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“The objective is to destroy the coherence of the enemy’s defense, to fragment and isolate enemy units in the zone of attack, and to secure operationally decisive objectives.” U.S. Army Field Manual No. 3-09.22

The political battlefield changed during the first session of the 87th Iowa General Assembly. Democratic efforts to hold the line while in the minority have been difficult at best. One distasteful bill after another has been signed into law by the governor.

On Dec. 1, 2016 I wrote, “The current Iowa Democratic Party should be completely blown up — new people, new office, new strategy, new tactics, new everything.”

I still believe that, although Iowa Republicans are doing some of that work without us. They are doing everything they can to weaken the Democratic hand in 2018 and beyond.

The swing toward Trump and more general Republican values has been an eye opener. What worked in 2006, the last time Democrats elected a governor, won’t work now. The good news is people who were not politically engaged before 2016 are getting involved in protecting what’s left of Democratic values in government — even if the horse is out of the barn.

The General Assembly has devolved into the majority saying, “f*ck you we’re doing whatever the hell we want.” The debate about bills seems mostly among Republicans. Egregious bills restructuring Iowa’s politic landscape are too numerous for a short post. I’ll mention just one: House File 516

While a majority of Iowans support use of identification at polling places, if passed by the senate, HF516 may impact marginal voters in Iowa who either don’t have an ID or are discouraged from participating in the process. Democrats have relied on those votes in the past. The bill passed the House on March 9. The Senate companion bill, Senate Study Bill 1163 passed subcommittee March 1. The bills are solutions looking for a problem.

“There is the ‘fake’ problem of ‘fake’ people casting votes – it is simply not a problem in Iowa,” Iowa Senate Minority Leader Robb Hogg said in in his 2017 opening day remarks at the state capitol. “People aren’t risking severe criminal penalties to cast an illegal vote. We don’t need government barriers to voting in Iowa. Voting is a fundamental right.”

“The fact is voter ID laws are intended to suppress the vote of the elderly and disabled, people who are home bound and/or do not normally drive,” Eva Mitchell posted on the Iowa Democratic Party web site.

These arguments miss the point. Under the guise of “election integrity” Secretary of State Paul Pate is working to adopt a nationwide agenda to create conditions more favorable for people to vote for Republican candidates. Republican operatives believe they do better in elections when the electorate is constricted. With less voters, their minority views on almost everything have the potential to dominate our elected offices and the legislative agenda. To my point, they are doing that now, without a Voter ID law. Any Voter ID law signed by the governor will force Democrats to develop a new playbook for future campaigns.

The Democratic Central Committee elected political consultant Derek Eadon as chair on Jan. 21. I met him during the 2007 Obama campaign. He seems like a decent guy. A lot is resting on Eadon’s shoulders as Iowa Republicans won the 2016 presidential contest by 9.6 points, and took control of the Iowa legislature.

If and when a Voter ID bill becomes law Democrats will have to adjust. What is more concerning is the Republican artillery barrage has only just begun. They control the legislature now and will until the 88th Iowa General Assembly begins in January 2019. People say the second session of a general assembly is less toxic but I don’t believe that — not now, not ever. Conventional ideas about politics flew out the window last year.

It rots to be in a defensive position. The key to maintaining viability as a party is to hunker down, let the shells fall where they will, and rebuild. It is incumbent upon the new party leadership to focus not only on people who register to vote as Democrats, but to build an electorate that supports our candidates.

For now, Democrat activists resist, constituents should contact legislators, and, if Eadon and his leadership team are worth their salt, rebuild our defenses to conduct a counter attack to recapture the legislature. This is possible, indeed likely over time. Time is the one commodity in short supply for Democrats as Republicans reshape the political landscape.

(Editor’s Note: A feverish writing session over two days resulted in this analysis of my house district. Maybe it’s too far into the weeds. Maybe it’s re-litigating a failed past campaign. Maybe there is something here after the fever has broken).

Progressive activists would like to see Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton) removed from the Johnson County delegation to the Iowa legislature post-haste.

Claiming ignorance about Kaufmann’s voting record, Democratic activists recently lamented that part of the liberal bastion is represented by a son of the Republican Party of Iowa chairman.

If people did their homework it would be clear the R after his name stands for Republican.

Those same activists suggested the state party help recruit a candidate against Kaufmann and others who ran unopposed in 2016. The sentiment belies progressive attitudes about IDP involvement in local races. Candidates recruited by the IDP have been viewed negatively, with prejudice.

Local activists worked to recruit a candidate against Kaufmann in every general election since redistricting. Kaufmann beat Dick Schwab in 2012 (9,068 to 7,016); David Johnson in 2014 (8,448 to 4,035), and ran unopposed in 2016 (12,388 of 16,889 votes, including write-ins and under votes). The attitude during the prelude to 2016 was that running someone against the incumbent would have been a waste of time and resources because of his popularity among district voters.

His success in Republican politics begs another question.

Is Kaufmann popular or just entrenched — part of the continuing Kaufmann family dynasty, the undeserving inheritor of the crown, embedded in the tribal loyalty of rural residents?

That’s hard to say. Kaufmann worked for his wins. During the 2012 campaign our team worked hard for the Democrat. Everywhere we went and in every aspect of the campaign, Kaufmann, his father and brothers worked equally hard. While less familiar with the 2014 campaign, little about his work ethic appeared to change.

At the end of the day, Kaufmann is a Republican. Senators Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have all helped him raise campaign funds. He endorsed Rubio for president in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. He made a joint appearance with Tana Goertz, Apprentice finalist and state chair of Donald Trump’s Iowa campaign.

He is actively involved in the Republican House caucus, voting for SF 166 (Supplemental State Aid to Schools), HF 516 (Voter ID), HF 291 (Collective Bargaining) and HF 517 (Iowa Gun Laws). No progressive legislators voted for these bills.

What does the average Jane make of Rep. Kaufmann?

“Both (Democrats and Republicans) in Wilton vote for the Kaufmanns,” a district resident posted on social media. “Their roots run deep, and they remind voters about that all the time. They are also great at marketing their common folk ideals and charm, so people think how much they truly listen to them, and what independent thinkers they are, which we know is a bunch of $%&!”

On March 1, the Secretary of State reported active voter registrations in the district were again led by no preference registrants. The numbers were 6,360 Democratic; 6,392 Republican; 82 Libertarian; 7,884 No Preference; and 25 other. The appearance is the district could be a level playing field with the right candidate should one arise. It’s more complicated than registrations.

As Johnson County population continues to grow it seems likely Kaufmann will be sanded off in the woodshed of 2021 redistricting.

Until then, progressives should either quit complaining and work with Kaufmann where there is common ground, or join in a campaign to unseat him. I’m certain both money and shoe leather would be welcome in a struggle against the Republican flood that jumped the river banks in November.

The Iowa Democratic Party has its work cut out between now and the 2020 presidential election.

About 75 people gathered last night at the Coralville Public Library to air grievances, express hopes, make observations and promote causes to party representatives.

Almost everyone who wanted to speak got a chance at the Building Blocks Listening Tour event.

“We do have to pick ourselves up,” Congressman Dave Loebsack said at a December State Central Committee meeting. “We have to get up off the mat, folks. There’s no way around it. We just have admit that, you know, we’re not doing particularly well as a party in the State of Iowa right now and we know that for a fact and so we’re not going to give up. We’re going to pick ourselves up. We’re going to make it better.”

The series of Building Blocks Listening Posts represents the beginning of how the party will accomplish this.

People tend to hear what we are predisposed to hear at such events. In an effort to be objective I recorded part of the event and gave up after about an hour. I found no moments of inspiration or of brilliance, only the butcher block work of gathering ideas and culling them. A couple of themes emerged in the group dominated by Johnson County residents.

A number of attendees expressed concern that part of Johnson County was represented by Republican Bobby Kaufmann. I didn’t recognize the speakers and don’t believe they lived in the district. Kaufmann beat Dick Schwab of rural Solon in the 2012 election and David Johnson of West Branch in 2014. No one ran against Kaufmann in 2016. The attitude at the time was doing so would have been a waste of time and resources because of his deep popularity among district voters. Such concerns were more an airing of grievances than anything useful to local activists. Prior involvement by the Iowa Democratic Party in the House District 73 race has been consistently viewed negatively by district activists.

Many commented about improving Democratic Party messaging, and this is likely the most significant takeaway for the moderators. In short, the message was get a message and sell it.

Some spoke about the billionaire donor network using the Republican party as a tool to implement policy. Two suggested Democrats should take only small-sized donations. Others mentioned the influence of the funding network in the electoral process. Moderator Kate Revaux asserted Democrats will never be the party of big donors the way Republicans are.

Another recurring comment was about the supposed divide between rural and urban voters. Commenters tended to paint rural residents as monolithic voting blocks when anyone who spends time in rural Iowa knows better. One hopes other listening posts garner better feedback on this.

More than once Revaux mentioned pulling groups of activists who sprung up after the Jan. 20 inauguration under the umbrella of the state party. The party needs their help, she said. Whether this is likely, needed or possible remained an open question.

The question Revaux asked at the beginning of the meeting, “what is the Iowa Democratic Party doing right?” went without answer. To some there were no IDP positives.

There was not a lot actionable in the 90 minute session. I did catch up with some friends and met my county party chair, so not all was lost.

A report on the state-wide Building Blocks tour is to be published in April. Democrats may know who they are individually, but from this meeting, the party appears to continue to wander in the wilderness.  It remains to be seen if we will find our way.