As the end of this year’s session of the Iowa General Assembly draws near tempers are beginning to flare at the statehouse. This is especially so when the legislation being debated is controversial, such as the Governor’s bonding proposal known as I-Jobs. A portion of this bonding proposal was voted upon in the Iowa Senate this afternoon, and ultimately it was passed by a vote of 30-18.

It has been pointed out time and time again that the Governors I-Jobs proposal would unnecessarily hamper future generations of Iowan’s. During the Senate debate this afternoon Senator Steve Kettering from Lake View reiterated the concerns that many Iowan’s have voiced over the last several weeks. “This year’s college freshman class will be 50 years old when all these bonds are finally paid.” Unfortunately that was not enough to sway the Democrats that voted to approve the bonding plan. Senator Randy Feenstra made a heartfelt plea to the Democrats with the following statement, “With this bill you are handcuffing us for 26 years.”

Of course no debate in the Iowa Senate could possibly be complete without Senator Gronstal voicing his opinion on things. Of the many assertions that he made was one in which he and his Democratic colleagues believe that Iowa has a bright future. To this I say that prior to the passage of this ill advised piece of legislation I thought that Iowa did indeed have a bright future, but that all changed when the Democrats decided to ransom our states future for their own self gratification.

The most asinine comment of that I am aware of is the comment made by Senator Dennis Black from Grinnell. He was responding to the claim that it would be our children that would be paying for the Democrats folly. Black’s assertion was that it would be gamblers that pay for the borrowed money. Really Senator Black, do you think that people with children don’t gamble? Do you think that all people give up their vices when the children arrive? Don’t count on it; most often it is the children that are the real victims of gambling.

The arrogance displayed by both Chet Culver and Mike Gronstal is astounding. Despite the public outcry against I-Jobs, these two Democrats have proceeded to railroad their disastrous plan through the Iowa General Assembly without regard to the consequences. It is evident from their actions and their comments that the Democratic leadership is clearly practicing the politics of arrogance.