Political Quotes

“In 1972, the Iowa Legislature created the Office of Citizens' Aide to address instances of dissatisfaction with government agencies. In 1978, Bill Angrick became the State ombudsman at age 32, according to the Des Moines Register. Just a few weeks ago Bill Angrick announced he would take the State's early retirement incentives at age 64. As a member of the State house in 1972, I was enthusiastic about the creation of the ombudsman's office. I had gone from political science student to state legislator and was beginning to appreciate the value of government oversight in the practical world. It is one thing to study political theory and have a concept of how things should work. It is another thing to represent citizens as their elected representative and see how things really work. The Federal constitution Framers knew what they were doing when they built in checks and balances among the three branches of government. The decision to create a State ombudsman wasn't unanimous. The house vote was 70 to 28, the Senate vote 30 to 20. Then, as now, those who perform government oversight might have been seen as skunks at a picnic, fueling fears of those who might abuse their investigative powers or among agencies, rein in their power. Inspectors general and whistleblowers at Federal agencies are regularly eyed with suspicion or targeted for retaliation. I run into this at the Federal level all the time.”