Nathan Tucker at the Iowa Republican:

On last Friday’s episode of Iowa Press, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D) made the remarkable claim that he is willing to negotiate everything with Governor Branstad and the Republican majority in the House. His statements were remarkable for not only being patently absurd, but for not being challenged by a single journalist on the show’s panel.

“Here’s what I’ve tried to avoid,” Gronstal told the panel. “Everybody, you know, the House says $5.999 [billion] is non-negotiable, the Governor says two-year budget is non-negotiable. I’ve never once said any of these pieces are non-negotiable. I don’t want to play that game. I think Iowans elected us to come in, listen to the concerns of Iowans and go out and listen to them.”

... Gronstal continued his protestations of innocence by claiming:  “I’m the guy that keeps saying I’m not drawing the lines in the sand.  I’m not saying that there’s nothing negotiable, that’s the other side saying that, that’s the message I got out of the House Republicans, it’s the message I get out of the Governor, these things that are non-negotiable.  I’m ready, willing and able to sit down at any time with people and look for common ground and we’re going to continue to do that until we find it.”

... For instance, a vote on a marriage amendment is dead upon arrival in a Gronstal-led senate. On the January 28th episode of Iowa Press, Gronstal said that he would never allow a vote, even if that means he loses his seat in the next election. Sure enough, a marriage amendment never saw the light of day in the Senate.