By State Senator Paul McKinley – Iowa Senate Republican Leader
Things are about to change in Iowa – and there is real reason for optimism again.
The message delivered by the electorate last Tuesday was a resounding rejection of the current failed status quo.
Voters in Iowa and beyond said enough to the unbridled and irresponsible spending, astronomical levels of generational debt, higher taxes, government control of health care and policies leading to unacceptable levels of unemployment.
Simply stated, Iowans thumbed their noses at bigger and more intrusive government that is unresponsive and out-of-touch.
Instead, candidates who campaigned on conservative principles of less spending, lower taxes, private sector job creation and a renewal of the notion that it Iowans who run government and not the other way around – were highly successful.
As is the case with every election – there are winners and losers and there are consequences.
Come January, Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds will take office along with a brand new Iowa General Assembly. Republicans took control of the Iowa House and will hold 60 seats while the Senate will be far more evenly divided with an anticipated 24 Republicans and 26 Democrats.
With this new Republican leadership in place, the days of record sized budgets, massive debt, job-killing union boss legislation and constantly higher property taxes will be coming to an end.
In it’s place, Governor Branstad and legislative Republicans will work together with willing Democrats to lead Iowa’s economic comeback.
Iowans said that it is time to get back to the priorities they care about like job creation, responsible budgets that reflect our priorities, lower taxes and an opportunity to vote on the basic definition of marriage.
With victory comes responsibility to lead and Republicans will work hard to deliver.
However, make no mistake, turning this state around will not happen overnight.
Progress may not come as quickly as we would like but we will work tirelessly day after day to ensure we head forward on a path of promise and prosperity.
Iowa is filled with unique and wonderful people who genuinely want what is best for their communities, schools, families and neighbors.
As President Reagan famously said, “There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” I firmly believe that when we all work together, there is little that hard working Iowans cannot achieve.
Turning this state around will require not only the right leadership in government but an engaged, active and eager public willing to hold their elected officials accountable and take steps forward in their own neighborhoods and communities.
The vast amount of potential that exists for Iowa and her people – in all 99 counties – is literally limitless. It’s time we give it our all. The generations of Iowans yet to come are counting on us to get it right.