Leadership or Partisanship? You decide at the ballot box.

If you asked me what is the biggest problem facing our country today, I wouldn’t say energy prices, health care costs, or homeland security. While all of those are on all of our minds, and extremely important, I believe our biggest problem might just be partisanship.

It’s becoming more and more apparent that partisanship is far more important to some of our elected leaders in this state than providing the people with leadership in a great time of need. One needs to only look at the recent news regarding flood recovery to see a good example of what I’m talking about.

From Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal:

“It is our duty to quickly find the resources necessary to rebuild Iowa safer, stronger and more sustainable than ever. It’s also the duty of the Bush Administration to quit holding on to critical funding for disaster recovery that was approved more than two months ago by the U.S. Congress. Any further delay in releasing this funding is a disservice to homeowners and small business owners hit by flooding and tornadoes.”

While Gronstal is blaming Bush, FEMA is saying that Cedar Rapids is moving too slow.

So Gronstal pulls out his handy Blame Bush card, instead of questioning why Speaker Nancy Pelosi thought it was a good idea to go on a five week vacation before passing a flood relief package. Gronstal might also want to ask Congressman Dave Loebsack and Congressman Leonard Boswell, why they didn’t raise holy hell when their party thought getting Nancy Pelosi out on her book tour was a bigger priority than getting the people of Iowa the resources they need. Or maybe Gronstal should send a little no-doze to Cedar Rapids Mayor Kay Halloran.

Where was the outrage when Congress went on recess? Is anyone calling for Jim Prosser’s head as he’s been taking his time getting estimates to the federal government?

The real question is where are our leaders? This is when people like Congressman Loebsack should be leaning on Prosser, and making sure Halloran is doing what she needs to be doing, like staying awake. Loebsack and the rest of the Iowa delegation should have been leaning on Pelosi, to get a flood relief package passed BEFORE they went on recess.

This is the stuff that really matters to people. This is the time when we need leadership, but sadly it looks like we are just getting more partisanship. I have no clue what good Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going to do by visiting Cedar Rapids and Des Moines today. She just got around to sending Bush a letter the other day in regards to flood relief. Is there something she needs to see, or is she simply here to try and cover the fact that Congressman Loebsack is doing a terrible job?

Leadership matters.

And while you may be a Democrat, Republican, or independent voter, when you go to the ballot box you need to ask yourself one question; if the $hit hits the fan, who do I trust to do the job. Electing competent people to represent us is the best way to ensure that the people of our state get the relief that they need.