Iowa Legislature 2013 adjournment in sight, leaders say
Suspected abductor of Webster County girls found dead; search on for missing girl
Oklahoma tornado death toll currently 24, not 51, medical examiner says
Iowa City debates whether police officers belong in schools
Linn County casino campaign cost $3.43 million, final figures reveal
Is it good that neither party is in full control of the Iowa Legislature?
Related Stories
The Iowa state capitol in Des Moines.
Despite the efforts of Republicans to win a majority in the Iowa Senate and take control of both chambers of the Legislature as well as the Governor’s Office, voters took a less-traveled path in the November election.
In 2013, Republicans will have control of the governors’ offices and legislatures in 25 states representing 53 percent of the nation’s population. Democrats will have total control in 15 states that include about 37 percent of the country’s population.
That leaves Iowa among the 10 states in which neither party is in control and among just four where neither party controls both chambers of the legislature.
The march toward one-party rule comes as a bit of surprise to Peverill Squire, a former University of Iowa political scientist now teaching at the University of Missouri.
The number of one-party states is higher than in at least a generation, according to Squire, the senior editor of “Legislative Studies Quarterly.”
“I think, in part, it sort of reflects the polarized nature of our politics,” he said. However, he points out that in Missouri voters gave legislative Republicans a veto-proof majority even as they re-elected a Democratic governor and U.S. senator.
Is it good that neither party has full control of the Iowa Legislature? Would it be more beneficial if one party controlled both the Iowa House and Senate?
-u20042.png?1366232523)
It would be BEST if the legislators would keep in mind the needs of the people of their state, and not be driven so easily by big money interests or the interference of ‘religious’ sects. I really don’t care which party leads us along those lines as long as they aren’t diverted by special interests attempting to mandate only a certain position on controversial issues.
Obviously America has become too caught up in political-party-ism. If we could just vote for the candidate that could be counted on to toe the line for the common man and woman, then the great middle would be populated with candidates from the left and from the right divining a way for meaningful compromise.
Near as I can tell, neither party has any control – over the house or themselves. This isn’t limited to Iowa; it’s national. The real question should be: Why are taxpayers putting up with elected officials that aren’t doing much to earn their pay?
Since the media fails so miserably to inform people about the facts of the economy and so many other issues I believe its probably a good thing we have a divided legislature. At the same time if we really want to return to a prosperous economy we need smaller government, fewer taxes, less government regulation and more freedom.