Serving Iowans better — the case for moderation

I hear it all the time — why can't politicians work together and get things done? It took the specter of economic disaster to force bipartisan cooperation during the recent debt ceiling crisis. Unfortunately, Washington's excessive partisanship filtered down to Des Moines and has discouraged finding consensus on controversial issues.

Abortion access and gun control are two particularly divisive issues. Pro-life advocates seek to prohibit virtually all abortions while pro-choice advocates insist that "it's my body, my choice." Pro-gun advocates view the Second Amendment as preventing any infringement on the right to own and bear arms while others insist that significant restrictions are necessary to tackle increasing gun violence.

Most Iowans stand somewhere between these extremes. As an Iowa legislator, I conducted polls to determine citizens' positions on important issues. While most respondents identified as pro-life, a sizable majority supported various exceptions including rape and incest. While virtually all respondents supported the Second Amendment, a sizable majority favored universal background checks, waiting periods, and red flag laws. In other words, you can be pro-life and support reasonable restrictions and be pro-2nd Amendment and support various safety measures.

For many years, Iowa's abortion access and gun control laws reflected a moderate approach. However, there've been dramatic changes of late. A six week abortion ban was signed into law (presently under court review) and permit-less carry laws are promoted while public safety proposals to reduce gun violence are routinely rejected. Do these decisions represent the majority's will or wishes of a vocal minority?

While in the Iowa Legislature, I served with Republicans controlling both House and Senate, Democrats controlling both chambers, and split control where each party controls one chamber. The best legislation I've seen passed was under split control. Why? With split control, since bills must pass both chambers in identical form, Democrats and Republicans are forced to work together to find common ground. When either party runs the whole show, resulting legislation tends to be extreme. While extreme legislation may satisfy the party base, it often doesn't represent the wishes of a majority of Iowans. I think we're seeing that in Iowa these days. In addition to extreme abortion access and gun control legislation, the Legislature passed bills gutting collective bargaining, politicizing judicial selection, slashing DNR spending, authorizing public funds to support private schools, limiting the State Auditor's authority, and reducing local control.

The success of special interest groups in defining controversial issues as black or white has a chilling effect on legislative efforts to seek more moderate approaches. For example, a legislator with a strong pro-life record willing to consider exceptions for rape or incest could be labeled "a baby killer" (something I personally experienced) while a strong "pro-gun" legislator willing to explore red flag laws' feasibility could be NRA-targeted as anti-Second Amendment. As a result, party leaders and rank and file legislators are often wary of moderate approaches to controversial issues for fear of antagonizing powerful special interest groups.

When it comes to controversial issues, are we destined to swing from one extreme to another depending upon which party controls the Legislature? Instead of developing moderate approaches that satisfy the majority of Iowans and reduce divisiveness, will we continue to see extreme legislation that please one side and outrage the other? Isn't this an unproductive approach in a state that's approximately one-third Republican, one-third Democratic, and one-third not affiliated with a political party?

How can we break the cycle? We need a new kind of leadership in the governor's office and in the Legislature — leadership open to responsible compromises to the controversial issues of the day that would enjoy the support of a majority of Iowans and help bring people together. I know it can be done. As a freshman legislator, I watched Gov. Bob Ray bring both parties together to achieve consensus on controversial issues.

We need to bring back that cooperative spirit that has always been one of Iowa's greatest strengths.

Andy McKean is a retired attorney and college instructor and lives in Anamosa. His public service includes membership on the Iowa Public Information Board, eight years as a Jones County Supervisor, and 28 years in the Iowa Legislature where he served as president pro tem of the Iowa Senate, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Ethics Committee.