Republicans created a mess for American exceptionalism: Republicans are cult Trumpzis

Urgently important to vote Democrat!  

Echo opinion letter reported in the Independence Bulletin Journal, newspaper, published in Iowa:

I strongly urge area voters to vote a straight Democratic ticket in the coming November elections, from our local candidates right to the top national office.

Let’s face it: is Iowa in a mess or what? The Republican party has controlled Iowa's state legislature since the 2016, election and what has been the result? Our voting rights have been steadily curtailed (early voting days cut, absentee voting requirements stiffened); and social programs and unemployment benefits reduced. State funds to our schools have stalled at 2.5% while inflation is far above that and monies to our state colleges have been reduced, resulting in higher tuition for students. Though nothing was codified during the last legislative session, we had Republican rants to jail teachers, and librarians and the Republican president of the Senate used an obscene gesture in our State Capitol with the comment to Democrats: “Here’s my message!”

Medical professionals and business owners are reacting to the latest failure on the part of Republican Governor Kim Reynolds to fight back against the coronavirus pandemic.

Unfortunately, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, in the meantime, is boasting of a billion-dollar state treasury balance, while we’re kicking conservation officers out of our state parks (we can’t afford to fix employee housing?) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) labeled 11 of our state beaches “swimming not recommended.” She also proposes to take funds from public schools for a tuition program to private schools, which critics warn will result in the closing of schools in the smaller counties. And our Senator Grassley and Congresswoman Hinson are trying to keep their stories straight on whether they voted for the $35 insulin charge or not.

Please mark that ballot straight Democratic!

From Ann O’Loughlin in Independence, Iowa

Texas immigrants can be welcomed in communities outside of sanctuary cities

Echo opinion by Evan Weidl, published in The Daily Iowan newspaper.

Iowa City should accept Texas migrants:  Immigration strengthens communities, and Iowa City should welcome them in.

"Iowa City is a compassion­ate, accepting city, and we should always be prepared to provide for those in need."

Immigrants are the foun­dation and life blood of the U.S., and Iowa City has the chance to prove its commit­ment to the belief that immi­grants make our communi­ties stronger.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott bused 10,000 migrants to sanctuary cities across the country, including Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. There were questions about whether Abbott would send any migrants to Iowa City, but Governor Kim Reynolds’ office confirmed that would not be the case.

Even though Texas will not bus any migrants directly to Iowa City, we as a commu­nity and government should always be prepared and will­ing to welcome them.

In recent years, Iowa has seen more people leave the state than move into it. Iowa ranked tenth in the U.S. with the most outbound people, according to the 2019 National Movers Study by United Van Lines. That said, Iowa should be more than happy to welcome more peo­ple in.

Iowa City would certainly not be the distinctive place it is without the contribu­tions of immigrants. Thanks to their restaurants, stores, and businesses, Iowa City is a much better place. According to Best Neighborhood, Iowa City is “much more diverse than most U.S. cities,” earn­ing a diversity score of 90 out of 100.

Immigrants make signif­icant contributions to the culture and life of Iowa City. Community events like the annual Latino Fest are an excellent opportunity for the community to come to­gether and appreciates cul­tures.

Additionally, accepting migrants would help lighten the burden being put on oth­er sanctuary cities across the country. While we would not be able to take in as nearly as many migrants as cities like New York or Chicago, our ef­forts combined with other sanctuary cities across the country would make taking care of the Texas migrants more sustainable.

Those opposed to taking in migrants may cite safety concerns as a reason to not accept them. While Iowa City passed a resolution in 2017 stating the city would not use law enforcement toward federal immigration law, ex­ceptions would be made for cases of public safety and vi­olent offenders.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott bused 10,000 migrants to sanctuary cities across the country,

As a community, Iowa City is strong and prepared to do whatever it takes to help those in need. Organizations like the Catholic Worker House are preparing to help migrants settle into Iowa City in the event that Abbott sends a bus of migrants or if any migrants relocate to Iowa City from a different sanctuary city.

Abbott does not want to send migrants to sanctuary cities because he wants them to live safe, decent lives. He does it because he wants to overwhelm sanctuary cities and punish them for being empathetic.

Ultimately, we should ac­cept migrants bused from Texas because they deserve to be treated like humans. Abbott is determined to use them as political pawns to prove a point, but we must take the high road and prove that we will always choose empathy over meaningless political gains.

Iowa City is a compassion­ate, accepting city, and we should always be prepared to provide for those in need.

Iowa echo - a plea for the Affordable Care Act: Obamacare

Republicans own Obamacare, and they should (must!) fix it: Nevertheless- Donald Trump has dismantled the Affordable Care Act without replacing it, as he promised to do.  Obviously, Donald Trump can't pass a policy agenda in Congress and he can't deliver on any of his promises, either.

Iowans are in big trouble if politicians adopt the philosophy of Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. 

He issued a statement this month in response to reports about Iowa’s “stopgap” plan — a proposal from the state insurance commissioner to stabilize the private health insurance market for Iowans who buy coverage on their own. 

The plan needs federal approval to move forward, but President Donald Trump told a top human-services administrator in August to reject it, according to the Washington Post.

Iowa officials say they haven't heard that their proposal is dead, and Gov. Kim Reynolds has asked to speak with Trump about it.

Kaufmann summed up his vast wisdom on the issue in this nugget e-mailed to media: “Democrats created Obamacare. Democrats own Obamacare. Obamacare is failing Iowans, collapsing right before our eyes, and no matter how much they try to deflect blame, they own this abysmal failure. Period.”

That's not only an unhelpful cop-out, it's untrue when it comes to the stopgap proposal. A Republican administration in Washington has essentially ignored a request from Iowa's Republican insurance commissioner, Doug Ommen. That has nothing to do with Democrats.

Granted, the Affordable Care Act is not perfect. Interestingly, its biggest flaw is a provision long championed by Republicans: relying on private insurers, instead of government programs, to cover Americans. Conservatives are big fans of everything private, including health insurance.

Obamacare created exchanges for people to purchase private plans and provided subsidies to help pay for those plans. As many predicted, this is not sustainable.

When insurance companies don’t turn a profit, they flee the exchanges. That is what several have done. Iowa now has only one carrier, Medica, planning to offer policies under the Affordable Care Act for 2018. If that carrier exits the market, where would 72,000 Iowans turn for coverage? They need an answer quickly; the enrollment period begins Nov. 1.

Congress could easily and fundamentally solve the problem by amending Obamacare to create a “public option” for insurance. If private companies do not participate in exchanges, people can buy into a government-run plan. This safety net would guarantee everyone has access to coverage.

Congress should create this public option now. The alternative is leaving states to beg or bribe insurers to participate and remain in exchanges. Or, in Ommen’s case, ask the federal government for permission to redirect federal money to buffer insurers from the financial strain of the sickest customers.

Despite Kaufmann’s lame blame attempt, Republicans do, in fact, own Obamacare.

The majority party holds essentially all the power in Washington. It has failed to pass bills to fund, fix or even repeal the law. And when a Republican state official offering a plan supported by a Republican governor and U.S. senators cannot even proceed with his idea because a Republican administration in Washington is dismissing him, the majority party owns that action, too.

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