A False Majority

Every once in a while I will take the dark plunge over to the liberal Iowa blogosphere. I can’t stand to do it every day but sometimes I feel a little frisky and take the chance. One that I often find myself going to is called Bleeding Heartland. The title about makes me sick to my stomach – and then I get to the content. There are some things to be learned by going to the liberal blogs but you have to sort through the failed logic and hostility towards personal rights and responsibilities.

Yesterday’s post at Bleeding Heartland lets us into the mindset of the Democrats. The author is trying to find out what went wrong, what is to be done, and who’s to blame for their failed prevailing wage bill. She looks to Speaker Murphy and Minority Leader McCarthy for blame and doesn’t put too much blame on the Democrats who voted against the bill. I find that somewhat odd since Democrats are known for banding together and ignoring principle for the greater good – a larger majority. I would have thought the Ds would be lynching the dissenters, not blaming leadership.

But since they did, I’ll gladly take a look at that. Was it arrogance that caused Murphy and McCarthy to bring up the bills without enough votes? Are they so used to a lockstep following in their caucus that they don’t coordinate with all Ds? Or did they underestimate the anti-union sentiment in Iowa? Ding, ding, ding…I think we have a winner.

Even though our government is made up of a bunch of liberal bureaucrats, Iowans still have pride of workmanship and hold an affinity toward free market capitalism – not government mandated wages or socialism. Many of you have read the quote from McKinley Bailey (Democrat who voted against the bill), “People were very, very happy," Bailey said. "I got applause when I went in. I didn't have a single person ask me to change my vote. I feel like I represented my district. While I feel bad about letting so many of my caucus members down, I think at the end of the day, I have to represent Wright and Hamilton and Webster County. ... My constituents seem to be happy with my decision."

This is what I’ve been saying for quite a while. Sure the Ds are in control at all levels of government but it is a false majority. On the issues, Republicans still win – and will for a long time. We just have to market our message better and reorganize and strategize our campaigns. Man am I excited for 2010!