Vander Plaats for Governor

I had lunch today down in Waukon (our county seat), and got to meet Bob Vander Plaats, who's running for the Republican nomination for the 2006 Governor's race here in Iowa. A group of us Republican types, sitting and eating and talking in the back room at Wild Willey's.

I liked Vander Plaats, and I liked what he was saying. He was talking about public education and how it's caught in a bureaucratic and union stranglehold— as well he should know, having served as a school principal. He was talking about returning more decision-making authority to the county and local level, so they can try various things out and find what works in their corner of Iowa, instead of one-size-fits-all solutions handed down from the federal or state level. He was talking about encouraging small businesses. He was talking about shrinking state government, not just slowing its rate of growth.

He also had some sardonic words about Republicans who get into power and then try to govern like a watered-down version of the Democrats.

And hey, I got a free lunch out of it, too. Excellent pizza!

I usually limit my political involvement to following the news (more or less), and voting come Election Day. Over the next year and a half, I'm going to be keeping a close eye on the Vander Plaats campaign. Like I say, I liked what I heard this noon down in Waukon.