Debate Night, Election Day
Plus, will charging parents make schools safe?
Time to get serious. We are now inside 60 days until the November 5th election. Most important election of our lifetimes? We hear it every election. Perhaps this one is?
Presidential election
Control of U.S. house and senate at stake
4 Iowa U.S. house races
Can Iowa GOP grow majority at Statehouse?
Can Iowa Democrats rebuild by gaining seats in the legislature?
Abortion access, immigration, cost of living, taxes, voting rights, guns, education, future of democracy, Project 2025, retirement benefits, foreign policy, tariffs, election security, child care costs, senior care, agricultural subsidies, energy
Number Two — Adam Gregg drew more attention to the position of Iowa lieutenant governor by quitting. This may not have immediate impact on the coming election. But it is intriguing to follow to see which Republican Governor Kim Reynolds chooses as Gregg’s replacement. Any guesses?
Will the replacement get a more significant level of visibility and role in the administration than Gregg got?
I looked at what’s ahead for this vacancy in this week’s “Inside Iowa Politics” for my TV gig. Watch that here and let me know if you agree with the points that I brought up in the “Final Five” segment at the end.
Laura Belin, who also contributes to the Iowa Writers Collaborative, speculated that Reynolds may wait until after the election to announce her choice.
Read her “Six Takeaways from Adam Gregg’s surprise resignation” here.
The possible reasons that Gregg quit as lieutenant governor were also among the topics for the “Iowa Down Ballot” podcast. I joined the panel of Iowa Writers Collaborative contributors for the discussion.
Check out the latest work from others in the Iowa Writers Collaborative here.
Debate Night, the Remix — This should have much more obvious election night significance. Tuesday night, it’s Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a live presidential debate for 90 minutes on ABC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The microphone is supposed to be muted while the other candidate speaks. Of course, that doesn’t mean that a candidate won’t try to interrupt or distract when the other one talks.
Will this debate have a significant impact on the race? The Joe Biden and Trump debate sure did. Biden’s campaign imploded on debate night until it finally fizzled to an end.
Harris can use debate night to explain what she believes, where she thinks differently than Biden and why some of her positions have changed since she ran for president the first time.
Trump could also use the opportunity to explain what, if anything, he would do differently in a second administration and provide more specifics about policy positions.
Could the candidates PLLEEEEAAAASE answer the questions about what they would do as president and not just give pre-planned zingers about how much the other person sucks.
I wonder if child care will come up. I’ve listened to Trump’s response to a question about what he would do to make child care more affordable. I have no idea what he is trying to say. I think higher tariffs were part of the answer.
Harris has proposed a $6,000 tax credit for parents of newborns, as well as an increased overall child tax credit (raise the $2,000 to $3,6000 per year).
‘The New York Times” provided a verbatim of Trump’s response and mentioned Harris’ proposal.
Question: There was much reporting about Biden’s mental fitness for the future. Are the national media now focusing on Trump’s fitness?
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They’re Back! — Congrats to two former colleagues and very talented guys, Keith Murphy and Andy Fales, who launched “Murph & Andy” in a new way in a new place.
Keith and Andy hosted their previous show — which covered sports, movies, pop culture and more — for 15 years on Des Moines radio station KXNO before ending the show this June.
They’ve now reunited on “Iowa Everywhere” for a thrice-per-week video podcast. Their wit, insight and creativity flow. Here is their first episode.
M-I-Z! — College football talk may be difficult for Hawkeye fans after blowing the lead to the Cyclones Saturday (but what a HUGE gain-winning field goal for Iowa State’s Kevin Konrardy). My University of Missouri Tigers not only won their second straight game. But they won their second straight by shutting out their opponent.
Z-O-U!
Charging Parents — Is charging parents with crimes a way to bring more accountability and, hopefully, reduce the number of deadly school shootings across our country?