ChetChase 2010 - The Week

Iowa's race for governor, May Day! May Day!

Praising Arizona-- Republican candidate for Gov. Bob Vander Plaats is a big fan of Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigration. So much so, that he vows to bring a similar law to Iowa if he wins.

He sent out this news release Friday:

VANDER PLAATS ON MICKELSON: I WOULD NOT ONLY SUPPORT BUT PROPOSE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW BASED ON ARIZONA MODEL

DES MOINES – Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats said this morning that he would propose legislation based on a new Arizona Iaw that makes it a crime to be in the country illegally because Iowa must “put some teeth behind” its enforcement of immigration laws.

Arizona's law, which is the toughest in the nation, makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally and requires local police to enforce federal immigration laws. It also requires anyone whom police suspect of being in the country illegally to produce an alien registration document, such as a green card or other proof of citizenship, such as a passport or a state driver's license.

“Not only will I support Gov. Joy Brewer's plan but I will pursue similar legislation in Iowa,” Vander Plaats said during an interview on WHO Radio's Jan Mickelson Show. “What Arizona is doing is not just a reflection of what Arizonans feel but what Iowans feel, too. The federal government has proven inept and has shown no interest in dealing with the issue. It's time for states to step up.”

Vander Plaats noted that Gov. Chet Culver's actions are not commensurate with his rhetoric.

“Governor Culver is right when he says illegal is illegal, but we have to put some teeth behind it. He said we need to enforce current laws on the books but his administration is not doing that,” he said. “It began with his predecessor and he has continued the practice where they don't refer to ‘illegal aliens' but instead call them ‘undocumented immigrants.' They are here illegally.”

For that reason, Vander Plaats said, he favors determining if an individual is in the country illegally if reasonable cause for suspicion exists.

“I'm not sure why we'd say let's let them commit some other crime before we hold them accountable for being here illegally,” he said. “You also have to dry up the reason for them to be here in the first place: people that knowingly hire illegal workers.”

Vander Plaats is less clear about that last part, drying up the reason for hiring illegal workers.

Republicans, traditionally, have been reluctant to go after businesses, opting instead to focus their ire on scary illegals. How exactly the Arizona law breaks the cycle of immigrants eager to take big risks for a better life and businesses eager to hire cheap labor is a mystery to me.

There are also choices involved that Vander Plaats and other AZ backers don't explain. For example, Vander Plaats has advocated having the state take over a bigger share of county mental health funding to help cut property taxes. But what will happen to property taxes if local law enforcement has to beef up to enforce immigration laws? And what will it cost the state to catch, prosecute and jail illegal immigrants?

Alas, the first casualty of politics is usually detail. You can't let those questions get in the way of a good, tough-on-illegals narrative.

But I'm with Vander Plaats. I think this could be a really useful law. Especially if it's focused correctly.

I'd start with the Dutch.

In a matter of days, two Iowa communities, Pella and Orange City, will be filled with people in odd costumes, displaying strange customs and, in some cases, speaking in foreign tongues.

Something smells, folks, and it's not fried bologna.

It's entirely possible that sneaky, illegal Dutch immigrants may be tiptoeing among our tulips, hoping to blend in and no doubt inflict their permissive brand of Euro-socialism on unsuspecting small town folk.

I think Iowa  law officers need to check out these so-called festivals and start checking IDs. If the feds aren't going to do it, somebody has to make sure the (Dutch) letter of the law is followed and enforced.

You can hide, but you can't run, Dutch. Mostly because you're wearing those wooden shoes.

Going to the Candidates' Debate -- The second debate between three Republicans running for governor is Saturday here in Cedar Rapids. The forum, sponsored by the Iowa Broadcast News Association, goes from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Cedar Rapids Marriott on Collins Road.

Amazingly, I'm on the panel, along with Iowa Public Radio's Jeneane Beck and Iowa Public Television's Paul Yeager. Bob Fisher, news director at KGLO radio in Mason City is the moderator.

The debate will be televised liev on IPTV's World channel, on IPTV's website and on the IBNA's website. It will air on IPTV at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Several radio stations, including 600 WMT in Cedar Rapids, will carry the debate live.

The June 8 primary is just 40 days away. Will the pressure lead to tense exchanges? Will Terry Branstad give as good as he's sure to get? Will I make a career-ending gaffe? Tune in.

The Mating Game --  You know your primary campaign is on the right track when scribes wonder who your general election running mate will be. Just cuddle up in that nice, soft aura of inevitability, TEB.

From James Q. Lynch of Covering Iowa Politics/The Gazette:

Branstad, 63, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, isn't naming names, but clearly has some people in mind – including some Eastern Iowans.

He's pretty sure his running mate will be young – or at least younger than he is, Branstad said April 28 while traveling Interstate 380 between Cedar Rapids and Coralville.

“But you have to remember, I was 31 when I was elected lieutenant governor,” Branstad said aboard the soy diesel-powered Winnebago recreational vehicle that serves as his mobile campaign headquarters. Whoever he selects will meet the Iowa Constitution requirement of being at least 30.

Bleeding Heartland also speculates on the possibilities.

So, younger and sufficiently conservative. Let's see.

Well, we know for sure that Joy Corning and Doug Gross are out. Getting booed off the stage at the state convention is no way to start a fall campaign.

 He could pull a stunner and pick the Iowa Family Policy Center's Danny Carroll, who would become the first running mate in Iowa history to campaign against the top of his ticket.

OK, I'm only joking. But seriously, I don't give a fig.

Lieutenant governor is really not a job anyone should want, especially if you're working for Branstad. Corning, his last running mate, worked out of a basement office/closet and was not exactly a big player in the administration. When she briefly ran for governor in 1998, Branstad didn't support her.

I doubt that model will change much if he gets a fifth term.

I suppose there's always someone sufficiently ambitious that will take the job and hope it's a stepping stone, like it was for Branstad. But Branstad was second fiddle back when you had to run solo to win a statewide election.

Vilsack's mate, Sally Pederson probably could have run a decent campaign for the top job but decided against it. Vilsack actually gave her important stuff to do, and his time in office was viewed favorably, so her position was better.

Some lefty Democrats actually want to dump Lt. Gov. Patty Judge from Culver's 2010 ticket. But can you imagine anyone else wanting that slot right now? Wanted, a first mate for the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Its all fun and games for us political crackpots, but voters will only care if a nominee picks a real stinker.

And as for Branstad's aura, I haven't seen a public primary poll to back it up.