Rick Smith

Very bad news this week for both Governor Kim Reynolds and the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported the second quarter economic growth by state (GDP). Iowa’s economic growth was a negative .7%, dead last among all 50 states. Of the 50 states, 48 had positive growth in this period.…

Why can’t Republicans just be honest about their massive tax cuts? They want to give the bulk of their massive tax cuts to the richest Americans and profitable corporations while claiming their cuts benefit middle class Americans. They allege that their proposal to slash the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, an enormous 42%…

This past week, Progress Iowa, a statewide organization representing over 70,000 progressive Iowans, issued a stunning research report on the legislature’s treatment of Iowa veterans. The report details 25 ways in which Iowa Republican Legislators voted against the interests of Iowa veterans. The last legislative session forced severe cuts to various veterans’ programs. The GOP…

The Republicans in both the House and Senate are falsely promoting their scam tax proposals as a big benefit to the middle class. Several tax experts have looked at the House plan and describe it as a Republican “Bait and Switch.” In an obvious attempt to convince the public to support their plan, they primarily…

The Republican Party claims to be the party that best represents Christian family values. They have long stated that America is a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. They bragged for years that only their political positions best protect American families. They have arrogantly demanded that only their party can define America’s morality. The latest…

Kirsten Anderson, the former communication director for the Iowa Senate Republicans, is speaking out after winning $1.75 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit against them. In an interview Wednesday with Des Moines Register columnist Kathie Obradovich, Anderson expressed her disappointment with the Republicans’ response to her lawsuit. “I don’t think we’re done yet,” Anderson said. “It…

It’s absolutely essential that Iowans needing individual health insurance coverage for 2018 shop the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. Some Iowans may be pleasantly surprised to see that they may actually be paying less in 2018 than they are currently paying. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in some counties in Iowa a 40 year…

Escalating violence at the Iowa Department of Corrections’ (DOC) facilities are endangering both correctional officers as well as offenders. Reynolds’ budget crisis is driving Iowa correctional facilities to pack offenders together, stretching prisons beyond maximum capacity by nearly 14%. The Republican-controlled Legislature added to the chaos by cutting funding for DOC by $7.6 million from…

Democratic Senator Matt McCoy and Representative John Forbes held a press conference last week and presented a simple, common sense health care solution for Iowans. Their proposal “Healthy Iowans for a Pubic Option” (HIPO) solves two Iowa health care emergencies facing thousands of Iowans. Republicans’ policies and actions have created two health care disasters for…