Rants’ Hail Mary and Vander Plaats Pushes Full Steam Ahead

If someone follows politics at all they realize that bombshells are not dropped until an election draws near.  In that way it will not allow the victim/opposition time to recover in time before voters go to the polls (even if the allegations are false).  Christopher Rants and his week long launch of attacks on Bob Vander Plaats record as CEO of Opportunities Unlimited has unusual timing with the Republican gubernatorial primary still being a ways off.  Or was the timing unusual?  It was no secret that a popular former Iowa Governor was now in the mix of potential rivals for the nomination with a Draft Terry Branstad effort launching.  Also, Bob Vander Plaats was going to be a media focus because of his official announcement of his candidacy.  Perhaps Rants was feeling a little left out of the spotlight since most likely this primary will come down to Branstad vs. Vander Plaats.

Anyone who has witnessed Bob Vander Plaats speaking at an event these past few months realizes that come hell or high water he is going to forge forward with his campaign for Iowa Governor and he officially announced his candidacy yesterday in Sheldon.  In his speech he addressed  a wide variety of topics concerning Iowa’s future that he is passionate about such as the debt, business climate, education, size of government, tax reform, strong families, and the balance of the three branches of government.

Vander Plaats has addressed Rants attacks in various ways and he is now moving forward in his quest towards the Governor’s mansion.  I sure hope Rants moves forward also because it seems that his allegations have not stuck and he is playing the game of dragging another down to raise yourself  up.  Why has not one person come forward from Opportunities Unlimited and defended what Rants has said about Bob’s record while he was with the organization?  Even the coroporate attorney from Opportunities Unlimited is defending Vander Plaats.  To the average Iowan out there who is not a political junkie Rants’ efforts come across as picking apart a successful non-profit organization that deals with the rehabilitation of people with brian injuries for his own political gain. 

All this appears to be is a Hail Mary thrown by Christopher Rants before the Vander Plaats/Branstad season gets underway.  Now we just have to wait for the other official announcement.