Friday, April 02, 2010
Another great thing about Iowa
At least when I was growing up there, Iowa was a very well-run state. The government was competent and honest, and the state often led the way with small but palpable improvements in law without being particularly heavy-handed about it. Your government was close. Our state senator lived across the street and played tennis with my mother. Our state representative for a couple of years doubled as my debate coach. When I was 16 I wrote a letter to the governor, Robert Ray, objecting to his decision to raise the drinking age. He phoned me on a Saturday morning and we had a nice 10 minute chat about the various substantive policy issues involved (we each respected the other's points, but agreed to disagree). I remember declaring once, with all the authority of a 15 year-old newly learned about the world, that "the federal government should not do anything that could be done by state governments instead." My father gently suggested that I probably would have a different point of view if I lived in New York, New Jersey, or Massachusetts. I since have, and do.
Anyway, Ann Althouse has noticed yet another great thing about Iowa.
CWCID: Glenn Reynolds.
2 Comments:
By 
astonerii, at
Fri Apr 02, 11:39:00 AM:
Iowa started going liberal about the time I left. It is no longer solidly run. I left around 1999.
By 
Don Cox, at
Fri Apr 02, 12:36:00 PM:
Sounds like you had a privileged upbringing.
