Vander Plaats and the ‘silent majority’

This week there was an opportunity to vote in a “gubernatorial straw poll” which has generated a lot of attention in Iowa and I hear nationally. I guess when Mike Huckabee and Chuck Norris get in on the excitement of supporting a man like Bob Vander Plaats there is an extra measure of interest. Add Steve Deace into the mix and there is even more attention, controversy, harsh comments and sour grapes.

It is not often that I take time to read comments left on blogs. I try to keep my sweet natured self intact and reading nasty stuff just does not make my day. But today I wandered over to other blogs and read the comments.

Some people were unhappy with how the voting was done. There are others like me that didn’t know how to text so that was grinding on their souls. I took the option to vote by e-mail, so all was well for me getting to vote.

What really caught my attention was a comment left which I will share in part here:

“…it’s way too early to determine WHICH candidate will represent the silent majority.”

I suspect that the person writing that comment was planting the idea that there are those who are not happy with Vander Plaats and are expecting another candidate to surface that will save the day.

As to the “silent majority” – wow, I thought I was the silent majority, so there must be at least two groups who believe that their views are not considered, valued, or represented in what has been happening in the Republican Party of Iowa.

Until my involvement with Iowa Defense Alliance I had been silent. I showed up to vote and went home and hoped for the best. And in some ways I continue to be silent to those who think they run the show in the Republican Party. Thanks to the internet and additional ways to communicate I have found others who have decided to be not so silent. We are busy being the true grassroots. We volunteer for our candidates of choice and talk to our neighbors, friends, and family about supporting candidates who will represent our views and concerns. We are donating money, attending county meetings, and we are paying attention.

Those like me who once were silent are not sitting around trying to find a candidate who will save the moderates of the Republican Party. We have more to do than denounce Steve Deace and spin our wheels thinking of mean and cranky things to say about him.

The not so silent any longer “Silent Majority” has found our candidate for Governor in Bob Vander Plaats. Let the tug of political war continue. We are up for the task. Many formally silent Iowa tax payers and voters are engaged in Iowa politics and I believe the other silent majority group is in for a big surprise.