Branstad Admits he has No Plan to Fix State Budget
Last week, Terry Branstad met with a small group of prominent conservative activists and one of the attendees posted an audio recording of the discussion on a blog.
At one point, Branstad was asked a very direct question about how he would govern the state if elected:
MODERATOR: I guess the first thing that I would ask is, do you have a specific plan that you have prepared on how to fix or repair state government? And if so, where can we find that.
BRANSTAD: Ok, well I don’t.
Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan Kiernan said Branstad’s answer reaffirms what Iowans have known for some time – Terry Branstad is more concerned about being governor than governing effectively.
"While Governor Culver has balanced the state budget without raising taxes, Branstad raised the sales tax, the gas tax, and the business tax," Kiernan said. "Rather than developing his own ideas on how to confront the challenges facing Iowa, Branstad created commissions to avoid making tough decisions"
After living through Branstad’s 16 years as governor, Iowans know better than to believe he will offer new ideas in 2010. Branstad will simply return our state to the failed policies of the past.
The full transcript of the interview can be found here.