The Iowa Caucuses Cometh...
As does the storm...
The Iowa caucuses are Monday and I shared my thoughts on them this morning in the Kansas City Star, a great newspaper. Here they are. Derek Donovan, my op-ed editor and op-ed editor for the 30 or so McClatchy papers, is one of the best editors I have had in a lifetime of editors. Every column he touches is better because he’s involved and he makes unnecessary words and sentences go away painlessly. He tightens each piece like a mechanic torques a lug nut for the better. Thanks, Derek!
In reading the column this morning a couple of ads popped up from The Family Leader, who have endorsed DeSantis. Of course, they are casting shade on Donald Trump. As a lapsed Lutheran I will editorialize that no one in the trio The Family Leader, Trump, or DeSantis represents the Christian values I was raised with.
It’s been a busy week. I watched the CNN Ron DeSantis/Nikki Haley debate Thursday night (my birthday!) and scored it for the New York Times. It’s here. I love scoring debates for the Times, but there’s lots of pressure in it as a writing challenge. You need to write something meaningful, tight, and hopefully powerful very quickly. You also have to give the candidates a score. I take the assignment seriously and am also interested in what the other columnists have to say. It was great fun also because my daughter Johanna and her friend Jonah watched with me.
Readers of this will likely enjoy the friendly intellectual tussle among some of the members of the Iowa Writers Collaborative got into about Nikki Haley. Chuck Offenburger started it with his endorsement of Haley. Chuck took some heat for the piece, and Richard Gilbert stepped up to get Chuck’s back here.
Finally, Julie Gammack (Richard and Julie are spouses) weighed in on the issue with firm disagreement.
I found the exchange fascinating. Three legends go at an issue thoughtfully and respectively. Finding that kind of interaction is one of the benefits of subscribing to the offerings of members Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.
I apologize if I have missed any other member of the collaborative who has written on the issue, but I’m not going to weigh in here. Chuck, Richard, and Julie have laid it all out such that readers will be able to come to their own conclusions.
Thanks, Chuck, Richard, and Julie.
Are you a writer? Do you want to write? Or are you a reader who wants to learn more about writing and meet with some of the best writers in the country? If so, please consider enrolling in Julie Gammack’s Okoboji Writers Retreat this coming September.
It’s a wonderful and supportive environment—some call it a “summer camp for nerds.” I love it, and it would be great to see you there. It’s a wonderful time, and you will remember it forever. I love it so much and if you want to learn more, I hope you will read this letter I wrote to Julie after this past session here.
Below is a list of the members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please support their work by sharing and subscribing.
Looking forward to the end of the caucus circus.
Please, please do a tribute to Perry HS Principal who sacrificed his life for his students. He is a role model for all us who have ever worked in education. He is a caretaker for all kids, and a savior for many. I worked in schools and often thought about what I would be willing to do when it happened in my school.