Iowa Is A Purple State

I read in a recent diary that Iowa is safely red. Take that back ye pessimists! We are purple, like a beautiful violet.

Although polling still paints us pale pink for the Senate race, in 2018 we went from one of four House members being a Democrat to three of four, and we came darn close to beating Steve King (aka human excrement) in IA-04. By the way J.D. is running again, so please send him some love if you can. Our two newest House members are women (Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne) and a strong female candidate, Rita Hart, is running in the primary for the seat currently held by Dave Loebsack (IA-02). Abby, Cindy, and Rita could also use a little love.

FYI — I particularly love that my rural state illustrates that the meme “women are not electable” is a damn lie, albeit I still feel particularly disappointed that so many Iowa Democrats fell for it in the presidential primary.

My belief is that if we have strong popular Democrats in every House race, candidates who are well-funded (a sad but necessary thing), then that will encourage turnout of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents across the state. Like all purple states, Iowa depends on high voter turnout that includes our infrequent voters to win. In addition, Donald Trump’s amoral and criminal negligence in dealing with the pandemic will only continue to drive up contempt levels outside of his willfully blind supporters.

Joni Is Vulnerable

Joni Ernst was little known and not much respected among Iowans until Koch brother dollars helped fund the relentless propaganda that bought her a Senate seat. Joni has subsequently spent her Senate career going to safe places in Iowa with small crowds whom she expected to accept her bullshit unquestionably — and of course who did. But since Trump was elected and she has repeatedly voted to hurt people and made excuses for the inexcusable, she can no longer find these places.

If you understood how hard it is for Iowans to initiate conflict in their communities you would truly appreciate the importance of this. She has been openly called out for her stance on healthcare, on opposing gun safety laws, and for generally supporting all the horrible things Trump has done. And as is true everywhere, women are particularly incensed about Joni’s support for caging children and their families.

A recent poll shows she’s losing support.

According to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, Ernst’s approval rating has slipped from a high point of 57% in February 2019 to 47% today.

We hope that that this will continue as many groups are targeting Joni with a growing number of awesome ads specifically designed to appeal to Iowans. Here are just two examples:

Both state and national groups are creating and funding these ads and placing them on every available platform, so the attacks will be relentless until the election. Be sure and do your own sharing.

Theresa Is The One To Do It

It has long been known that Democratic voters don’t just need someone to vote against, many also need someone to vote for. Theresa has all the personal characteristics, including honesty and integrity, that are deeply valued by Democratic voters. In addition, her personal story is compelling and will resonate well across our state.

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She has been out raising Joni Ernst for several quarters now, and until we have public financing of campaigns, that is something that really matters. If the spirit so moves you, please give. Recently, I have been matching my political contributions with donation to sources providing help with the COVID-19 response. Here is a link to the Food Bank of Iowa. Lots of other worthy ones out there.

Theresa has also raised more than five times the funding of all her Democratic primary opponents combined and this will help her build on the pre-existing support network and campaign apparatus from her primary efforts in IA-03 in 2018. As is critically needed, her campaign’s strategies and infrastructure are being smartly redesigned to address the realities of the pandemic.

We Know How To Vote By Mail

We are a “no excuse” vote by mail state and we can appeal to Iowans’ natural tendency to be community-minded by emphasizing that voting by mail is a good way to protect people in this pandemic. We need people to understand that until an effective vaccine is available, we will need to practice some degree of social distancing.

Iowans are required, however, to request a ballot for each election. Fortunately, although our Republican Secretary of State is not great, he is also not terrible, and they will be sending an application form to every registered voter in the state for the June 2 primary. Our county auditors already have best practices developed for vote by mail, including ways that even if you request and receive a ballot, you can take it to a polling station and vote in person if you insist.

I have wanted universal vote by mail in Iowa for a long time. Perhaps we can get more of our citizenry to give it a try, particularly the young, and maybe many of them will permanently adopt this better way.

Action Items!

Remember Iowans, there is the primary election on June 2, so get your absentee ballots and vote for Theresa Greenfield in the Democratic Senate primary.

And then let’s kick as many Republicans as we can to the curb in November, including the dangerously unfit man currently squatting in the Oval Office.

Peace and Unity