As the culture war wages, Iowa’s real problems are being ignored

Iowa is proving one party government has a cost.

In the seven years since taking control of the House, Senate and governorship, Iowa Republicans have passed too few substantive policies that improve the well-being of Iowans.

In the 2023 legislative session, more than 1,300 bills were introduced. A mere 10% were adopted.

Iowa Republicans are spending more time restricting liberties than expanding opportunities. Among the bills most celebrated by Republicans were bans on gender-affirming health care and the use of school bathrooms that align with gender identity.

The trend is continuing in this year’s session: Iowa Republicans are focused on national GOP talking points that are broadly unpopular and impractical, while locals suffer the consequences of a legislature that is too distracted by the culture war to pass meaningful policies.

For example, Republicans spent much of last year’s session on a bill that would ban books and school curriculum that discuss gender identity or sexual orientation. Not only is the bill largely unpopular — Grinnell National Poll data shows most Americans support having these books in schools — but it is also unconstitutional — a federal judge blocked the implementation of the bill, citing violation of the First Amendment.

The Iowa GOP is out of step with voters, spinning its wheels on policies that don’t improve life for Iowans, while ignoring the real problems.

Iowa’s drinking water is some of the most contaminated in the country. Child care services are short more than 350,000 slots. Mental health services rank in the bottom five states. Farm debt hit a high of $18.9 billion. Nearly 50% of the state suffers from obesity.

Gun deaths are surging. Suicide is increasing. Drug abuse is rising. Life expectancy is falling.

Perhaps most problematic is Iowa’s brain drain: the state is losing far more college graduates than it retains, sitting at 10th-worst in the country.

College-educated Iowans who are able to leave the state are doing so in a mass exodus. But those who have no means of leaving are forced to get by with little help from the elected officials who have the power to improve the lives of Iowans.

“Small towns are especially good at recognizing, nurturing, and launching talented individuals,” Patrick Carr and Maria Kefalas say in “Hollowing Out the Middle,” a case study of Iowa brain drain.

“They rally to prepare [kids] to leave, succeed brilliantly in doing so, then lament the loss of their combined talents.”

If policies do not change, the most capable kids will continue to grow up, bring their talents to other states and never return to Iowa. Those left behind will be resentful of a state that never gave them a chance to succeed.

The Legislature must give people a reason to stay in Iowa.

The steps are straightforward.

First, Iowa Republicans must stop focusing on non-starter policies that will either never be passed or never positively impact Iowans.

This includes the whole suite of culture war policies currently dominating the legislature: election denialism, book bans, gender and LGBTQ+ ideology, and abortion rights. Many Iowans, particularly those who are college educated, are seeing the Legislature focus on the culture war and are escaping to states that address real issues.

Second, the Legislature must support public schools, both by increasing funding and decreasing the political oversight driving teachers out of the profession.

Gov. Kim Reynolds did the opposite in 2023, signing a “school choice” bill that decreases the budget of already underfunded public schools by an estimated $46 million. This session, Republicans are spending their time attempting to police how social studies is taught.

Schools are the most powerful tool for economic advancement — they open doors for all kids: rural and urban, rich and poor. The Iowa GOP is actively shutting those doors.

Instead of tearing schools down by removing their books and limiting the topics of discussion, the Iowa Legislature must treat schools as avenues of opportunity.

To her credit, Reynold’s proposed bill to increase teacher pay is an important step. However, with hundreds of teachers resigning each year, many citing political attacks against their profession, it will require more than increased compensation — it requires demonstrating that they are valued and trusted.

The Iowa GOP has strayed from its original roots. The party was built on small government but is now run by a band of culture warriors led by Reynolds.

In the absence of a Democratic chamber in Iowa, the Iowa GOP has a responsibility to keep itself honest and accountable and be more responsive to constituent demands. In the past, ideological balance kept both sides from going to the extremes. Now, the Republican Party is failing to keep itself in check.

The further Iowa strays down its current path, the more people will flee the state. For those who have no option but to stay, Republicans are not delivering them a promising future.

The real problems in Iowa are apparent, and the solutions are realistic. But as it currently stands, Iowa Republicans are in the game to treat Iowa as an ideological petri dish, fighting for what the far right wants rather than what the majority needs.

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