Century of Common Iowan is reporting that Larry McKibben, the incumbent Republican State Senator in Marshall and Hardin Counties will not be running for re-election. When Iowa Progress ranked the top opportunities for Democrats to pick up seats in the State Senate last year, McKibben was listed as the most vulnerable Republican.
Of the eight Republicans named on that list, McKibben is now the fourth to decline to run for re-election in 2008. It’s clear that Senate Republicans know that they are in trouble in 2008. The most vulnerable seats for Senate Democrats are all in Eastern Iowa which has been growing increasingly Democratic and it’s quite likely no incumbent Democrat will get defeated in November. That combined with an increasing number of Republican open seats means that Senate Republicans are on the ropes. It’s likely that they will face a net loss of two or three seats and could be in a position where they begin the January 2009 legislative session with only 15 Senators.
However, one thing is sure. Whether the Senate Republican Caucus has two Senators or 42 Senators, they are sure to be factionalized and divided no matter what. It’s one thing to be a member of a minority party but when you’re a member of a minority party where the caucus meetings resemble Kenyan street battles more than a gathering of like-minded legislators, it’s clear that you’ll be in the minority for a long time to come.
Although Iowa Progress has reported optimistically on this in the past, it seems that a workplace smoking ban is finally making progress in the state legislature. Debate is set for next week on a bill that would ban smoking from most workplaces. While the bill is imperfect and contains an exemption for casinos, it still offers a positive step towards improving the health of many Iowans. As this study by the American Lung Association shows, workplace smoking bans are not only good for public health but they’re good for business. In fact, it is estimated that secondhand smoke in the workplace costs Americans $10 billion a year.
Not only that, a recent Des Moines Register poll found that 75% of Iowans supported a workplace smoking ban. So why would anyone oppose a bill that’s popular, good for public health and good for business? It’s hard to say.
One strong opponent of a workplace smoking ban is House Minority Leader Christopher Rants. Rants frames his opposition in concern to the fact that it might deter smokers from going to bars and thus hurting local bar owners. Although a cynic might argue that Rants might be influenced by the fact he’s taken over $6,000 in donations from Big Tobacco over the past few years, those who appreciate Rants’ firm sense of personal morality know that his stand against public opinion, public health and Iowa business is solely in defense of the corner bar and the small town tavern and has nothing to do with any desire to profit from the largess of Philip Morris and other major tobacco companies.
However, despite Rants’ “principled” opposition, there’s still a strong chance that a workplace smoking ban will still happen in Iowa this year.
