Iowa Defense Alliance

An alliance of Iowans determined to defend traditional Iowa values.

Back to the Future Branstad

A week has gone by since former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad resigned from his job at Des Moines University to “explore” the possibility of running for a 5th term.  I know that some out there thought the other Republican candidates would buckle in fear and bow out of the race in order to make way for King Branstad but I haven’t noticed that happening.  In fact, I haven’t noticed much at all.

In the week leading up to Branstad’s announcement it was his opponent, Bob Vander Plaats, who was capturing the news.  First with a historic endorsement from the President of the Iowa/Nebraska chapter of the NAACP, Rev. Keith Ratliff, and then landing a cover spot on Citizen Magazine.  The main hype leading up to Branstad’s announcement that I saw was on the news where poster child for GOP destruction/Branstad’s former Lieutenant Governor, Joy Corning, was interviewed for her insight.  Her only advice to her former running mate was to “pick a pro-choice female” to share the ticket with him in order to get those voters back that the party has lost.  Boy, she really knows how to kick-off a campaign.  Nothing like pissing off the grassroots immediately.

Since then Vander Plaats siezed the opportunity to remind Iowans that maybe Terry Branstad isn’t quite as conservative as they remember.  To be honest,  Terry Branstad become Governor before I was old enough to vote and left office when I wasn’t old enough to care.  I now care and I am now paying attention.  I predict as this primary process moves on there will be many voters out there like me; ones who remember Branstad’s legacy and either forgot the not so proud moments or never realized there were any.  Some things are better left in the past.

October 23, 2009 - Posted by Iowans Rock | Iowans Rock, Politics | , , , , ,

6 Comments »

  1. Nothing like Branstad running around Iowa in his round about scooter.I wonder how many miles he can go on one ? He was elected in 1982 some 27 years ago had his day in the sun. I do not want a retreaded Bumstead round 5 4 terms was more than enough. Im supporting Bob Vander Platts to lead Iowa back curb the massive spending that Culver did. Culver just don’t get it you can’t keep expanding government meanwhile revenues keep shrinking. I think there could have been cuts made without making Iowan’s less safe by laying off highway patrolmen.

    Comment by iowanforabetteriowa | October 24, 2009 | Reply

  2. People are definitely interested and watching this race. I have been stopped in the grocery store parking lot where people question me about the Vander Plaats sticker. They give him a thumbs up for the answers I give– that he is for traditional marriage and that yes, he will balance the budget. Let’s hope Bob’s pro-life stance does not get de-emphasized in this election cycle where people are so concerned about the economy and about the current gay marriage debacle in Iowa.

    Comment by friendsofdavidhoward | October 24, 2009 | Reply

  3. I am not writing this to attack Terry Branstand, but to share my disappointment with his last years as governor.

    I was living in Des Moines and active in the Right-to-Life movement and other conservative causes when Terry Branstand was first elected. I supported Terry Branstand until in a later re-election he chose pro-abortion Joy Corning to be his lieutenant governor. Since both the governor and lieutenant governor had to be voted for as a unit, I sadly skipped over the vote for governor that year.

    Comment by Raymond V Banner | October 24, 2009 | Reply

  4. I was too young to vote for Branstad also. I never even realized that he had a pro-abort for a running mate until now. Interesting what you learn twenty years later. All I know is that a lot of rural schools closed under the Branstad administration. Not good.

    Comment by All4Iowa | October 25, 2009 | Reply

  5. Branstad also did everything he could to make it easier for IBP to come in and destroy good paying packing house jobs by replacing them with lousy paying packing house jobs. 80,000 blue-collar working Iowans had to leave Iowa in the ’80s because Branstad chased away far more jobs than he created.

    Under Branstad, packing house became so unsafe to work in that A.G. Tom Miller sent letters to the Vietnamese and Hispanic communities warning them that packing house jobs did not pay a living wage.

    I remember Branstad’s Iowa very well because it was the last time I lived in Iowa. I finally moved away in the late ’80s because there simply were no jobs to be had in Terry Branstad’s Iowa.

    And for all the talk about liberal media, it was the “liberal” Des Moines Register that waged a war against Roxanne Conlin, paving the way for a Branstad victory.

    Comment by Mark Gisleson | November 9, 2009 | Reply

  6. I would like to give an idea of a way the state could save money. Cut back on food stamps when they eat better then we who buy their food somthings wrong I know of a family that gets $400.00 in food stamps a mo.Two adults one baby
    they get Hud , Wic, and any thing else they can I think they must keep looking for a job and or better paying job You know as well as anyone you can’t live on WALMART wages somthing needs to be done I and my husband work my jobs hours have been cut we are luckey to have $ 50:00 a week for our needs thats food and personal.We are being tax to death. PLease PLease work on this.Also we tax payer should only have to foot the bill for ONE baby that would slow them down.

    Comment by Pam Meyer | June 23, 2010 | Reply


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