Today I am in Florida to photograph a wedding, but like Krusty recently pointed out with Kathy Obradovich… who cares – right, but while I’m here I have a point to share.  A very important point to share to Iowa.  The Florida legislature actually is transparent, online all the time.  Hmmm…

Wake up Iowa and share some sunshine.  Let’s do this!

http://TransparencyFlorida.gov

http://TransparencyFlorida.gov

For all those “Branstad is Evil” folks out there, I find it telling that Branstad’s first detailed proposal won acceptance by his opponents.  More telling is the fact that this is something he waned to do when he was Governor but the Republican legislature said no.

I was under the impression that the only good things he did was because the Republicans finally took control of the legislature, and all the bad stuff he did was because he’s just a liberal at heart.  Momma always told me I would learn something new every day.

Anyway, Obradovich’s article jumps to a conclusion that I have not heard Branstad or any other gubernatorial candidate advance.  She claims that since the budget is proposed for two years there is no need for the legislature to convene in a non-budget year.

That notion couldn’t be further from the truth.  First, just because a budget is proposed by the governor and approved by the legislature doesn’t meat that everything is in place and no changes will be made to the budget, heck even with annual budgeting Culver has had to go in and make sweeping changes.

Kathie contends that Branstad’s proposal is some sort of power grab, yet nowhere in her article does she talk about how Culver has refused to let the legislature deals with the current budget mess.   Last fall when the budget was out of whack, Culver opted to do a massive across-the-board cut instead of calling the legislature back so they could make more targeted cuts.  Isn’t that a power grab?  The result will be a massive property tax increase.

We need our Governor and the legislature to set budgets that serves the state’s long term interests, not just we can afford for the next year.  Additionally, this process will allow for more oversight and more legislative input.

In the non-budget years, the legislature can look for places to save money, eliminate programs that overlap, and make government more efficient.  It is the current process that is broken.

These are the type of ideas we need to be seeing from our gubernatorial candidates.  This is what Republicans in this state have been longing for.  Let’s continue to find ways to reform government.

I saw an article a while back that dealt with what is now HF 2453, a bill that would allow certain inheritance rights for children that were conceived by artificial means after one parent’s death. This would mean that such children would also be able to receive Social Security benefits, and potentially other state aid.

I have to say that I have very mixed feelings about this bill. On one hand, I’m all for people having babies. Who can argue with that?

Of course, no one is saying that assisted reproductive procedure should be denied to people in this position (so long as the deceased parent clearly agreed to and authorized the use of their genetic materials while still alive). Although, to be very honest, I do have some personal moral qualms about some artificial conception techniques themselves, and also about the idea of bringing a child into the world who has no chance of ever knowing (or receiving support from) one of its parents.

This bill does provide some safeguards along those lines by requiring proof that the deceased parent did in fact approve of the surviving parent pursuing pregnancy.

While I don’t necessarily have a problem with people in this situation seeking to have a child, I do have a problem with the surviving parent expecting the Social Security and other potential state benefits that a child with a deceased parent typically receives. Not to mention the fact that children of single parents are far more likely to need things like food stamps, free school lunches, etc.

It just seems kind of irresponsible to me to knowingly and intentionally bring a child into a situation like this and expect other people to pay for it.

If you want to conceive and raise a child by yourself, I think you should be able to pay to raise the child yourself. If you can’t do that, maybe you shouldn’t be having a child by yourself in the first place.

And if you have enough foresight to have your sperm frozen so you can have children posthumously, perhaps you should also look into life insurance or other methods of supporting those children so others won’t have to.

This bill is still alive and kickin’ in the Statehouse. So, if you have strong feelings about it, make sure you let your local representatives know.

I would point to Tom Tancredo’s endorsement of Mitt Romney. It was a meaningful endorsement for Romney but the most significant result was Tancredo flushing any credibility down the tubes. Likewise, Rick Santorum was in Iowa yesterday apologizing for his 2004 endorsement of Arlen Specter. He made that endorsement eight years ago and he is still dealing with it. This article isn’t about the endorsements that people like Tancredo and Santorum make, it’s about the endorsements that are made by members of the Republican State Central committee.

Every two years, grassroots activists who attend district conventions elect people to represent them on the State Central Committee. That group serves as the board of directors for the Republican Party here in Iowa. The role of a state central committee member is to oversee that the state party is run properly and to elect Republicans.

Perhaps the greatest responsibility that makes all things possible for the party to be successful in those endeavors is our First in the Nation Caucus. Aspiring presidential candidate are already sprouting up in Iowa. It’s just a matter of time before their start staffing up and organizing republicans, and the generating buzz and enthusiasm that helps all republicans at every level, not to mention the cash they dole out to candidates on the local ballot.

In order for us to maintain our beloved First in the Nation status, we must keep the process above even the slightest perception of favoring one particular candidate over another. The integrity of the caucus and the party is at stake which means nobody will come and participate. That includes the Ames straw Poll too folks.

Nothing infuriates the grassroots like seeing state party officials stick their noses into primaries. If a member of the central committee wishes to endorse, they can do so while not representing the State Party. It’s as simple as that. Former SCC member David Chung of Linn County set a good example of this when he resigned in order to support a candidate for governor. It would be preferable that he not endorse nor resign but at least he tried to do the right thing for the good of the party and the integrity of the position.

In some of the recent endorsements of Rod Roberts, the endorsee has states that they reason they chose Roberts is that he is the only candidate in the race that can unify the party after the primary. That may be true, but when I see State Central Committee members like Bill Schickel say this I scratch my head.

In addition to serving on the board of directors of the party, SCC members are also the ambassadors for the party. Frankly, it’s not their job to endorse the candidate who can unite the party, it’s their job to work with all the candidates and campaigns to ensure that the Republican Party emerges stronger than it was before the primary.

This is why I was critical of Kim Lehman’s actions in the lead up to the 2008 general elections. The horror stories of the national committeewoman Kim Lehman’s endorsement of Peter Teahen and eventual sour grapes in the general are well documented here and elsewhere, but let’s take a look at what is going on this year. Bill Schickel of the 4th CD has publicly endorsed Rod Roberts for governor, but gives us the caveat that he will step down as RPI’s secretary although not as a SCC member. What? So your endorsement of Roberts will create problems with how you function as secretary but not as a SCC member? Wes Enos, of the 3rd CD has taken a paid position with Bob Vander Plaats’ primary campaign for governor. Joni Scotter of the 2nd CD endorsed Gov. Terry Branstad just a few short weeks after pledging to remain neutral in order to win a seat on the SCC.

If we want a strong and robust Republican Party of Iowa, we need State Central Committee members who will put the party above any personality that runs for office. The reason the Republican Party in Iowa sucks is because nobody actually cares about the party itself, they only care about the individual candidates that they support.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has now
identified with certainty the heaviest  element known to science.

The new element, Pelosium (PL), has one neutron, 25 assistant
neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons,
giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which
are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called
peons.

Pelosium is inert, and has no charge and no magnetism. Nevertheless,
it can be detected because it impedes every reaction with which it
comes into contact. A tiny amount of Pelosium can cause a reaction
that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4
years to complete.

Pelosium has a normal half-life of 2 years. It does not decay, but
instead undergoes a biennial reorganization in which a portion of the
assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

Pelosium mass will increase over time, since each reorganization will
promote many morons to become isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to
believe that Pelosium is formed whenever morons reach a critical
concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical
morass.

When catalyzed with money, Pelosium becomes Senatorium, an element
that radiates just as much energy as Pelosium since it has half as
many peons but twice as many morons.

(Another Friendly Forward from the Internet.  Author Unknown.)

There were some pretty horrific examples of parenthood in Iowa news last week.

Today, let’s look at the parents of that Southeast Polk High School basketball player who hired a lawyer to sue the school when their precious, perfect little boy was found by police at a beer party. Being at a beer party, whether a student is drinking or not, is a violation of the Southeast Polk code of conduct, which student athletes must agree to abide by. Due to this rule violation, the school wanted to suspend the rule breaker… gasp… right before the Iowa High School Boys Basketball State Tournament.

Rather than punish their boy wonder for an incredible lapse in judgment for an obvious violation of school rules, these parents went whining to the courts that their poor little boy was being picked on.

At first, the court agreed with these obnoxious parents and granted a temporary injunction mandating that Mr. I-was-there-but-I-wasn’t-drinking-yeah-right should get to play basketball. A few days later, the same judge changed his mind, saying that not playing basketball was not going to cause this kid “irreparable harm.” Thank goodness someone came to his senses.

Too bad it wasn’t the parents. I am so sick of parent who have the attitude that their kid can do no wrong. How many teachers have I heard say that parents will just flat out deny that their child did something that the teacher saw happen with their own eyes. All because junior claims he’s innocent and has his parents hoodwinked into thinking he’s an angel.

And if the parents aren’t in complete denial, then they just downplay what their kid did, or defend the kid in spite of obvious wrongdoing, which is what happened with Mr. SE Polk.

What happened to the days when the punishment a kid would face for being bad was much worse at home than anything the school could dish out? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating child abuse, but age appropriate spanking and/or real (not just threatened) deprivation of rights was, and still is, totally appropriate.

The people in this story who deserve to be disciplined most are these parents. Think of the lessons they are teaching this kid.

1) It’s okay to be at an underage beer party.
2) It’s okay to lie to police (‘cause nobody believes that you were so tired you fell asleep at a high school beer party.)
3) It’s okay to break school rules.
4) You don’t have to have any consequences for your actions (even the consequences you’ve agree to in writing.)
5) Mommy and Daddy will actually help you get away with being a stereotypical egocentric, jock-itch infested Neanderthal who thinks he’s above the law.

Seriously, why can’t we give the parents here a good spanking or take away their rights for their outright stupidity. If it were up to me, I’d start with a vasectomy appointment. They don’t need to be screwing up any more kids with an entitlement complex that the rest of us are going to have to (best case scenario) tolerate or (worst case scenario) pay to incarcerate in the future.

Come on, people! And we wonder why the evening news sports segment is often mistaken for the crime blotter.

P.S. Kudos to the Southeast Polk school administrators who stuck to their guns to hold this kid accountable for his conduct.

When Ron Corbett was elected as Cedar Rapids Mayor, Republicans across Iowa celebrated. RPI Chairman Matt Strawn trumpeted Corbett’s victory as an indication that Republicans were on the move again. Some even speculated that Corbett’s return to politics might mean that he is looking at a run for Governor or the U.S. Senate sometime down the road.

Well you can put all that statewide campaign speculation to bed. Last week, Corbett publically pushed that a prevailing wage would be paid on the cities large flood related projects. You just have to love it when a Republican back home undermines our Republican legislators in Des Moines.

The ironic part of this is that Corbett works for the same company as House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen does. So while Paulsen is in Des Moines doing everything he can to stop these labor bills, the guy in the office down the hall from him is giving the union agenda the green light locally.

It’s not the first time this happened in Cedar Rapids. Republican Linn County Supervisor Brent Oelson tried to help find the 51st vote for prevailing wage just over a year ago. No wonder Linn County is so messed up for Republicans.

Corbett is an idiot for selling out to the unions. You can bet this will haunt him if he does ever want to run for higher office.

http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/government/2010/03/03/corbett-to-push-for-prevailing-wage-on-flood-construction-projects

Chuck Grassley

Now, I’m just having a little fun with Grassley, but I think he needs a little twitter and Facebook advice. Grassley attended three county conventions, then called it a day and had lunch at Hickory Park in Ames.

Like I said, I don’t have any problem with it, but I bet there are some county activists who would have loved to see their Senator on Saturday. Now you can’t make them to all the counties, but I probably wouldn’t have broadcast the fact that I only went to three conventions.

At least he went to a good restaurant, so while he shouldn’t have tweeted his easy schedule on Saturday, nobody is an idiot for going to Hickory Park.

Stu Iverson

I told you all in November that Iverson had his eyes on McKinley Bailey’s House Seat. This past weekend he made it official. Now, I would prefer a Republican in Bailey’s seat any day of the week, but what does Iverson really bring to the table?

Is there really nobody else that we could run in that seat? Is Stu the best we can do?

I’ll predict McKinley Bailey will win re-election this November. I think that the six-pack of pro-business Democrats are probably the toughest to run against for any Republican, let a lone a guy who was kicked to the curb in the State Senate.

Iverson is going to look like an idiot when he loses to Bailey in November.

Polk, Black Hawk, Dubuque, Linn, and Cedar Counties will be visited by two candidates. Bob Vander Plaats is the only candidate who doesn’t have to share the stage in a county, which will happen when he visits the Muscatine County convention. In addition to attending five county conventions, Branstad also found time to attend a fundraiser for State Representative Jeff Kaufmann.

Below is the map of where the candidates will be.

Branstad:
Linn County – 9 a.m.
Black Hawk County – 11 a.m.
Dubuque County – 1:30 p.m.
Scott County – 3:30 p.m.
Kaufmann Fundraiser – 5:15 p.m.
Cedar County – 6:30 p.m.

Vander Plaats:
Polk County – 9:00 a.m.
Muscatine County – 11:00 a.m.
Dubuque County – 1:00 p.m.
Scott County – 2:30 p.m.

Roberts:
Polk County
Black Hawk County
Linn County
Scott County
Cedar County

TIR will be at the Polk County Convention in hopes of becoming a delegate…

Recently Dr. Paul has noted that during the 2008 campaign he was rarely granted major cable network air time interviews, but once the election was bequeathed to the liberal media’s princess Barry Sorento a.k.a B. Hussein Obama… For some odd reason his air time appearances on news shows like CNN are so frequent now it seems he has his own show.  (Read on to find out the point Ron Paul agrees with Obama.)

So for whatever ratings hike tactic to appear fair, non-election year reason the liberal media is at least giving Ron Paul ink, electrons or microphones to spread his message let’s take note…

The goal when creating the site was to provide a state-wide conservative news outlet in Iowa and provide people with the transparency in government that they need and deserve. While there is always room for improvement, I’m proud of what the site has been able to accomplish in its first year. I’m also excited in what the future holds for TIR and Iowa Republicans in 2010 and beyond.

I can’t think of a more exciting time to be a Republican activist, and I want to thank all of you for joining into the discussion at TheIowaRepublican.com.

Thanks,

Craig