Friday, February 8, 2013
Spiker's anti-gay marriage comments were made during this week's Iowa Press airing 7:30 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday.
While local Republicans like Jeff Angelo have spoken out in favor of gay marriage and equality in recent weeks, AJ Spiker, of Ames, and chairman of the Iowa Republican Party said Iowa Republicans do not embrace gay marriage. “There is a gay marriage party in the state of Iowa and that’s The Iowa Democratic Party,” Spiker said. “The Republican Party embraces one-man/one-woman marriage and embraces the right of the people to vote on the definition of marriage," according to a release from the Iowa Democratic Party. Read our two-part Iowa Patch series: Will Desire to Gain Voters Prompt Iowa GOP to Change Course on Gay Marriage – Or at Least Muzzle Activists? and Fight Against Gay Marriage? Not if the Iowa GOP Wants Young Voters Spiker made …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
A cultural war is taking place within the Republican Party. In Iowa, where gay marriage opponents and social conservatives Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee have come out winners in the first-in-the-nation caucus, the conversation is critically important.
The first article in a two-part series. Read Part 2, Fight Against Gay Marriage? Not if Iowa GOP Wants Young Voters, on Iowa City Patch. __________ Troubled by polling data that shows traditional positions on issues like same-sex marriage are costing elections, the Republican Party is going through what its leaders politely call a period of introspection. More brutally, it's a question of whether the GOP can hold its nose and keep quiet on same-sex marriage and other social issues in order to welcome in a new group of young voters whose priorities center more on fiscal values than family values. The conversation is critically important – and difficult – in Iowa, where the results of first-in-the-nation caucuses and the Straw Poll leading …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Congressman King leads potential Republican nominees, including Congressman Tom Latham and Zaun, for Tom Harkin's U.S. Senate seat, according to a poll by Harper Polling. But Politico wonders, "Could King actually win?"
Congressman Steve King, R-Kiron, is leading among Republicans who may seek Tom Harkin's U.S. Senate seat, according to a Jan. 29 Iowa Statewide Poll by Harper Polling. When Republicans were asked who they would vote for in a GOP primary for U.S. Senate, Tea Party favorite King received the most support no matter who was thrown in the mix -- including Urbandale State Sen. Brad Zaun. King currently represents Ames as the 4th District Congressman. When asked who they would pick out of U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, King, Zaun or Bob Vander Plaats of The Family Leader, more than 35 percent of Republicans said they would vote for King. Latham came in second with 21.7 percent. Zaun received 6 percent of the support; Vander Plaats notched 16 percent …
In Iowa, where fiercely anti-gay marriage candidates Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee have come out winners in the first-in-the-nation caucus, a cultural war is taking place within the Republican Party.
Troubled by polling data showing traditional positions on issues like same-sex marriage are costing elections, the Republican Party is going through what party leaders politely call a period of introspection. In brutally plain terms, however, the question facing the Republican party comes down to this: Can GOP leaders hold their noses and keep quiet about social issues if it means welcoming in a new group of young voters whose priorities center more on fiscal values than family values? Two Republican strategists – including the now openly gay architect of President George W. Bush’s successful 2004 campaign – were in Iowa this week making the case that it’s politically pragmatic to ease up on social issues, such as stopping the struggle …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Once again, Iowa voters took a defining stand on gay marriage in America and politics in the judiciary.
After a statewide rebuke two years ago of Iowa Supreme Court justices whose controversial ruling set the stage for same-sex marriage, Iowans reversed course Tuesday, retaining Justice David Wiggins. With 83 percent of precincts reporting, the West Des Moines jurist received a 54 percent retention rate. Two years ago, three of Wiggins' colleagues in the unanimous 2009 Varnum v. Brien ruling, were tossed out by voters. The Varnum decision found that a law defining marriage as between a man and a woman represented unlawful discrimination under the Iowa Constitution. In a statement, One Iowa, the state's largest advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Iowans, said the retention vote and other ballot mreasures around the …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney participated in the first presidential debate on Wednesday. The debate was held in Denver, CO.
President Obama looked on the "defensive" and "to be dragging," participants in the Iowa Patch live chat said during the first of three presidential debates leading up to the 2012 presidential election. A range of participants joined the live chat Wednesday evening. Toward the end, both supporters of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney agreed that Romney came out on top. "I think the debate will slow Obama's momentum and help Romney but I'm not sure how much," Chelle Adkins wrote. Read more: Livechat Replay: Romney v. Obama Debate Others were a bit more measured. "I think Romney on style, he looked good. On substance, he lacked sorely. Obama looked on defensive most of night, but only first debate. And facts are with Obama, which is what is most …
Jon Trouten
12:27 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Maxine: It hasn't always been one man and one woman. It still isn't always one man and one woman. The Bible itself shows us that marriage sometimes has more than two spouses. We haven't always called our relationships "unions". Back when Vermont's supreme court told the state that there was no reason to deny us marriage licenses, the legislature came up with civil unions to provide us with … more ›