Clovis Considering U.S. Senate Run; Ernst Still Likely to Enter Race

Posted by on

Sioux City radio host Sam Clovis is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate. A well-regarded conservative with an impressive resume, Clovis might be able to gain traction with voters looking for a non-traditional candidate. He expects to make a decision next month on whether or not to pursue the Republican nomination for the seat currently held by Tom Harkin.

“The distance between the national government and the people is wide and growing everyday,” Clovis told TheIowaRepublican.com. “The people are angry and feel like they have no voice and cannot influence anything that affects their lives, particularly given the coercive nature of government today. The people I talk to are ready for someone who knows the issues, will talk straight and tell the truth, even if it makes folks uncomfortable.”

Clovis hosts a daily talk show on KSCJ-AM in Sioux City. He is also the chair of the Department of Business Administration and Economics at Morningside College. Clovis served for 25 years in the Air Force as a fighter pilot, is a former fellow at the Homeland Security Institute and is a member of the faculty at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in California.

“We are long past waiting on someone who has the courage, leadership and will to govern in such a way as to empower Americans and Iowans,” Clovis said. “People tell me they are tired of seeing people go to D.C. who slide too easily into the inside-the-beltway mindset and who move too easily into the ‘ruling class’. Maybe it’s time for something different. I would definitely be different and would not be a conventional, establishment candidate or senator.”

Sam Clovis is an occasional guest contributor for TheIowaRepublican.com.

Ernst Still Mulling Over Senate Bid

The extended Iowa legislative session has delayed Joni Ernst’s decision-making process regarding a U.S. Senate run. The state senator from Red Oak had intended to travel to Washington, D.C. this week for discussions regarding her candidacy. However, that trip was postponed, specifically so Ernst could vote on the property tax reform package and other important bills on Wednesday.

“I am still leaning forward, quite heavily, on this,” Ernst said. “It is a huge decision and I want to make sure that it is the best decision not only for Iowa, but for myself. I do see that if I am entering into this race, I think a primary will be very healthy for the Republicans.”

Joni Ernst is the former Montgomery County auditor and has served for 18 years in the U.S. Army Reserves and Iowa Army National Guard. She was elected to the state senate in a 2010 special election, filling the vacancy created when Kim Reynolds was elected lieutenant governor. After Reynolds decided not to run for the U.S. Senate, she encouraged Ernst to enter the race.

“I have known the lieutenant governor for a number of years,” Ernst said. “We both came out of county government, so we have been supportive of each other in our endeavors through the years. That discussion was a very natural discussion. It was something that when she decided not to run, she thought, ‘Wow, I know Joni Ernst would be a great candidate.’”

Ernst said she has not yet taken the opportunity to discuss her potential bid with Governor Branstad, but will likely do so in the coming weeks. Ernst expects to finalize a decision on whether or not to run for the U.S. Senate by early summer.

“This is probably the largest decision of my life, so I need to make sure that I am giving it thoughtful consideration and making sure that it is the right decision,” Ernst said.

Iowa Legislature Passes Education Reform, Senate Adjourns, House Still in Session

Posted by on

The 2014 Iowa Senate adjourned for the year, wrapping up their work just before midnight on Wednesday. Their final day included passage of a multifaceted property tax reform package that was three years in the making. An education reform bill that was lauded by Iowa’s homeschooling community also gained approval.

“I am particularly proud of the historic property tax reform we passed in this body today,” said Senate Minority Leader Bill Dix (R-Shell Rock). “We made good on a promise that has been repeatedly been made to Iowa taxpayers. Over the coming years, the property taxes on all Iowans will be reduced by more than a half a billion dollars. That money remaining in the pockets of Iowa small businesses and families will help create jobs and expand opportunities for people to decide how to invest and spend their hard earned dollars.”

“This is huge,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Red Oak). “This has been a priority with the governor, with the House and with the senate. It is extremely important to us. It’s a comprehensive plan. It affects all classes of property, whether you’re agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial. It helps everyone.”

An education reform package passed 91-0 in the Iowa House and 40-10 in the senate. It included a handful of reforms that provide more freedom for homeschool educators. That includes eliminating annual reporting to the state, eliminating requirements for homeschooling educators to assessment reforms to their local school district and allowing parent-taught drivers education.

The Republican-led Iowa House’s work is not yet complete. They plan to continue their session on Thursday morning. The House is expected to back the property tax reform bill passed by the senate.

The other key remaining piece of legislation is a healthcare bill. A tentative compromise on expanding Medicaid to low income Iowans had been reached late Tuesday night.

Democrats wanted to simply add 150,000 more people to the Medicaid rolls, with the promise that the federal government would fully fund the expansion for three years, via Obamacare.

Governor Branstad resisted the expansion and worked to craft an Iowa based plan. The tentative agreement, titled the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, combines Branstad’s plan with the Democrats’. It calls for more accountability from participants in order to continue receiving benefits.

Taxes and state income growth

Posted by on

Taxes flowing to the capitol

If Kansas wants to experience growth in income, it’s important that the legislature finish the session without raising taxes. The paper The Robust Relationship between Taxes and U.S. State Income Growth by W. Robert Reed, published in National Tax Journal, establishes a link between high taxes and negative effects on income growth. The abstract of the research report explains:

I estimate the relationship between taxes and income growth using data from 1970 to 1999 and the forty-eight continental U.S. states. I find that taxes used to fund general expenditures are associated with significant, negative effects on income growth. This finding is generally robust across alternative variable specifications, alternative estimation procedures, alternative ways of dividing the data into “five-year” periods, and across different time periods and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) regions, though state-specific estimates vary widely. I also provide an explanation for why previous research has had difficulty identifying this “robust” relationship.

As Kansas must produce a balanced budget each year, reducing taxes means reducing spending. Therefore, Kansas needs to get serious about reducing government spending. Some ideas may be found in the article In Kansas, there are ways to reduce the cost of government.

(Although the state must balance its budget each year, Kansas has managed to accumulate over $16 billion in debt, about $5,591 for each person. See Kansas Total Indebtedness Exceeds $16 Billion.)

The full article is on taxation and income growth is The Robust Relationship between Taxes and U.S. State Income Growth.

‘The Daily Show’ takes up TennCare lottery

Posted by on

From health reporter Tom Wilemon:

“The Daily Show” has been in town again, last week filming footage at Tennessee Justice Center for an upcoming political spoof, according to an email sent out by staff attorney Michele Johnson.

Johnson didn’t give away much about the segment, but she did indicate that the topic was Tennessee’s dialing-for-healthcare program, the TennCare Standard Spend Down. Tennessee launched Spend Down in 2010 to help people with low incomes and high medical bills gain access to TennCare who would not normally qualify for the state’s Medicaid program.

The state has never set up an effective way to process applications so two to three times a year it opens up a telephone line. People end up doing competitive dialing to get an application.

The program has consistently had more slots available for coverage than people enrolled. Critics compare it to a lottery.

The Spend Down has been on comedy-show hosts radar for a while. Stephen Colbert did an extended take on it back in April. He facetiously praised the program for injecting “some suspense to that old, boring question: ‘Will I see tomorrow?’” and compared winners to contestants on “The Price is Right.”

 

The tenor will probably be the same when “The Daily Show” segment airs. Expectations are that’ll be sometime in June.

Posted In:  National, Politics, State

Ron Ramsey to ride in pace car at Coca-Cola 600

Posted by on

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey will ride in the official pace car for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 stock car race in Charlotte, N.C., after being named its honorary race director.

A press release put out by organizers of the NASCAR race  — one of the biggest of the year — says that Ramsey, along with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, will also be honored at a pre-race event, attend the official drivers meeting and address the crowd at Charlotte Motor Speedway, expected to be more than 140,000 people. Ramsey will also be on hand when the trophy is presented at the end of the race.

It may seem odd for a Tennessee official to have such a major role at a North Carolina race, but the connection is a bit closer than it might first appear.

Ramsey’s district includes Bristol Motor Speedway. Both it and the Charlotte track are owned by North Carolina-based Speedway Motorsports Inc.

Posted In:  Politics

With Continued Focus On Strengthening The Middle Class, O’Malley Promotes Early College Innovation Fund

Posted by on

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Today at Prince George’s Community College, Governor Martin O’Malley highlighted the new Early College Innovation Fund – an initiative aimed to expand access to a college education across Maryland. The administration is investing $2 million in the fund to support creating and expanding early college access programs that provide accelerated pathways for [...]

Three Openly Gay California Public Officials Honored by the White House

Posted by on

California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, Sen. Ricardo Lara and Redondo Beach Mayor Michael Gin will be honored by the White House May 22 as “Harvey Milk Champions of Change.”  

The three are among 10 openly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender public officials across the country being recognized at an event that falls on Harvey Milk Day, which commemorates the civil rights leader’s birthday.  

John Laird

John Laird

“These are LGBT leaders who have demonstrated a strong commitment to both equality and public service. They are citizen legislators, executives and appointees who serve honestly, openly and proudly,” said Chuck Wolfe, president of the Washington D.C.-based Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute, which works to elect gay and lesbian candidates.

Laird is a former member of the Assembly. Among the 82 bills he had signed into law was creation of the landmark Sierra Conservancy.  He has been Gov. Jerry Brown’s cabinet secretary for natural resources since January 2011.

A former Assemblyman, Lara is a Long Beach Democrat. He was elected to the Senate in 2012.

“I am humbled to be included among such an amazing array of LGBT leaders,” Lara said in a statement. “The fact that three Californians are being honored is telling of the essential role California plays in advancing equality.”

Michael Gin

Michael Gin

City councilman from 1995 to 2003, Gin is completing his second four-year term as mayor of the South Coast city of 68,000.

The other Harvey Milk “Champions of Change” are:

Simone Bell, Georgia State Representative

Angie Buhl O’Donnell, South Dakota State Senator

Karen Clark, Minnesota State Representative

Kim Coco Iwamoto, Hawaii State Civil Rights Commissioner 

Kim Painter, Johnson Country Recorder, Iowa City, Iowa

Ricardo Lara

Ricardo Lara

Chris Seelbach, Cincinnati Ohio City Council Member

Pat Steadman, Colorado State Senator

The White House established its “Champions of Change” program in 2011 to honor ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things for their community, their country and their fellow citizens. 

These are the first Harvey Milk Champions of Change awards.

President Obama created the special awards in 2009 when he posthumously gave Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian medal. The citation for Milk reads:

“Harvey Bernard Milk dedicated his life to shattering boundaries and challenging assumptions. As one of the first openly gay elected officials in this country, he changed the landscape of opportunity for the nation’s gay community.

“Throughout his life, he fought discrimination with visionary courage and conviction. Before his tragic death in 1978, he wisely noted, ‘Hope will never be silent,’ and called upon Americans to stay true to the guiding principles of equality and justice for all. Harvey Milk’s voice will forever echo in the hearts of all those who carry forward his timeless message.”

The bill creating Harvey Milk Day — SB 572 by Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat – offers a  brief appreciation of his life and legacy.

 -30-