Radio Iowa

Everyone's a comedian

The 2008 Iowa legislature session may end, soon, but until that gavel falls to mark the conclusion of its work, there are long hours and short tempers under the statehouse dome.  There are also a few guffaws.

Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, urged his colleagues just before midnight to quickly vote for a huge bill that divies up millions for infrastructure projects (including a quarter of a billion dollar prison expansion/modernization plan).  It is "starting to feel like Katrina" around here, McCoy said to his senate colleagues, suggesting it's time to vote and vacate the building. 

About half an hour earlier as I sat in the Iowa House of Representatives, there was a long delay in debate. A Democratic legislator was trying to find the "official copy" of the bill he was supposed to be leading debate on, and one lawmaker was heard to exclaim: "Let's get this pork on the road."  A Republican lawmaker, for sure, suggesting the bills at session's end are laden with pork.  Cash cows, if you will.

"I was born for this kind of work"

As mentioned in a post from earlier this week, legislators who are retiring are giving their farewell speeches this week.  Senator Mike Connolly, a Democrat from Dubuque, is not seeking re-election after serving 30 years in the Iowa House, then the Senate.  He was most famous for his fiery floor speeches full of finger-pointing which often included this line:  "You know and I know it and the people of Iowa know it."

Here's a two-minute long portion of Connolly's goodbye speech in which he told his colleagues: "I was born for this kind of work...This is a beautiful process and it's a beautiful thing to have been a part of it."

Representative Phil Wise, a Democrat from Keokuk, was first elected to the Iowa House in 1986.  Wise delivered a "top 10" list to colleagues during his retirement speech.  "Learn to watch the chamber when you're speaking and watch press row," Wise advised.  "If no one's listening, sit down." 

This was his number one: "As a member of a co-equal branch of government don't worry so much about what the governor thinks, even if he's from your own party."  Reminder:  Wise is a Democrat.  So is current Governor Chet Culver.

So long. Farewell.

As the 2008 Iowa legislative session runs nears its conclusion, lawmakers who are "retiring" (not seeking re-election) are given a chance to give speeches.  In the House, those making such voluntary exits are given an opportunity to stand at their desk on the House floor and speak to their colleagues. Representative Clarence Hoffman, a Republican from Denison, was the first to speak last week and Hoffman concluded by telling his colleagues he was a glass half full kind of guy and he was leaving it to those who'll serve in the 2009 legislature to tackle getting that glass full.  . 

In the Senate, other senators get up to say (almost always) nice things about the soon-to-be-ex senator and then the senator gets to speak.  Senator Mary Lundby, a Republican from Marion, is not seeking re-election after 22 years in the Iowa House & Senate.  She's running for the Linn County Board of Supervisors.  Lundby helped orchestrate the GOP take-over of the Iowa House back in the day. Several senators got up to laud her earlier this afternoon; a few joked about her whistling; then Lundy was given her chance to speak and she didn't take long.  "Thanks for the memories.  I had a great time," Lundby said. 

Governor felt the earthquake

Governor Chet Culver signed a couple of bills into law today in public ceremonies.  After the second one, Culver told reporters he felt this morning's earthquake (Radio Iowa story with audio).

How many state employees are there?

I wrote a story earlier today about a question posed during Iowa Press on IPTV to House Appropriations Committee chair Jo Oldson & Senate Approriations Committee chair Bob Dvorsky.  "How many state employees are there?" I asked.

"Several thousand," Oldson said.  Dvorsky guessed 140,000 to 150,000.  According to a document found this morning in the Legislative Services Agency fact book, the number is closer to 48,000.  A cross-check with the Iowa Department of Administrative Services confirmed that number.

This afternoon, the Department of Administrative Services sent an update.  There are 24,397 full-time, part-time or tempoary State of Iowa employees.  There are 44,186 employees working for the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa (the three, state-supported universities) and the state's "special schools" for blind and deaf students, but only 16,372 of those employees are paid out of the state's general fund.  So, add 16,372 and 24,397 and you get 40,769.

Moments later, this came to me unsolicited, via email, from House Republican Leader Christopher Rants' office:  "Iowa has 41,582 full-time employees and 24,131 part-time employees.  This extrapolates to 53,258 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.  That puts Iowa 8th overall in comparison to the other states."

A chat with the "father" of the "super delegates"

This afternoon I had a conversation with Charles Manatt, the "godfather" of the Democratic Party's "super delegates."  Click here to listen to the conversation .  The mp3 runs about nine minutes.  (UPDATE at 4:30 p.m.:  A transcript of the conversation is below.)

Manatt is a native of Audubon, Iowa, and a 1958 graduate of Iowa State University.  He got a law degree from George Washington University in 1962. He's back on the Ames campus today and tomorrow he'll be given one of the university's "Distinguished Alumni" awards.

From 1981 to '85, Manatt was chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In 1983 he founded the system of "unpledged delegates" (he does not call them "super" delegates).  Manatt was co-chair of the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign and in 1999 President Clinton appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic.  In 1965, Manatt founded the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

Eating while you work

I know the old Disney song is about whistling while you work, but House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City not only ate while he worked yesterday, he ate while he talked on the House floor. 

Here's a two-and-a-half minut3 mp3 that starts with Rants, then you hear his bag of popcorn rustling.  The other voices in this snippet are those of Representative Mark Kuhn, a Democrat from Charles City, and Representative John Whitaker, a Democrat from Hillsboro who was acting as temporary Speaker of the House at the time.

The amendment Rants proposed was approved, by the way.

Potty mouth senate

Senator Larry McKibben, a Republican from Marshalltown, is not seeking re-election, so perhaps that's why he felt free enough to call the anti-smoking bill being debated this afternoon in the Iowa Senate "crap."  He also uttered the phrase "to hell with" on a few occasions.  I don't think there's a connection, but McKibben also admitted he enjoyed "adult beverages" earlier in his remarks.

UPDATE:  The Senate started this debate at 3:47 p.m. and it's now 5:30 p.m.  Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, had pushed the button on his desk, indicating he wanted to speak during the debate and his request was put in the cue.  When Senate President Jack Kibbie called upon Bolkcom, however, he wasn't at his desk.  "I had to take a break," Bolkcom told his colleagues once he arrived behind the microphone on his desk, "but I heard everything in the men's restroom."  There was laughter.

Another flare-up over labor bill

There was a terse exchange today at the statehouse as the Senate's Republican leader tried to force action on a controversial labor bill. The legislation would expand the subjects public employees can explore during union contract negotiations. The bill has passed the Iowa House and Senate, but Governor Culver raised concerns just before it was approved by the Senate, so the top Democrat in the Senate used a parliamentary procedure to essentially table the legislation.

Senate Republican Leader Ron Wieck of Sioux City tried today to lift that hold and questioned Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. 

"Reserving my right to object, would Senator Gronstal please yield?" Wieck said, in the formal fashion of the senate in which the word "yield" essentially means answer a question or series of questions.. 

"Would the senator yield?" Senator Jeff Danielson asked, as Danielson was acting as the president of the senate.

"I would be happy to," Gronstal replied, again, in the custom of the senate.

"I'm just curious, your deferring," Wieck began, a reference to Gronstal using the parliamentary move of deferral of Wieck's motion to suspend action on the bill.

"The bill is not debatable.  It's not amendable.  Can you help this body ("body" to these guys means the senate) with why you would defer, why we wouldn't either send the bill down to the governor or send it to a committee to have some light shed on the process that, obviously, was not shed before?" Wieck asked.

"Well, apparently Senator Wieck you haven't had an opportunity to review the legislation even though it's been in front of you for about three weeks, but understanding that, at this point, I appreciate the fact you're curious and as far as I'm concerned you can stay curious," Gronstal replied.

"Wow.  Well, senator, you know, thank you for yielding," Wieck said.  On my recording of senate audio, you can hear Gronstal laugh just before his microphone is shut off. 

"You know I hope that in my time in the Iowa Legislature that I never respond to the leader of the other side of the aisle that way," Wieck continued.  "I don't think I've ever seen that before, but I think the people of Iowa really have a right to have something move on this bill and I believe that this is nothing but a stall tactic on it and the reality is that the taxpayers of Iowa and the people of Iowa ought to have a right to know what's happening with this piece of legislation and I would once again call on Senator Gronstal to allow this legislation to either pass forward to the governor or to send it back to committee so that the bill can be worked on. Thank you."

"Thank you" in that context is sort of like "stop" when dictating a telegram.  It means the end, as in Wieck stopped talking after saying those two words.

Harkin: Carville's an entertainer & Bill should "chill"

Senator Tom Harkin held a weekly conference call with reporters this morning.  Mike Meyers of the Cedar Rapids Gazette asked about James Carville, the former aide to Bill Clinton.  The "jist" of the question was whether Harkin believed Carville to be an unofficial spokesman for Bill & Hillary Clinton when Carville accused former Clinton Administration official Bill Richardson of being a "Judas" by endorsing Barack Obama.

"As long as I've known Carville, he is the most uncontrollable person I've ever met in my life," Harkin said, laughing.  Meyers didn't hear one of the words Harkin said and asked for clarification.

"Carville shoots off all the time, you know, and let's face it.  What's Carville's business?  His business is giving speeches and writing books and the more provocative he is, the more he's in demand.  It's just like Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh. I mean, you put him in with all of those and so he loves to be provocative, loves to say things like that so take that for what it's worth, but I've never heard that come out of Clinton," Harkin said.

Meyers asked about Bill Clinton's behavior on the campaign trail, specifically the reported "meltdown" in a private meeting with super delegates in California. "Is (Bill Clinton) doing more harm than good for Senator Clinton's campaign?" Meyers asked.

"I'm not going to judge that, Mike," Harkin replied.  "I did say before he ought to chill out a little bit and from what I've seen I think he has, but again this recent thing in California, I don't know."

Meyers started to follow-up, but Harkin continued.  "I'd just as soon not get drawn into that, you know," Harkin said.  "I think the campaigns ought to stick to their issues.  I think it's very good, like I said earlier, I don't think this is hurting my party as long as it doesn't get real personal."

Harkin's wife, Ruth, backed Hillary Clinton and campaigned on her behalf in Iowa before the Caucuses.  Harkin is one of those "super delegates" and he has not endorsed a candidate.

UPDATE after jump, with audio.