GUEST COLUMN: What I learned about Iowa politics while in line at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
GUEST COLUMN: What I learned about Iowa politics while in line at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
BY MARCIA ROGERS
Special To The Iowa Mercury
CHICAGO —
Seven blocks stood between me, with my newly issued White House granted credentials, and entering the United Center in Chicago for The Kamala Harris Acceptance Speech.
As we all converged into the line that would give us entrance to the promised land of the nomination process, credentialed folks just like me tried on that new word joy mixed with revelry, and anticipation of a great evening of celebrations ahead.
I took it all in, and loved being in the middle of this moment in my adopted city of Chicago.
The line resembled a Disney-style experience, you know, the kind where Disney under-promises then over-delivers, when a 20 minute anticipated queue shortens to 15 and you are delighted and grateful to Disney. A line management system designed to distract and reward progress on the journey to Space Mountain. I hoped for the Disney delivery as the United Center still seemed quite far away. But optimism ran high and the good Dems around us said, “trust us we’ve been in this line every night, it will move fast.”
Realizing this was still going to take awhile no matter who was driving the line theory, and I was alone, I might as well get to know my neighbors.
I turned to the woman beside me who was wearing an ELECT WOMEN t-shirt under a polished blazer and asked if she was from Chicago. She said, "Oh no, actually I am from Iowa."
Well, there we were, two Iowa women off to the races.
Kevin Bacon and the 6 degrees of separation theory in progress, the idea designed by three Albright College students in 1994 that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other, a small world experiment using that movie star that has had lasting impact.
Cedar Rapids! Windsor Heights! Your name/my name! A lightning round of naming mutual political friends! Yes I’m Supervisor Ben Rogers’ mum/Why, I just met with him recently!
We couldn’t quite believe that two women who had certainly heard of each other were meeting for the first time in line on the corner of Hermitage and W. Washington Ave. on our way to the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
And just like that, standing in line became incredibly fun.
I remarked that my journalist friend Douglas Burns suggested I use time tonight to write an article about the convention experience for Iowa press distribution.
To my new friend Jennifer Konfrst, Iowa’s House Minority Leader and a Democratic state representative, are you on board if I write a piece about you as we make our way to the United Center?
So I did as I pulled my reporter’s notebook out of my handbag.
“I flipped a seat from red to blue and I raised $13k. Found out I don’t have an opponent this year, the first time I have ever run unopposed. How are we doing so far with this interview?”
Jennifer discussed with seriousness that Iowa is in trouble and when you are in trouble you call your mom.
Mom’s for the House, a fundraiser dedicated to supporting 3 incumbent legislators and 3 others who are challengers, is coming up on August 29th and during the next few steps of our walk, Jennifer texted me the invitation and I committed to a contribution.
Her suddenly somber yet slightly aggravated demeanor continued for the next block. She reinforced that with the current Iowa governor along with Republican legislative control the tone and tenor of governing and government in our state had taken a more perilous and extremist approach with devastating implications.
It’s time to promote good Democratic women. Jennifer’s voice rose as our line neighbors weighed in with their agreement, we need those moms you call when the chips are down right now in positions of leadership. The urgency never left her voice the rest of our walk.
The new abortion ruling is giving voters the opportunity (the six week abortion ban that became law on July 29th) to see what the majority really want, which is reproductive freedom, according to Konfrst, versus an abortion ban at 6 weeks with limited exceptions.
Iowans are increasingly with us on the issues, she continued, adding that these races are about reproductive freedom, the cuts to the Area Education Agencies and school vouchers.
“We only have 36 seats in the House now but we can and did affect change where we could," Konfrst said. "We are still reeling from 2022 when we had a terrible turnout and lost 4 seats in the Iowa House. That bill this session dismantling the Area Education Agencies, as an example, passed with 51 votes. If we had kept even one of those seats that bill would not have passed. That’s why every seat matters.”
The conversation then went to the all-critical talk about turning out the vote in November.
“Our candidates have been hard at work on the doors for a long time now, it’s an exhausting process but our candidates understand that it’s the end of August and we are now moving from a marathon to a sprint. This new Harris Walz ticket is giving new energy at the door. There is a great deal of excitement and the No Party and moderate Republican voters are taking a very serious look at this new Democratic presidential ticket. In 2022 in Iowa, there were 92,577 voters who stayed home. If Democratic voters turn out in 2024 our state will look a helluva lot more purple than red.”
Jennifer said that it’s a completely new day in campaigning and the difference between an election in 2016 and 2024 comes down to these areas: First is the evolution of social media as a political vehicle. Second is the rampant rise of both misinformation and disinformation.
Challenging both is really tough, Konfrst indicated.
“Objective media sources are being drowned out by biased media networks, particularly on the right.”
And with that our time on the line concluded, a new friendship was cemented and I became an instant fan of Jennifer Konfrst. Our chance encounter has stayed with me since Thursday evening.
She gave me great hope that this new top of the ticket will help her team’s efforts down at the legislative level, with much hard work for all Democrats ahead of November.
"We are not going back," to borrow the convention’s rallying cry, not with leaders like Jennifer Konfrst.
(Marcia Rogers of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Hyde Park, Chicago, continues her work to support Iowa Democratic politics and the writers who cover this topic so skillfully.)
(Douglas Burns, founder of The Iowa Mercury and a fourth-generation Iowa journalist from Carroll, is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Read dozens of the most talented writers in Iowa in just one place. The Iowa Writers' Collaborative spans the full state. It’s one of the biggest things going in Iowa journalism and writing now — and you don’t want to miss. This collaborative is — as the outstanding Quad Cities journalist Ed Tibbetts says — YOUR SUNDAY IOWA newspaper. )
Thank you!
I loved this article. Such a gifted writer!