First-term Rep. Dan Clute of Clive has decided he won’t be running for re-election in 2008. He says that a new job is what led him to choose the option. I’m sure being a new member of the minority party in the House didn’t help either.
That makes the list of Republicans in the Iowa Legislature who aren’t running for re-election even longer. On the list right now are folks like Pat Ward, Jeff Angelo, Mary Lundby, Walt Tomenga, and now Dan Clute. I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting.
Anyone want to help me put together a list to keep track of the retirements? We can do it for the Democrats, too. Just leave a comment below. It’ll help in the effort to begin putting odds together on whether the Democrats can hold on to control in the Iowa legislature.
Being the partisan hack I am, right now I’d say it is pretty likely.
I know I’ve been gone for a while and folks probably thought this blog was dead. Not so. I’ve been busy with school. Graduating is important.
My comeback is spurred by this story on the KCCI website: “Earthpark To Meet Funding Deadline.” Really? WTF?
David Oman is the man behind this enormous waste of space in Iowa–and the king of trying to get Congressional pork for it along with Sen. Chuck Grassley–and he dropped enough hints to KCCI that somehow they’ll meet a deadline set by the Department of Energy so they can somehow get a $50 million grant to make this thing happen.
Here’s a suggestion for the Department of Energy: Use that $50 million grant to make Iowa schools energy efficient and cut costs on inefficient boilers for school districts. That’ll save schools money that they can turnaround and invest in the teaching of the students for a more educated workforce who will be smart enough not to build a rainforest-boondoggle in Iowa.
And as I was perusing the Earthpark website, I happened to notice that Eric Woolson, of The Concept Works Inc., is on the Regional Advisory Council for Earthpark. He also happens to be Mike Huckabee’s state director for his presidential campaign in Iowa.
So, here’s a fair question for Mike “Endorsed by Chuck Norris” Huckabee: What do you, Gov. Huckabee, think of Earthpark–a rainforest built in Iowa–and the attempts by Congress to appropriate money for it or the possible decision by the DOE to give the project a $50 million grant?
I’m sure his answer would be cause for punch and pie at the Club For Growth.
