State Sen. Paul McKinley, who heads the Republican caucus of the Iowa Senate, is making the rounds sharing thoughts on the end of the first year of the general assembly. He stopped by for a chat with State Sen. Steve Kettering, R-Lake View, in tow. The two are not pleased with the 2009-10 level of state spending, passage of Gov. Chet Culver’s bonding proposal to pay for infrastructure and the arrival of gay marriage in Iowa.

I asked McKinley if he did enough to push the Senate Democratic leadership to put, as many Republicans want, a constitutional amendment on marriage before Iowa voters. “We took four swipes at this. The only way to get it to a vote (in the Senate) was by a leadership-sponsored bill,” McKinley said. He pointed to two amendments to bills that were beaten back and said a senate concurrent resolution never got any votes besides the 18 Republicans.

A few times McKinley cited the obstructionist bent by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. “Everything has to go through Mike Gronstal… There was no way we could get a vote,” he said.

Further, McKinley said, Senate Democrats, even those coming from rural districts, banded behind Gronstal. He cited some speaking out against gay marriage in their districts, but not standing up to Gronstal to force a vote in the Senate.  McKinley said Iowans can’t be surprised by Democrats supporting gay marriage, since a state party plank speaks to overturning traditional marriage.

McKinley and Kettering said Iowans are outraged about gay marriage, and they think polling stats showing 70 percent of Iowans oppose same-sex marriage are apt. I asked McKinley why he personally was opposed to same-sex marriage. Said McKinley, “A family is the foundation of society, the building block, and that is a man and a woman.”

I asked for an elaboration — could families headed by two men or two women fit that bill? “I am willing to abide by the people of Iowa believe, that’s what they believe, they overwhelmingly believe that, and let’s let them decide,” McKinley replied.

So, will same-sex marriage be in the arsenal of issues that can bring the GOP back to power in the Iowa Legislature? Both McKinley and Kettering said they wished the election was this November rather than November 2010, while the electorate is energized.

A mere few years ago, in 2003 and 2004, the Senate was held by Republicans, then a 25-25 tie in composition made for an interesting time in 2005 and 2006. Then you had Dems surging to a 30-20 majority in 2007 and 2008, followed by an extention of that chamber margin to 32-18. McKinley wouldn’t commit as to whether 2010 is a year when the GOP can surge to reclaim the Iowa Senate, but said only six Republicans have to defend their seats, while 19 Democrats have to do so.

“2010 offers a wonderful opportunity for us,” McKinley said.

Tags: gay marriage, iowa senate, mike gronstal, paul mckinley, politics, steve kettering

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Iowa Legislature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.