommend following them for their constant reporting on this key issue in the 2024 general election campaign.
Why the anti-abortion movement is adopting the left’s post-Roe playbook
The left has spent two years galvanizing voters against state abortion bans by handing a microphone to the women affected by them. Conservatives are now adopting that playbook in an effort to turn public opinion in their favor.
Anti-abortion groups’ new campaign features women speaking directly to the camera — sharing stories of eschewing abortion after being raped, receiving a diagnosis of a fetal anomaly or finding out they were too far along to legally terminate their pregnancy. They aim to match the first-person ads that Democrats and abortion-rights groups have used in key races, like the successful abortion-rights ballot measure in Ohio and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection in Kentucky.
It’s part of an effort aimed at changing the narrative on abortion after two years of bruising electoral defeats and growing support among voters for access to the procedure heading into November’s contests. A recent CBS News-YouGov poll found that 60 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and the Pew Research Center has documented a rise in support for abortion rights across the political spectrum since Roe fell.
“Democrats do this well,” said Kelsey Pritchard, director of state public affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which plans to spend $92 million this cycle in battleground states. “Republicans need to match them on this and do even better. That’s how they can get ahead in 2024.”
Anti-abortion groups have used testimonials before, including stories of people who survived abortion attempts, to argue that fetuses deserve legal protection. But this new push is meant to help people understand the reasons mothers decided not to have abortions. …
Social media space is getting flooded with posts designed to distract us from what really matters in the life of a society. Project 2025 is the latest example. We should exercise caution before promoting this conservative governing agenda to have the right people, policies, and playbook in place and ready to go during the next conservative administration. Promoting it through our complaints and drama serves only to strengthen the Heritage Foundation initiative.
The conservative initiative to implement their agenda is well underway. It started as a reaction to the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and picked up steam after the election of Ronald Reagan as president. They accomplished much under the Trump administration yet it was such a clown show they missed more than they gained. In 2024, conservatives are gaining the skills, resources, and traction needed to accomplish their goals. Project 2025 is an example of something that in the past went unspoken, yet is emboldened by the growth of conservative populism.
Look no further than the U.S. Supreme Court which under John Roberts is already dismantling what they consider to be infringement upon personal freedom. There are many examples, the most recent is overturning Chevron vs. Natural Resources Defense Council about which I posted last week. My Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks succinctly stated what to a lot of us is obvious about the conservative approach regarding checking the power of the federal government.
The Supreme Court recently overturned the 1984 ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which had allowed federal agencies to interpret laws not explicitly addressed by Congress. The decision is one of the most crucial checks on the power of the executive branch and unelected bureaucrats that the U.S. has seen in decades and marks a significant victory for the country and “the little guy”. (Miller-Meeks Constituent Newsletter, July 7, 2024).
Decision after decision of the Roberts Court is chipping away at gains in making American society a more fair and equitable place. They came after voting rights, Roe vs. Wade, race conscious university admissions policies, affirmative action, and more. Already there are court cases in the works to overturn Obergefell vs. Hodges in which the court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage. The Roberts court seems likely to overturn the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution should they find a fulcrum strong enough. My point is that putting a name on Project 2025 distracts us from the broader conservative initiative that has been in place with vigor since the Reagan Administration.
Well-known Iowa political activist Amber Gustafson posted the following on Threads, “How many people can you tell about Project 2025 this week? Your hairstylist. Your dog walker. Your neighbor. A coworker. A college friend. Someone under 30. Your Uber driver. Anyone. Everyone. WE MUST TELL THEM.” Sure. Spread the word about Project 2025 if it will motivate people to activate in Democratic political campaigns. My issue is people are simply not tuned in the way political activists are, and threats of a potential conservative dismantling of society belie the fact it has been going on at least since 1981. The knowledge Democrats are fighting for what is right for everyone is a more powerful motivator than scare tactics about anything. They overturned Roe vs. Wade two years ago. If that isn’t a motivator, I don’t know what is.
Going forward I won’t be mentioning Project 2025. There are already too many “takes” about it. Instead I will be working to elect Democrats from president to township trustee. That’s where the real work of the 2024 political campaign lies and where we can best protect what freedoms we have left..
Children Working as Newsboys in Utica, New York. Photo Credit – Wikimedia Commons.
Governor Reynolds called me out on my Breaker Boys post. Well, that may not be accurate. I doubt she read it. In an open letter to Iowans she said, “What to most Iowans looks like a sensible option for kids is being treated as a sinister plot to force children back into the sweatshops, mines, and factories of the late 1800s.” If I’m charged with that, I plead guilty. Reynolds said, and I agree, let’s “take a deep breath, draw on some common-sense, and look at the facts.” Okay, I will.
I entered the workplace in the seventh grade at age 14 to deliver newspapers for the Des Moines Register in Davenport. From talking to peers, I understood we could earn money as a paper boy, maybe a couple of dollars a week. Mother called around and the Register had a route near home available. The preferred route was with the Times-Democrat but those were all filled. The Register didn’t have many Davenport subscribers in 1965 so I rode my bicycle between houses to speed up the delivery process. I didn’t think of much except the inherent freedom of work delivering newspapers in my home town and what I would do with each week’s dollar or two. There was no mention of the government.
The same held true when someone moved on to high school and a Times-Democrat route became available. I took it. Once I started high school, I, too, had to give up my paper route. At age 16, I began work in a department store where after our shift, we often went out for food at a nearby fast food restaurant. We never worried about how late we were out and honestly, no one cared. I suppose there were government rules about all this, but I did not know of them at the time. I did realize on my first paycheck that part of my wages went to Social Security and other taxes. I was shocked, even after my employer explained it to me. Social Security seemed like a good deal at the time. I ended up drawing my pension when I reached retirement age, so the promise held over the years.
We can’t miss the finer point here. While my 1960s experiences as a child in the labor force may no longer be possible, we do not need the government to develop “sensible options” for child labor. What the governor wants is much worse than child labor that resulted in federal law to protect children in the workplace. She wants government to tell us how to live. That is the point of Republican governance in 2024. What freedom-loving person needs another government program or government telling us how we should live?
The incident with the North Liberty restaurant fined by the Labor Department after following the governor’s new rules was preventable. As the Cedar Rapids Gazette pointed out, “it’s past time for state and federal officials to meet and work out a potential solution to the impasse. Set aside election year politics. Keep kids safe and keep hardworking restaurants in business.” The restaurant owner was quoted in the article as follows:
“This is not a train wreck that we started,” owner Chad Simmons said. “We are innocent bystanders in a fight someone else created.”
He blames state leaders and the Iowa Restaurant Association for adopting “a policy to purposely antagonize the federal government and the Department of Labor.”
I would say it this way: Governor Reynolds should adopt something other than an in your face approach to meeting Iowa’s labor needs. All of us, including our children, would be better off with less government intrusion in our lives.
Dr. James Zogby is a regular presence in Iowa and a devoted Democrat. His organization sent an email describing what to do for Palestinian rights in conjunction with the Democratic and Republican national conventions this summer. He is offering an action plan. Here is his unedited email with the links for donations removed. If you want to donate to the Arab American Institute to help with this project, click here.
While this is my 11th presidential convention, in many ways, it is the most challenging. Because both parties will be formally nominating the candidates while a horrifying genocide is unfolding in Gaza and Israel is threatening a full-scale war on Lebanon.
What’s especially upsetting is that these critical issues, and both parties’ complicity in them, won’t be discussed at either the Republican or Democratic conventions – unless we do something about it. I really need your help to ensure that our voices are heard.
That’s why AAI was created – to bring our concerns to the centers of power and challenge them to respond.
If I’ve learned anything over four decades it’s that these gatherings provide opportunities to have issues heard, be covered in the media, and make a difference. There is one time, every four years, when party leaders, government officials, and 10,000 members of the media are together in one place, and this is it.
AAI has never walked away when our community, or the values and beliefs we hold dear, are under attack, and this year will be no different.
Inside the convention hall, the delegates won’t hear about the genocide in Gaza, the violence escalating in Lebanon, or the role of dark money and congressional efforts in silencing debate. But outside of the conventions, AAI, along with our allies, is organizing programming with policy experts and activists to educate and challenge party delegates. Together we’ll let them know that Arab Americans will not be silenced, and Gaza and Lebanon will not, and cannot be, forgotten. They will hear us when we declare self-determination for the Palestinian people is a MUST.
Since 1988, the Arab American Institute has led events voicing our community’s concerns at every major party convention. This year cannot be an exception. Too much is at stake, and we cannot be silent.
Here is our plan so far.
– AAI will conduct a poll of U.S. voters to be released during the RNC Convention in Milwaukee. This poll will drive home the importance of Palestinian rights in the November election. While programming for Milwaukee remains in progress, plans for the DNC Convention in Chicago, August 19-22, are more developed.
– In July AAI will launch a national petition drive asking the Conventions to hear directly from Palestinian voices from Gaza and to provide a time during the Convention for alternative voices to be heard regarding the direction of U.S. policy on Palestinian rights.
– During the Democratic Convention, building on AAI’s Emergency Summit for Gaza held earlier this year, we will host three days of programming together with Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Progressive Democrats.
Topics include:
Day One: Silencing Debate on Palestine: – silencing our students; – repressive legislation equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism; – the role of “dark money” smearing progressive voices and policies.
Day Two: Palestinian and Arab Voices Must be Heard: – a film depicting the devastation Israel has inflicted on Palestinians; – a panel of Palestinian voices from Gaza and the West Bank; – the critical importance of UNWRA and the damage Congress has done to its ability to provide needed support to starving Palestinians in Gaza; – the role of the “Uncommitted Movement” in elevating our concerns with the genocide in Gaza.
Day Three: A critical examination of the 2024 Democratic Party Platform with a panel of experts from past platform debates. – a panel of Democratic Party leaders and activists who will discuss how the party’s progressive wing is reshaping the future of the party.
To make all this happen, we will need your support. After reviewing all the pieces – the film, the poll, the program venues, printed materials and signs, and travel and housing for invited speakers – AAI needs to raise critical funds to ensure that your concerns about Palestinian rights and the safety of the Lebanese are heard at the conventions.
Please commit to joining us in challenging American leaders on Gaza, U.S. policy, and Palestinian rights. Your gift today can make all the difference.
Friendly note to readers: This isn’t going to be brief.
You’ll see below an overview of the six-week ban that the Iowa Supreme Court approved on a 4-3 vote this past Friday.
These are my thoughts on it, most of which I shared at a June 28 event:
I am a proud Iowan. I love my state, I care about its people – and that’s why I’m standing here today.
Two years ago, we in Iowa lost two fundamental constitutional rights in the span of a week – the right to control our bodies and our lives under the Iowa constitution, and then, one week later, Roe fell in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs case. But, until now, abortion remained legal in Iowa until 20 weeks.
That changed on Friday. Now, half of Iowans have been stripped of their rights to decide if, when and how to start a family.
Now, we are less free. Now, we have fewer rights than we did yesterday. Now, we are less than. We are no longer equal citizens under the law.
Friday’s split Iowa Supreme Court ruling – it was 4-3 – is the latest gambit in this cruel game between our extreme Republican trifecta, who do not listen to Iowans, and the majority of Iowans who support reproductive freedom.
This is about power and one narrow world view. If it were really about lives, there would be family leave and childcare and medical care and free school lunches and a higher minimum wage – and much more.
It’s about a blastocyst and an embryo and, 10 weeks after fertilization, a fetus.
It’s not about actual women and pregnant persons.
It’s not about respecting the medical profession.
It’s not about trusting women and pregnant persons.
And it’s not about healthcare. Yes, abortion is healthcare. And to those who say is it not, I ask:
Have they or anyone they know ever had a D and C?
An ectopic or a molar pregnancy?
Have they or anyone they know ever suffered from pre-eclampsia or a ruptured uterus or any one of myriad other complications?
Have they or anyone they know ever had a much-wanted fetus with a deadly diagnosis?
Have they or anyone they know been in an abusive relationship?
Have they or anyone then know been raped or abused by a close friend or member of the family?
Abortion is healthcare. And the decision belongs squarely between a woman – a pregnant person – and their doctor.
I don’t belong in that exam room. No member of the Iowa legislature does, and neither does Kim Reynolds. Last I looked, none of us have medical degrees – in fact, no member of the Iowa Senate does.
Republican politicians are not listening. Over 60% of Iowans believe in reproductive freedom.
And you know what else? Abortion bans are literally against my religion. I believe one way forward is by using their new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. A similar case has been proceeding in Indiana. We need to use every legal tool we have.
Whether or not to have a child is a highly personal decision. It’s also an economic decision. Can I afford to raise a child, pay for what it needs, house it, feed it, clothe it, educate it? As someone raising a young child, I am highly aware of those costs – both necessary and optional. And, if you live in one of our maternal healthcare deserts, it may also be a practical decision.
And healthcare is all connected. When you limit some forms of health care, you decrease access across the board to essential services. States with extreme bans have poorer health outcomes for women and children, including higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.
When people are denied abortions, their long-term well-being and that of their children, if they have them, suffers. And the burden, as always, falls disproportionately on Black, Latina, and indigenous communities.
Abortion bans cause physicians to move out of state. We are already last in the nation in our ratio of OB-GYNs to women.
And we all know that this law won’t stop abortions. It will just prevent many safe and legal abortions.
It won’t end here. They are coming for our rights – contraception, IVF, same sex marriage – even no-fault divorce. They are coming for everyone who doesn’t look like them or think like them or worship like them. And by now I hope we all realize that that is not hyperbole.
As my colleague Senator Petersen wrote today: Governor Reynolds and state house Republicans failed to mention our bodies, our health, and our future are not part of their “freedom agenda.” It’s time to fight back, Iowa.
So, this year, yes, every single vote matters. I am a Supreme Court voter. I am a U.S. Congress voter. I am an LGBTQA rights voter. I am a voting rights voter. I am a healthcare voter, a pro-choice voter, and a DEMOCRACY voter.
I am a “thinking-of-everyone’s-kids-and-grandkids” voter. In other words, I am an Iowa voter. Fin.
Separately, I commend to you all Chief Justice Christensen’s eloquent dissent, which I hope will get some national play. In her opinion, Christensen rejected the majority’s claim that abortion rights aren’t grounded in Iowa history or tradition: “The majority’s rigid approach relies heavily on the male-dominated history and traditions of the 1800s, all the while ignoring how far women’s rights have come since the Civil War era. … By exclusively relying on the text of our constitution that was adopted in 1857 and our state’s history and tradition to conclude that abortion is not a fundamental right, the majority perpetuates the gendered hierarchies of old when women were second-class citizens.”
She also wrote of the nature of the right at issue: “It is painfully apparent to me that the majority misapprehends the nature of the liberty at issue here. It is not whether abortion, with the polarizing reactions it evokes, is a fundamental right but rather whether individuals have the fundamental right to make medical decisions affecting their health and bodily integrity in partnership with their healthcare provider free from government interference.”
As I said, I commend to you her dissent in full.
We have work to do.
Read more about Senator Weiner on her legislative home page here.
President Joe Biden isn’t going anywhere. In a speech in Madison, Wisconsin this afternoon he made clear he will not be pushed aside and is not only in the race for reelection, he will beat Donald Trump. That is that. He has the skills and experience to win this election and build on the legacy he started during his first term. Here is his speech affirming his commitment to win in November.
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)
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