Conlin and Branstad are on the Ballot, Let’s Party like it is 1982!

It was 1982 when Terry Branstad and Roxanne Conlin were on the same ballot. Twenty eight years ago they squared off in a race for governor and Branstad won. This year, Branstad will be running to take back the office he held for 16 years and Conlin will challenge Senator Chuck Grassley for the seat he has held since the election of 1980.

Former Governor Branstad and Roxanne Conlin are fine people who have done much for Iowa and our country. They have a passion for public service and are unquestionably qualified for the offices they seek. However, the fact they were recruited and feel compelled to run lays bare for all to see the sorry state of modern Iowa politics.

Three decades after the Conlin/Branstad race, both parties are forced to look ahead by pulling a former contender out of retirement. The recycling of Branstad and Conlin serves, if nothing else, as Exhibit A in the case against both political parties for failing to prepare a new generation of leaders.

The most common refrain heard from loud speakers in town squares, small stages hastily constructed in machine sheds and over the din of crowded coffee shops during every campaign season is the need to retain and recruit young Iowans. The brightest and most talented all too often leave Iowa for the promise of other states. Terry Branstad said this in years past and Roxanne Conlin surely did too. Both are about to begin campaigns and seek votes again. There are two questions they should be expected to address at every event over the next year:

1. What have you done during your decades in Iowa politics to recruit, train and retain the next generation of Iowa leaders?

2. If elected, what will you do to ensure young Iowans are given a seat at the table of governance and how will you help prepare this next generation to lead?

How the candidates answer these questions may indicate whether we move forward or not. One thing is certain, if we find ourselves in a bind for the election of 2038, it is unlikely Branstad or Conlin will be interested in giving it another go. The parties better come up with a better plan for 2038 than they did for 2010.



Just for fun – Notable Events of 1982:

Ronald Reagan was President of the United States
Olivia Newton John topped the charts with “Let’s Get Physical” at the beginning of the year
Diana, Princess of Wales, gave birth to Prince William on June 21 (thus providing Brits a happy distraction from the conflict with Argentina over the Falkland Islands)
Phyllis Schlafly led an effort to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment
Larry Walters, a.k.a. Lawn Chair Larry, flew 16,000 feet above Long Beach, California in a lawn chair with weather balloons attached
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to 1,065.49 on November 3, surpassing the previous high of 1,051.70 recorded more than 9 years earlier
Oh, one more fun fact, the Branstad/Conlin match-up occured a full decade before the graduating seniors in the Class of 2010 were born

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.