Terry Branstad, the mustachioed former Republican governor of Iowa and present U.S. ambassador to China, is now on trial in state court back in the Hawkeye State. Branstad, you see, had the temerity to request the resignation, in 2011, of a leftist mandarin named Chris Godfrey, who served as commissioner of the Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation. Godfrey was, reliable sources tell me, unanimously despised by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (Iowa’s closest equivalent to a statewide chamber of commerce) due to his deeply held hostility to business interests. After Godfrey — who had been both initially appointed and reappointed by Democratic governors — refused to resign upon Branstad’s request, Branstad slashed his pay by 35%.
All standard fare for a newly elected Republican governor looking to re-shape the direction of his state’s anti-business governance, right?
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