Radio Iowa

Meltdown! House cleared during public hearing; ITR president calls speaker a "Nazi"

A crowd of perhaps 600 Iowans was ordered out of the Iowa House tonight. It happened during a public hearing on a tax bill Democrats are advancing.  The crowd was booted for failing to abide by the rules of the House which prohibit "demonstrations of any type from the gallery."  (Those words in quotation in the previous sentence are posted on a sign located at the door that leads to the seating areas which overlook the House floor.)  Many in the crowd booed and hissed at those who did not share their opinion.  They applauded and cheered those who agreed with their point of view.

Iowans for Tax Relief president Ed Failor, Junior, seemed to get the largest burst of applause and cheers from the crowd. Later, Failor accused House Speaker Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque) -- the leader who ordered the crowd out -- of being "a Nazi." (Read the full quote below.)  Murphy ordered Failor escorted from the room. More developments on this breaking story as soon as possible. 

UPDATE: I ran up to the House balcony when I continued to hear folks "demonstrating" during the public hearing (I admit I expected some sort of eruption.) Just before Murphy announced he was clearing the chamber, a few people in the crowd in front of me were clapping and yelling.  Others were shushing them.  "Be quiet," one older woman said to a man sitting beside her. 

The crowd erupted in boos and jeers when Murphy ordered them out.  "Welcome to the Soviet Union," Jim Draude of Pleasant Hill said on his way out of the House chamber.  "...They want to hear what they want to hear.  If they have someone that disagrees with them, they're looking for a reason to get rid of them."

Another woman nearby was urging folks to stay: "They want to do a sit in.  Do you want to go to jail tonight?"

A man seemed to sum up the thoughts of those who were politely filing out:  "No, I've got to go to work tomorrow,"

At this point, I ran downstairs to see and hear what was happening on the House floor.  Ed Failor, Junior, president of Iowans for Tax Relief, came over to the House press bench to express his outrage. "The controlling party has lost touch with the taxpayers," Failor began.  "...Pat Murphy has acted like a jack-booted Nazi."

Murphy approached the group. "This has been inappropriate tonight," Murphy said.  An animated Failor continued to speak, punching his index finger onto the wood border of the House press bench to emphasize his rhetorical points.  Murphy asked House doorkeepers to escort Failor from the floor.

"It goes to a totalitarian government.  I'm going," Failor said as he was led away, adding a few moments later, "Don't touch me.

"Why am I going?" Failor asked, continuing to speak but his voice trails away on my recording.

I will be back, quickly, with Murphy's comments.

UPDATE II:  Murphy says the public hearing's chairman asked the crowd "at least three times" not to applaud, cheer, boo, or jeer.

"The bottom line is the House has very clear rules," Murphy just told reporters.  "There is no demonstrations.  The idea behind the public hearing is to give public input and give people the ability to speak for and against the bill. This is not an athletic event where you cheer for the home team and you jeer and boo against people that you don't agree with. If you want to do that, you do rallies outside the building.  You don't do that inside the building and it was inappropriate.  Quite frankly, I should have acted sooner and it was my mistake."

UPDATE III:  Listen to the meltdown (mp3 runs under 2 min).  The recording was made as I stood in the House balcony, amidst the crowd.

UPDATE IV:  After a 15 minute interlude -- Murphy called it an "interruption" -- the public hearing resumed and at 9:47 p.m. it is just winding down.  (When Murphy cleared the chamber, he said people who had signed up to speak and those who were guests of legislators would be allowed to stay in the House.)  At 9:49 p.m. the last speaker finished and the House sound system was shut down.

UPDATE V:  Listen to the verbal confrontation between Failor and Murphy (mp3 runs just over a minute).  To be clear, the man who is saying, 'Come on," to Failor at the end is NOT Murphy. It is the House doorkeeper who was asked to escort Failor from the room.

Public hearing on tax plan

8:01 p.m.:  "If there's another outburst, I'm under order from the speaker to clear the chamber," Rep. Paul Shomshor (D-Council Bluffs) just told the boisterous group of Iowans who've crowded into the Iowa House this evening to air their thougths on a tax plan Democrats are advancing.

The crowd -- the majority of whom appear opposed to the legislation -- have cheered and applauded speakers who have articulated their views in opposition to the proposal and they have booed and hissed at those who have spoken in favor of the plan.

Rep. Berry asks the question: Why?

If you've been following The Blog, you've no doubt read stories about State Senator Jack Hatch's remarks last week during a conversation in the Iowa House with a black legislator.  Hatch, who is white, used the "n" word.  On Monday, Hatch issued a public apology.  That apology, however, seemed to spark outrage from folks in Iowa's African American community. NAACP leaders from Iowa and Des Moines held a news conference this morning (Tuesday).  Two black legislators who, like Hatch, are Democrats from Des Moines, spoke at that news conference.

Representative Deborah L. Berry, a Democrat from Waterloo who is one of Iowa's African American legislators, was not part of that news conference, but she sent an email to Democrats in the Iowa House and Senate to express her thoughts on the matter.  Read nearly all of her email below. However, when the "n" word was referenced by Berry, I have replaced it with the phrase "the 'n' word" and I have corrected three grammatical errors. I have omitted one incomplete sentence from Berry's email as well.  The rest, with those edits, is below.

To: Democratic Representatives; Democratic Senators
Subject: Disturbing Article

I read the Des Moines Register article regarding the “apology." Sad to say, I am even more “offended” by the contents of that article.  Namely, the section that says, “he understands lawmakers have been under intense pressure as they try to wrap up this session,” and Jacobs consulting Dandekar and McKinley on accepting Hatch’s apology. 
 
The latter first.

It’s spurious to even believe that either would understand the level of hurt and pain (the 'n" word) incurs.  Just being a “minority” does not constitute one’s understanding, particularly when historically African Americans have been called and continue to be called (the 'n' word) which is a derogatory term meant to demean, belittle, and deem a people as “insignificant” and not part of the society they helped build.  
 
African Americans, myself included, are discriminated against on a daily basis because of ingrained fears and hatred of African Americans based on negative stereotypes created throughout history.  Saying to a colleague, “we’re being treated like (the 'n' word) does not work to eliminate those beliefs, but only accentuates the fears.  It also allows non-African Americans to believe they, too, are superior, which feeds into the ongoing arrogance in thinking.
 
I think the acts of comfort were misdirected. 
 
....Secondly, we are all under pressure…that is no excuse.  My main concern regarding Sen. Hatch’s comment is why was it even NECESSARY to resort to that level?  Would that have been said to a White male colleague.  I think not.  I think there is a problem deeper than just words.
 
Finally, there have been comments on whether or not Sen. Hatch is racist.  I do not believe that, nor did racism even cross my mind.  Again my only question, why was it necessary to go there?  The answer lies deep in Jack.
 
Rep. Deborah Berry

What about rap lyrics?

This morning, Iowa's African-American leaders held a news conference to respond to a white state senator's use of the "n" word in a conversation last week with a black legislator. 

"There are some blacks who don't get it and still use this word.  There are some whites who don't get it and still use this word, but for those of us who do get it, we must continue to stand together and speak against it," Reverend Keith Ratliff, president of the Iowa chapter of the NAACP, said to open the news conference. You can listen to the news conference here and read a bit more about it here. 

Toward the end of the news conference, I asked a question:  "How do you feel about music lyrics?"

"Anyone who uses the 'n' word -- speaking for myself, the state NAACP and from the national office -- anyone who uses the 'n' word, it's wrong and people really sometimes do understand and sometimes they don't understand how explosive that word is and I think that's part of the problem in dealing with the education of individuals, to understand that is a very explosive word and so therefore we must continue to educate individuals in this manner," Reverend Ratliff said.

Linda Carter-Lewis, president of the Des Moines chapter of the NAACP, added this:  "With regard to the lyrics in songs, there are many things that I hear in some of the contemporary music that I'm appauled at, but we have too many people that today turn a deaf ear; they just tolerate it.  They don't speak out against it even though it offends them and we must make people much more aware of, sensitive to and willing to speak out.

"When they feel that something is offensive, they need to let someone know -- if it's the person speaking it or however they can take action -- we've got to have more activists speaking out so that it doesn't continue to deteriorate, the things that are so hurtful and tolerance that we have. We've got to be less tolerant of all these ugly things that are going on in our society and that's what's going to be so important as we address this."

Representative Wayne Ford, a Democrat from Des Moines, is Iowa's longest-serving black legislator and he spoke immediately after Carter-Lewis: "This issue, it's not about rap music.  My son, Ron Ford, was the executive editor of the number one hip hop magazine -- my own flesh and son -- and we had conflict about not burying the 'n' word.  Let's don't try, there was no rap music being played upstairs.  Let's be clear.  This is the people's house.  Come on.  There was no rap music upstairs.  The speaker and the protocol would not allow that to happen.  If you're going to play any music upstairs, it would have to be o.k'ed by the speaker of the house.  Let's keep the issue and the eye on the prize.  I've had conflict with my own flesh, my own son, who came to me and told me -- a baby boomer who's seen the black and white bathrooms, who heard about the hangings in the backyard -- and we've had discussions with my own flesh.  Let's don't try to tie those two issues together.  This is the people's house."

Iowa's black leaders meet with white senator who used "N" Word

State Senator Jack Hatch -- the Des Moines Democrat who used the "n" word last week in a converation with a black legislator -- went to the King of King's Church in Des Moines last night to meet with state and local leaders of the NAACP as well as the leaders of the Des Moines Black Ministerial Alliance. Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, the black legislator who Hatch used the word in front of last week, and Representative Wayne Ford, the longest-serving black legislator, were there as well.

At 11 o'clock this morning, the group involved in last night's meeting held a news conference to talk about their conversation and what comes next.  Abdul-Samad said Hatch had started a "snowball" with his comments.  "We must draw a clear line," Abdul-Samad said, adding there was no way anyone should be tolerant of the use of the "n" word -- or jokes about blonds or Jews either. 

Hatch spoke and said: the "n" word incident had exposed a character flaw in himself.  "This is not just something that we can slip under the rug," Hatch said, adding he wants to "keep the dialogue going" about how to best use this incident as a "teaching moment."

The news conference lasted half an hour.  I will post the audio as soon as I've written Radio Iowa's noontime stories.

UPDATE:  Reverend Keith Ratliff, president of the NAACP's Iowa/Nebraska chapter, opened the news conference with this reference to Hatch's statement yesterday on the senate floor: "For State Senator Jack Hatch or some lawmakers to suggest that because tensions were high that it in some way excuses this type of language and dialogue, the NAACP feels is ridiculous and blatantly wrong," Ratliff said. 

Hatch a few moments later admitted the incident exposed a "character flaw" in himself. "This is not just something that we can slip under the rug," Hatch said.  "There was a character deficit in me that came out that moment -- a moment that I have to share with my family and, well, just about everybody."

UPDATE II:  Here is the Radio Iowa story. (A 28-minute-long mp3 of the entire news conference can be found on the bottom of that Radio Iowa page.)

A little humor?

There were two guys sitting at a table.  One was a tax expert.  The other was a banker. The banker asked the tax expert a complicated question about taxes. "This feels like an Abbott and Costello routine," the tax expert replied.

Yes, that was the "punch line" to actual comments masquerading as comedy tonight in the House Ways and Means Committee.  Some of the lobbyists sitting along the outside walls of the committee room laughed after House Ways and Means Committee chairman Paul Shomshor -- a Democrat from Council Bluffs who is a tax expert in private life -- made reference to Abbott and Costello, a duo ranked as America's most famous comedians in the 1940s and early '50s.

Later during the Ways and Means Committee meeting at the statehouse tonight, there was more laughter from the paid-to-be-there crowd when Representative Pat Grassley, the grandson of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said this:  "A little birdie told me he's pretty confident the tax cuts will expire."  (The tax cuts of which Pat Grassley spoke are the Bush-era tax cuts; Grandpa Grassley is the top-ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.)

Iowa Democratic Party chair on the trail, touting Culver's borrowing plan

A news release (just a few short paragraphs) was issued this morning via email, under Iowa Democratic Party letterhead.  In short, Iowa Democratic Party chairman Mike Kiernan is now on the campaign trail, making the case for Culver's $750 million plan to have the state borrow money for infrastructure projects. Kiernan's first stop was Hiawatha, home to House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen.  (Kiernan chose a rather heavy news day in the Cedar Rapids metro for his visit, as a police officer who responded to an armed robbery on Sunday is injured and a pop machine exploded on Monday morning on the Kirkwood Community College campus.)

Read the release below.

IDP CHAIRMAN MICHAEL KIERNAN TO PROMOTE DEMOCRATS’ PLAN TO STRENGTHEN IOWA’S ECONOMY

Today Kiernan was in Hiawatha to discuss Democrats’ efforts to create jobs, grow Iowa’s economy and rebuild Iowa

Des Moines, IA – Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan was in Hiawatha today promoting the Democrats’ plans to create jobs, grow Iowa’s economy and rebuild Iowa. While Democrats are offering concrete proposals, Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen and Republicans in the legislature have simply said no.
 
“Democrats are united. We’re working everyday to put Iowans back to work, fix the economy and to rebuild our state,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan. “Unfortunately, Republicans in the legislature have continued their ‘campaign of nope’ to every proposal the Governor and Democrats have put forward.”
 

Culver's comments after meeting Microsoft managers

As you may know, Governor Chet Culver (D-Iowa) flew to Washington state today to meet with Microsoft managers about the facility they planned to build in West Des Moines.  Here is the statement from Culver which was just emailed to reporters.

GOVERNOR CULVER: WHEN, NOT IF, FOR MICROSOFT AND IOWA

DES MOINES – Following a meeting with officials from Microsoft in Redmond, WA today, Governor Chet Culver said the company remains committed to their major project in Iowa.

Last August, West Des Moines was selected as the site of the company’s new data center; in January, Microsoft announced the project may be delayed because of the economic downturn. Governor Culver met with Microsoft officials to ask them to continue with plans for their project.

Governor Culver released the following statement following today’s meeting:

“I had a very positive, productive meeting with Microsoft today about their plans for Iowa. In fact, I’ve been assured by Microsoft that it is not a question of ‘if’ but of ‘when’ they move forward with this project in Iowa. They understand Iowa has a great workforce, a great quality of life, and is a great place to do business. And I look forward to Microsoft playing a role in Iowa’s economic success story.

State senator apologizes for racially charged remark

Senator Jack Hatch this morning sent an email to his colleagues in the Iowa Legislature, apologizing for remarks he made which have been widely discussed in the statehouse and written about in The Des Moines Register.  UPDATE:  "The moment overcame me," Hatch told his senate colleagues shortly after one o'clock as he delivered an apology about his "inappropriate" and "dispicable" comment.Here's the audio of Hatch's apology (mp3 runs 3 minutes). (The sighs you hear on the audio are from the breathing of Senate President Jack Kibbie who left his own microphone open as Hatch was speaking.) 

Hatch, who is white, used the "N" word to describe how he thought he was being treated by legislative leaders.  Hatch made the comment to Rep.Ako Abdul-Samad, who is black.  Hatch expanded on the "n" word, suggesting he and Abdul-Samad were being treated as "slaves" by the "masters" at the statehouse. 

Hatch sent an email to not only his fellow legislators this morning, but to all staff members in the Iowa House and Senate (Hatch made the statement with the loaded "N" word reference in front of a staff member).  Hatch told his colleagues he had made "an inappropriate reference" that was "wrong and inexcusable."  He promised it would not happen again.

Hatch's racially-charged statements were made in reference to a bill which would expand the state program which provides health care coverage to kids who aren't currently covered.  Hatch had shepherded the bill through the senate and Hatch was expressing outrage over changes a House committee was making to the bill.

EVENING UPDATE: For those of you who have not read the Radio Iowa or Des Moines Register articles on this subject which were linked in the first paragraph and who have sent email asking for Hatch's party affiliation. Hatch is a Democrat from Des Moines.

NEXT MORNING UPDATE:  Hatch appeared at a news conference with Iowa's African-American leaders.

Two statesmen talk about a wife

I hestitate to explain or comment on this in any way.  Just watch it.  It is an exchange between Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota).