By Steve Woodhouse
I’ve been wondering about our State Attorney General, Brenna Bird, lately. It seems like at least twice a week, I get an email saying she is suing the Biden Administration or some other entity on the other end of her political spectrum. I’m not faulting her for that, because those things she has opposed are pretty stupid and un- American in my view – but, are these lawsuits best serving the people of Iowa?
The duties of Iowa’s Attorney General are laid out in Iowa Code Chapter 13.2. Part B of
this reads, in part, “Prosecute and defend in any other court or tribunal, all actions and
proceedings, civil or criminal, in which the state may be a party or interested, when, in
the attorney general’s judgment, the interest of the state requires such action.”
Okay, I guess that covers her lawsuits.
There is a stark contrast between how she runs the office compared to her predecessor,
Tom Miller. Miller’s press releases seemed to be limited to those in which he can look
good by winning lawsuits against private companies that led to some kind of financial
payout to Iowa. Miller was also one of the first people to endorse Barack Obama and would not always
fulfill his duties to represent the State when a Republican governor was in power. He
was not apolitical in office. Bird flew to New York City Monday to stand by former President Donald Trump. Bird has been a Trump supporter since 2016. I don’t have an issue with her road trip, as long as
we, the people, didn’t pay for it.
It’s already a travesty that taxpayers are paying for Trump’s ridiculous trial – which is nothing more than election interference. How can the trial be considered legitimate when the “star witness” is a disbarred serial perjurer? Notwithstanding that, I don’t think what Bird has done with the office thus far presents the best optics. That’s not meant to be an attack, I’ve interviewed her several times and she’s always been cordial and consistent. My concern is that, like her predecessor, she may be putting her party ahead of her duties to represent all Iowans. We really don’t need any more of that from any elected official.
Take care of yourself and thank you for reading.
