{"id":1155,"date":"2019-01-24T12:57:33","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T17:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1155"},"modified":"2019-02-09T10:58:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-09T15:58:43","slug":"an-iowa-woman-said-her-husband-repeatedly-raped-her-almost-no-one-believed-her-shes-not-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1155","title":{"rendered":"An Iowa woman said her husband repeatedly raped her. Almost no one believed her. She’s not alone."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since\n2013, 18 Iowa husbands have been charged with forcing their wives to have\nsex. Only two have been sent to prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathy A.\nBolten<\/a>, Des Moines Register<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published\n11:14 a.m. CT Jan. 24, 2019 | Updated 3:42 p.m. CT Jan. 25, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9 Copyright 2019, Des Moines Register and Tribune\nCo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADEL, Ia. \u2014 This is what a tearful Gina Battani told a\nDallas County jury about what happened to her on a Sunday morning in late\nFebruary 2017:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her emotional courtroom testimony, Battani describes one\nof the alleged rapes at their Clive home. Brian Powers,\nbpowers@dmreg.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was in the shower, rinsing shampoo from her\nhair when she felt his hands on her. She pleaded with him to leave, to\nstop touching her in places she didn’t want to be touched.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Shhh,” she heard him say.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She tried to get out of the shower, but he blocked her way\nwith one hand, continuing to touch her with the other. Again and again,\nshe asked him to stop and let her out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he did, she grabbed a towel and started to leave. But\nhe came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her hands to her\nside so she couldn’t move. He walked her to the bed they once shared and pushed\nher, face down, onto it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She tried to get free, but he flipped her onto her back,\ncovering her chin with his hand and shoving his tongue in her mouth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He forced himself inside her. When he was finished,\nshe lay on her side, his arms still tight around her.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Please let me go,” she said again and again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After he let her up, she quickly dressed, fled the\nhouse and, as she drove away, called 9-1-1. She remembers crying as she told\nthe dispatcher she had been raped.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took the jury that had heard Battani’s tearful story less\nthan two hours to return its verdict against her accused rapist \u2014 her husband,\nTroy Phillip Griffin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not guilty, on all six counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One juror later told the prosecutor there wasn’t enough\nevidence to support a conviction “beyond a reasonable doubt.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin, who declined to comment, appears to be the only\nhusband in at least the past five years to stand trial in Iowa on charges\nrelated to raping his wife while they lived together, according to court\nrecords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His defense lawyer, Robert Rehkemper, told the Des Moines\nRegister the jury saw through what he called Battani’s false allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More: <\/strong>1\nin 6 Iowa women say an intimate partner has raped them, survey says<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More: <\/strong>Here\nare the signs that you or a loved one may be in an abusive relationship<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"
Troy Griffin, left, hugs his defense lawyer, Robert Rehkemper, right, after a Dallas County jury found him not guilty in his marital rape case at the Dallas County Courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018, in Adel. Griffin’s ex-wife Gina Battani accused him of raping her repeatedly while they were married.
(Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“All that is necessary for an accusation to be placed into\nthe hands of a jury is just that, a witness who is willing to make the\naccusations,” Rehkemper wrote in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battani, though devastated by the verdict, was not surprised.\nFrom the start, she had trouble getting people to believe her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Because he was my husband,” she said, “no one\nseems too concerned about what was happening.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wives still expected to submit to their husbands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While #MeToo has forced the issue of inappropriate sexual\nbehavior into the public, one especially complicated form of sexual abuse\nhas received scant attention: nonconsensual marital sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For centuries, husbands who forced their wives to have sex were\nshielded from prosecution by “marital privilege,” a defense that can\nbe traced to English common law and 17th-century English jurist Sir\nMatthew Hale, who wrote that by consenting to marriage, “the wife hath\ngiven up herself \u2026 to her husband.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

States in the U.S. began eliminating the marital privilege\nexemption from their laws in the 1970s, with Iowa following in 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1984, the television movie “The Burning Bed,”\nstarring Farrah Fawcett, shined a light on spousal abuse and rape, but public\nattitudes have been slow to change, said Ruth Glenn, CEO of the Denver-based\nNational Coalition Against Domestic Violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We hear quite frequently, even still today, that in\nmarriage you are supposed to submit to sexual advances,” Glenn said.\n“That is part of being married.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even now, husbands are rarely successfully prosecuted for\nsexually abusing their wives, a Register investigation found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One in six Iowa women reported being raped by an intimate\npartner, according to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence\nSurvey, the most recent available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet only 18 Iowa husbands since 2013 have been\ncharged with sexual abuse for allegedly forcing their wives to have sex, a\nRegister review of more than 400 resolved cases found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of those cases went to trial. (Griffin’s case was not\namong those reviewed because it was still pending at the time of the review.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25ba Support local journalism:<\/strong>Subscribe\nto the Des Moines Register<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dates<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dates on a calendar hanging in Gina Battani’s kitchen are marked for the trial of her ex-husband Troy Griffin, whom she accused of rape. A jury found Griffin not guilty of all charges. (Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In six of the cases, charges were dropped because the wife\nrecanted or refused to testify. A seventh charge was dismissed because the case\ntook too long to get to trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 11 cases, pleas deals were reached, but only two\ndefendants received prison sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is one of the few crimes where you know and love the\nperson who has done this to you, and for most people, you just want to forget\nit ever happened,” said Mike Salvner, an assistant county attorney in Polk\nCounty, explaining why such cases rarely go to trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There already is a stigma and a shame about reporting\ndomestic violence; having to talk about this additional layer of sexual abuse \u2014\nmost victims won\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking from the witness stand, Battani said she was mad\nat herself for letting the alleged rape occur. Brian Powers,\nbpowers@dmreg.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A marriage quickly slips into trouble<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gina Battani and Troy Griffin had known each other for less\nthan nine months when they married in April 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had been married three times previously and had three\nchildren. He had been married once before and had two children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had been in the military and worked as a home care and\nhospice nurse. He worked at a manufacturing company in central Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two met during the summer of 2015 when she was watching\nfireworks with friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after they began a serious relationship, Griffin was\ndiagnosed with cancer. After they were married, Battani stopped working so\nshe could be his full-time caregiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about two months after they married that she began\nto be afraid of him, she told jurors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gina<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gina Battani prepares to testify against\nher ex-husband Troy Griffin in his marital rape trial at the Dallas County\nCourthouse on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Adel. The jury found Griffin not\nguilty on all counts.
\n(Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He told me I had to submit to him now that I was his\nwife,” Battani testified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she told the bishop of her church about Griffin’s\nsexual demands and began meeting with a marriage counselor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battani herself said she long had believed that marriage\nallowed husbands to force their wives to have sex, even when they said\n“no.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was a wake-up call” when the marriage counselor\ntold her during a session that forced sex was illegal, Battani, now 44, said\nduring an interview with the Register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that session, Battani said she began making plans to\nleave her husband. She looked for a job and a place to live for her and two of\nher children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin\u2019s abuse continued, she told jurors. And after\nthat Sunday in February 2017, Battani said she had endured all she could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the next 20 months, Battani told her version of what\nhappened \u2014 and the days leading up to that morning \u2014 over and over. She told\npolice, nurses, victim advocates, a defense attorney, prosecutors and\njurors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after she told her story to police, Battani filed for a\nprotective order against her husband. A few days later, he filed for divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gina<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gina Battani gets paperwork together as she leaves her home Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, in Johnston to attend the trial of her ex-husband Troy Griffin, whom she accused of raping her repeatedly during their marriage. A Dallas County jury found Griffin not guilty on all counts. (Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chipping away at her story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In December 2017, a Dallas County grand jury indicted Griffin\non three counts of sexual assault in the third degree, all felonies, and three\ncounts of domestic abuse assault, charges that were upgraded from aggravated\nmisdemeanors because he had received a past deferred judgment for domestic\nabuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin’s deferred judgment was noted in his divorce file with\nhis previous wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2018, Battani spent more than five hours over two days\nbeing deposed by Rehkemper, Griffin\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehkemper asked Battani why her three previous marriages\nhadn’t worked out and whether she had accused her past husbands of\ninappropriate sexual behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He asked about times she and Griffin had blow-ups and Battani\nhad walked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He asked Battani, who accused Griffin of forcing himself on her\nduring the nearly eight months leading up to that Sunday morning in\nFebruary 2017, if she had consensual sex with her husband at any time during\nthose months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Battani responded, saying she had relented to having sex\nwith him several times out of a belief that it was her wifely duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I thought I was the problem,” she told Rehkemper.\n“I thought that I wasn’t being a good wife. I thought that it was OK for\nhim to do that to me because I was his wife.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battani, according to a transcript of the deposition, told\nRehkemper that Griffin, now 46, often groped her at inappropriate times as well\nas forced her to have sex, sometimes several times a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She told Rehkemper that a counselor had suggested she set\nboundaries with Griffin and not let him touch her without her\npermission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So, you\u2019re \u2026 living and married to a person and have a\nno-contact rule?” Rehkemper asked, adding a few seconds later.\n“What\u2019s the point?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The point of what?” Battani asked, according to the\ndeposition transcript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“\u2026 I guess, why continue living with somebody in the\nmarital capacity when you’re saying don’t have any contact with at all?”\nRehkemper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battani replied: “Well, unless your marriage is solely\nbased on sex, there’s many reasons why somebody would want to stay in a\nmarriage and try to make it work without physical touch.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dates on a calendar hanging in Gina\nBattani’s kitchen are marked for the trial of her ex-husband Troy Griffin, who\nshe accused of rape. A jury found Griffin not guilty of all charges.(Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing the case to trial an ‘uphill battle’<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During his 18 years as Dallas County’s top prosecutor, Wayne\nReisetter can’t recall taking a marital rape case to trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were there instances in which marital rape allegedly occurred?\nMost likely, he told the Register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could charges have been filed under the section of Iowa\u2019s law\nthat encompasses marital rape? Probably, he acknowledged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it wasn’t until Griffin’s trial that Reisetter recalls such\na case reaching a Dallas County courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In our own minds, we have to believe we can get a\nverdict, otherwise we’re unethical in bringing the charge,”\nsaid Reisetter, who lost his re-election bid as county attorney in\nNovember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reisetter and Erica Clark, the assistant county attorney who\nprosecuted Griffin\u2019s case, both said they believed sufficient evidence existed\nto obtain a guilty verdict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Clark said, “We knew this was an uphill\nbattle.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A seed of doubt is planted<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In October during jury selection, Rehkemper began laying\nthe groundwork that sometimes in an intimate relationship, spouses acquiesce to\nsex even when they don’t want to and that an initial reluctance doesn’t\nconstitute rape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Troy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Troy Griffin, seated, listens as his\ndefense lawyer, Robert Rehkemper, makes his opening statement at the Dallas\nCounty Courthouse on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, in Adel. Griffin’s ex-wife Gina\nBattani accused him of raping her repeatedly while they were married. A jury\nfound Griffin not guilty.
\n(Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sex drives differ among spouses,” he said to\nthe 69 potential jurors. “Sex is part of marriage. Right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At what point does a sexual advance, especially within\nthe marital relationship \u2014 a touch, a cuddle, a ‘come on<\/em>‘ \u2014 become too\nmuch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There may be times when one partner is feeling it and the\nother partner isn’t necessarily on the same wavelength \u2026 but, in the end, it’s\neasier just to get it over with and go to bed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehkemper later told the seated jury that after Battani accused\nGriffin of rape, he willingly \u2014 and without an attorney \u2014 went to the Clive\npolice department and answered an investigator’s questions for 77 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Take it for what it is \u2014 a man going down there and\nanswering questions about the most intimate details of his marital\nrelationship,” Rehkemper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehkemper acknowledged to the jury that some victims don\u2019t\nspeak out about their abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he mused, Battani “never had a problem” with\ncalling police about a stray kitten, a broken-down car or perceived\nmistreatment of her children by their father, referencing the three or four\ntimes she had called police over the past two decades.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, he told the jury, Battani supposedly “was so\ndomestically abused that she didn\u2019t have the courage or ability to speak\nup.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He asked why she allowed her children to stay in the house with\na man she claimed was raping her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wondered aloud why Battani didn\u2019t get a protective order\nafter a police officer had explained the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also asked why Battani didn’t leave Griffin while he spent a\nmonth in Omaha undergoing stem cell replacement treatment for his cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You didn’t even look, did you?” he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 No, she replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehkemper challenged her memory of what she was wearing during\none of the alleged rapes \u2014 yoga pants or panties. He wanted to know why, if she\nwas being sexually abused, she didn\u2019t obtain a protective order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You knew how to obtain a protective order,” he\nstated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don\u2019t think I did,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehkemper showed her a copy of a protective order filed in\nconnection with her first divorce more than 20 years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The attorney who represented me did that,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Troy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Troy Griffin, left, talks with his\ndefense attorney, Robert Rehkemper, right, during opening statements at the\nDallas County Courthouse on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, in Adel. Griffin’s ex-wife\nGina Battani accused him of raping her repeatedly while they were married. A\njury found him not guilty.
\n(Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wife’s ‘no’ is ‘not very convincing’  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although Griffin didn’t take the stand, the jury saw a tape of\nhis 77-minute interview with police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin told police he’d previously been married and that he\ndid not have a good relationship with his two children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he and Battani hadn’t had sexual relations in more than\na month before the alleged rape that Sunday morning, then later he said they\nhad sex that Sunday, as well as earlier in the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Has (Gina) told you ‘no’ before?” the detective\nasked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Well,” Griffin paused several seconds before\ncontinuing, “When she says ‘no,’ it’s like when we’re already \u2026 I’m\nkissing her neck and stuff. \u2026 She’s not very convincing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jury wasn’t convinced, either, returning with six verdicts\nof “not guilty.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dallas County District Court Judge Richard B. Clogg\ndelivered the six not guilty verdicts in the case Gina Battani brought against\nher ex-husband whom she accused of raping her. Brian Powers,\nbpowers@dmreg.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two marriages, two similar accounts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hours after the trial ended, Battani talked with Sonya Griffin,\nwho was married to Troy Griffin for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sonya Griffin filed for divorce in 2014 after Troy Griffin was\narrested for domestic abuse assault against her, claiming in an affidavit\nfiled in the divorce proceeding that “throughout our marriage (Troy\nGriffin) physically, sexually and emotionally abused me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Everything Gina shared was a replica of what occurred in\nmy marriage,\u201d Sonya Griffin told the Register. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Griffin sought treatment for one of her injuries, the\ndoctor talked to police, and Troy Griffin was arrested. When Clive\npolice were investigating Battani’s allegations, Sonya Griffin told them\nthat Troy Griffin had kicked her so hard that she thought her tailbone was\nbroken, according to a police report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy Griffin eventually took a plea deal and received a\ndeferred sentence. A protective order is in place until November\nprohibiting Troy Griffin from contacting Sonya Griffin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jury in Battani’s case never heard testimony from\nSonya Griffin or information about the deferred sentence Troy Griffin received\nfor domestic abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iowa law generally prohibits prosecutors from introducing prior\nconvictions in domestic abuse cases, something a handful of states permit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy Griffin, through Rehkemper, his attorney, adamantly\nmaintains that he never sexually abused Sonya Griffin, or anyone else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let me be crystal clear,” Rehkemper wrote in an\nemail to the Register, “Mr. Griffin denies any and all allegations of\nsexual assault by whomever they are made. They are false.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No end in sight, but no regrets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nearly three months have passed since the Dallas County jury\nreturned its not guilty verdict for Griffin, but the case is far from resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehkemper, in an email to the Register, wrote that Griffin\nis “weighing all available legal options against his accuser, due to her\nfalse accusations.”  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battani, too, said she is considering civil proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She often thinks about the more than 600 days of frustration,\nanger and pain she has felt since she first publicly accused her husband\nof rape. Was the grueling trial worth it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her answer? Yes, definitely yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gina<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gina Battani grabs her computer as she\nleaves her home Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, in Johnston to attend the trial of her\nex-husband Troy Griffin, whom she accused of repeatedly raping her during their\nmarriage. A Dallas County jury found Griffin not guilty on all counts.
\n(Photo: Brian Powers\/The Register)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I found the courage to speak my truth, no matter\nwhat,” said Battani, whose goal is to become a sexual assault examination\nnurse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She wants Iowa to change its rules to allow juries to hear\nif a defendant has a history of domestic violence \u2014 something the jury in\nher case didn’t hear. But mainly, she wants other wives to benefit from\nher experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I hope what I\u2019ve been through helps others somehow, some\nway.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How this story was reported<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Des Moines Register\nreporter Kathy Bolten met Gina Battani through Bolten\u2019s reporting on the\nbacklog in processing DNA evidence in sexual assault evidence kits at Iowa\u2019s\ncrime laboratory.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battani agreed to be\ninterviewed about her experience with Iowa’s court system and also agreed to\nallow her court testimony to be videotaped. Typically, Iowa judges don’t\nallow media to record images of an accuser during trials involving\nsexual assault or domestic violence.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Bolten and\nreporter Aleksandra Ivanisevic reviewed more than 400 court cases\ninvolving sexual assault abuse in the third degree to determine how many Iowa\nhusbands had been charged with raping their wife.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 2013, 18 Iowa husbands have been charged with forcing their wives to have sex. Only two have been sent to prison. Kathy A. Bolten, Des…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8VBh7-iD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":616,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=616","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":0},"title":"Bill Dix resigns from Iowa Senate after video with lobbyist is posted","author":"Donnie","date":"March 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"William Petroski,Brianne Pfannenstiel and\u00a0Jason Noble, The Des Moines Register March 12, 2018 (Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes\/The Register) \u00a0 Sen. Bill Dix, the leader of the Iowa Senate's Republican majority, resigned\u00a0Monday, just hours after\u00a0video was posted online showing him apparently kissing a lobbyist\u00a0at a Des Moines tavern earlier this month. Dix met\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "State Politics"","block_context":{"text":"State Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-12_16-23-59.jpg?fit=531%2C638&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-12_16-23-59.jpg?fit=531%2C638&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-12_16-23-59.jpg?fit=531%2C638&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1151,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1151","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":1},"title":"Steve King gets praise, recites poetry at first Iowa town hall since recent controversy","author":"Donnie","date":"January 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Robin Opsahl Des Moines Register Published 8:15 PM EST Jan 26, 2019 PRIMGHAR, Ia. \u2014 Pamela Harmon, a retired nurse\u00a0and 4th District resident, stood up at U.S. Rep. Steve King's town hall meeting Saturday morning to address the embattled representative. \"As I came up today I thought it must be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National Politics"","block_context":{"text":"National Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Steve-King.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":585,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=585","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":2},"title":"Senate GOP works to ‘protect’ Iowans from saving billions in energy costs","author":"Donnie","date":"March 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Kathie Obradovich, kobradov@dmreg.com\u00a0March 9, 2018 \u00a0 It\u2019s fitting that Senate Republicans waited until after dark before they\u00a0voted to curtail\u00a0utility companies\u2019 energy-efficiency programs and effectively raise Iowans\u2019 electric and gas bills in the future.\u00a0 It was an exceptionally dim move. The bill, Senate File\u00a02311, allows utility consumers to opt out of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-11_09-49-33.jpg?fit=531%2C347&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-11_09-49-33.jpg?fit=531%2C347&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-11_09-49-33.jpg?fit=531%2C347&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1393,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1393","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":3},"title":"Pro-Trump Project 2025 leader suggests a new American Revolution is underway","author":"Donnie","date":"July 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., on June 28.(Steve Helber \/ Associated Press) By\u00a0Ali SwensonJuly 3, 2024\u00a012:33 PM PT NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u00a0 The leader of a conservative think tank orchestrating plans for a\u00a0massive overhaul of the federal government\u00a0in the event of a Republican presidential win said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":661,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=661","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":4},"title":"The Sex Lives of Politicians During the Primaries \u2014 According to Their Escorts","author":"Donnie","date":"February 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By\u00a0Hannah Smothers Feb 9, 2016 KATARINA SIMOVIC\/STOCKSY Nothing makes men hornier than a tight political race, so I would guess Iowa and New Hampshire have been the horniest states in the nation lately.\u00a0The\u00a0Iowa caucuses\u00a0and New Hampshire primaries\u00a0bring to town politicians, campaign workers, and political fanboys who \u2014\u00a0aside from diehard\u00a0political fervor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Family"","block_context":{"text":"The Family","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-17_21-34-29.jpg?fit=864%2C433&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-17_21-34-29.jpg?fit=864%2C433&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-17_21-34-29.jpg?fit=864%2C433&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-17_21-34-29.jpg?fit=864%2C433&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1326,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1326","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":5},"title":"DeSantis is resetting his campaign again. Some Republicans worry his message is getting in the way.","author":"Donnie","date":"August 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Steve Peoples, Thomas Beaumont and Michelle L. Price Associated Press, August 11, 2023 CORALVILLE, Iowa \u2014 Ron DeSantis largely dismissed his own decision to replace his campaign leadership team as he returned to Iowa in the midst of a weekslong reset. The Republican presidential hopeful also made no mention\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Presidential Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Presidential Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-12-at-2.46.58-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-12-at-2.46.58-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-12-at-2.46.58-PM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-12-at-2.46.58-PM.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1163,"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions\/1163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}