Liberals are fuming after Iowa legislators took action to enact a conservative agenda following the state’s recent red wave. Washington Post reporter Annie Gowen published a scathing report on state Republicans, bombarding them for fulfilling their promises of moving to increase school choice opportunities, clearing school libraries of LGBTQ propaganda, and restricting access to dangerous transgender operations for youths. Gowen compared Iowa’s recent right swing, spearheaded by Governor Kim Reynolds, to recent action taken in Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis. Gov. Reynolds has unapologetically pushed a conservative agenda now that Republicans control the entire state legislature, and it seems this is just the beginning of the liberal meltdown.
FOX NEWS: Liberals whine that Iowa is becoming ‘Florida of the North’: ‘Targeting the LGBTQ community’
By Jeffrey Clark; March 21, 2023
The Washington Post accused Iowa Republicans of “targeting the LGBTQ community” in a hit piece Monday and of making the state the new “Florida of the North.”
“Republicans in the Iowa legislature, empowered by the state’s recent ‘red wave,’ have embarked on an ambitious new agenda that includes a costly school choice bill and legislation targeting the LGBTQ community, a historic divergence from Iowa’s history as a civil rights bastion,” Washington Post reporter Annie Gowen wrote.
“A joke among statehouse reporters is that Iowa is becoming the ‘Florida of the North’ — without the beaches,” she added.
The Post mentioned Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, 10 times in the article, portraying her as a culture warrior on “gun rights,” “school choice” and “abortion access.”
But The Washington Post drew a particular connection between so-called “Don’t say gay” protestors in Iowa and Florida.
Leftist activists have notably called Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which became law in March, the “Don’t say gay” bill, in an attempt to smear Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The law prevents school employees or third parties from giving classroom instruction on “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” for students anywhere from kindergarten through the third grade.
The Post argued that Reynolds has focused her power on restricting the LGBTQ community.
“Even as teens draped in rainbow flags crowded into the Capitol rotunda chanting ‘We say gay’ on March 8, Iowa lawmakers quickly passed three bills related to gay and transgender rights, culminating with a measure to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth that is awaiting Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’s signature,” The Post claimed.
The article cited politicians and activists opposed to Reynolds to make its case that the Republican governor was an “activist” leader.
“From about 2019 until this year, attacks on LGBTQ Iowans have been exponentially increasing,” One Iowa Action’s director of policy and advocacy Keenan Crow reportedly told The Washington Post.
“I believe it’s primarily because of the governor and her shifting priorities. It seems for whatever reason, she wants Iowa to be more like Florida.”
On school choice, a former Iowa mayor accused Reynolds of becoming “extreme.”
“That’s a red flag when your head of government is primarying her own party. It is an indication that the ideologies are becoming more extreme,” former Indianola mayor Kelly Shaw said, according to The Washington Post.
“The governor has effectively removed her opposition, and that is pretty extraordinary,” Shaw added.
Gov. Reynolds’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Photo: Iowa Governors Office