Another Group Of GOP Voters Finally Realizes Republicans Will Screw Them

Last week, I wrote about the legislature in Iowa stripping the rights of public unions to negotiate anything but wages. The state would unilaterally dictate the terms of health care, workplace conditions, seniority, and pensions. The Republican controlled legislature did, however, recognize the overwhelming support it has among cops and fireman so those two unions were exempted under the guise that "they put their lives on the line for the community".

Unfortunately, it looks like the cops and fireman could see through this smokescreen and realized that it was only a matter of time, perhaps the next contract renewal, before this law would be extended to them. In fact, some of the provisions in the bill still did extend to those unions, particularly the repeal of "just cause" firings. That would leave even cops and firefighters jobs dependent solely on the whims of their senior officers with no recourse for being arbitrarily fired. Cops and firefighters flocked to the Statehouse to protest this legislation. Said one police officer about the bill, "It’s collective begging, that’s what it is. Half of law enforcement folks I work with are Republicans. And we voted for Republicans because of conservative values. But we didn’t vote for Republicans to get stabbed in the back while we’re trying to dodge cars and bullets."

That may not be what he voted for but that's what he's going to get. It appears that the legislature will push this bill through sometime later this week.