Democrats watch Rep. Zach Nunn’s victory speech at the Iowa Democratic Party’s election night event in Des Moines. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
I did an interview recently about President Jimmy Carter and his impact on Iowa. I answered the question and then turned to something the host had not anticipated. I said that one of the things that impressed me was the national reporters, who visited Iowa to cover Carter’s 1976 caucus campaign.
They came to Iowa expecting to see bib overalls, seed corn caps, and rubber boots. Instead, when they heard these individuals, they were surprised by the depth of their questions. The national press marveled at Iowan’s knowledge, the number of students we had graduating from high school, and our top-of-the-nation ACT scores. Then, I added, “but that was when we were proud of ourselves.”
Today, Iowa is in the top 10 for the rate of college graduates fleeing the state. We had the worst drop in real personal income in the nation in 2022-23. Our population growth has ranked below the national average for decades. The resolution to the debate over renaming the Gulf of Mexico can be solved naming it the Gulf of Iowa, since much of our topsoil and chemical run-off resides there.
The future of our state under GOP control does not look positive. The hard right agenda of transferring the funding for what functions of state government remain to the middle class will continue and we will watch the further deterioration of public schools and universities continue unabated.
How did we get to this situation where opt out of a federal program to feed kids in the summertime because it costs just over $2 million out of this year’s proposed budget of $9.4 billion. Where other than by lowering standards, we won’t address the lack of affordable child care or even acknowledge there is a crisis of treatment of our most vulnerable in nursing homes.
I blame the Iowa Democratic Party. We knew what Republicans were: good people, fiscal conservatives, having laissez-faire ideology. The problem is their extremists took over the state and we didn’t stop them. The people who worship the donkey got so tied up in identity politics, in peripheral issues, and developed an outstanding inability to communicate a persuasive political message. So, forgive them, they forgot that the purpose of the party was to elect Democratic office holders.
For example, there are now 19 or 20 (nobody knows for sure) caucuses within the IDP alone. Good causes like Black, Asian, LGBTQ+, and a host of various interest groups, but advocating only for their cause. Death might be a better alternative than serving with that assembly today. The party contains rule freaks who want to ensure that before the chairperson writes a letter, the full central committee must make sure the constitution empowers her to do so.
This situation is not the fault of Rita Hart, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party. She inherited a party already in disarray and, frankly, deadass broke. She traveled through the state, gave countless speeches, held hundreds of meetings, and at the very least, kept the office open and the staff retained and paid. In the short run, while unwise, forgoing the first in the nation caucuses at least brought money in the door. As we sit here today, there still is the Iowa Democratic Party, and it can rise again.
Jack Hatch, former state senator and a former nominee for governor, has reached out to older party leaders, and some young ones, to attempt dialogue. Unfortunately, these activists, young and old, feel that the door for dialogue has been slammed shut on them. Of equal concern to those who study party structure is the fact that some counties across Iowa are forming their own mini parties to try and marshal and build a base absent either communication or cooperation with the IDP. With the development of uncoordinated, non-integrated, efforts, 2026 is beginning to look like a disaster.
Yes, there is anger out there and there should be. But the anger is a signal that many party members, including the current leadership, assert that losing elections is not acceptable. The fact that there is anger is a positive response because, with the chairperson’s leadership, there is an opportunity to restore an election competitive political party.
Some now advocate that rather than dismiss those with concerns about the status and health of the IDP, bring them into the fold. The observation will tell you that there are three major problems that this organization faces: fundraising, communication with the public, and candidate recruitment. It would be wise to seek ad hoc committees of volunteers and members of the central committee to take a fresh and positive look at the possibility of enhancement in party ability in those three areas.
Good people built the party into a successful political force in forming and implementing public policy. Individuals like Cliff Larson, Tom Whitney, Clark Rasmussen, and Ed and Bonnie Campbell broke the stigma that if the Democrats in the Legislature met, they could do so in a phone booth.
I even suspect that more than a few good, moderate Republican legislators might welcome the hand of more moderate Democrats.
