As the legislative session has arrived at the magic Day 100--when legislators are no longer paid to do per-diem payments to cover personal expenses like hotel rooms and gas--the knives are being sharpened in private thanks to Republicans Against Transparency (RATs) to deliver as many of the choice budget meats that will satisfy the "Win column" of both the legislature and the governor (RAT-in-chief) who wants to declare victory on education reform as she re-ups for the office that she'd clearly like to hold on to for another four years. Since "to the victors go the spoils," they are working behind doors to figure out what the final policy and budget will look like. Yes, the same party that wants you to believe they are capable of creating elections above reproach also wants you to believe that closed-door politics leads to good things for the working stiffs of Iowa.
While they say they are not there to spend the people's money but creating scholarships for private schools in the form of vouchers is doing exactly that. Picking winners and losers in the still not passed bottle bill is another example of how things work when you have rural interests and corporate interests colliding. The most transparent thing about these proceedings is that the leadership has sent their party members home with the message, don't call us, we'll call you. Once a RAT, always a RAT.
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