Will Tom Vilsack Be Named Secretary of Agriculture?

As an Iowan, I would have to question the wisdom of selecting former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture. First of all Vilsack was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tom Vilsack's Iowa ties come from his wife Christie being a Mount Pleasant native. Sure, Tom Vilsack spent some time in Mount Pleasant as mayor which has a significant number of farms, but really he made his living practicing law. He specializes in agribusiness as an attorney, but doesn't really strike you as a man who's spent a lot of time on a farm. Most recently he has spent time practicing with Dorsey Whitney and is a visiting fellow at Iowa State University in Ames. Before his recent sabbatical from politics Vilsack made an aborted attempt at the White House.

During his eight years as Governor, Vilsack increased teacher pay, created the Iowa Values which made Iowa a more employer friendly state and started running a better fiscal house here in our state. As an adopted himself Vilsack made it easier for parents to adopt within our state. As a Roman Catholic he promoted non-profit organizations around the state, always giving them props on the campaign trail as noted by his Dorsey & Whitney profile.

Vilsack, although a Democrat, had many decisions that did not have a populist touch to them when it came to agriculture. Vilsack sided with the larger farmers in the hog confinement disputes against the EPA and the rest of the environmental community. As an Iowan, this was a decision that I agreed with on the basis that the pork industry is so vital to our economy. The second decision that was more controversial in my eyes was the issue of Kelo versus Connecticut and how it seemed to set off a firestorm of eminent domain cases around the country. Although, I can see how zoning laws can be used for positive economic development I did not see the need in siding with one lone developer in Doug Gross who wanted to build a lake as noted by the DMCityView.

Now I know 99 percent of the population probably cannot name the Agricultural Secretary of the United States to save their life. The last one that comes to my mind was Mike Johanns without looking it up. This was only because he was Governor and now Senator of Nebraska. Johanns is also a native Iowan. Other more famous Secretaries of Agriculture may be Henry Wallace of Iowa who ran as a Socialist Party Nominee in 1948 against Harry Truman. Wallace also served as Vice President of the United States under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The other person you may know is Dan Glickman of Kansas, who headed up the Motion Picture Association after serving in the Clinton Administration and remains in that post today.

Sources:

Brenda Fullick. "Strange Bedfellows." DMCityView.

http://www.dmcityview.com/archives/2006/06jun/06-22-06/cover.shtml

Dorsey and Whitney LLP. "Tom Vilsack Profile."

http://www.dorsey.com/vilsack_thomas/