By Theodore Sporer
Editor
Iowa's internet radio audience has a chance to hear just how stark is the difference between the modern Republican and the modern Democrat this Friday, June 29. The two Iowa HD 36 contestants make a joint appearance on the ultra liberal Fallon Forum. The broadcast airs at noon (CST), Friday, June 29.
Republican Jeff Ibbotson's biography is the quintessential American story, interspersing periods of public service with a career in private industry. Private industry, the place where people learn about carrying their own weight, supporting their families and those of the employees whose jobs they create, managing budgets with one's own money and the impact of the nanny state on real people and real businesses.
This appearance also shows Jeff has two qualities not always apparent in Republican candidates. First, the courage to appear in very hostile environment. You just do not get to the left of Ed Fallon (although, in all seriousness, not all of Ed's anti-corporate thoughts are that far off and he's spot on when it comes to the barbaric and medieval whaling industry). The populus procul forum and host will throw only hardballs at Jeff. Second, cleverness. Not as in sly, as in smart. For years we here at TRS have called on GOP leadership to campaign in new places to persuade voters to agree with our ideology and become Republicans, not just now and again Republican voters. Repudiation of progressivism as a legitimate system of governance and distributive justice is the only way we win the Culture War and return to the Constitutional small and limited government that brought our nation so very far in so very little time (historically speaking).
Ibbotson's opponent is quite literally the nanny. Marti Anderson's career has been in social work (spend a little time the NASW website for a comprehensive description of the nanny state Anderson's professional society advocates) extremely liberal. For years her government job has been the distribution of such taxpayer largesse as was not devoted to her own salary and benefits. Nothing in Anderson's history shows an appreciation of government as anything other than a cradle to grave provider of economic benefits to as many people as can be brought within the web of social worker. Not an evil person, but the living face of Ronald Reagan's famous nine scarriest words in the English language, "I'm from the government and I'm hear to help". Such a candidate, however well meaning, defines success by the number of people on welfare, food stamps or otherwise dependent on government for their very existence.
Hopefully Jeff will take this chance and drive home the difference between a government that limit's its empathy only by the extent of its confiscatory taxing power and a government that frees people to succeed and thrive to the best of their ability.
