Branstad the Butcher

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad has made it clear he doesn't like all the extravagant programs Gov. Chet Culver has sunk state money into during his term in office. There's preschool offered free to anybody who wants it, without regard to their financial need. There's the taxpayer expense of bonding to pay for the I-JOBS flood recovery and infrastructure initiative. It'd be better to reduce those high corporate income taxes if you want to attract jobs to Iowa.
But don't go so far as to offer tax credits to bring jobs related to the movie industry to Iowa. After all, that was at the center of a scandal during the Culver administration.
Then there's Culver's questionable decision to quickly approve state employee contracts without allowing the incoming administration any input. Branstad's really mad about that.
So, the new governor is promising to take a meat cleaver to the current budget as soon as he is sworn into office. Waaay too much fat on the bone in an economically troubled time.
Hopefully, any changes Branstad can push through won't have a negative effect on Iowa's economy. After all, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks it the eighth-fastest-growing in the nation. And a 24/7 Wall St. study ranked Iowa the third-best-run state.
Watch for future appearances of Branstad the Butcher in this blog space. I'm sure he'll be back.

They threw those bums out!

Iowa's voters were angry and lashing out Nov. 2. They saw a problem --- "activist" judges --- and they did what any angry citizen would do, voted their elected officials out of office. Only, Iowa's judges are not elected. That makes it one of the better systems for putting judges on the bench in the country. That is also what made this a bad situation in which to vote "no" on the three Iowa Supreme Court justices' retention. Now Gov.-elect Terry Branstad will pick three replacements from a slate of nine nominees forwarded to him by a 15-member commission. In other words, he has no control over the group of people from which he will choose. Branstad may find three people among those nominees whom he believes meet his criteria for the Supreme Court. However, Chief Justice Marsha Ternus was appointed by Branstad during a prior term and is now leaving the position because of the court's unanimous vote striking down the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, making gay marriage legal in Iowa. Opponents of this decision would do better to pursue an amendment to the state's Constitution. That, of course, will take more time and much more political will. Can opponents muster enough voter anger for a long enough time to make that happen? If not, they can always keep campaigning to vote offending judges out.

Justice-hating freedom fighters?

Bob Vander Plaats is using a little spin to sell the idea behind his organization Iowa For Freedom. He is campaigning against the three Iowa Supreme Court justices who are up for retention because they were part of the unanimous 2009 decision that legalized gay marriage in the state. His outrage  against the justices is fueled by a belief that the courts overstepped their bounds with the ruling. Vander Plaats wants to punish the justices for their role in redefining marriage, which he deems as "judicial activism." Still, he says the campaign is about freedom, not marriage. The opportunity to vote out the justices may essentially be a "check and balance" on the courts, as Vander Plaats suggests. But he seems to ignore the larger system of checks and balances between the legislative, judicial and administrative branches of Iowa's government. An independent judiciary --- free to make interpretations of the state's laws and constitution --- is a vital part of that. He'd like the courts to restrain themselves from all that freedom and just base their rulings on laws the Legislature approves and governor signs. That rubber-stamp approach eliminates their role as a check and balance on the other branches of government. The group really only advocates greater freedom for one person: the governor. They'd like to reform Iowa's system for appointing justices by eliminating the commission that is central to the process. Instead, Iowa For Freedom says the governor alone should make the choice.

With liberty and justice for ... Anna Mae?

Let's make one point clear from the beginning: Anna Mae Weems is an important civil rights figure in the Cedar Valley. At the height of the struggle black people went through to end discrimination and gain equality throughout our society, she was out there fighting the good fight. In the decades since, she has continued to be a voice and a presence on civil rights issues. Perhaps she should have been appointed to the Waterloo Human Rights Commission earlier this month. That doesn't excuse how her daughter Frieda Weems responded --- presumably with Anna Mae's blessing, since she got in on the act, too. Frieda's two-week harangue before the Waterloo City Council included cries of conspiracy and illegal voting as well as calls for resignations of elected and appointed officials. See stories from The Courier's coverage here and here. If she was arguing for the rights of a downtrodden group in the community, such outrage could be warranted. But to win a position for herself? Let others (not your daughter) make the case in more somber tones and leave it at that. Such self-serving indignation does little for her well-deserved legacy.

It's good to be king ... of the crazy wingnuts

Congressman Steve King's refusal to discuss the possibility of a debate with Matt Campbell, the Democratic challenger for the Iowa 5th District seat, has led to the latest in a long series of his provocative attention-grabbing comments. On Aug. 30, Campbell crashed one of King's town hall meetings and confronted him for not responding to requests to set up a debate. King's response was that Campbell has "not earned" the right to debate him. Read the story and see the Sioux City Journal's video here: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_e06e0331-9a54-5694-a247-d0e91f7e7cc3.html. That tops a string of statements spanning his political career which have garnered a disproportionate amount of attention for their breadth of arrogance, naivete and partisianship. Some examples, you say? There was his 2004 response to Iraqi prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ia05_king/pr_040513.html; his 2006 contention that Washington D.C. is more dangerous than the Iraqi warzone: http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/13/king-dc-safer/; and finally his more recent statements that President Obama is a Marxist: http://iowaindependent.com/41306/king-obama-is-a-marxist-who-is-in-violation-of-his-oath-of-office and that he has a "default mechanism" favoring blacks over whites: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/article_57612e6c-7899-11df-add6-001cc4c03286.html. Cumulatively, these show King to be a crazy wingnut. And we think he has earned that lifetime achievement award! Here's a 2006 story where King offers some insight into his own provocativeness: http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/article_ee6bf08a-38e5-5df5-a1b7-2ca3b8b82d25.html. Campbell may not get his debate with King and we'll have to wait until Nov. 2 to see who has "earned" the votes of most 5th District residents.

Vilsack shows his lack of leadership

Former Iowa governor and United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack showed an incredible lack of leadership when he fired Shirley Sherrod from her position as director of rural development in Georgia. He has tried to paint his reactionary spur-of-the-moment decision after seeing an out-of-context video clip as an act of leadership (see http://politi.co/aPFcE0). Did he even take the time to find out that right-wing provocateur Andrew Breitbart was among those who had posted this clip? Reading Sherrod's own words or watching the video (which can be found at http://bit.ly/csCFtY) shows she's the one demonstrating leadership. And she has earned her stripes by struggling with difficult issues before coming to a conclusion. Vilsack, on the other hand, has shown a propensity for snap decisions without a moments thought. To read more about this, go to http://bit.ly/dChUwT and http://bit.ly/c5DorC.

Shameless Self Promotion

The latest posting to Cedar Valley Cartoons can also be seen at one other location on the internet: http://wddnews.com/Comics2.htm. That's on the Iowa News Headlines website. Check it out and let someone know where to find it.
Actually, I'm not sure how many people will discover it on the site. If everyone had that link, everyone could see it. But you probably can't figure out how to find it by going to the website's home page at http://wddnews.com (especially if you don't know it's there). I couldn't find any link that brings you from the home page directly to it. Hopefully if future Cedar Valley Cartoons are posted on the site, they will be easier to find.
If you've got a Twitter account (or want to set one up), there's another way to follow Cedar Valley Cartoons. Follow Twitter @DrewToons to find out when new cartoons are posted at Cedar Valley Cartoons and Winds World (www.windsworld.com). I also tweet links to the work of other cartoonists available on the internet. Sign up today! It's fun stuff!