My home state of Iowa was one of several in 2010 that swept out of office an ineffective liberal Democrat (apologies for the redundancy) and replaced him with a Republican.
However, the government my state is currently getting from its new Republican governor looks eerily similar to the sort of government it got from his Democrat predecessor. Sadly, the leadership of the Republican Party in my state has all but nullified the 2010 election results that put them in power in the first place.
I’m starting to see a disturbing trend, because this is very similar to what I wrote about happening in Oklahoma recently.
For example, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has failed to keep his campaign promises to defund Planned Parenthood and shrink the size of government. Instead, he is funding Planned Parenthood, funding abortions with taxpayer dollars in cases of “fetal deformity,” and proposed growing government $200 million more than his Democrat predecessor’s budgets. Branstad and his cronies have even lobbied other Iowa Republicans on behalf of raising the regressive gas tax with gas prices at an all-time high, something that even his Democrat predecessor opposed.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Branstad has done nothing to reform a judicial system taken over by leftist zealots. Despite the fact a majority of Iowans spoke up in opposition to it in the historic judicial retention election, when justices were ousted for violating the state’s constitution and attempting to redefine marriage.
On the other hand, Branstad lobbied for perhaps the most anti-school choice, anti-religious freedom legislation in my state’s history. A bill that Republicans in the state legislature would be screaming bloody murder about if it came from the desk of a Democrat. Contrary to the conservative leadership Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is currently showing in taking on the educrats, my governor is actually aiding and abetting the liberal teachers’ unions. The sort of bill the folks at a recent LGBTQ Conference, which Branstad lent his name to, would welcome with open arms.
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Question: in my home state what political party are those who believe in life at conception, not raising taxes (especially regressive ones), opposing crony capitalism, limiting the size of government, and preserving our Judeo-Christian moral values considered the bad guys?
Answer: both of them in my home state, thanks to the poor excuse for “leadership” that is our newly-elected Republican governor.
In Iowa, those of us who worked hard to fight for our freedom in that historic 2010 election have sadly seen most of the gains we made at the ballot box eliminated by some of the very same people like Branstad we voted into office. Instead of change, we got more of the same, and no substantive difference between what we voted out and what we voted in.
But at least we got the warm fuzzy of knowing we helped Team Republican beat Team Democrat, for whatever that’s worth. I’ll let those of you reading this ponder that while I get back to playing the fiddle as the republic burns.
In the meantime, let me know if you’re seeing the sort of progress from the new Republican leadership in your state you were hoping for coming off the momentum of 2010. Are they actively working to slash the size of government? Are they defending your freedoms and liberties? Are they taking a stand for morality? Are they working to undo decades of advances by the Left?
After all, what’s the point of returning power back to the states if the Republican state governments we just elected act as if they are essentially powerless against the Feds and the welfare state?
Feel free to email me at Steve@SteveDeace.com. My prayer is that the Republican election nullification currently happening in my state and what previously happened to pro-lifers in Oklahoma is not being repeated elsewhere. I’m hoping Governor Branstad is the last of a dying breed of technocrat dinosaurs, and not just more of the same Republicrats this country can’t afford.
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