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Congratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
From Iowa: A look at Elizabeth Warren's brain trust in action
Where does Elizabeth Warren come up with all of these plans? I’ll tell you where she got her new one, aimed at rural communities and agriculture: rural Iowans from every corner of the state.
I know because I observed a member of the brain trust in action. John Russell is an ex-farmer employed by the Warren campaign to drive his black Chevy Colorado all over Iowa. His team calls him “Roaddog.” Though based in Mason City, he crashes on couches with generous supporters most every day of the week.
Three times a month, Russell goes to a new town on his “Rural Listening Tour,” the most recent of which I attended with twenty Iowans in the dining room of Keosaqua’s historic Hotel Manning. After a spiel about Warren’s proposals to repair structural deficiencies in America’s economy and democracy—with emphasis on the campaign’s intention to enforce antitrust in the farm sector—Russell said, “I’m feeding your ideas directly up to HQ, so whatever you tell me has the potential to influence this campaign.”
With that, the floor opened. For ninety minutes we discussed struggling rural hospitals, the merits and drawbacks of Senator Warren’s plan to cancel student loan debt, the ethanol mandate, USDA conservation programs, and consolidation in the meatpacking industry. In the room were two doctors and two farmers. There was consensus as well as discord. Often when grappling with rural America’s intractable problems and uncertain future, one’s eyes would fall to the floor, eyebrows raised, head shaking side to side.
It’s no surprise that this style of policy development leads to bold, creative, and powerful ideas. Having spent five years studying the history and policy of American agriculture, I can say that Warren’s latest, published this morning, is no exception: the specificity of her plan for “a new farm economy” makes it singular among the primary hopefuls. Its boldness and originality advances the progressive farm policy conversation writ large.
More at https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2019/08/07/a-look-at-elizabeth-warrens-brain-trust-in-action/
I know because I observed a member of the brain trust in action. John Russell is an ex-farmer employed by the Warren campaign to drive his black Chevy Colorado all over Iowa. His team calls him “Roaddog.” Though based in Mason City, he crashes on couches with generous supporters most every day of the week.
Three times a month, Russell goes to a new town on his “Rural Listening Tour,” the most recent of which I attended with twenty Iowans in the dining room of Keosaqua’s historic Hotel Manning. After a spiel about Warren’s proposals to repair structural deficiencies in America’s economy and democracy—with emphasis on the campaign’s intention to enforce antitrust in the farm sector—Russell said, “I’m feeding your ideas directly up to HQ, so whatever you tell me has the potential to influence this campaign.”
With that, the floor opened. For ninety minutes we discussed struggling rural hospitals, the merits and drawbacks of Senator Warren’s plan to cancel student loan debt, the ethanol mandate, USDA conservation programs, and consolidation in the meatpacking industry. In the room were two doctors and two farmers. There was consensus as well as discord. Often when grappling with rural America’s intractable problems and uncertain future, one’s eyes would fall to the floor, eyebrows raised, head shaking side to side.
It’s no surprise that this style of policy development leads to bold, creative, and powerful ideas. Having spent five years studying the history and policy of American agriculture, I can say that Warren’s latest, published this morning, is no exception: the specificity of her plan for “a new farm economy” makes it singular among the primary hopefuls. Its boldness and originality advances the progressive farm policy conversation writ large.
More at https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2019/08/07/a-look-at-elizabeth-warrens-brain-trust-in-action/
If I were to vote in a presidentialprimary today, I would vote for: Undecided