There is no example of a Democrat dodging this election cycle, but it's happened in the past, hence the "have been known" reference. One example that immediately pops to mind is Leonard Boswell refused to debate Ed Fallon in their 2008 primary. The same advice, all-risk, no reward, is given to canddiates on both sides of the aisle.
See, even I get caught in the moderation vortex. It's the only debate I know of, at this point. I think the strangest debate moment I can remember was in a 1998 GOP gov primary debate when Jim Ross Lightfoot pulled out a pocket knife and tried to hand it to David Oman or Paul Pate, can't remember exactly which one. It was supposed to be a clever prop metaphor for all the backstabbing attacks against Lightfoot, but it was a very strange tactic. It fell flat, but JRL stil won the primary.
I think the council did what it had to do under the circumstances, and if I were unlucky enough to be in their shoes, I would have voted yes. Closing the street is tough, but leaving it open and losing the clinic and its jobs would be a big blow to the city. I think the PCI folks have made it clear they have a plan, they're committed to it and would find a different place to execute it if the council backed away.
From what I've been able to find in our archives, that was it. But it's possible some digging could reveal other issues.
So who limits the legislature's authority when it approves an unconstitutional statute? I don't buy the notion that the sections quoted above can be contorted to allow a legislative branch to put some issues off limits to judicial review. That would render judicial review worthless, and would allow legislative/executive overreach. That's not a "check," that's a power grab. And it would deny Iowans adversely affected by legislative action to seek a legal remedy.
One major reason the $900 million surplus disappeared is that Gov. Branstad and lawmakers approved significant tax cuts along with large spending increases in 1997-98. Branstad wanted to spend even more on education but the Legisalture balked. When the economy tanked in the early aughts, revenue plunged and the budget collapsed. Now, I'm not saying Vilsack had nothing to do with it (the GOP held the Legislature) but the blame cannot be laid solely at the feet of one party.
I think one of the main points of the column is that Culver blundered by selling it as a jobs program in 2009. And it's clear by the press release that I included that it was sold as a jobs program, not flood relief.
Republicans did have proposals back in 2008. And I've been plenty critical of Culver for not calling a special session to take them up. But my point here is that the 2010 campaign is happening now, and I'm not hearing much from Republicans, especially the gubernatorial nominee, about recovery, flood prevention or infrastructure. There's a lot of shooting at I-JOBS, which is fair game, but not much discussion of how things would be different if voters make a change.
The gas tax hasn't been raised in more than 20 years, and no politician dare suggest that it should be for fear of political retribution. The transportation backlog is in the billions, and the gas tax won't cover it. Not to mention countless needed repairs and replacements for storm sewers, sanitary sewers, wastewater treatment, drinking water treatment, aging public facilities of all types. The needs are real.
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