The Line
We’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Political movements swing over time. You may have a seemingly untouchable majority now, and lose it as soon as the next election depending upon how your party acts and what citizens feel about things.
I was reminded of that this week in small part because of the bill passed by the U.S. House that would add a trillion dollars to the national debt in just three years. That’s a slower rate than in the past, but hardly fiscal restraint. Is that what voters wanted?
But a better case for the point may–I say may—be going on under the golden dome in Des Moines. I have not studied the bills that would limit material in public libraries, or that would change what groups are protected under Iowa’s civil rights law. They may be totally appropriate, good pieces of legislation. But they are lightning rods that might get in the way of getting other things done…or of the party in the majority staying that way.
All I heard during the last campaign was talk about property tax reform and stopping the use of eminent domain for dangerous carbon capture pipelines, as well as allowing local entities to decide about other problems like wind and solar farms. But where are the bills on those topics? I’m told some have been introduced, and “they’re working on it” on others…but we don’t hear much about it.
Again, if you are a lawmaker and you are convinced this or that is the right thing for Iowa, go for it. But majorities are lost when too many voters feel they’ve crossed the line, or gone too far in one direction…typically at the expense of what voters are interested in. Just a note of caution, as voters ask “what have you done for me lately.”
