Iowa’s steady speaker will be missed

At a time when our politics seems more like a circus, with politicians outdoing one another with outrageous statements and stunts, it's tough to lose the steady presence of Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen.

Paulsen, a Republican from Hiawatha, announced on Wednesday that he's stepping down from the speaker's rostrum in January and will not seek re-election in 2016. His decision caught us by surprise. But it doesn't surprise us that Paulsen's announcement prompted Iowa leaders on both sides of the political aisle to praise Paulsen's leadership and ability to get things done.

'I have always had a deep respect for Kraig Paulsen,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said in a statement. 'While we have had our partisan differences, we have done our level best to work those out with each other.”

Paulsen has been speaker since 2011, placing him among the longest-serving GOP speakers in history. During that time, he's managed to temper some of the more extreme partisan impulses of his own Republican caucus while also finding ways to work with Democrats, who control the Senate. That's no easy task, and look no further than the U.S. Congress for fresh evidence.

Paulsen's tenure has seen major, bipartisan actions on reforming Iowa's mental health system, expanding Medicaid health coverage, cutting commercial property taxes and changing the way Iowa trains its teachers. Although we've occasionally found some devils in the details of those initiatives, we still admire Paulsen's ability to forge compromises when gridlock is an easier path.

It hasn't always been a smooth road. Multiple legislative sessions stretched weeks into overtime amid sharp partisan disagreements. Paulsen had to use some very questionable procedural maneuvering to get a 10-cent gas tax increase passed earlier this year. In recent years, when Paulsen's House signed on to hard-won compromises on water quality funding, education aid, university support and other issues, they were hit with blindside vetoes by Gov. Terry Branstad. The House's stubborn reluctance to provide adequate, timely school funding leaves a bad taste that will linger into 2016.

But herding the House is a difficult task, and Paulsen did it with skill and humility. He's earned the right to exit on his own terms. We hope House Republicans follow Paulsen's steady example as they pick the next speaker.

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