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All Posts Tagged With: "Iowa General Assembly"

When The Majority Gets Desperate

You have never seen a majority party more desperate to take advantage of its position of power, knowing that their days are probably numbered. Democrats in your state have probably already tried:

  • Giving in to Unions with Prevailing Wage and Fair Share
  • Giving in to Populist attempts to circumvent the Constitution
  • Giving in to attempts to minimize the value of the family by elevating gay unions as marriage
  • Giving in to solutions lacking real problems, such as Worker’s Compensation Physician’s Choice
  • Giving in to their lust for spending, a long-term need for greed that feeds a push to raise taxes… yes, your state government is probably trying right now to raise your taxes!

If you don’t believe all this, just look to Iowa. Smack dab in the middle of the country, normally expected to be a follower, Iowa politicians (that is, the Democratic majority party in the Iowa General Assembly) have been trying their darnedest to do all of these things.

Iowans are watching this year. Very closely. Republicans are taking a strong stand on these and other issues, and some of the more conservative Democrats are also helping stem the tide despite the strong-arming of party leaders. Keeping these [...]


Iowa Smoking Ban In Court

Bar owners got their first shot in court to get a stay ordered on the 2008 Iowa Smoking Ban.  Some bar owners say they are losing business, some preparing to shut down for good.  Although one admitted that gasoline prices and other economic issues may be impacting business as well, there should be no doubt [...]


Working From The Grassroots

Tonight I attended my first Polk County (Iowa) Republican Central Committee meeting. I have never been at this level of politics (okay, 2008 continues to be a year of firsts for me in local politics), and it was more interesting than I expected.
I won’t get into a lot of details about the meeting, except [...]


Done With Flood Patrol

The waters have receded in Iowa for now, and although the task is still long and hard ahead of so many Iowans, we’ve moved the links related to the flood off of the sidebar and onto a separate page.  If you select the “Other Resources” page above, one of the choices on that page will [...]


Gas Tax to Pay For Flood Damage?

Legislative Leaders in Iowa are continuing to talk about a special session of the General Assembly, which makes sense. The Governor is doing a good job of expressing the need to prioritize working on the current relief effort AND establishing a solid assessment of the costs before holding a session.
The bad news is, the [...]


Iowa General Assembly May Return

Already, Democrats (including Governor Culver) are talking about the General Assembly holding a special session in response to the flooding in Iowa.
We better have a good reason to do this.  It will cost money we don’t have.  On the other hand, there may be enough need to justify the expense, but I hope there is [...]


Non-Presidential Primary Day in Iowa and Elsewhere

Today is the day we decide who will represent our parties for non-Presidential offices.  Where I live (West Des Moines, Iowa District 3) we have only one race that matters for Republicans today (US Senate seat, to run against Tom Harkin… 3 candidates in the Primary: Steve Rathje, Christopher Reed, and George Eichhorn), and I [...]


Des Moines Taxpayers Win

Thankfully, the voters of Polk County in Iowa have managed to do better than the legislators in the Iowa General Assembly. While the state is busy raising as many of our taxes as they could get away with, the voters, the people that gave them the power (at least in Polk County) rejected the [...]


The Democrats Are In Disarray

This had been a disconcerting election year so far, and certainly we still have a long road ahead, but the state of the Democratic Party, and the latest Gallup Poll, are giving me reason to smile today.
Democrats really don’t know what they want any longer.  They’ve found themselves stuck with either a chronic liar, or [...]


The Decline of Unions

It’s time to say goodbye to unions. Their time has come and gone. The real original value of unions have long since been replaced by state and federal laws that drive a significant amount of basic workers rights, and the labor market itself now drives a majority of the salary and benefits [...]