Vilsack could have told us we're not risk-takers, that we've lost our entrepreneurial hustle, that our business community is lethargic, that our schools aren't producing, that we're a boring place for many, that we're biased against minorities, gays and lesbians and people who weren't born here.
In short, there's plenty of "tough love" news to deliver to Iowans. At a time when we need to eat our peas, Vilsack served up blarney.
It begs two questions: If things are so great in Iowa, why are so many of our kids leaving? And why is our population growth below the national average?
Answer: We're not as great as we like to tell ourselves.
As an aside, I think he may be mistaken about Iowans' biases against minorites, gays and lesbians. Of course, I live in the Big City, so I can't speak for the folks who inhabit the vast stretches of cornfields and hog lots, but there seem to be fewer and fewer of those folks every year, so maybe the Big City really does speak for the majority of Iowans. But from what I can gather, Iowans actually welcome and even recruit minorities to the state, particularly through refugee sponsorship programs like Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities. We have loads of folks here from every country in Africa, the Middle East, Central & South America and Asia -- not to mention the numbers of Bosnians. I stood in line at the post office once and literally was within earshot of SEVEN different languages being spoken. People in Iowa were at the forefront of the international adoption arena, and many of the earliest international adoptees were Korean Amerasian children being adopted by Iowans in small towns.
As for the GLBT angle, well, the Iowa State Flag has written on it, "Our Liberties We Prize, And Our Rights We Will Maintain." I've lived here for nine years, and if there's one thing I've noticed about Iowans, it's that there's a general climate of tolerance and live-and-let-live-ness. You don't bother me with your business, and I won't bother you. I'm sure there are bitter folks who feel the need to be nasty to someone because of their choice of bedroom partner, but from what I have experienced, it isn't the norm. I may not swing that way, but if you do, that's none of my nevermind. Common sense is prized, as is an attitude of "Keep it to yourself."
As for those not born here, there is a touch of prejudice there, but not enough to prevent a majority of Iowans for voting for New York native Tom Vilsack for governor for TWO terms.
Yepsen isn't one of my particular favorites at the Register. I can't say I really have a favorite editorialist there, since they're all just varying degrees of left. I do think, however, that he has a few things right about the governor.
Something I've noticed about our "trial-lawyer governor" is that he is the master of flying below radar. He's learned to be as inconspicuous and innocuous as possible. It's why he got re-elected, believe me. He didn't distinguish himself that much during his first four years... in fact, he seemed to try to stay as out-of-the-spotlight as he could. Forget legacy-building, let's just sit here and be as engaging a public speaker as we can possibly be, but do as little as possible. Hey, it seems to have worked -- he kept his job and got re-elected.
Anyway, I thought Yepsen's piece was definitely on the cutting side, particularly from the fawningly liberal Register and its gaggle of sinecured sycophants. He seems to be most bothered by Vilsack's style-over-substance method. Heck, let's quibble over the carpet color in the stateroom of the Titanic, shall we?
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