Tag Archives: Tom Harkin

Iowa Republicans Struggle Against Disarray In Battle For Open Senate Seat

April 8, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

DES MOINES, Iowa — It was a day Iowa Republicans had long dreamed of when their Democratic nemesis, Tom Harkin, announced he was retiring from the Senate. But that day was in January, and as the Midwest winter now gives way to spring, Republicans here find themselves in a surprising predicament – still trying to come up with someone to run for the job, and struggling to avoid becoming another example of the party’s disarray after its presidential defeat.

Ever since Harkin, who had held the office since Ronald Reagan was president, provided an opening for the GOP, the party has bounced between two options for the Senate seat: candidates who could win but won’t run, and candidates who could run but, party officials fear, couldn’t win.

Democrats Face Challenging Senate Landscape

March 8, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By The Huffington Post News Editors

WASHINGTON — After a surprising string of victories last fall, Democrats now face a challenging terrain as they look to hold onto their Senate majority in 2014 and prevent Republicans from gaining full control of Congress during President Barack Obama‘s final two years. His party must defend a hefty 21 seats, including seven in largely rural states that the president lost last fall.

The task of maintaining control of the Senate has grown more daunting in recent weeks, with four Senate Democrats announcing plans to retire. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan disclosed his decision on Thursday, following Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller. New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg has also said he will retire, but Democrats will be heavily favored to hold the seat. A fifth Democratic retirement could come soon from South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, who has not yet announced his intentions.

GOP Senators Are Treading Carefully With Tea Party

February 22, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Breaking News

Republican Elephant 2 SC GOP senators are treading carefully with tea party

WASHINGTON— Twice burned, Republicans are treading carefully around tea party groups as they pursue a Senate majority that slipped through their fingers in 2010 and 2012.

“You’d have to be an idiot not to prepare” for primary election challenges from the right, no matter the state, says Rob Jesmer, who was executive director of the GOP Senate campaign committee when flawed, conservative candidates captured primaries, only to lose winnable races in the fall.

While incumbents work to ward off or repel challenges from within their party, a Republican tempest already is flaring in Georgia, where GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss is stepping down. Party officials also look apprehensively toward Iowa, where Sen. Tom Harkin’s decision to retire down opens up a seat long in Democratic hands.

The developments come at a time the Republican Party nationally is involved in a well-chronicled period of introspection after failing to win the White House last fall. President Barack Obama’s support reached 53 percent among women who cast ballots, 60 percent among voters under 30, some 71 percent among Hispanics and 93 percent among blacks. Numerous officials have said the party must find a way to broaden its appeal rather than continue to steer rightward.

Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for Republicans, said consternation about a replay of recent politically damaging primaries “at least for the moment, doesn’t seem to be an issue” for the GOP. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, who chairs the campaign committee, declined a request for an interview.

Read More at OfficialWire . By David Espo.

Photo Credit: Donkey Hotey (Creative Commons)

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Investors, Take Note: The Robin Hood Tax Might Be Coming to America

February 11, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By John Grgurich, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Bonds, Securities, Stock Markets, Tax Changes, Tax Laws

In January, 11 European countries moved significantly closer to implementing a financial transaction tax, known informally as a “Robin Hood” tax, which would be levied on stock, bond, and derivatives trades, with the proceeds potentially used to fight poverty and climate change.

Here in the U.S., the idea of a financial transaction tax has never gotten any real traction in Congress, but that may be about to change.

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon are planning to…

Investors, Take Note: The Robin Hood Tax Might Be Coming to America originally appeared on DailyFinance.com on 2013-02-11T11:32:00Z.

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News, Politics, Government

Iowa Democrat Bruce Braley announces 2014 US Senate bid

February 7, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley says he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

News, Politics, Government

Harkin cuts ties with namesake Iowa State center

February 6, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Sen. Tom Harkin is abandoning plans to donate his papers to a namesake institute at Iowa State University, his alma mater.

Harkin said in a letter Tuesday that he believed Iowa State leaders were trying to restrict the Harkin Institute of Public Policy’s ability to conduct some research, which they deny.

He says he agrees with its advisory board that “these proposals have damaged the institute to such an extent that it would never be able to flourish at Iowa State.”

Harkin says he and his family will decide where papers covering his 30 years in the Senate and 10 in the House end up. He says he regrets the institute didn’t work out.

The withdrawal comes after a power struggle between Harkin supporters and university leaders.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

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