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The Washington Post published an article listing five candidates likely to be considered to be Trump's vice president. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa is on that list. Ernst is Iowa's first female U.S. Senator. Ernst was not well known When she ran for the senate seat vacated by the retiring Tom Harkin. KWWL-TV caught up with Ernst and asked if she would consider serving as Donald Trump's vice president. "I would say, 'did my mother pay you to say that?', Ernst said. "But, no. I would have to consider it, but I love what I do in the United...

Emails released Friday show former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and other State Department officials discussing how to go about helping a powerful Democratic senator who was asking for a job for his daughter in the agency in summer 2009. The pressure paid off for the now-retired Iowa senator, Tom Harkin, as his daughter Jennifer was hired on as the assistant to the ambassador-at-large at the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice. The gig was in a small office that had a “limited number of slots,” another Clinton aide wrote in a separate email chain published Friday. “Remind me...

Back in 2009, when Congress was debating the Affordable Care Act, many liberal Democrats felt it did not go far enough — that it should be even more sweeping, even more expansive, even more costly. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, one of the Senate's most liberal Democrats and a veteran of many legislative battles, urged his colleagues on the Left to go ahead and pass the bill. "The key to this is that this modest home, we can put additions onto it in the future," Harkin told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in December 2009. "But if we don't have the starter home, we're...

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger hammered John Kerry in 1985 for interfering in diplomatic negotiations with Nicaragua’s Marxist government as a Massachusetts senator. Thirty years later, Kerry is skewering Senate Republicans for their open letter to the Iranian leadership warning that any nuclear deal with the United States without the advice and consent of the U.S. Congress would not last beyond President Obama’s term. Kerry and then-Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin visited Nicaragua in 1985 to cut a deal with the Sandinista government, which was close to the former Soviet Union. President Ronald Reagan, however, was already set on overthrowing...

The Food and Drug Administration is going to try its hand at shaming consumers into making healthier choices when they go out to eat. Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the FDA announced a controversial and expansive rule that will require certain establishments with 20 or more locations -- including chain restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, and movie theaters -- to post calorie information on their menus and menu boards. A separate rule was also issued requiring operators of 20 or more vending machines to post calorie information. Section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act, a provision included in the law...

Democrats hope to take back control of the Senate in 2016, but their plans could be complicated by potential retirements. The two Democratic senators most likely to retire are Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who represent both sides of the party’s ideological spectrum. Boxer, whose fourth term expires at the end of 2016, has a paltry $149,000 in her campaign account, less than almost every other senator facing election next year. As the nation’s most populous state, California is expensive to cover with advertising. If Boxer decides to run for reelection, she would face a major fundraising...

If I were advising the White House right now, I would encourage President Obama to take advantage of the end of this year's election cycle—the next fifty or so days—to immediately try to change the subject, in a big way. The Obama administration should act right away to use its executive powers to take steps to deal with long-ignored issues that need to be dealt with for the good of the nation. This cannot be done quietly. To change the media narrative, issues acted upon will have to be controversial enough to dominate the news. President Obama should embrace good...

Over the weekend Senator Harkin, while campaigning for Bruce Braley, suggested that people may vote for Joni Ernst because she’s really attractive and sounds nice, but they shouldn’t be fooled by that. MSNBC this morning called the comments stupid and said it’s likely they could backfire on Braley:(VIDEO-AT-LINK)This morning Joni Ernst went on Fox and Friends and called the Senator’s words offensive:(VIDEO-AT-LINK)As we know already Ernst has jumped to a nice 7-point lead over Braley and while Harkin’s comment’s may not backfire, it certainly won’t help Braley either.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Joni Ernst has been elected as the next U.S. Senator from Iowa. The Republican, a state Senator from Red Oak, defeated Democrat U.S. Representative Bruce Braley in one of the nation’s closest watched elections. Ernst will fill the seat currently occupied by Senator Tom Harkin. Harkin, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1985, announced in January 2013 that he would retire at the end of his term in January 2015....

Democratic Senator Tom Harkin recently opined on the campaign of Republican Joni Ernst and made a comment that touched on her looks. He said, “I hear so much about Joni Ernst. She is really attractive, and she sounds nice. Well, I got to thinking about that. I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like Michele Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa.”

Retiring Democratic Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin says that Iowa voters shouldn’t be fooled because Joni Ernst is “really attractive” and “sounds nice.”

Senate Democrats are pleading with donors to give to Rep. Bruce Braley’s campaign as they struggle to pull off a victory in Iowa and save their endangered majority. But there’s one key player holding onto his campaign cash: Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. Despite direct appeals from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other top Democrats, Harkin has refused to transfer money from his $2.4 million campaign account to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to sources and campaign finance records....

Bill Clinton was caught off mike in Iowa this weekend “agreeing that the [Israeli] prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] was ‘not the man’ to make peace with Palestinians — a position at odds with his wife’s pro-Israel stance, a new report said Monday. Clinton’s spontaneous comments came during an impromptu conversation with pro-Palestinian activists after he and Hillary spent the day at a political event in Iowa on Sunday.” This is part of a pattern for Bill Clinton – “blaming the Israeli prime minister for the lack of progress toward peace with the Palestinians.” What do we learn from this? 1....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek7vKh4vOzI On Sunday, Bill and Hillary Clinton were Iowa attending the final Tom Harkin Steak Fry event, and Bill was repeatedly pinned down in conversation by folks in attendance. During one such encounter, Clinton got into a discussion with a pro-Palestinian activist who managed to elicit a surprising, or not so surprising, comment from the former President. Activist: If we don’t force [Netanyahu] to make peace, we will not have peace. Clinton: Wait, wait, wait. First of all, I agree with that. But in 2000, Ehud Barak, I got him to agree to something that I'm not sure I would...

Former US president recorded going off-message in criticising the Israeli government’s unwillingness to seek peace Bill Clinton has been recorded going off-message and criticising the Israeli government’s unwillingness to seek peace with Palestinians in unguarded comments that contrast with other leading Democrats, including his wife, potential presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Though brief and apparently unscripted, the exchange, which was recorded by C-Span and picked up by Israeli newspaper Haaretz, is in stark contrast to recent comments by Hillary Clinton, who has been more supportive of Netanyahu’s handling of the recent conflict in Gaza. The Obama administration has also been less...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Video from the Harkin Steak Fry shows former President Clinton saying "I agree with that" to a man on the ropeline who says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is not the guy" to make peace. "If we don't force him to make peace, we will not have peace," the man says. The conversation came on Sunday after the Clintons made a high-profile return to Iowa and spoke at Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-Iowa) Democratic fundraiser. "First of all, I agree with that," Clinton replies. He then makes a point defending the Israelis, saying: "But in 2000, [then-Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Barak,...

Neutralizing the traditional Democratic lead among women voters, Republican State Sen. Joni Ernst leads U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, the Democrat, 50 - 44 percent among likely voters in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin in Iowa, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Ernst leads among men 56 - 39 percent, while Braley leads among women by a smaller 50 - 44 percent margin, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. This survey of likely voters can not be compared with earlier surveys of registered voters. The Republican also leads 50 - 43 percent among a key...

p>The Talk Shows September 14th, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): White House chief of staff Denis McDonough; Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C; Michael Hayden, a former CIA and National Security Agency director.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): McDonough; former Secretary of State James Baker; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.FACE THE NATION (CBS): McDonough; Secretary of State John Kerry; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.THIS WEEK (ABC): McDonough; Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; Education Secretary Arne Duncan.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): McDonough; Harkin; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Rep. John...

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley's annual 99-county tour — known in political circles as “the Full Grassley” — puts him above most of his Senate peers for trips home. Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, made 99 trips home in the three years that ended March 31, which was three times as many trips as Sen. Tom Harkin, a Cumming Democrat, who came home 33 times during the three-year period. “It demonstrates the extent to which Grassley is around,” said Chris Larimer, an associate political science professor from the University of Northern Iowa. “He's in the state talking with Iowans.” Tim...

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin was the 15th biggest spender in the U.S. Senate for the year that ended March 31. Harkin, who will retire in January after 30 years, spent $2.9 million, compared to the median disbursement of $2.6 million for all U.S. senators and $2.49 million for Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, according to new data compiled by the Sunlight Foundation and analyzed by The Gazette. The vast majority of spending went into payroll, with each Iowa senator having more than 50 people on staff from April 1, 2013, through March 31, 2014. These rosters include full-...