Gay Marriage

Iowa Justices Ousted Over Gay Marriage Given JFK Award

Eric Lach | May 7, 2012, 11:55AM

Three former Iowa Supreme Court Justices who were ousted in 2010 after that court's unanimous decision to legalize same-sex marriage in the state are being honored today in Boston with the 2012 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

The award is being presented by Caroline Kennedy at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

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Bradlee Dean

Anti-Gay Preacher's Band Shocks Students At Iowa High School

David Taintor | March 12, 2012, 1:13PM

Controversial preacher Bradlee Dean delivers a prayer on the Minnesota House floor.

Updated: 2:34 p.m. ET

When anti-gay preacher Bradlee Dean opens his mouth, controversy usually follows. And a performance at an Iowa high school late last week proved no different.

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Ron Paul

Army Reservist In Hot Water Over Ron Paul Speech

Nick R. Martin | January 4, 2012, 4:58PM

An Afghanistan war veteran is in trouble for giving a political speech while in uniform at a caucus night rally with Ron Paul on Tuesday in Iowa.

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Joe Arpaio

Attorney For Family of Dead Military Veteran Blasts Joe Arpaio's Trip to Iowa

Nick R. Martin | December 28, 2011, 11:38AM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a lot of problems on his plate right now, not the least of which are two ongoing investigations surrounding a Latino military veteran who died after a brief stay in his officers' custody.

So it begs the question: How could the Arizona sheriff find time to jet to Iowa this week for two days of campaigning on behalf of presidential hopeful Rick Perry?

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Colbert Super PAC

Colbert PAC Releases New 'Cornographic' Iowa Ad (VIDEO)

David Taintor | August 11, 2011, 4:43PM

Stephen Colbert's Super PAC is not impressed with big money groups "pandering" to Iowans with pro-Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) ads featuring cheap "cornography" ahead of this weekend's straw poll in Ames.

Colbert's PAC -- "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" -- believes Iowans deserve better. And featuring a gratuitiousy buttery cob of corn, Colbert promises his PAC is "going to give it to ya."

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Iowa

Iowa GOPers Attempting To Impeach Four Judges Who Overturned Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Jillian Rayfield | April 22, 2011, 6:13PM

Five GOP lawmakers in the Iowa House have introduced four resolutions, each one to impeach one of the four remaining state Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in 2009.

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Guns

Iowa GOPer Dubs NRA-Backed Legislation 'Give-A-Handgun-To-A-Schizophrenic Bill'

Ryan J. Reilly | March 11, 2011, 3:30PM

Republican Iowa State Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, speaker pro tem of the Iowa State House, was caught joking on a hot mic that a proposal which would allow state residents to carry weapons in public without permission from a sheriff and without any training or a background check might better be called the "give-a-handgun-to-a-schizophrenic-bill."

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Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich Helped Jump-Start Campaign To Oust Iowa Judges

Jillian Rayfield | March 3, 2011, 4:03PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich secured $200 thousand for a successful campaign by anti-gay groups last fall to oust Iowa Supreme Court justices who voted to allow gay marriage in Iowa, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"It wouldn't have happened without Newt," said David Lane, executive director of the group that spearheaded the campaign, Iowa For Freedom.

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Iowa

Split-Personality Iowa Embezzler Who Donated To Political Campaigns Gets 6 Years

Rachel Slajda | January 26, 2011, 1:55PM

Phyllis and Marla Stevens

A woman who embezzled $6 million from the insurance company where she worked, spent $175,000 on political campaigns and blamed it all on her split personalities has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Prosecutors say that Phyllis Stevens, who is 59, siphoned money off Des Moines-based Aviva USA for years by creating fake insurance agents and paying them huge commissions, which were wired into a bank account that Stevens and her wife, Marla, held in another state.

The Stevenses donated some $175,000 to state and federal candidates in 2006 and 2008, They chose mostly Democrats, including former Rep. Betsey Markey (D-CO) and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) and Democratic groups, like MoveOn and the Democratic Party of Iowa, but also gave to some Republican women.

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Same sex marriage

Anti-Gay Iowa Republicans Will Try To Impeach Supreme Court Justices

Rachel Slajda | December 20, 2010, 3:49PM

The "Judge Bus"

For conservatives angry over the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous decision last year to legalize gay marriage, getting three of the seven justices booted from the bench just isn't enough. Now, a handful of Republican lawmakers are now trying to impeach the remaining four.

The Iowa Independent reports that three freshmen members of the Iowa House are writing legislation to impeach those four justices. They're joined by a freshman state senator, Kent Sorenson, who will sit on the judiciary committee and who has called the fight against same sex marriage "my generation's defining moment."

Such a move would require a majority vote in the House, followed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate. It's unclear how much support there is for impeachment -- a punishment generally reserved for judges who've committed a crime or other serious misconduct.

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Same sex marriage

Anti-Gay Groups Defeat Iowa Supreme Court Justices

Rachel Slajda | November 3, 2010, 10:39AM

The "Judge Bus"

Three of Iowa's Supreme Court justices were voted out of office last night, chalking up a victory for the national anti-gay groups that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the race.

With nearly all precincts reporting, the three justices -- David Baker, Michael Streit and Chief Justice Marsha Ternus -- were voted out by an average margin of 55% to 45%.

It's the first time an Iowa Supreme Court justice has been ousted since Iowa instituted its system of appointment and retention in 1962.

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Iowa

Iowans Split On Whether To Drop Supreme Court Justices

Rachel Slajda | November 1, 2010, 5:18PM

The "Judge Bus"

As we told you last week, the question of whether Iowa will retain or fire three of its Supreme Court justices has drawn hundreds of thousands of dollars from third-party groups. The Des Moines Register is now out with a poll that shows Iowans are still split on the question, with a slight edge to those who would throw the judges out.

According to the poll, 37% of likely voters said they'd vote to remove the three justices. Another 34% said they'd vote to retain them, and 10% said they'd remove at least one.

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Same sex marriage

The Campaign You're Not Watching -- But Anti-Gay Groups Are

Rachel Slajda | October 26, 2010, 10:19AM

The "Judge Bus"

Last year, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously to allow same sex marriage in Iowa. This year, Iowans will vote on whether to keep or boot three of the seven justices who decided that case -- and the campaign has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars from national anti-gay groups.

In Iowa, judges are appointed, not elected. But at the end of every judge's term, he or she goes up for "retention," meaning the populace votes whether to keep them around or throw them out.

The National Organization for Marriage, the American Family Association and the Family Research Council have seized on the chance to "fire" three of the justices, including Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, and are spending money -- more than $700,000 so far -- asking people to vote against retention. The campaign has also drawn cash from those who support gay marriage, and the justices themselves; the overwhelming majority of independent expenditures in the state, in fact, have been directed at the judicial retention race.

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Barack Obama

Tea Party's Obama-Hitler-Lenin Billboard Taken Down In Iowa

Eric Lach | July 14, 2010, 12:23PM

President Barack Obama

And just like that, it's gone.

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Barack Obama

Iowa Tea Party Billboard Compares Obama With Hitler And Lenin

Eric Lach | July 13, 2010, 5:17PM

President Barack Obama

Rule No. 37 of comparing Obama to Hitler: It's hard to walk back a billboard.

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