The perceived wariness of a few U.S. Senate moderate Democrats on moving forward the health reform bill cobbled together by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dissipated yesterday. All 58 Democrats and the two independents who typically vote with the majority party Dems held together and passed the bill (with an [...]
Despite voter objection, Senate votes 60-39 to push government takeover of health care
In a late Saturday night vote, Harry Reid's 2,074 healthcare reform bill secured the 60 votes needed in the US Senate allowing debate to begin when Senators return on November 30.
Three Democrat senators whose support for the Reid [...]
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin addressed the Hy-Vee Hall crowd via video, saying he expected Gov. Chet Culver to win re-election and praising congressional Democrats’ work on health-care reform.
He remained in Washington for a key procedural vote to move a health-care reform bill forward in the Senate. After he spoke, Iowa [...]
Rep. Bruce Braley told the crowd it’s not the time for Iowa Democrats to be walking around and looking glum.
He recalled that when he first ran for office, in 2006, Democrats trailed Republicans in voter registrations. Now, Democrats far outnumber Republicans in registrations.
He also made mention of a favorite theme [...]
Senator Chuck Grassley issued the following comment about his opposition to the motion to proceed to H.R. 3590, the legislative vehicle for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009. The text of Senator Grassley’s floor speech is below the comment.
“This proposal is another big government [...]
Did you know that as a member of the Johnson County Compensation Board, Janelle Rettig recommended that the county's elected officials receive a 3 percent pay raise for fiscal year 2010?
It's true. Despite a sour economy, Rettig voted to spend more of your money. That recommendation took place in January.
Rettig [...]
New York voters aren't very optimistic about the financial solvency of their state, but they're also sending their elected representatives mixed signals. They oppose budget cuts in a couple key areas but are against tax hikes even more.
Read the Rasmussen Reports telephone survey.
Editor's Note: [...]
An important vote on health care reform comes off tomorrow, when the U.S. Senate will undertake a procedural vote on the recently introduced Patient Protection and Affordability Act. It is not a vote to pass the bill out of the Senate, but to move full consideration of [...]
Instead of asking conservatives to call home-state senators with pleas for votes against health care reform, the Republican National Committee is asking its membership to contact the offices of two Democratic senators deemed “critically important” to squashing any up-or-down vote on the reform bill.
U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and [...]
Teen library patrons in Ames will continue to have the opportunity to access accurate sex education materials thanks to a vote Thursday night by the local library's board of trustees. 
The even-year November elections have been very interesting in South Dakota lately, and will be again in 2010. Word today is that the new state smoking ban will be referred to voters in November 2010 after bar and [...]
Former Gov. Terry Branstad said Iowa voters’ early preference of him over Gov. Chet Culver is helping his fundraising as the longtime Republican governor begins cranking up his campaign operation.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Branstad said today in his first Des Moines Register interview since forming a campaign organization to seek the [...]
A big thank you goes out to Solon resident Lori Cardella and all the others who gave Johnson County voters a voice!
Their determination to get a special election petition signed, delivered, and validated has resulted in a special election being called for on January 19. This overides a very questionable [...]
By PETER HUSSMANN
The Skiff Medical Center Board of Trustees today voted to accept the immediate resignation of Interim CEO Francie Jahn and place Brett Altman, director of physical medicine and rehabilitation, in the interim chief executive role at the hospital until the newly appointed CEO, Jeff Long, comes aboard in [...]
It's funny that Sheriff Pulkrabek is accusing the Republicans and Lori Cardella of being "tax and spend" simply because we wish to exercise our Constitutional right to vote on elected positions, i.e the County Supervisor vacancy, and over 8,100 other Johnson County voters agree with us. The County Assessor Tom [...]
To the Newton Independent
All over the news media the smart people are proclaiming bad news for Democrats. The polls of the most likely voters show that the Democrats are behind and the Chicken Little Democrats are running around flopping their wings and crying "woe is us, the most likely voters" [...]
May Congress follow the lead of Blizzard Entertainment, and vote on the health care bill “when it’s ready.” Ezra Klein, who’s essential reading on health care reform, points out some of the cost control measures being considered.
The first comes from the excise tax on high-cost health insurance plans. The [...]
The party is over folks; put the campaign Kool-Aid away. It doesn’t matter who you voted for. It’s time to pay the fine, go to confession, or beg for mercy. Our nation sits upon the edge of a scalpel.
If any form of this health care fiasco passes all bets are [...]
There have been numerous letters to the editor praising Rep. Loebsack’s support of the health care bill. Courageous? Does the public know that this bill: cuts Medicare by $400 billion? That that there will be 35 million new patients with no new doctors or nurses? That the bill fines the [...]
The Democratic National Committee announced today it will begin airing radio advertisements criticizing 32 Republicans in the U.S. House for voting against health care legislation this month, and Iowa’s Tom Latham is on the list.
Latham, an eight-term member from Ames, voted against the bill on Nov. 7 because, he said, [...]
Join an Iowa Rapid Response Team for Health Care Today
