Iowa reaction to horror in Israel, House speaker battle, and more
Oct. 9 "Capitol Week" is online
Before I get to our latest show on KHOI Radio, I have a small favor to ask. The social media platform known as X (I still call it Twitter) continues to unravel as a source for reliable news and commentary. The latest absurd change was to remove titles from articles posted, so users see only the photo that accompanies the piece and the name of the news outlet. Elon Musk apparently believes this makes the site look better. But it’s harder than ever to understand what an article is about and whether you want to click through.
The crisis in Israel and Gaza underscored how easily misinformation spreads on X/Twitter.
Many writers and commentators have left the platform, and I understand their reasons. I have stuck it out, because many Bleeding Heartland readers have grown used to finding my work on Twitter over the past ten-plus years. In case the platform entirely implodes, I do regularly update accounts on Post, Mastodon, and Bluesky, all using the handle “LauraRBelin” (the same as on Twitter). But most of my readers are not on any of the alternates yet.
Compounding the problem, Facebook’s algorithm now suppresses most political news. So while I’m still sharing all new content to the Bleeding Heartland Facebook page, those posts don’t appear in the feeds of most readers who have “liked” that page.
Anyone can visit Bleeding Heartland’s main website at any time; nothing’s ever behind a paywall there. But fewer people surf the web to check favorite websites nowadays, compared to the 2000s and 2010s.
I hope to build the audience for my email newsletters so I will depend less on social media platforms to reach followers. The newsletter you’re reading now is part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. I use it to share every edition of KHOI Radio’s “Capitol Week,” and I occasionally cross-post other reporting or commentary first published at Bleeding Heartland.
I also compile a free email newsletter called Evening Heartland. It goes out a couple of times a week and features all articles and commentaries recently published at the main site.
If you know someone who might enjoy either of these newsletters—did I mention they’re both free?—please consider spreading the word.
On to the latest “Capitol Week.” Dennis Hart had to revise the format several times Monday (even less than an hour before showtime) to accommodate breaking news.
Of course we began with the horror unfolding in Israel and Gaza. My thoughts go out to everyone with friends and loved ones in the area.
Dennis and I reviewed the Republican presidential candidates’ reaction to the Hamas terror attacks. Former President Donald Trump spent a lot of time on foreign policy during two lengthy speeches at rallies in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids on Saturday. A recurring theme is that he is the “only one” who can protect the U.S. from foreign threats and prevent “World War III.” He also asserted that Israel would not have been attacked (and Russia would not have invaded Ukraine) if he were president;
We briefly covered comments about Israel from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Tim Scott, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Stephen Gruber-Miller compiled a roundup for the Des Moines Register;
I’m old enough to remember when the Republican Party was seen as generally less supportive of Israel than Democrats (for instance, during the George H.W. Bush presidency). Nowadays, GOP politicians uniformly express support for Israel, as have almost all Democratic elected officials;
I was also struck by how quickly DeSantis, Trump, Scott, and other Republicans blamed President Joe Biden for the Hamas attack. I’m old enough to remember when U.S. politicians didn’t react to a terrorist event in a third country by blaming the American president;
Iowa’s U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst issued statements supporting Israel, as did every U.S. House representative from Iowa. Governor Kim Reynolds ordered flags to be flown at half-mast. I saw after our show aired that Reynolds attended a Jewish community event in Des Moines on Monday evening;
About 8 minutes into the program, Dennis and I finally got to the unprecedented ouster of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Until Saturday morning, we had anticipated that would be our top story of the week. At Bleeding Heartland I wrote in more detail on how Iowa’s House members have handled the upheaval in the GOP caucus and what they’ve said about McCarthy and the effort to remove him;
I find it hilarious that Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04) has avoided any public comment about the vote to remove McCarthy. If your only news source were Feenstra’s weekly newsletter from October 6, you would have no clue anything unusual was going on in Congress;
Representatives Ashley Hinson (IA-02) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) came out early endorsing House Majority Leader Steve Scalise for speaker. I wonder whether they would have gone out on a limb if they’d known Trump was going to publicly back Jim Jordan instead;
I have no idea who will be able to get the votes needed to be elected speaker. Republicans could end with a compromise candidate (that’s how Dennis Hastert got the job many years ago). McCarthy seems to be leaving the door open for a comeback, but I don’t see that happening;
The House can’t conduct any business—including work on federal spending bills or emergency aid for Israel or Ukraine—until Republicans elect a new speaker;
Moving on to Iowa caucus news, the Iowa Democratic Party finally acknowledged reality: the state won’t be part of the early group in 2024. Iowa Democrats will hold precinct caucuses on January 15, the same night as Republicans, but only for party business. Democrats will be able to mail in presidential preference cards until March 5, when the state party will announce the results. I highly recommend John Deeth’s critique of the party’s months of denial and secrecy;
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has confirmed he will run for president as an independent, rather than challenge Biden in the Democratic primary. For months, GOP-aligned donors propped up his campaign. Now, Trump’s team are concerned RFK Jr may pull more support from Trump than from Biden;
During his latest campaign swing through Iowa, DeSantis criticized Trump’s record on the southern border and rolled out a new list of farmer endorsers. DeSantis seems to be running a traditional Iowa caucus campaign, but I remain skeptical he can gain traction against Trump;
Trump didn’t mention most of his GOP rivals during his Waterloo and Cedar Rapids rallies, but he repeatedly denigrated “DeSanctimonious” or “DeSanctus,” often getting laughter and applause;
Haley is trying to capitalize on some early state momentum, opening an Iowa headquarters in Clive and hiring new staff. She just picked up the endorsement of former U.S. House Representative Will Hurd, who ended his presidential bid on Monday;
We briefly discussed Vivek Ramaswamy’s claim that his campaign vehicle was deliberately rammed following an event in Grinnell. I highly recommend coverage of the incident by Zach Spindler-Krage and Eleanor Corbin for the Grinnell student newspaper, The Scarlet and Black (part 1 and part 2);
Republican State Senator Brad Zaun confirmed last Friday that he will seek a sixth term in the Iowa Senate next year. That sets up a marquee Iowa Senate race against Matt Blake in the northwest suburbs of Des Moines. I previewed this campaign in August and will cover the race again soon;
One last bit of breaking news from Monday: GOP State Senator Adrian Dickey will not face charges related to the incident that led to his arrest during RAGBRAI. As I reported at Bleeding Heartland, the county attorney dropped the case, and Dickey agreed to cover the court costs. Dickey is still facing a civil lawsuit his daughter filed against him in July, stemming from a disputed car lien.
Thank you for reading or listening!
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Letters from Iowans, Iowa
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities
Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Wini Moranville, Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines
Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids
Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines
Macey Spensley: The Midwest Creative, Iowa
Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
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