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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA Residents in Wright County wonder what happened to House File 565 after a second year Iowa Senate Republicans failed to take up the legislation on the chamber floor.

Well it appears that the senate especially at the statehouse and our beloved governor has turned their heads, said Robert Ritter, a Wright County Property Owner. If you dont grease the wheels with a little money you dont get to talk to people.

I am also disappointed in the governor in the fact that she hasnt said to the Senate, hey this needs to be brought to the floor, you have been elected to a position to represent the people so lets do our job, said Dean Kluss, Wright County District 2 Supervisor, (R).

The bill failed to see a subcommittee when the chair, Iowa State Senator Mike Bousselot (R), from Ankeny said it was too late in the second funnel to advance it, with all the differing opinions

Wright County has the most pipeline in the ground for Summit Carbon Solutions. Kluss said that 48% of the county has signed easements for their land, and 52% of those along the route have not signed.

When we got approached the first time he and I had a nice long talk, said Betty Ellis, a Wright County property owner. we felt that the control we would have on it, yes itll be ours, itll just have an easement over it, but the easement is one that will last forever.

Some property owners think 90% voluntary easements before the use of eminent domain is a start. But they also want property owners rights to be respected and they believe that the Summit Carbon Solutions go too far with a permanent easement; and the ability to have access to the owners land whenever the company needs to get to the pipeline.

We do want to continue to fight it. We will go all the way to the eminent domain, we will go all the way to the eminent domain, we are not going to sign an easement. And I think the company is aware of that at this point, said Ellis

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Iowa landowners say Republican leaders are ignoring them in eminent domain fight - WHO TV 13 Des Moines News & Weather

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene surrounded by other Republican House member at President Joe Bidens State of the Union address on February 7, 2023.Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Marjorie Taylor Greene has become cozier with the GOP establishment and vice versa in recent months.

She's donated to several vulnerable GOP incumbents and sent $275,000 to the party's House campaign arm.

But even as she becomes a key part of the party machinery, her beliefs and positions remain unchanged.

As the institutional Republican Party raises the money necessary to defend the GOP's tenuous House majority, more and more of it is coming from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

The congresswoman's latest quarterly filings with the Federal Election Commission reveal that Greene has spent a total of $311,000 this year on helping the party win tough House races.

That includes a hefty $275,000 contribution on February 28 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) House Republican's main campaign arm as well as $2,000 apiece on March 29 to 18 other House Republicans, many of whom sit in districts that Democrats plan to target during the 2024 campaign.

Here are some of the vulnerable House Republicans that accepted $2,000 from Greene:

Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, who represents a Tuscon-area swing district.

David Schweikert of Arizona, one of the most vulnerable House Republicans who represents a Phoenix-area swing district.

Anthony D'Esposito of New York, whose upset victory on Long Island helped pave the way for the new GOP majority.

Mike Garcia of California, who represents a Los Angeles-area district that Joe Biden won in 2020.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, who narrowly defeated a progressive candidate in a district long held by Democrats.

Jen Kiggans of Virginia, who defeated Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria in November 2022.

Monica De La Cruz of Texas, whose Rio Grande Valley-based districts borders the US-Mexico border.

Greene also gave $2,000 to other more hardline conservatives whose districts aren't as deep-red, including House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma.

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It's a stark departure from Greene's first two years in Congress, when 11 of her GOP colleagues joined with Democrats to boot her from her committee assignments over her history of violent online rhetoric and her prior belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory. Greene has since embarked on an attempt to clean up her image.

During that time, Greene donated to just a handful of other GOP candidates who share her hard-right views, some of which did not make it past Republican primary elections. She did contribute a total of $350,000 to the NRCC, which she's now on track to potentially exceed.

Her contributions to the party's most vulnerable lawmakers are likely to raise eyebrows and become a key opportunity for Democrats, given her history of controversial statements.

One of Schweikert's Democratic opponents is already calling on the Arizona congressman to return Greene's contribution.

Greene walks with Arizona Rep. David Schweikert, one of the most vulnerable House Republicans at the Capitol on March 28, 2023.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Greene's increased generosity towards the rest of the party comes amid her emergence as a key ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, despite her past criticisms of him.

Additionally, as a newly-minted member of the influential House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, the Georgia congresswoman recently lead a group of her Republican colleagues on a tour of the DC jail, where she has alleged that January 6 rioters are being mistreated.

But even as Greene's relationship with the institutional Republican Party has changed, her views and positions have largely stayed the same.

As recently as two months ago, the Georgia congresswoman floated the idea of a "national divorce," and she has become an outspoken defender of the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who's now accused of leaking classified Pentagon documents online.

And during a recent interview on 60 Minutes, she defended her incendiary contention that Democrats are a "party of pedophiles."

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Marjorie Taylor Greene is becoming an increasingly important part of the Republican Party's fundraising machine - Yahoo News

COLUMBUS, Ohio A Trump-backed Republican in Ohio whose military record was called into question during his unsuccessful 2022 congressional campaign announced Wednesday that he plans to run again next year.

J.R. Majewski launched his latest effort to win the GOP nomination and take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in a video posted on Twitter.

This campaign is about the working-class citizens of Ohio, he said. This campaign is about putting America first. This campaign is about fighting for you. Last cycle, we started a movement. This cycle, we win.

Majewski, of Port Clinton, previously worked in the nuclear power industry. He drew attention for drawing a sprawling banner supporting former President Donald Trump across his lawn, and also had been a pro-Trump hip-hop performer and promoter of the baseless rightwing QAnon conspiracy theory. He was also at the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, though he was not accused of any wrongdoing there.

Majewski was the surprise winner of last year's Republican primary for the Toledo-area 9th Congressional District. He bested two sitting Republican state lawmakers to secure the nomination, but ultimately lost to Kaptur, the longest serving woman in Congress, by more than 13 percentage points.

Related:Ohio GOP House Candidate Misrepresented Military Service

The Associated Press reported in September that Majewski had misrepresented his military record to voters. He claimed that he served in the Air Force in Afghanistan, but public records indicated that he had never deployed there and instead spent six months on a base in Qatar. Majewski denied the report and defiantly remained in the race, saying his deployment was classified and so not present in public records.

The AP later reported that Majewski was demoted in the military for driving drunk on an air base, another contradiction to his previous statements.

Majewski was among Ohio Republicans that Trump promoted at a November rally in Vandalia, Ohio.

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Ohio Republican Who Reportedly Embellished Service Record Running Again - Military.com

WASHINGTON Republican presidential contenders are struggling with the abortion issue early in the campaign, as they walk a tightrope between a party base that favors outlawing the procedure and a majority of the U.S. that wants it to remain legal in most cases.

The issue has become more challenging for the GOP to navigate after an intense backlash to the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer, which has hurt Republicans in numerous elections since, and the more recent lawsuits challenging access to the abortion pill mifepristone. The latest difficulties for Republican 2024 hopefuls reveal a party still trying to figure out how to use its newfound legal power granted by the Supreme Court to restrict abortion nationally.

The newest contender to launch a 2024 exploratory committee, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., toured Iowa and New Hampshire this week and told WMUR he'd "definitely" sign a 20-week abortion ban. But he didn't say if that was his threshold, and when asked separately if hed support a federal prohibition, he sidestepped.

I would simply say that the fact of the matter is, when you look at the issue of abortion, one of the challenges that we have we continue to go to the most restrictive conversations without broadening the scope, Scott said in New Hampshire. Im 100% pro-life, I never walk away from that. But the truth of the matter is when you look at the issues on abortion, I start with a very important conversation.

From there, Scott evoked an exchange he had with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about the impact of abortion on labor participation for African American women.

In an interview that aired one day earlier, Scott dodged multiple questions from CBS News about whether he supports federal limits on abortion, instead criticizing proponents of legal abortion.

I do think we spend not enough time understanding how far the far left has gone on the issue of abortion, he said. When asked if being 100% pro-life means he favors federal restrictions, Scott responded: Thats not what I said.

Scott isnt alone. Other Republican contenders have also sought to avoid taking a clear position on abortion and instead attacked liberals as the real extremists for pushing broad protections without restrictions late in pregnancy that surveys say are popular. Democrats say the government should stay out of the issue and leave abortion decisions up to women and their doctors.

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, would not say after launching her presidential campaign whether shed sign the federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks that has been proposed by her fellow South Carolinian, Sen. Lindsey Graham.

We need consensus on this, Haley told NBCs "TODAY" show in February. If were looking at 15 weeks, what we need to understand is we are not OK with abortion up until the time of birth. And so we should at least decide: When is it OK?

Former Vice President Mike Pence, a devout Christian and conservative who has long been at the forefront of the fight to restrict abortion, came out for abortion restrictions across every U.S. state after the Supreme Court after Roe fell.

But even Pence, who has been visiting early states and taking steps toward a presidential run, is grappling with where to draw the line.

In an interview last month with the New Hampshire-based WMUR, Pence was repeatedly asked whether he supported a state bill in South Carolina that would allow the death penalty for women who have an abortion. He pivoted first to say he supports pro-life measures nationally.

But when the interviewer followed up to ask him if such laws encourage a culture of life, Pence demurred.

I must tell you that Im not familiar with those proposals and I dont have a way of responding to that or confirming it, he said.

His remarks immediately drew a backlash from the local Planned Parenthood, which supports abortion rights and labeled his rhetoric dangerous.

Pences team later issued a clarification to WMUR, saying he reviewed the legislation and doesnt support it.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has also taken steps to run for president and is seen by many as the main alternative to former President Donald Trump, hasnt made the issue a focal point so far. But that could change. On Thursday, the Florida Legislature passed an abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy, which DeSantis quietly signed into law that same day.

Meanwhile, Trump, the GOP front-runner, has largely steered clear of the issue since the fall of Roe, despite his role in picking three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the landmark ruling.

The caution comes amid a flurry of activity driven by Republicans across the country that continues to keep abortion on the radar.

Last week, Idaho became the first state to restrict out-of-state travel to get an abortion while a GOP-appointed judge invalidated the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, sparking a legal fight at the appeals court.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, said the party should be willing to compromise, perhaps by endorsing legal abortion until the third trimester.

I think that theres a good possibility of trying to reach some kind of a reasonable compromise, Kasich said on MSNBC. Its the way that, frankly, they need to resolve this issue.

The first flash of this was Kansas, he said, citing the vote to protect abortion rights in the deep-red state last year, which presaged the GOPs underperformance in the 2022 elections. The partys got to figure that out. The same way theyve got to figure out guns.

Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

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Republican presidential hopefuls are already struggling with the abortion issue - NBC News

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has backed a plan to allow residents who are 18 and older to receive birth control from a pharmacist without a prescription. The Republican-controlled Senate last month approved legislation to permit it.

But the bill is moving through the statehouse as a rift is growing in the Republican Party over birth control, with some anti-abortion groups opposing access. Similar legislation, to expand or protect birth control access, has passed in both liberal and conservative states in recent years. But with the Supreme Courts June decision ending a federal right to abortion, states have taken on reproductive health care, and some conservatives are increasingly tying abortion and birth control.

Mary Ziegler, an abortion law historian, said Republicans used to be able to take a stance on either abortion policy or contraception policy without the issues intersecting.

My sense in general within the anti-abortion movement and I think to some degree within the GOP, too theres been a shift to the right on all of that, and more open opposition to contraception than weve seen in years past, she said. To me its much more eye-catching to see a Republican governor actually being this supportive of contraception, than it would have been a few years ago, just because I think theres been a general shift toward saying, Contraception is bad, too.

Some Republicans are working to clarify that they are not opposed to contraception. In Oklahoma, a pair of anti-abortion Republican lawmakers introduced a bill earlier this year that clarifies that state laws on abortion shall not prohibit or restrict contraceptive drugs, surgeries or other treatments by authorized health care providers. Lawmakers in the Republican-led state Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure last month.

Being pro-family also means allowing Oklahomans the freedom to plan when to start or grow their family, sponsor Sen. Jessica Garvin said in a statement at the time of the bills passage. When people have access to contraception, they can pursue their goals and build healthy families. Its a right we all deserve.

Ziegler said opposition by anti-abortion groups toward birth control has become more pronounced in recent election cycles, especially after former President Barack Obama included contraception mandates in the Affordable Care Act that spurred legal action. She noted as more Christian right groups and anti-abortion organizers strengthened their financial resources and strategy, there was more invested in claims about religious liberty and its connection to birth control.

That was when you began to see more of a tendency to say, Were OK opposing contraception, because people of faith have these religious objections to it, because they believe its an abortifacient, she said.

A spokesperson for Students for Life of America told The 19th that the organization does not take a position against or for birth control, but it opposes federal funding to abortion providers who use birth control programs to market life-ending drugs, devices, and procedures.

Title X funds should be invested in family care, not family-ending vendors who misuse federal funds to support their abortion businesses, Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy, said in an email.

Ziegler said it all indicates a divide among some GOP lawmakers and some anti-abortion groups on contraception, and its still unclear where its heading.

This is kind of a fork in the road for the movement, and I think, for the GOP, she said.

At least 17 states and the District of Columbia allow pharmacists to provide contraceptive care, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonpartisan research and policy organization focused on reproductive and sexual health. Many of these laws have been passed since 2016, according to Elizabeth Nash, who recently tracked state policy for Guttmacher and now works for the federal government on contraceptive access. The details vary, though, and there are practical questions now about access and education to the public.

Its one thing to pass the policy and say youve passed the policy, she said. The other piece is the implementation part.

The Iowa bill to expand birth control has been years in the making. Reynolds first introduced the measure in 2019, but it did not have enough support amid opposition from local anti-abortion groups.

The proposal this year was added at the last minute to an unrelated bill about EpiPens. The provision noted that self-administered hormonal contraceptives include an oral hormonal contraceptive, a hormonal vaginal ring and a hormonal contraceptive patch. It specifies that it does not include any drug intended to induce an abortion.

Before a 45-3 vote, there was no debate on the bill. Iowa Sen. Jeff Edler, the Republican managing the bills passage, briefly said on the chamber floor that it was another bill that continues to expand the access of health care to Iowans.

But once again, its unclear if the bill will pass. Since advancing out of the state Senate, Republicans in the House have proposed amendments to the legislation that might complicate its chances of getting signed into law, including one that requires pharmacists who dispense birth control to share misinformation about abortion.

And once again, local anti-abortion groups have registered opposition to the bill, including the Family Leader, a politically powerful conservative group, and Pulse Life Advocates, previously known as the anti-abortion group Iowans for Life.

A spokesperson for Reynolds did not respond to a request for an interview about the bill.

The bills progression since leaving the Senate last month has been discouraging to Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat.

It really seemed like, Hey, were maybe going to do something that the people have been asking for and isnt that great? A nice change of pace, she said. And its really disappointing to hear about all these things the House is attaching to this legislation.

Iowa has also shifted more conservative in recent election cycles, including under the leadership of Reynolds. She has asked a more conservative state Supreme Court to reconsider a six-week abortion ban that she first signed in 2018 but has been on hold.

Separately, newly elected Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird confirmed to The Des Moines Register that her office recently put on hold a long-standing practice under the previous Democratic AG to pay for emergency contraception for victims of sexual assault. In rare cases, that also included abortions.

Trone Garriott said if Republicans reduce reproductive health through other forms of policy, its hard to balance that out with their efforts on birth control.

Overall, the landscape in Iowa is pretty bleak right now when it comes to reproductive care, and theres all kinds of things that are being passed that are discouraging people from moving to our state, discouraging young people from building their lives here and discouraging health care practitioners from coming here, she said. So its a small thing thats helpful, but overall, were just seeing a lot of bad policy thats having a negative impact.

This story was originally published April 12, 2023, by The 19th.

Link:
A rift is growing in the Republican Party over birth control - The Connecticut Mirror