Dove-hunting bill’s passage underhanded

Iowans got a real taste of banana republic politics with the “passage” of the dove hunting bill. A missed funnel, a 3-minute/one-person Senate debate, a next-day total bill “substitution” in the House, with Gov. Branstad in the chamber, egging them on.

Clearly, some big deals were cut. The deals involved people from both parties. The public has no idea who got what, for what, or why.

Mostly, the Iowa Legislature made sure that the public (a public which opposes dove hunting by an almost 3-to-1 margin) was completely cut out of the process. So much for democracy.

Gov. Branstad, to excuse himself, said that he'd never received more “hate mail” than on this issue. What he really meant was criticism, since he apparently views anyone who disagrees with him as hateful.

And where is all that “transparency” our governor promised us?

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, to excuse himself, said “there was no reason to drag ourselves down for a weeklong discussion for something we have the support to do.” (Less than 48 hours earlier, Paulsen denied that Republicans had even “talked about” the issue!).

But why hear the people, when the deal's been cut?

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, to excuse himself, admitted the House process was crooked, but hey, “We don't sit in judgment of their process.” Gronstal has his own deals to worry about.

Bottom line: This stinks as bad as anything the Iowa Legislature and a sitting governor have ever done.

Jim Walters

Iowa City