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Earlier generations of Iowa politicians had integrity
Todd Mouw died in a specialty hospital after changes to his medicaid disrupted his in-home care. His wife, Cydni Mouw, believes those changes in his coverage contributed to his death. Michael Zamora / The Register
Decades ago, most Iowa counties maintained "poor farms" where the old and penniless and some of the chronically mentally ill were housed. The farms were usually at a distance from major cities, ostensibly to offer a tranquil rural atmosphere but also to keep them out of sight. Some were well-managed, others were bad news. A few residents worked the farms but most were idle.
A major legislative issue at the time was a bill setting standards for all Iowa nursing homes, including the poor farms. County officials argued that the farms served a special and difficult clientele, and should not have to abide by state standards or allow state inspections.
The county officials carried considerable political muscle; poor farm residents carried none. Over the fervent objections of the Department of Human Services, the legislature granted the exemption. As the vote was taken, the counties' lobbyist saw a DHS representative on the verge of angry tears. He laughed, slapped her on the back and said, "You can't win 'em all."
He was in for a shock. Republican Bob Ray was governor. People, including the politically powerless, counted. Responsibility to treat with dignity those overwhelmed by their circumstances was recognized as a necessary function of civil society.
Gov. Ray vetoed the exemption. County poor farms would follow the rules. That was a couple of generations ago and that was typical Bob Ray — quietly but firmly on the side of justice. Today, big money, big business, big farms and big egos have become the overwhelming forces driving Iowa politics. Today's Republican leadership has no problem starving the state's inspection programs so that watchdogs can no longer visit nursing homes. They are subsidizing adoptions while denying money to monitor the kids' well-being. They are crippling Medicaid by grabbing state and federal money intended to pay for health services for the needy and handing it to a private army of paper pushers.
What has happened to the Iowa that once would never have tolerated giving huge tax breaks to giant corporations while bare-bones financing stifles state government services? Where are the Iowans who would have raised hell when they learned that the Iowa lakes and rivers they once enjoyed are now foul with factory-farm manure? And who would have hit the roof when they found state park outhouses all but overflowing?
How can an Iowa that repeatedly re-elected Bob Ray, who governed for the common good, now elect leaders who govern to benefit off-site farm landowners who ignore conservation, health-care manipulators who never treat a patient, and provide tax-forgiveness favors to those who need them least? Who "solve" the danger of abuses of the elderly and children by looking the other way? Who preach local control, and then deny locals the right to set minimum wages, the right to keep hog factories at a healthy distance, and the right to set modest environmental rules?
Earlier generations gave us an Iowa that was a model of integrity and a source of pride. What we're leaving for our grandkids is a legacy of political failure.
— Bill Leonard, Des Moines