Quacks may be forming in Kim Reynolds’ clout

Gov. Kim Reynolds once declared Iowans know the difference between “boys and girls.”

But can we identify a lame duck?

Technically, the lame duck label applies to politicians serving between the election of a successor and when a new governor is sworn in.

Reynolds has 16 months left in her term. She announced earlier this year that she would not run for re-election. It was inevitable her influence would wane. But there already are signs Reynolds’ iron grip isn’t as grippy, especially under the Golden Dome of Wisdom, now redder than Iowa State cardinal.

(The governor was scheduled to be in Ireland for Saturday’s Cyclone game. So, the job still has its rewards. Maybe she’ll be the next president of Iowa State. Who knows?)

Speaking of blindside blocks, the governor’s standing with legislative Republicans, especially in the House, was sacked by her decision to veto a hard-fought bill intended to make it tougher for the state to seize private land for hazardous liquid pipelines.

It was approved amid public outcry over the use of eminent domain to take land along the route of Summit Carbon Solutions’ liquid carbon pipeline. It would carry carbon spewed by ethanol plants to underground storage, making corn gas look like a more marketable low-carbon fuel.

Anyone who truly expected Reynolds to sign the bill failed to acknowledge the pipeline scheme will benefit many Friends of Kim, or FOK. With billions in federal tax credits at stake, Reynolds picked ethanol over the people of Iowa. For her, it was an easy call.

Throughout her time at the helm, Reynolds has rewarded wealthy FOKs while screwing over decidedly unwealthy Iowans. So many of her pals have benefited, it makes you wonder if the governor has any more FOKs left to give her political largesse.

But some House Republicans were displeased with the veto.

“I didn’t think it was possible for her to make a bigger mistake than lying to Donald Trump about the caucus endorsement, but clearly this is her ‘Hold my beer’ moment,” Bobby Kaufmann said, recalling Reynolds’ pledge of caucus neutrality ended when she endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president. Kaufmann stuck with Trump.

“I vow to work to kill every single piece of legislation that has her name on it. Her days of legislating, as far as I’m personally concerned, are over,” Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann told Radio Iowa Reynolds is “Bruce Rastetter’s errand girl.” Rastetter, a generous Republican donor, founded Summit Carbon Solutions as part of his big ag empire.

Kaufmann was punished severely for his insolence. House Republicans elected him to be the next House majority leader. That will show him.

Kaufmann does not sound like he’s in the mood for guiding the governor’s final policy agenda to passage in the House. It was House GOP members who Reynolds targeted for primary challenges when representatives failed to pass her private school scholarship plan.

Perhaps, in her twilight days as grand pooh-bah, the House GOP will return the favor.

There have been other signs.

Republicans in the House and Senate have flatly rejected taking any action to transform IPERS, the public employee pension system, into a 401(k). That’s an idea floated by the Iowa DOGE Task Force, which Reynolds appointed to find efficiencies in state government.

“The ideas discussed in these meetings are not bills or legislative proposals, they are just simply ideas. … There is not a legislative proposal, and anyone saying major changes are happening to public retirement systems are … spreading misinformation and misleading Iowans,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver in a statement.

It does not bode well for other task force recommendations.

Reynolds has been the chief crusader against the civil rights of transgender Iowans. She loomed large over school districts that dared support transgender students.

And yet, districts such as Linn-Mar in Marion and Iowa City schools have decided to keep antidiscrimination rules that still include “gender identity.”

Maybe the governor seems less scary.

Don’t get me wrong, Reynolds will surely come up with some awful ideas Republicans will love. It will be just like old times.

But soon, attention will shift from the governor to the 2026 campaign for governor.

Republican Adam Steen, former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, jumped into the race this past week. He’s a big Reynolds fan.

“Gov. Reynolds is the greatest governor in the history of Iowa,” Steen said. “I’m a guy that’s excited to honor that legacy and carry forward a bold, winning attitude.”

Is he talking about Bruce Rastetter’s “errand girl?” I was distracted by the quacking.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com