Iowa

Tim Pawlenty’s much-vaunted trip to Iowa takes a funny turn:  Minnesota’s governor was the state GOP’s second choice — after Sarah Palin.

In the five months since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples could legally marry in that state, 676 same-sex couples have married there as of July 27, according to a report by the Des Moines Register. Of those, 36 couples were from Minnesota.
On Sunday, that number jumped by nine as a [...]

According to a report filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board yesterday, the anti-gay marriage group National Organization for Marriage — which produced a much-spoofed commercial opposed to same-sex unions — has purchased $86,060 worth of television and radio ads to support Stephen Burgmeier, the Republican candidate in the special election in Iowa [...]

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) made headlines Tuesday for blasting the co-op insurance model of health care reform as a slippery slope toward government-run health care.
“The president himself said you can imagine a cooperative meeting that definition of a public option,” the Senate’s second-ranking Republican told reporters during a press call.
Yesterday, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the [...]

Senate Democrats negotiating health care reforms with Sen. Charles Grassley are finding out the hard way that, while boasting a reputation for reaching across the aisle, he appears hard set on supporting GOP leadership above bipartisan compromise.

The Des Moines Register obtained confidential documents last week that show a Ramsey County deputy traveled to Iowa to infiltrate groups protesting the Republican National Convention. The deputy was working for the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office as well as the FBI.

While Minnesotans may say they’re not quite ready to extend full equality to same-sex couples, subtle changes abound as gay Minnesotans travel to Iowa to marry and Lutherans look to relax restrictions on churches who want to be inclusive. And while the religious right is working hard to convince Minnesotans that a proposed Constitutional amendment is needed, a new Star Tribune poll shows support for that option waning.

Despite mass arrests at this peepful protest against the Republican National Convention (submitted to the Pioneer Press’ Peeps Diorama Contest), all of the blue and brown peeps’ charges against the pink, yellow and light-green peeps have been dropped. After the jump, a speech-balloon version of the popular Senate election-contest trial scene, and selections from the ABA [...]

The religious right has been handed a number of setbacks in recent days, with a unanimous Iowa Supreme Court and the Vermont Legislature legalizing same-sex marriage within days of each other. For this subset of American Christians who have found their power waning, the backlash has been severe. Vermont and Iowa are “evil,” “perverse” and bent on “destroying democracy itself,” religious right leaders say.

With same-sex marriage becoming legal just across the southern border, many groups concerned about the issue say its impact will be felt in Minnesota. But while marriage equality advocates hailed the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision, they were quick to note that Minnesotans shouldn’t try a legal challenge of its own.