GOP Gets tough on Special Interest Tax Credits

The US Senate voted Tuesday NOT to repeal a $6 billion tax credit for Ethanol. The bill’s chief sponsor Senator Coburn (R-OK) argued that despite their pledge to not raise taxes, the GOP must stop tolerating wasteful giveaways through the IRS Tax Code. Senator McCain (R-AZ) chimed in stating “Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion…It’s my opinion that it’s a disgraceful subsidy that is unwarranted and a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

For those of you who are keeping score 34 of the 47 Republicans in the Senate voted to repeal this tax credit, despite an ATR pledge by 40 of them to never increase taxes. (Lets be fair, ATR did advise them that so long as they cut another tax to make up for increasing taxes by repealing this credit, they would not be breaking the pledge.)  The credit in question was an earmark granting a $6 billion dollar available tax credit for gasoline producers who blend ethanol into their fuels. This blender’s credit amounts to 1 tenth of 1 percent of the requested Federal Budget for fiscal year 2012 and is in fact not a subsidy for ethanol producers, or corn farmers, but a fuel subsidy for the oil companies who blend and sell gasohol.

Am I the only person who thinks this kind of political pandering is disgusting? Senator Van Hollen (D-MD) is quoted as saying “A realistic conversation about deficit reduction must include both cuts and revenues, and Senator Coburn’s amendment to eliminate $6 billion in tax earmarks for ethanol is an important part of this discussion,” and feels Senator Coburn’s “willingness to cut special-interest tax breaks for the purpose of deficit reduction is encouraging.”

Now, I am all for cutting special-interest tax breaks, but let’s get real, one tenth of one percent is a small drop in the ocean of red ink that is 2012 deficit spending. How about cutting something real like the $121 billion mandatory spending in the USDA budget. (%3.2) Or what about cutting some of the $575 billion being spent by the DOD this year EXCLUDING War Funding for Afghanistan and Iraq. (%15.4) Maybe we could look at cutting the $53 billion dollars being requested for foreign aid this year. (%1.4)

But the Republicans are the only ones pandering. The Democrats continually call for the elimination of tax breaks for Big Oil but they voted to keep this bill on the table instead of bringing the actual tax cut up for a vote. I am sick of reading about “earmarks” and “tax credits,” “deficit spending” and “fiscal responsibility.” Let’s see some real action please!?!

A Pro-Life Betrayal?

This year the pro-life movement in Iowa was presented with an ideal situation. You could even call it a perfect storm. In November we elected a Republican majority in the Iowa House, coupled with a Republican Governor. All of them were self described pro-lifers. Then came the announcement that a renowned abortionist was planning on opening an abortion clinic in the home district of Democratic Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. This led to tremendous calls from his constituents to prevent this monster from moving into the state. In this climate it is entirely reasonable to assume that we could pass virtually any pro-life legislation that we wanted through the legislature.

And early in the session it appeared that this would be the case. The ultimate piece of pro-life legislation was introduced into the Iowa House by State Representative Kim Pearson. House File 153 would have enshrined into the Iowa Code that life began at conception. The legislation appeared to have the support to bring it to the House floor for debate. Twenty-eight members of the Iowa House signed on with Representative Pearson as cosponsors of the legislation, usually a clear indication of support for the bill. Unfortunately this piece of legislation has yet to be brought to the House Floor for debate. Instead a weaker piece of legislation, HF 657 was advanced.

I appreciate the fact that these legislators were willing to cosponsor HF 153. With that said, I am more than a little disappointed with the fact that this is all they did. With a few exceptions, I have not heard many of this cosponsors stand up to demand that the personhood bill be brought to the House Floor for debate. I have to wonder what kind of legislators we have when they have the courage to make a stand by placing their name on a piece of paper, but not the courage to stand up and let their voice be heard.

I applaud the Republican leadership in the Iowa House for taking a stand against abortion, however at the same time I am disappointed in their lack of foresight. I am disappointed that they did not take advantage of the opportunity that has presented itself to rid the State of Iowa of the blemish that is abortion. As I have stated, legislative leadership has found itself in the perfect opportunity to actually succeed in saving the lives unborn children across this state and ending an industry that thrives on the deaths of the defenseless.

I can’t help but wonder if House leadership refused to advance personhood legislation for political reasons. I can’t help but ponder the possibility that Republican leadership in the Iowa House is holding back so that come the next election they can say to us that we need to vote for them because the agenda isn’t complete. Or is it simply that Iowa House Republicans did not have the courage to the right thing.

Gronstalling in the Iowa House

When the current legislative session began four months ago many of us around the state were full of hope and optimism. With the newly elected Republican majority in the Iowa House of Representatives we believed that we would be able to advance an agenda that furthered the cause of freedom and in the process actually defend the rights granted to us by the US and Iowa Constitutions. However as we draw near the end of the session, the hope and optimism we felt is quickly fading to despair and anger as we seem to have been betrayed by those in which we placed our trust.

Case in point is the Articles of Impeachment against the four activist justices that remain on the Iowa Supreme Court. In December three freshman Representatives announced their intentions to draft the aforementioned articles in an effort to hold the Supreme Court accountable. Unfortunately, because such a step was unprecedented, it has taken longer than anticipated to draw up the articles. Be that as it may; Representative Shaw, in conjunction with four other State Representatives, filed the resolutions necessary to begin the impeachment proceedings yesterday afternoon.

Upon hearing that the resolutions had been filed a little bit of the faded hope had been restored. We felt that we were finally going to have a victory in the defense of our states constitution. However, it appears that two Republican members of the House are willing to stand in the way of resolutions, thus disregarding the oath that they took to defend the US and Iowa Constitutions.

In a statement he made to the Des Moines Register this morning, Speaker of the House Kraig Paulsen asserted that he “agrees with much of the reasoning behind the impeachment resolutions, I disagree with the remedy.” It is easy to understand the meaning of his words here. The basic principle behind his comments is that yes he agrees with the need to hold the Iowa Supreme Court accountable, he just doesn’t have the moral courage to stand up and do the right thing.

And in an effort to keep the resolutions from being debated Speaker Paulsen assigned the resolutions to the House Judiciary Committee. A committee that is not scheduled to meet again this session. Another obstacle standing in the road of the resolutions is that the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rich Anderson from Clarinda, has steadfastly stated that he would not allow the impeachment to leave his committee.

Unfortunately at this time it appears that the impeachment resolutions will not be brought to the House floor for debate. In an act of political cowardice, Speaker Paulsen deliberately sent the resolutions to a committee that he knew would not meet again this session. In an act of political cowardice Speaker Paulsen sent the resolutions to committee chaired by a representative that he knew would not stand in the way of the resolutions.

At this point the only hope that we have of getting these resolutions brought to the floor for debate is if we exert some pressure on the Iowa House. This means that we need to move heaven and earth to ensure that we call not only our representatives, but also Speaker Paulsen and Representative Anderson. It is my understanding that they are the only individuals in the Iowa House that can bring forth the resolutions at this time. Below you will find the contact information for both Paulsen and Anderson.  Please take the time to contact them and tell them that the defense of Iowa’s Constitution and the separation of powers is a worthwhile endeavor for the Iowa House.

Speaker of the House Kraig Paulsen

Email Address – kraig.paulsen@legis.state.ia.us

Phone Number – 319.294.2602

Richard Anderson

Email Address – Richard.anderson@legis.state.ia.us

Moore Impresses Oskaloosa Crowd

On July 31^st, 2001 the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court had a monument installed in the rotunda of the state’s judicial building. Carved from the top of a massive; 5,280 pound; block of granite was two tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Carved into the base of the monument was numerous quotes and phrases from our nation’s founding fathers, the national anthem, and the Declaration of Independence. And while he may not have realized it when the monument was commissioned, it’s installation would set off a firestorm of criticism and legal challenges that what culminate in the Chief Justices removal just two years later. You may wonder what this fight, clearly over for either years, may have to do with politics in Iowa today. The answer is quite simple. That Chief Justice, Judge Roy Moore, has announced that he has formed an exploratory committee for the Republican nomination for President of the United States of America.

Yesterday Judge Moore used the Jan Mickelson show on WHO 1040 to announce his intention to test the waters for a possible Presidential bid. Shortly afterward he set off to tour the state to meet with a variety of Iowan’s. Among the first stops that Judge Moore made was the Smoky Row Coffee House on the square of Oskaloosa. The assembled crowd of 35+ was fairly impressive for a candidate that had just announced his intentions that morning. As the group awaited the arrival of Judge Moore, his supporters ran video biography that depicted the defining moments in his life. A very nice touch.

When Judge Moore arrived he made light of the fact that he had a wardrobe malfunction at his last stop, one of the buttons on his suit coat popped off. After getting the brief attempt at humor out of the way Judge Moore immediately set about the task of demonstrating the tremendous intelligence that he possesses. He effectively and efficiently communicated to the assembled activists that he was well versed in this nation’s founding documents; he was well studied when it came to many of our nation’s founders; and he had an immense wealth of knowledge when it came to Christianity.

After about ten minutes outlining his belief system, Judge Moore got to the part of the meeting that the assembled crowd was waiting for. Why was he here? Why was he exploring a run at the Republican nomination for President of the United States?

He, like a lot of Americans, believes that our nation is in trouble. He sees that a majority of our politicians are more worried with winning their next election rather than doing the right thing. He sees that a lot of politicians, particularly many Republicans, which talk a good game but fail to follow through once they are elected. He feels that they are more interested in maintaining their elected office than following the Constitution. He feels that his actions that led to his removal as the Alabama Supreme Court Justice more than illustrates that he has no desire for power, no desire to compromise on the things that made this nation great.

He points out that the greatest leaders of our nation have been willing to lay their life on the line for the good of the country. It is his belief, as well as that of the assembled crowd, that it will take a leader such as this to return America to the greatness that it once had. That it will take a leader willing to die for his/her country to turn the nation away from the cliff that President Obama has taken us too. I could go on with more information that I gleaned from this meet and greet, but that would make this post far less readable. Instead I will close with a direct quote from Judge Roy Moore. “Now it is time to awaken out of the deep sleep.”

If you would like more information on Judge Roy Moore please check out his website here.

More Media Malpractice From Des Moines Register

For years the readership of many local newspapers has been in a decline. An increase in price coupled with decreased services in conjunction with the explosive growth of internet based news sources has mostly led to this decline. However there is another factor that is driving the newspaper industry toward the abyss of irrelevancy. Many of their readers no longer trust their honesty and integrity.

Just a few weeks ago I took Des Moines Register reporter Jennifer Jacobs to task for her sloppily biased reporting in an article in which she misrepresents the facts on a piece of legislation. Now I must point out either a mistake or intentional omission by Register reporter Tom Beaumont.

Monday evening former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee returned to West Des Moines for a book signing at the Borders on University Avenue. At about seven o’clock Governor Huckabee’s tour bus pulled in from Iowa City. There was a number of Governor Huckabee’s supporters on hand to visit with him on his bus. Just in front of the bus were several members of the media, including Mr. Beaumont. While the throng waited patiently to get on the bus to meet with Governor Huckabee former Gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats and Iowa Family Policy Center President Chuck Hurley arrive and began to speak with the assembled crowd.

The pair of Iowa activists mingled with the group by the bus long enough that the media should have noted their attendance. Then shortly after they arrived the pair boards the bus to meet with Huckabee. However when I return home Monday night I discover that not only did the Register’s Beaumont ignore that the pair were ever on the bus, he blatantly denies that it ever happened.

After discovering this I felt like I had stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone. It made me doubt my memory and my sanity. It made me wonder if I really saw what I thought I saw. So to confirm what was going on I got in contact with one of my sources. He confirmed that yes Vander Plaats and Hurley were both at Borders on Monday night and that yes both of them got on the bus and spoke with Governor Huckabee at length in the back of the bus. He even went so far as to inform me that Governor Huckabee’s former campaign manager was also on the bus with him. Furthermore I have been advised that Vander Plaats even spoke with Mr. Beaumont after exiting the bus.

The question that we are now faced with is why Mr. Beaumont reported that a meeting did not take place when he knew it did? Has he been infected with the same disease that causes biased journalism that his colleague Jennifer Jacobs has? Was it simply a mistake on his side? Regardless of the answer the institution of journalism has once again taken a hit to its credibility. And we see once again one of the many reasons that the newspaper industry is in a downhill spiral.

Update: It was brought to my attention that I inadvertently linked the wrong story by Tom Beaumont. I have corrected this mistake and the link now directs you to the right article.

Taxpayers Last…

The “Taxpayers First Act” (HF45) that passed the House of Representatives would’ve saved taxpayers $500 million dollars over the next three years. Unfortunately, when the liberal Democrat Senate leadership got done with it, it was gutted almost beyond recognition.

Instead of saving you and me the $500 million we so greatly need, it now only saves a whopping $10 million over the next three years.

And instead of setting aside $327 million for tax relief, the liberal Democrat Senate version sets aside a whopping $0.

All of that waiting, all of that Gron-stalling and delay, was for nothing. The clear message that taxpayers sent back on November 2 was that Iowans wanted real representation, lower taxes, lower spending and less government.

So you and I, the Iowa economy and Iowa workers continue to foot the bill.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving money. But the $10 million dollar token the liberal leader of the senate forced down our throats is more of an insult than substantive savings.

Senate conservatives offered amendment after amendment to the liberal chokehold on taxpayers but to no avail.  It was a party line vote every time at 26-24.

But have no fear! The liberal Democrats did let us debate a bill about raccoon hunting!

(For those of you needing a refresher, the reason I say that they “let us debate” is because liberal Majority Leader, Mike Gronstal from Council Bluffs controls the Senate Calendar, the passage of legislation through committees, and decides if we should be allowed to vote on any particular legislation and ultimately determines the outcome of any potential legislation IF he decides to let it come to the floor.)

So for those of you who cast your vote on November 2, 2010, because you were mad that you couldn’t take your minor child raccoon hunting with you without them having a license, I’d like you to know that I voted FOR repealing that requirement.

You can now take your minor child raccoon hunting with you and they don’t need a license.  But they are not allowed to carry a firearm if they’re not licensed.

I’m glad we got that passed. Truly. We should’ve let parents take their children hunting without a license anyway, but I still believe that we have more important legislation to work on.

Excessive taxes come to mind.

Combining our state corporate tax rate of 12% with the federal rate of 35% and the Tax Foundation says that the Hawkeye State may have the highest levy in the developed world.

And according to the Wall Street Journal, workers “bear the cost of excessive corporate taxes. A 2009 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City examined three decades of data on business taxes and worker paychecks. The study found that “corporate taxes reduce wages and that the magnitude of the negative relationship between the taxes and the wages has increased over the past 30 years.”

Businesses in high tax states invest less, the study found, and this leads to lower productivity (think fewer jobs) and eventually lower average pay for workers.

This isn’t just hypothetical theory. This is state government stifling businesses that could and would be creating jobs if the tax and business climate were less oppressive.

It’s plain and simple math folks. It’s not sustainable unless we change the path we’re on.

This is why I expect we’ll start to see half-truths and attempts to claim public credit for easing restrictions and burdens on Iowa taxpayers to start coming out of the liberal leadership in the next few weeks. They know, as well as you and I do, that they have to start gaining the appearance of being business and taxpayer friendly if they want to hold on to the majority in the Iowa Senate in 2012.

But you and I know such efforts will be seen for what it really is: political grandstanding. If they cared about taxpayers, and if they cared about Iowa workers and the middle class, they wouldn’t have been so deceptive with their legislation and rhetoric for the last several years.

And if they had truly realized the “error of their ways,” they would’ve immediately reached across the aisle and united with conservatives to ease restrictions, ease the burdens and get us back on track sooner rather than later.

Taxpayers remain last on their agenda.

Sincerely,

Senator Kent Sorenson

 

Vulnerable Workers Come Under Fire

Representative Ron Jorgensen

Despite reassurances from President Obama the United States continues to be mired in an economic slump the likes of which we have not seen in decades. No pronouncement from the anointed one or his media lapdogs can undo what meddlesome bureaucrats did to the American marketplace. We can see evidence of this economic malaise throughout the nation. Right here in Central Iowa we have our own communities that are suffering from the lack of economic recovery.

For an example let us look at Pella. The community of Pella is home to two of the state’s largest homegrown Iowa manufacturers; Pella Corporation and Vermeer Manufacturing. Both companies have been hit hard by the economic recession. Both companies have been forced to drastically reduce the number of hours their employees are working. And while to the best of my knowledge Vermeer has yet to lay off any workers many are working less than thirty hours per week. As for Pella Corporation the distressed economy has taken a significant bite out of the company’s bottom line. The company’s sales are down and they have been forced to dramatically reduce their workforce. Even after the workforce underwent both voluntary and involuntary layoffs the company found that they still had too many employees in the plants. So the management staff decided to institute rolling furloughs; that is each factory employee will work two weeks on then one week off in order to balance out staffing. This has effectively cut the employee’s wages by one third every three weeks. To add insult to injury, Pella Corporation’s sales have dipped to the point that they have asserted that they cannot guarantee their employee’s more than twenty-eight hours in any one week.

It is for this reason that I find the proposal introduced by Sioux City Republican Ron Jorgensen, House File 170, so disgusting. Under HF 170 employees would need to be unemployed for two weeks before they would be eligible to receive unemployment benefits, effectively ending unemployment benefits for individuals who find themselves unemployed for just one week.

I am not sure what Representative Jorgensen hopes to accomplish with this legislation, but I can predict what will happen if it were to pass. One of the most immediate effects Jorgensen’s bill would have is to encourage the unemployed to stay unemployed longer. You would see fewer and fewer individuals unemployed for just one week. Most individuals that file for unemployment for just one week truly need that benefit simply to make ends meet.

This bill would also be detrimental to local economies across the state. If we were to prohibit individuals that have been unemployed for just one week this could most likely impact their family’s ability to pay their bills. They would start falling further and further behind in their bill payments. Eventually the family would face foreclosure of their mortgage, default on an auto loan, disconnection of necessary utilizes, and a whole raft of other economic difficulties.

As I mentioned I am unaware of what Representative Jorgensen’s motivation was for introducing a bill such as this. However I do know what would most likely happen in the wake of passage of this bill. Rather than going after those that would abuse the system, we would be targeting those that need the program the most.

Please if you agree with me that we need to preserve unemployment for the state’s workers such as those that work at Pella Corp. call or write your State Representative or State Senator today. Encourage them to withhold support of House File 170. Together we can prevent this bill from ever coming to the House Floor.

 

Independent Does Not Mean Unaccountable

This afternoon freshman Iowa Representative Tom Shaw released the following explanation of why he and fellow Republican representatives must press forward with impeaching the remaining four Supreme Court of Iowa Justices.  After hearing the State of the Courts address given last week my acting Chief Justice Cady it is obvious that the SCOI has not even acknowledged the resounding policy refutation they were handed by We the People in November.  That kind of prideful arrogance is not becoming of a public servant.

If the justices on the Supreme Court refuse to listen when We the People Speak, the only recourse we have is to proceed with impeachment via our elected representatives.  The full text of the Press Release Follows.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Representative Tom W. Shaw, tom.shaw@legis.state.ia.us

Date:     January 16, 2011

Independent Does Not Mean Unaccountable

Tom W. Shaw

State Representative, Iowa House District 8

 

I was present in the Iowa House chambers on Wednesday morning, January 12^th, and listened to the Condition of the Judiciary speech delivered by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady.  After discussing the financial woes of the Judicial Department, he launched into a tongue-lashing directed at the elected representatives of “We the People” of Iowa, and also at “We the People” themselves.  The purpose of this reprimand was to “educate” us about the independence of the judiciary and his belief that we do not have the right to even question their authority.

What the Chief Justice fails to understand is that “independent” does not mean unaccountable.  Also, “supreme” does not mean that the Judicial Department is supreme over the other two co-equal Departments of Iowa government or the people themselves.

I am one of several State Representatives who are currently drafting Articles of Impeachment against the four remaining Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court.  Three of their colleagues were removed from the bench in the retention election on November 2^nd.  The people of Iowa rendered their verdict on the malfeasance of all seven of these judges who attempted to redefine marriage in their Varnum V. Brien decision of 2009.   The opinion, written by Justice Cady, rendered that the definition of Iowa’s law declaring that marriage is between one male and one female, was unconstitutional.  Furthermore, they ordered that same-sex “marriage” licenses must be issued.  They performed the duty of the Legislative Department by creating law and usurped the authority of the Executive Department to carry out the law.  Article III of the Iowa Constitution specifically forbids one department from performing duties of the other departments.  These violations constitute malfeasance and therefore the Justices must be impeached.  It is the duty of the elected representatives of “We the People” to remove these Justices in order to maintain the checks and balances of power in our state government.

The Iowa Constitution specifically states that “all political power is inherent in the people.”  This is in direct contradiction to Chief Justice Cady’s erroneous belief that final authority to determine whether or not a statute is constitutional rests with the Judiciary.  That authority was not granted to the Judicial Department in either the United States or Iowa Constitutions.  Like the authority given to the Executive and Legislative Departments, the Judicial Department’s authority is derived from the Iowa Constitution, which derives its authority from the people.  It cannot grant itself authority that does not exist.  The Iowa Constitution is a legally binding contract between the citizens of Iowa and their government.  The Iowa Supreme Court clearly violated this contract, their sworn obligation to support it, and their sacred duty as servants of the law and the people of Iowa.

They must be impeached.  As representatives of the people, men and women who also swore to support the Constitution, we must take this action lest we join these four judges in their malfeasance.

####

Originally posted by the Iowa Sentinal

http://theiowasentinel.com/2011/01/16/independent-does-not-mean-unaccountable/

Branstad and the Commission on Excellence in Special Education

Friday evening I had the opportunity to cover the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2010 Reagan Dinner from Blogger’s Row for Iowa Defense Alliance. You can check out the live blog that is posted on IDA for complete coverage of the event. In this post I want to discuss a specific made at the Reagan by keynote former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Her speech, which stretched for a little more than half an hour, was filled with one liners and platitudes that although sprinkled with a few good lines, I found slightly boring. Throughout her speech she made continual references to some of our fair states candidates. From former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad to Attorney General Candidate Brenna Findley, Palin continued to do what she was here to do, pump up the Republican Party faithful.

Shortly into her speech she made reference to the fact that former Governor Branstad served as the Chairman of the Commission for Excellence in Special Education. Now this being the first I had heard of this commission I decided to do a little research to find exactly what it was this commission does. I mean surely if it had been a meaningful commission former Governor Branstad would have made reference to it in his many campaign stops across Iowa over the last several months. What I found made me laugh. The commission that Sarah Palin thanked Governor Branstad so warmly for was only in existence for one year. The commission was brought into existence in October of 2001 by former President George Bush and ceased to exist in August of 2002.

After looking at the report filed by the Commission on July 1^st of 2002 I have come to the realization that the purpose of this commission was to do nothing more than study the effects of government policy on special education across the country. Not an active in assisting those in need. In actuality the Commission was an unnecessary waste taxpayer money. I can understand that Palin holds special needs children in high regard, I do too. However if she wants to thank someone for looking out for those children she may do well to make they do more than just one year of service at the request of a President. I mean how many people would turn down a Presidential appointment to chair a Commission. I would bet money that if President had asked Governor Branstad to chair a commission studying the effects of open sewage plants in Northern Alaska he would have happily accepted that appointment. But seriously if Palin wants to thank an individual for working to better the lives of special needs children she really should do her research first and select an individual that has actually been down in the trenches working the unwashed masses rather than a career politician serving on the Ivory Tower of a Government expense account.

I am sure that if you scrutinize his record there are many things that Governor Branstad could be commended for, however the advancement of special needs children is not one of them. Unfortunately former Governor Palin has once again chosen political pragmatism over honesty and forthrightness.

Republican Opportunities Missed

As most of you are by now aware, those of us that write for Liberty Line are staunch advocates of smaller more limited government. Because of this we predominantly fall toward the Republican Party on most issues. Of the two major political parties in our nation our views more closely align with the principles of the Republican Party. However far too often there comes a time when the GOP leaves us bewildered and amazed. In this case it is Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley that leaves us scratching our heads. Senator McKinley has repeatedly stated that he believes in small government. That he believes the government of the State of Iowa has grown far too cumbersome to operate efficiently and effectively. However, yesterday the Senator missed a prime opportunity to point out the results of a government that has grown beyond a manageable level.

Yesterday Des Moines Register reporter Jason Clayworth broke a story that exposed the fact that a state agency has declined to enforce sixteen laws duly passed by the general assembly of the State of Iowa. Some of the laws that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has declined to enforce have been on the books for up to twenty years. I do not want to completely rehash the story, but I will state that I was extremely disappointed in both State Senators quoted in the article. I know that I should not expect any better out of Senator Dennis Black of Jasper County, but I must admit that I was very disappointed when Senator McKinley simply expanded upon the comments made by Senator Black.

Simply stated Senator Black claimed that any state agency that did not enforce the laws passed by the Iowa General Assembly was engaging in illegal activity. While I agree with this sentiment I see the problem from a different perspective. Where Senator Black sees inaction, I see a government so overgrown and bloated that it borders upon being ludicrously ineffective. His solution to the problem is to simply reorganize the bloated beast of government where I see the solution would be to pare the bureaucracy down to a more manageable size by eliminating any unneeded and unnecessary regulations and rules. I have no doubt that I would not be able to convince Senator Black to see things from my point of view, but Senator McKinley on the other hand claims to want to shrink the size of government.

Senator McKinley echoed Senator Black’s comments in regards to the need to reorganize the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. McKinley’s chief argument was that the government of the State of Iowa was not being run properly. However nowhere in Senator McKinley’s argument was there reference made to the idea of alleviating the problem by eliminating unnecessary legislation and regulations. He did not once comment on the idea that a bloated bureaucracy could be the culprit in this instance. Instead he decided that he would rather simply manage the agency in a different fashion.

I really hate to have to critique Republicans. As I stated above, Republicans are supposed to be on our side. However, when Republican leadership makes statements and comments like those made by Senator McKinley one really has to wonder what they are thinking. It forces us to question their dedication to smaller government. And it is actions like those undertaken by Senator McKinley in this instance that has put the Republican Party in the position it is in today. I can only hope that Senator McKinley will learn from the constructive criticism in the wake of this event so that he won’t make the same mistake twice.