This Sunday The Des Moines Register ran an editorial which omitted facts relevant to the argument the Register presented. Republicans in the Iowa House have voted on at least five occasions to have all state employees, including legislators, contribute at least $100 a month towards their own health insurance.

Those votes took place on H-1735 in 2009 and on HF 45, H-1097, SF 209 and HF 697 in 2011. Republicans also voted to reduce their own pay in 2009 on H-1734. The Register conveniently left these facts out of the editorial. Click here to see the full article.

Below are the page numbers to votes in the journal:

Vote to cut our pay:

• H-1734 to SF 478, 4-25-09, HJ 2068

Votes on health insurance:

• H-1735 to SF 478, 4-25-09, HJ 2070
• HF 45, 1-19-11, HJ 136
• H-1097 to SF 209, 3-1-11, HJ 471
• SF 209, 3-1-11, HJ 472
• HF 697, 6-8-11, HJ 1245

February 12, 1809

Lincoln is considered by many to be the greatest American President. He was elected on a strongly anti-slavery platform. With his election, the Southern States seceded from the Union. Lincoln fought the Civil War to retain the integrity of the Union.

To read more about the history of Abe Lincoln, please click on the following link: Lincoln

The University of Minnesota’s Smart Politics blog posted the first article in a series of upcoming articles taking a look at statehouse races for this upcoming election. Their first article takes a look at the tough fight Iowa Democrats have to look forward to in November.

Two particular paragraphs tell the story pretty well.

• A Smart Politics analysis of over 2,000 elections to the Iowa State House since 1970 finds the state’s Democratic Party has set a record in 2010 for the largest number of districts in which a major political party has failed to field a House candidate since the lower chamber became a 100-seat body 40 years ago.
• But while Democrats are struggling mightily, Iowa Republicans are boasting their strongest lineup in 30 years this November – fielding candidates in 92 House districts. This marks the GOP’s best showing since the Reagan Revolution of 1980, when Iowa Republicans ran candidates in 97 House races.

It’s a marked difference.

Read the full article at the Smart Politics website.

A policy study put out by the Public Interest Institute this month called “How to Return to Normalcy in America: Following the Examples of Warren G. Harding” takes a look at the election of and the economic policies implemented by President Harding.

One particular note of interest in the study is found on page 16:

Federal spending was cut from $6.3 billion on 1920 to $5 billion 1921 and $3.2 billion in 1922. Federal taxes fell from $6.6 billion in 1920 to $5.5 billion in 1921 and $4 billion in 1922.

These cuts in spending were in response to the depression of 1920-1921, virtually forgotten because of being overshadowed by the Great Depression of the 30s.

To read the study, click here.

(Source: Policy Interest Institute)

Thank you to all the men and women who serve and have served in this nation’s armed forces, fighting for the freedoms we enjoy every day. The sacrifice of those who have died to preserve this great nation will be in our thoughts and prayers today.

The Iowa Republican posted an article of an interview they did with House Republican Leader, Kraig Paulsen. Start reading the article below:

After being selected in late December to lead the Republican caucus in the Iowa House of Representatives, Rep. Kraig Paulsen is now focused on regaining control of the chamber with the 2010 elections. Paulsen sat down with the Iowa Republican recently to discuss his new role as minority leader, the legislative session that concluded at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and what the future holds for House Republicans.

When lawmakers returned to Des Moines in January to start the new legislative session, Democrats were all aglow about newly-elected President Barak Obama, who won Iowa handedly, and they were also celebrating large majorities in the Iowa House and Senate. Iowa’s political pundits believed that there was nothing Republicans could do to slow down or stop Democrats from advancing their agenda.

The pundits were wrong because the Democrats’ agenda didn’t sail through the legislative process. House Democrats were unable to pass prevailing wage, choice of doctor, and the repeal of federal deductibility, despite Governor Chet Culver’s pledge to help find the needed votes to pass these pieces of legislation.

That’s not to say however, that House Democrats were unable to pass anything significant. Democrats passed a huge budget, along witha bill allowing the state to borrow $765 million, which taxpayers will be asked to pay back over the next 20 years. With only 44 Republican members in the Iowa House, Paulsen, with a lot of help from six moderate Democrats, was able to stop a large part of the Democrats’ agenda from becoming law.

Continue reading at theiowarepublican.com

The research staff put together a list of Funnel Week Survivors for the First Funnel of 2009. The First Funnel says that any House bills that are going to come out of House committees this session needed to do so by Friday. Not doing so essentially kills the bill.

View the linked document to see which bills survived the Funnel.

2009 First Funnel Survivors