Dictating the Agenda is Nothing new

Today's print column

DES MOINES - It looks like the “dictator” isn't budging.

Being a legislative majority leader “doesn't mean you're a dictator,” complained incoming Gov. Terry Branstad on Monday morning. He was referring to Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, who says he will not allow debate on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Branstad favors a ban.

“Dictators are people who make efforts to take other people's rights. I'm not going down that road,” Gronstal shot back an hour later. His swift answer to the frequent question was so predictable that his Republican counterparts seated next to him didn't even bother to question it.

But let's be honest. Majority leaders are dictators in the purest sense. They dictate - the agenda, the schedule, you name it. Nothing much happens in the Legislature without their OK. I've heard them compared to traffic cops. But I have yet to see a traffic cop direct cars off a cliff.

I oppose the measure Gronstal's blocking. But that doesn't mean I'm entirely comfortable with so much power being in so few hands. I also think Iowa's governors have too much power, but that's another column.

But don't suggest to me that Gronstal's block is somehow an unprecedented power grab. This is not new. I've seen too many bills tossed into the abyss over the years to buy that.

When Republicans ran the Legislature, a minimum-wage increase didn't see the light of day, despite broad public support. House GOP leaders repeatedly blocked legislation to crack down on car title loan sharks, despite clear, bipartisan Senate support. Insurance coverage parity for mental illnesses languished for years, as did extending even the most basic civil rights to gays and lesbians.

Nearly every year, reporters would troop to the outdoor Senate balcony to watch then-Majority Leader Stew Iverson explain, while puffing away, why a public smoking ban would not be debated. A cigarette tax increase met the same fate multiple times. Iowans supported both.

Gronstal blocked a death penalty debate in 2006, but Republicans also shelved it in 1998 when they didn't have the votes to pass it. Medical marijuana, popular according to polls, will not get debated this year. If you hope to see a motorcycle helmet mandate, I hope you're taking care of yourself. You'll need to live a very long life.

Sometimes leaders block stuff to shield skittish party members from a tough vote. Sometimes they personally oppose it, or it doesn't fit the philosophy of the party and its allies. In the case of the marriage amendment, it's all three. Leaders serve at the pleasure of those they lead, that's why they take bullets on stuff like this.

That's also why legislative control is so important. Marriage equity foes picked off the justices, but the “dictator” remains unmoved.

Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@sourcemedia.net