Giddy ol' party: Iowa Republicans happy with state GOP, still support Trump

BOONE, Iowa — One honeymoon is not yet over.

Another is just beginning.

These are heady times for Republicans in Iowa, with their party in complete lawmaking control at both the federal and state levels.

Their GOP's new president, Donald Trump, has delivered a conservative justice to the U.S. Supreme Court and rescinded some of the regulations implemented under the previous, Democratic administration.

Their newly structured Iowa Statehouse delivered significant changes to state laws regarding abortion and public employee collective bargaining. And their new governor, Kim Reynolds, has taken the reins from her predecessor and gets a running start at next year's election.

Thousands of Iowa Republicans gathered at big-ticket fundraisers on consecutive days this past weekend. Conversations with dozens of the attendees revealed they are optimistic about their new governor and GOP majority in the Iowa Legislature, and they remain ardently supportive of Trump.

'The Republican Party is in a very good place,' Martin Graber, who lives in Fort Madison and chairs the Lee County Republicans, said at one of the events.

About 1,300 people attended a black-tie-optional celebration of Reynolds' recent swearing-in on Friday evening at a hotel ballroom in Des Moines' East Village. The next afternoon, under a blazing sun at the Central Iowa Expo near Boone, another thousand-plus showed up at GOP U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's third annual Roast and Ride fundraiser, which included a visit from Vice President Mike Pence.

At both events, Iowa Republicans stated unwavering support for the party.

Although large crowds flooded the Iowa Capitol at times during this year's session to express dissatisfaction with some of those Republican-led changes — particularly regarding collective bargaining — Republican voters at the weekend events said they remain supportive of the party's agenda.

Trump's young tenure has at times been rocky and his approval rating in national public opinion polls is low, but Iowa Republicans remain in the president's corner.

'If you go back and look at what he promised he was going to do, he's doing that, in my opinion. He's being obviously hampered just a little bit by some of the establishment in Washington,' said Graber, who attended the Roast and Ride wearing a red, white and blue shirt. 'When it's all said and done, I think he will deal with the American people and get done what needs to get done.'

Big support for Trump-Pence

The support for Trump and Pence was palpable at the Roast and Ride. Pence, a motorcycle rider, did not participate on the 49-mile ride, the proceeds from which benefited a veterans charity, but he did hop on a Harley to make a short ride and entrance to the event stage.

Trump-Pence T-shirts were everywhere, and interviews with many attendees yielded few cross words for the administration.

Trump's approval rating average to start the week was nearly 15 points under water: His average approval rating in major public opinion polls was 39.7 percent and his disapproval rating 54.4 percent.

But at those events in Iowa over the weekend, Trump's popularity remained as high as Saturday's scorching temperatures.

'When I heard (Pence) was coming, that's when I bought my ticket,' said Cathy Clark of Grimes, wearing her Trump-Pence T-shirt. 'I want to see them keep moving forward, if we can, with some of the things that Trump wants to do. I just love it. ... I'm really impressed with what they're doing.'

Clark said immigration policy was a key motivator in her 2016 vote for Trump, and she hopes the federal courts clear the way for Trump to implement his executive order restricting travel from several Muslim-majority countries. Trump says the travel ban is needed to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S.; opponents say it equates to a religious ban.

'I would like to see the courts decide that it's OK to keep those people out of those five countries,' Clark said. 'I'm glad that they're sending people back. Why do we want murderers and rapists here? Why? I don't understand that, why people are so upset about that. I want to keep my grandkids safe and my son and my kids.'

Clark said she also would like to see Trump and the Republican Congress tackle tax reform.

'My biggest thing is that they take hordes of money out of my check every month,' she said. 'And I would just, I would love to see a 15 percent tax or something that they're not just gouging some people.'

But before the federal government can cut taxes, it must repeal the health care policies implemented under Democratic President Barack Obama, said Rod Ballard of Grimes.

It must have been sweet music to Ballard's ears, then, when moments later, Pence spent a good chunk of his address encouraging the GOP Congress to complete a health care reform bill and send it to the president.

'The government's got no damn business being in the health insurance business,' Ballard said. 'We're not saying take the safety net away, which is what the left-wing media wants people that are uneducated people to believe.'

Draining the swamp

Trump has not yet been able to deliver on the travel ban, health care reform or the wall along the southern border to curtail illegal immigrants from Mexico, but that is more Congress' fault — both Democrats and Republicans — than Trump's, people at the Roast and Ride said.

'He's running into problems with the Democrats being obstructionists. I guess they don't have the country at heart. I guess they really don't care about us. That's why we voted the way we did. That's why Trump's where he's at, to drain the swamp,' said Leonard Wallace of Des Moines. 'He just needs to clean house and drain the swamp.'

Wallace said he still supports the agenda Trump laid out on the campaign trail.

'Everything on the laundry list that President Trump said, that's why we voted for him,' he said. 'There's so much that needs to be done, and he had the list. So let's go for it.'

Even Trump's budget, which has been criticized for its dramatic spending reductions, was met with approval at the Roast and Ride.

Wearing his red 'Make America Great Again' hat, Charles Betz, a self-described Libertarian from Tama, said because his biggest concern is the national debt, he approves of Trump's budget proposal. In fact, Betz said he was surprised to see spending increases in any department; military spending received a boost under Trump's proposal.

'The budget thing that came out last week was some pretty drastic cuts,' Betz said. 'But my biggest issue the last few years has been our obscene debt, $20 trillion. Somebody's got to do something, and I think it's going to have to be something drastic. So I'm in support of (Trump's budget) even though some of them are pretty extreme.'

Republican state lawmakers did not have the same trouble as their congressional counterparts. This year's session of the Iowa Legislature produced significant conservative reforms, some of which were met with public backlash that manifested itself at Capitol protests and intense public forums.

But Republicans at the pair of fundraisers said they approve of the GOP-led changes.

And they were unblinking in their confidence in Reynolds, the new governor who served as former Gov. Terry Branstad's lieutenant since 2011.

'I think she's going to do a great job,' said Dan Shields of Johnston. 'I really am very confident. No qualms whatsoever about her capabilities.'

Trump was scheduled to hold a rally on Thursday in Cedar Rapids, but that event was postponed. Trump's campaign team said the president will return to Iowa at a date to be determined in mid-June.

When he does, if this past weekend is an indicator, Trump can expect a welcoming crowd.