Governor Branstad Leaving Iowa (Des Moines, Muscatine: appointed, 2014, house)

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by Meemur

It's certainly a huge deal to me. I understand the myriad ways Iowa can benefit, starting with increased employment to fill orders and contracts. Say what you want about Branstad, but he loves Iowa and will "bring home the bacon" LOL!

Actually, he'll be working to "export the bacon" (not bring it "home").

https://www.pork.org/wp-content/uplo...-july-2015.pdf

[mofford]

Well, when I hear about a reporter from the DSM Register letting someone in Branstad's office, thoughts of espionage and treason come to mind, but since the secretary was there, I guess you weren't trying to steal any of our state secrets (you are from California so I'm a little suspicious unless you live in Yorba Linda, where Nixon is buried). BeauCharles, I hope you enjoyed Branstad's office, did you notice any performance enhancing effects from being in his office, that manifest upon you later, or any side effects such as a desire to engage in an agriculture related activity?

I realize being Ambassador to China is one of the most important of the 180 countries we have diplomatic relations with, but I just don't see why it has to be Branstad going there, even if he is the most qualified. As funksoulbro (whom can't spell Branstad's name) mentioned, this could be a little risky for Terry, he is giving up the throne of Iowa to mediate between Trump and China, what a trooper! He has his work cut out for him.

Terry Branstad became governor when I was a sophomore in high school. Over the decades I have become accustomed to his rule and feel he is indispensable to the state of Iowa. As an Iowan and one of his loyal subjects, I don't want to share him with any other branch of government, unless he became president of the US, anything less is not enough for me. I want him to remain governor for the rest of my natural life and well into the 22nd century if possible.

Kim Reynolds has been the Lt. Governor since 2011, I am sure she will remain in contact with Branstad for guidance and advice on key issues. One important issue that has been ignored, we continue to lose Burger Kings in the DSM metro area at an alarming rate, the one on Grand in Valley Junction closed last summer, and I was shocked to find the other day the one on SE14th & Indianola road is now closed as well. For someone living in SW Des Moines, a Burger King is almost as far away as Terry Branstad will be next year. We still have problems that need to be solved.

Although Tom Vilsac has also been governor of Iowa, and served 8 years as Sec of Ag, he is probably too liberal for Iowa now. Think about it, what would living in Washington DC under Barack Obama do to a person over an 8 year period? Should we check his luggage for refugees before allowing him to return to Iowa? I think we should.

[capitalcityguy]

Mofford, no disrespect intended, but I can't tell if everything you posted in your last comment was serious or not.

i.e….we have gone way off the rails from our roots as a Democratic Republic if anyone elected to office at ANY level is deemed “irreplaceable”. Our founders never meant for our gov’t to have that type of power or influence over us.

I"m not gonna lie...my Spidey troll senses are tingling a bit...

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

Actually, he'll be working to "export the bacon" (not bring it "home").

https://www.pork.org/wp-content/uplo...-july-2015.pdf

LOL! touche' !

[duster1979]

I think the Chinese will be thoroughly impressed with the Branstache. We'll just have to wait and see what they think of the rest of the man.

I can't say that I really like or dislike Terry Branstad. I didn't vote for him during his first tenure because I lived in Illinois at the time, and when he came back there was somebody running whose message appealed to me more. Branstad came across not like a guy who really had any big ideas for improving the state, but more like a guy who took an early retirement but decided to come back to work because he was bored and expected to have his old job handed to him.

That being said, he has accomplished some positive things over the years, and I acknowledge that many of the decisions he's made that I don't agree with were the result of having to make hard choices due to the financial mess left by the Big Lug.

[smpliving]

Gov Branstad doesn't seem physically well to me. I don't think he will last long in China and would not be surprise if he returns to Iowa soon after. I wonder how his wife feels being away from her grandchildren. Living in China will be a big adjustment for the 70 year old, IMHO.

[rayman29]

I think Branstad has done a decent job as governor, and I hope he does a good job representing Iowa, and the U.S. as a whole. That being said, I think its a good thing for Iowa to have new leadership. I do hope Branstad well, although his health seems to be a problem. If Trump is able to get to a second term, Branstad should probably resign then. I just don't think he is physically able to keep working until he's 78. Not being critical, but he has more than enough money now to retire. His achievement of being the nations longest serving governor is impressive enough. Hopefully he will finally get some time to rest after 2020, either because of Trump's defeat, or his own decision to step down.

[mofford]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

Mofford, no disrespect intended, but I can't tell if everything you posted in your last comment was serious or not.

i.e….we have gone way off the rails from our roots as a Democratic Republic if anyone elected to office at ANY level is deemed “irreplaceable”. Our founders never meant for our gov’t to have that type of power or influence over us.

I"m not gonna lie...my Spidey troll senses are tingling a bit...

Well, I was just having a little fun with BeauCharles, but of course I'm serious about Branstad and his mustache being awesome in every way. Maybe I was being trivial about the Burger King problem, but let's face it, all the big problems have already been solved by Branstad so there's not much left. Duster79, if you thought Branstad did well cleaning up Culver's mess, you should have been around in 1983. What we had to deal with back then made the Sweaty Chet problems look very small, and anything that makes Chet look small is very big indeed.

When I moved to Des Moines in 1986, this town and the entire state was in bad shape from the farm crisis, the housing market was in the toilet and the town looked just like any other town in the rust belt, we were in a state of decay. It was bad, and we did not get any "stimulus" from the government back then. We had serious budget deficits into the hundreds of millions. Branstad, over a 10 year period, got us out of the hole, signed a balanced budget amendment that he promoted, traveled overseas to make trade deals for Iowa, started a lottery and legalized casinos to bring in desperately needed tax revenue (voluntary taxes). He did not allow spending we could not afford, until we could afford it. Yet Branstad is flexable, he is not like Sam Brownback. People do not mind taxes so much, if they get something for the taxes they pay, and the money was not squandered on fat pensions and entitlements, or government bloat.

Branstad got us thru the floods of '93. Just when we were getting caught up with the rest of the nation we had that terrible flood. Branstad was Johnny ON THE SPOT, dealing with any problem that came along. His style had a little more bravado to it back then, and he is more moderate now than he was back in the 80's. But he is still very effective at getting things done, I'm sure he holds the right qualities to be an Ambassador, and I wish him well.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...he_400x400.jpg

Long live the Branstache !!

[Dport7674]

Satire or nah? I honestly can't tell.

[Sculptor]

Good riddance to Gov BrainDeadStad!!! finally we'll be rid of this clown!


In 2012, Christopher Godfrey, Iowa’s former workers’ compensation commissioner, filed a discrimination lawsuit against Branstad and other government officials, claiming that he was pressured to resign from his position due to his sexual orientation. According to the lawsuit, members of Branstad's staff threatened Godfrey, a gay man, with a $40,000 salary reduction if he declined to resign

In spring 2014, a string of scandals inside the Branstad administration caused a steep downturn in Branstad's job approval and trust rating among Iowa voters. In a short space of time, Branstad was accused of using his office to commit or facilitate a variety of crimes and improprieties, such as: the wrongful firing of a state trooper who nabbed the governor for speeding, crooked dealings state judge, abuse in an Iowa juvenile home and giving hush-payments to fired state employees claiming to victims of political revenge.

In March 2013, Branstad drew criticism for his decision to name his son, Marcus Branstad, to the state Natural Resources Commission. The commission is a seven-member, partisan-balanced, panel of unpaid individuals charged with handling "contested cases related to fish, wildlife, conservation law enforcement, and park and forestry programs."

On December 8, 2011, Polk District Court Judge Brad McCall ruled that Branstad's line-item veto that closed 36 unemployment offices was unconstitutional, stating the allocation would have to be vetoed as well in order for the action to be legal.

Agent who tracked Iowa governor's speeding SUV fired
A former Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent who encouraged troopers to pull over a speeding vehicle that contained the Iowa governor was fired Wednesday at the conclusion of a 2 1/2-month internal investigation.

Larry Hedlund, 55, said he now intends to sue the state.

"I've been treated like a criminal," Hedlund told The Des Moines Register a few hours after he learned he had been fired. "The best analogy I can give you is that they investigated me like I was a murderer, and in the process they murdered my career."

Hedlund was headed west on U.S 20 when he telephoned a state dispatcher on April 26 and asked to have troopers stop a Chevy Tahoe that he estimated to be doing "a hard 90." Troopers eventually clocked the vehicle's speed at 84 mph.
Neither Hedlund nor the responding troopers knew it was Branstad's vehicle, however, until pursuing Trooper Matt Eimers caught up with it and recognized the Tahoe as "Car 1." The vehicle, which had a license plate not listed in state computerized records, then was being driven by Trooper Steve Lawrence.

Hedlund emailed his complaint to Paulson on April 29. Several hours later, Paulson canceled a previously scheduled meeting where Hedlund expected to get "a speech" about his lack of support for DCI policy changes. A formal complaint was filed against him the next day.

The day after that, according to Hedlund, the state sent two assistant DCI directors and an Iowa State Patrol trooper to his home to tell him he was relieved of duty.

"'This is not right,'" Hedlund on Wednesday quoted one of the supervisors as saying then. "'This is not how it's done. But this is what the commissioner said to do.'"