Well, I see the Repubs are already ginning up financial crises and fear

Even if he once served as Iowa governor for four terms -- and just got elected to serve again, we're not sure Terry Branstad has the power to put the genie back in the bottle. That's about what Branstad is attempting when he says he will try to reopen recently approved union contracts.

Branstad can't force the unions to put a signed contract back on the table for renegotiation, but there are ways to leverage such a move. That could mean the threat of possible layoffs. That might sound harsh in tough economic times, but the contracts Gov. Chet Culver agreed to just aren't fiscally responsible. The agreements call for 6 percent pay increases spread over the next two years. These are troubled times. How many private companies will commit right now to 6 percent in raises for all employees over the next two years? (As noted in a recent editorial questioning 3 percent raises for Dubuque County employees, President Barack Obama is proposing a wage freeze for federal employees.) It doesn't make sound business sense for government to make such a commitment.

Getting the unions to renegotiate won't be easy. We'll be surprised if Branstad can manage to unring the bell Culver clanged, but let's give him a thumbs-up for the effort.

The Pottawattamie County Republican leader has said defeating Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal is the local GOP’s top priority in 2012, but the Council Bluffs state senator responded by saying he’s been a target for removal for 28 years.

“It’s nothing new,” Gronstal said Wednesday. “You do what you think is right and let the voters decide.”

Jeff Jorgensen, the county’s GOP chair, said in an e-mail statement that the Senate’s top Democrat is a “major force in Iowa politics” and defeating him for re-election in 2012 will be a “huge challenge,” but possible.

Gronstal’s stand on the state’s gay marriage issue could be the key issue, according to Jorgensen. “Sen. Gronstal’s lack of respect for Iowa voters in addressing the gay marriage issue has damaged him politically and left him vulnerable to a successful Republican challenge in 2012,” Jorgensen said.