Braindead is the longest serving US Governor now.

[47of74]

And the Teaparty Herald is still gushing over him;

As Iowans know, Branstad has built this record in two stints, as the state's 39th and 42nd governor. In the first go-round, Branstad served from 1983 to 1999. After "retiring" to the private sector, including a successful run as president of Des Moines University, he returned to politics and in the 2010 election made Democrat Chet Culver a one-and-done governor. Now, nearly a year into his sixth four-year term, Branstad stands alone atop the record book. And it's a record likely to stand for a long time.

By and large, Branstad's tenure has been positive for Iowa. When he returned to public life five years ago, Branstad still had the trademark mustache. But the brash, young leader of the 1980s had matured into a seasoned veteran, better able to see the big picture and work with people on both sides of the aisle. That served the state well as the Iowa economy struggled to recover from the national recession. Branstad was able to get the state back on firm financial footing, cut fat from the state budget and run a leaner administration.

In the past year, perhaps more than any 12-month stretch of his historic tenure (though in one election we did endorse his opponent), we have expressed concerns about Branstad positions and decisions. Topping that list is the rush to privatize Medicaid, an issue on which the governor seems to be tone-deaf to the concerns of vulnerable citizens.

One of the things Branstad has done well is to surround himself with good people who have deep expertise to advise him on matters specific to their area of skill.

Ugh

[Frustratedlady]

1. Double Ugh! eom

[progressoid]

2. He's a boil that just won't go away.

[Bluzmann57]

3. Prediction

He resigns soon and then Reynolds takes over. And that will be a disaster. We have to find a good candidate for Governor.

[47of74]

4. Yeah that's what I'm thinking too.

He'll decide his heart's not in the job anymore and turn it over to Sarah Pal....excuse me I meant Ms. Reynolds.

[Bigredhunk]

5. Ugh

I would've liked to seen Vilsack stay in instead of stepping away. I don't like his current ties to Monsanto, but I liked him as governor. Culver was a boob, but at least he got rid of Nussle as our local state rep (whom I don't think we'd ever have gotten rid of had he not run for governor -- he was like Bumstead, people just kept voting him in over and over). Anyway, Culver was a boob, so we got Bumstead for another term. I think Vilsack would've beaten him.

I have no idea who we have for Dems as future candidates. The candidates we run for governor are always lame. And it still kills me that Braley, who did more for veterans than anybody, got beaten by "Jonee."

Agree with you on the TH. They were always a conservative paper. They LOVE Bumstead and Grassbag. Never an ill word about either of them. When they'd have to endorse a Dem (do to it being a no-brainer), they'd end up not having an endorsement. We had arguments with Brian Whatshisface who ran the paper for a # of years. We'd send in something to the editorial page, they'd say it was plagiarized. We'd send in something to the editorial page, they'd say they only print "X" # of pieces about a particular subject (never mind that there's a wing nut anti-abortion opinion piece every day). We'd send in something to the editorial page written by a friend from another city in IA, they'd say they only print opinion pieces by locals (meanwhile there are opinion pieces by people from other f'ing states).

Anyway, it was always a conservative paper, but we liked getting news. Their decision to print in CR instead of DBQ was the straw that broke the camel's back. Now they have a REALLY crap paper with news/sports that's 2 days old. Our subscription runs out Friday.