Rick Smith

This is the first of a two-part interview. In part I, Wilkerson defends Clinton’s handling of emails, her effectiveness as a Senator and as Secretary of State. In part II, he explains her role and defends her actions in Benghazi, Libya and Syria. Retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson was traveling and speaking in Iowa last week…

Following the sexually explicit revelations of Donald Trump’s past, the presidential candidate has turned his guns on the Republican Party as many GOP leaders are pulling their endorsements. At last count about 90 of the 331 Republican Governors, House members and Senators have fled the Trump train. That’s approximately one-fourth of the Republican leadership establishment that…

The Republican Party has been hijacked by uncompromising members resulting in legislative gridlock. The Republican Tea Party absolutists have been willing to shut down the government rather than compromise their positions. These Republican ideological purists are not only unwilling to compromise with Democrats, they’re unwilling to compromise with other Republicans. Republican leaders can’t get these…

New polling results suggest many millennials are shunning both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and embracing third party candidates. Bernie Sanders joined Clinton this week appealing to millennials to come back home to the Democratic Party. However, maybe former Sanders strategic advisor Tad Devine should go on the road to speak to Sanders supporters. Sanders…

The book “Art of the Deal,” co-authored by Tony Schwartz, made Donald Trump a household name and launched his presidential ambitions. It has been presented as a business memoir written by Trump. However, Trump’s claim to have written the book is now in doubt following two July articles in the New Yorker by Jane Mayer.…

Doug Elmets, a native Iowan, lifelong Republican and former spokesman for President Ronald Reagan, came back to Iowa recently to speak in support of Hillary Clinton. Having grown up in Des Moines, graduating from the University of Iowa and maintaining his Iowa roots provides him a unique perspective on Iowa politics. He cast his first…

The Hillary Clinton campaign held a press conference Tuesday prior to Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Clive, Iowa. The four speakers, all under 25, should make every Iowa Democrat proud. Democrats frequently discuss the desperate need for building a deeper and broader bench of future candidates. They lament the fact that they don’t have enough candidates…

The Iowa Democratic Party met at Drake University last Saturday to conduct a diversity workshop. In the press release the Party described the workshop: “The goal of the workshop is to educate, motivate and facilitate discussion among IDP Constituency Caucuses with an overall theme of ‘Diversity in Action.’” The weekends leading up to elections are…

Nationally, there has been a great deal of concern about the increasing threats to Muslims, Latinos and other immigrants resulting from Donald Trump’s hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric. Iowa Latinos are experiencing that hate, and share their increasing concerns about a noticeable change in some Iowans’ attitudes toward them. Many say Iowa in the past has been…