History lesson: It was ten years ago today that Iowans went to the
polls in a statewide special election, as Republicans overplayed their
hand in the dawning days of the Vilsack Administration. The GOP still
controlled both halves of the Legislature, despite Vilsack's win, and
the governor plays no role in the constitutional amendment process. So
they rushed through the second passage of two constitutional
amendments backed by Iowans for Tax Relief, that took caps on taxation
and spending that were already in the law and locked them into the
Constitution. Colloquially, these were known as "the Stanley
Amendments" after Iowans for Tax Relief leader, and former U.S. Senate
contender, David Stanley. But rather than putting them on the 2000
presidential ballot, the Republicans scheduled a hurry-up statewide
special election for June 29, 1999.