Republican Party of Iowa: Divided or United?

June 29, 2010 by 7 Comments

Now that I have had an opportunity to sit down and think through my experiences from the 2010 Republican Party of Iowa State Convention I believe I can accurately convey my thoughts and conclusions from the event. First off, I believe that Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn and the State Central Committee need to be commended. They did an excellent job in organizing this event in order for it to be the success that it was. They have set the benchmark that all future conventions will be judged by.

Now if you were to judge the mood of the delegates by some of the articles written about it you could come to conflicting conclusions. If you were to believe this article written by Craig Robinson at The Iowa Republican, the Republican Party in Iowa is united behind its candidates. And if you were to believe this article written by Des Moines Register political director Kathy Obradovich, you would come to the conclusion that the Republican Party is still greatly divided. Both of these articles hold a measure of truth, but neither of them is totally correct.

Let’s start with the unity that was evident at the convention. The Republican Party is energized for the first time in years. It isn’t due to the gubernatorial nominee. The reason the party is showing any signs of unity is due to the emergence of solid young conservatives running for statewide office. Brenna Findley and Matt Schultz have begun the process of healing the rift in the party by reaching out to voters that may feel disenfranchised by the results of the primary on June 8th. They have been largely successful in recruiting these voters and giving them something to be excited about. The base of the Republican Party has found the future of the party and they are coalescing around those campaigns.

In fact, in my opinion the only rift that really remains in the party is at the top of the ticket. This rift is not entirely due to the brutal primary, it had been simmering for years as Iowa Republicans lost election after election. Rather than looking for ways to win in spite of the challenges that they face, the factions within the party began placing the blame for electoral losses on each other. They completely forgot the Republican mantra of personal responsibility. And it appears that the current gubernatorial nominee has not learned anything from this exercise. Prior to the State Convention Terry Branstad’s campaign has failed to make any meaningful overtures to the supporters of his opponent, Bob Vander Plaats. Perhaps if in the time between the primary and the State Convention the Branstad campaign had made some sort of effort to bridge the gap the floor fight for the Lieutenant Governor nomination would not have happened.

Now the Branstad campaign is sending Kim Reynolds to the counties that Bob Vander Plaats won in an effort to win his supporters over. I believe it may be too little too late for this gesture. The lack of effort prior to the State Convention will only make this effort look like an afterthought. I believe that Vander Plaats supporters may see this move as nothing more than pandering to them to get their vote. The weeks ahead will tell us if this effort was successful or if it was a wasted effort.

Despite the rift at the top of the ticket the Republican Party of Iowa has a lot going for it going for heading into the general election campaign. It has the able leadership of Party Chairman Matt Strawn. It has the principled conservative candidates in Brenna Findley and Matt Schultz. And it has a strong cast of candidates working hard toward returning control of the legislature back to the GOP. Despite all the commentary on a divided party, 2010 looks like it will be a great year for the Republican Party of Iowa and the citizens of the State of Iowa.

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Iowa GOP: Divided We Stand…and Proud of it

June 28, 2010 by 18 Comments

After the Republican primary on June 8 I had sworn off attending the state GOP convention which would have only been my second convention as I am fairly new to the process.  During my first convention in 2008 I had to control my gag reflex from the realization that John McCain was our nominee and I wasn’t about to endure the same self-inflicted pain by attending this convention with our newly (but yet repeatedly) elected gubernatorial nominee.  I had given up a lot of personal time during the primary and I was going to sacrifice no more of it, especially for a party that was STILL headed down the tubes and too stupid to know any better.

But what got me up on Saturday morning from my family’s camper and made me drive to downtown Des Moines unshowered and unkept was not for the party but to help my fellow patriots send another message to the GOP in Iowa that I knew would once again land on deaf ears, and also to line up behind warriors like State Representative Dwayne Alons in his very lonely quest for principles in the party.

I realized the unprecedented move to nominate Bob Vander Plaats for Lt. Governor from the floor and override Terry Branstad’s choice of Kim Reynolds was a bold one but I had no idea what the outcome would be.  This nomination happened less than a month from a bitter primary in which a former four term governor and standard-bearer of the Republican party spent over 2 million dollars to only get 50% of the vote in a high turn-out primary.  What many Branstad apologists don’t want to admit is that 100% of the voters who went to the polls on June 8 knew who Terry Branstad was and half of them still rejected him.  Bob Vander Plaats did not have the luxury of millions of dollars and high name recognition but he pulled 41% of the vote because of his stance for the Constitution, God’s law, and conservative principles while rejecting politics as usual.

While it is true that Vander Plaats most likely had the most support from convention delegates to be the next governor of Iowa, I thought it would be interesteting to see how the Lt. Governor vote would go since Bob has never really shown a desire to be on the ticket with Branstad unless the former governor would champion some of his issues and Bob never campaigned to the delegates to vote for him for this position.  I also was curious about the outcome of the vote because most of Bob’s supporters don’t want to see him anywhere near Branstad and would rather he run third party.  I can also bet that many of his delegates were fed up with the party and did not attend convention, which was what I was almost guilty of.

When the final tally came in for the choice for Lt. Governor I was shocked to find out that out of over 1,300 votes Vander Plaats only lost to the hand-picked Reynolds by under 200 votes.  This was astonishing because the effort to get Vander Plaats forced on Branstad’s ticket was a small grassroots effort with no money and the party fought back fiercely by pushing Kim Reynolds with numerous robocalls and emails to delegates.  Unprecedented, indeed.  A divided party, indeed.  A message that will be 100% ingnored………..100% likely.  I am told that about 40% of the delegates left before Branstad gave his speech.  I wouldn’t know since I was one of them.

Of the short time I attended the 2010 Iowa Republican Convention here are some observations:

1.  When the gray-haired people pass on there will be no one left except  for the college kids working for the establishment, which are not very reliable since they may go work for the Democrats also if the price is right.
2.  One of the few not white people in the room was heard to be saying, “The unions screwed me, the Democrats screwed me, and now the Republicans screwed me.  Where do I go now?”
3.  I regret my vote to put Steve Scheffler and Kim Lehman in the position of National Committeman and Committeewoman.  One cannot serve two masters.
4.  Steve King, the champion of the Republican base, is slowly becoming what he has been fighting against.
5.  As suspected with John McCain and proven with Terry Branstad, the second place on the ticket is just window dressing to be shaped and molded and for photo-ops.

Because the old guard of the GOP fails to see that the political climate and this next election is not about who endorses who or a single candidate but instead about the issues and preserving our republic for our children, they will continue to drown in their own irrelevancy while most of us move on.  When Terry Branstad was asked if he was worried about the base not falling in line he responded, “Who else are they going to vote for?”  What he doesn’t realize that the decision looming ahead of us is not who we are going to vote for but how we are going to change our voter registrations.  “Independent” or “no party affiliation” is the tough choice I have to make next and not who I am going to vote for in November because whoever wins, we still lose.

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Branstad’s Lieutenant Governor Mistake

June 24, 2010 by 15 Comments

As most of you are by now aware, Republican Gubernatorial nominee Terry Branstad announced his selection for Lieutenant Governor Nominee in one Kim Reynolds. I will admit that on the surface the selection of Kim Reynolds has the potential to energize the Branstad campaign in much the same way that John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin two years ago gave his campaign a boost. However once you take a step back and look at some of the consequences of this pick it is easy to come to the conclusion that this was Branstad’s one of the few mistakes his campaign has made.

Issue number one that will haunt the Branstad campaign is the fact that Senator Reynolds has been arrested for OWI on two separate occasions, the first in 1999 and the last in 2000. First let me state that I believe that Reynolds has successfully put the incidents behind her as the last event happened ten years ago. I believe that she has made amends for her indiscretions and successfully combated her alcohol addiction. Still there are a large number of Iowan’s that will be unable to forgive Reynolds indiscretions. This will hurt Branstad and his campaign.

With his selection former Governor Branstad has irrevocably tied his campaign to the eminent domain issues raging in Clarke County. For more information on this issue read this and this. Given the fact that Senator Reynolds represents Clarke County in the Iowa Senate her silence on the issue is puzzling. Some Iowa Republican’s rightly point out that one Senator does not have all that much power to change the law. However, what those same Republicans fail to realize is that as Clarke County’s representative in the Senate she had at her disposal a pulpit from which to decry the actions taken against property owners in her home county. Her silence on this issue inevitably leads one to ask which side of the issue she really stands on. And by association the same question will now be asked of former Governor Branstad.

Another aspect about this selection that is troubling is the fact that Branstad chose a sitting Senator as his running mate. With a Democrat majority in the State Senate the Republican Party needs all the hands they can get. Now if Branstad were to win the general election a special election will have to be undertaken at an additional cost to the State of Iowa. To add to this the Republican Party will need to recruit a candidate in an attempt to hold on to this seat in what I have been lead to believe is a Democrat heavy district.

The Branstad campaign has enough baggage as it is, it did not need anymore. Yet that is just what they got with his selection. As I stated above I don’t find the OWI’s troublesome considering the fact that they happened about a decade ago, however some Iowan’s are not as forgiving as I am. I do however find the silence on Clarke County’s eminent domain issues troublesome. And I find it worrisome that Branstad would select a sitting Senator in the middle of what could be a huge Republican comeback. In all I think this was a horrible decision by the Branstad campaign and I firmly believe that it will cost him at the ballot box in November.

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Not signing on to Branstad’s Comeback Tour

June 21, 2010 by 26 Comments

Bob Vander Plaats.

My candidate for Governor of Iowa.

While I follow the speculation about Bob Vander Plaats launching a third party run I certainly don’t know if he will actually do it. I will leave it to the newspapers and experts to hash and spin. And of course there are the various unnamed sources who want to believe that they are in the know.

This is what I know.

From the time the election was called for Terry Branstad the push was on to get voters like me on board the Terry Comeback Tour. Let me show you how this was done.

Via face book and blogs these were the selling points for Bob Vander Plaats supporters to give up their candidate and support another:

Not voting for Branstad: “Have fun wallowing in irrelevance this fall.”

“This sour grapes crap needs to End Now!!!”

“You should be the one crawling to help Branstad and the whole Republican team.”

“I cannot believe you holier than thous that call yourself Republicans.”

And the terms for people like me:

“Trouble makers”

“Losers”

“Idiots”

“Kooks”

And finally, Bob Vander Plaats supporters are part of “a cult”.

If voters for Vander Plaats knew they were taunted and labeled as listed here I would imagine that others in the cult would have difficulty wanting to get on the Terry Comeback Tour. I can’t see Vander Plaats supporters crowding through the door of the actual bus or beating others back to attend a rally or other event. More importantly issues and beliefs would keep them from signing on to the Branstad campaign.

Terry Branstad seems to be a nice man. The mailings that I have received show a man with his grandchildren and other family members. These same mailings list what Terry Branstad will do for Iowa if he is elected to yet another term as Governor. I can understand why former Governor Branstad has such ardent supporters. And, their guy is the ‘winner’ and he got to have the Victory Tour across Iowa.

Bob Vander Plaats also had thousands of Iowa voters who believed in what he would do for Iowa. No amount of name calling or attempts to guilt us in to supporting the winner will work with attitudes and sentiments that so many vocal Branstad supporters are only too happy to convey to us.

While it is very disappointing to not have a candidate at this time that I can support for governor, I will do all I can to assist local candidates with my time and efforts.  No crawling from me. I will cheerfully walk on my own two feet to do so.

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Gubernatorial Primary Analysis

June 15, 2010 by 2 Comments

Now that we are a week removed from the conclusion of the 2010 primary races we can look back at the results with a little bit more of a clear head. We will be less likely to let emotion and irrationality dictate the conclusions that we can draw from the results. We can also provide some advice for former Governor Branstad in his quest to reunite the Republican Party in Iowa. Also looking at some of the data presented to us from the primary we can recognize some trends that must be acknowledged in order for the party to move forward to challenge Culver in November.

The result of the Governor’s race primary was much closer than those polling the race claimed. If you will remember many of the pollsters had former Governor Branstad winning the race by more than 20%. Well, I guess Vander Plaats managed to surprise them. Now let’s look at the vote numbers from the race as posted on the Iowa Secretary of State website here.

Terry Branstad 114,197 50.33%
Rod Roberts 19,849 8.75%
Bob Vander Plaats 92,742 40.88%

As you can see, while former Governor Branstad did manage to defeat his opponents, it was not by the large margin the pollsters predicted. In fact, almost half of the voters in the Republican primary voters voted for a candidate other than Terry Branstad. Now shall we look at the amount of campaign funds spent during the primary by each candidate followed by a breakdown of cost per vote.

Candidate Spent Cost per Vote
Terry Branstad 2,775,961.39 24.31
Rod Roberts 175,124.61 8.82
Bob Vander Plaats 632,509.70 6.82

As you can see, Team Vander Plaats has nothing to be ashamed of. Despite being outspent they managed to pull down about 41% of the vote. At the same time, Team Branstad should be a tad bit worried. The Branstad campaign was outworked by the Vander Plaats campaign. The obvious conclusion that can be drawn from this data is that if had not been for Branstad’s superior war chest there is a great possibility that he may not have won this race.

Another obvious conclusion to be drawn from this information is the clear division within the Republican base. The primary winner barely pulled down half of the primary voters. This indicates to me at least that the Republican base is not happy with the chosen nominee. It now falls upon Branstad to attempt to heal this divide because if he wants to defeat Culver he must win over the one hundred thousand voters that rejected him in the primary. He must tread carefully because any misstep in this process could quite possibly alienate these voters even further.

I really don’t know what it would take to win these voters over, but I can tell you what won’t. First and foremost, Branstad must attempt to distance himself from Doug Gross. Many of the voters that rejected Branstad do not really like Gross’ condescending manner, nor the constant ridicule he continues to pour upon them. Branstad must also admonish his supporters that continue to rub the salt in the open wounds left from the primary battle. If you were to check the comments on The Iowa Republican you would find scores of Branstad supporters belittling and ridiculing Vander Plaats supporters. All of these factors are building together to present former Governor Branstad with the virtually impossible task of reuniting the Republican base in order to defeat Culver in November.

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Change More Than The Governor’s Party Affiliation

June 8, 2010 by 1 Comment

In my mind the most important race being decided today is the race to fill the Republican Gubernatorial nomination. The Democrats have controlled Terrace Hill for so long that some Republicans are willing to sell their soul just to have a Republican win. This is where Terry Branstad comes in. The electorate this year is clearly the most conservative electorate in years and yet the establishment has decided to foist upon the state a candidate that does not have a record of governing conservatively.

Some of Branstad’s supporters tout his financial expertise as a reason to vote for him. They argue that because he was a “successful” four term governor he has the know how to turn this state around. This is a claim that I find highly questionable. One of the many claims that his supporters point to when attempting to debate his positions is the fact that he did cut taxes $163 million in his sixteen years in office. What they neglect to mention is that during that same period he increased state spending by $2.5 billion. In order to increase spending to this level Branstad a variety of taxes and fees in a manner in which Iowan’s may not notice. Branstad also used a budgetary gimmick of using two sets of accounting books during a portion of his tenure. Another Branstad legacy is the fact that he moved the funding for the Iowa State Patrol from the general fund to road use tax allowing him to use the general fund to finance his free spending ways.

On the campaign trail Branstad has been making the claim that he would reduce the size of the state government. To be fair Branstad did reduce the number of agencies in the state, however that is not the whole story. As Paul Harvey would have stated the rest of the story is that despite decreasing the number of state agencies the Branstad administration increased the size of the state government’s workforce going from 9,000 employees to 20,000 employees. Not exactly a conservative record is it.

With so much riding on the outcome of today’s primary election I must urge Iowan’s to make their final decision wisely today. The majority of Iowan’s agree that something needs to change, however if they make the wrong decision the only thing that won’t happen. If you were to look at the records of the candidates the choice should be clear. It is time to change more than just the Governor’s party affiliation, let’s change how the Governor does business. Bob Vander Plaats is the one true choice for Governor.

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My Primary Choices

June 7, 2010 by 2 Comments

With just hours remaining until balloting begins in the 2010 primary the time is growing near when we must make our decisions about who we will cast our vote for. With all the choices out there it was a difficult year to make that decision. I know. It was difficult for me to come to my decisions, but I did it. Now I would like to let you know who I am voting for and why. Perhaps my ramblings will help you come to your conclusion.

As most of you already know, I have come to the decision to cast my vote for Bob Vander Plaats in the Republican Gubernatorial Primary tomorrow morning. Initially this race was filled with good candidates for the masses to choose from. However with the entry of Terry Branstad into the race this changed. At the end only three candidates remained; Bob Vander Plaats, Rod Roberts, and Terry Branstad. After reviewing Branstad’s record I quickly dismissed the possibility of voting for him because I could not square his tax raising tendencies from his previous four terms in off with the rhetoric he has spewed on the campaign trail this time around. Next I looked at Rod Roberts. I liked what I saw; he was a nice guy that kept his nose clean. However the more I watched him the more I came to realize that he wasn’t bold enough of a leader to accomplish what Iowa needs right now. This left Bob Vander Plaats. Make no bones about it I am not voting for Vander Plaats because of his endorsements. I am not voting for Vander Plaats with a lesser of two evils mentality. I am voting for Vander Plaats because I believe that he can lead this state back to prominence both economically and politically. I am voting for Bob Vander Plaats because of the three candidates in the race I believe that he is the candidate best equipped to deal with the issues that our state will face in the coming years. So I am happy to urge each and every one of you to go out tomorrow to your polling place and vote for Bob Vander Plaats for Governor of Iowa.

This brings us to the 3rd Congressional District. This has been a banner year for the Republican Party as seven, count them, seven candidates managed to file the necessary paperwork to appear on the primary ballot tomorrow. And to have several of those seven of those candidates being somewhat decent conservatives is an outstanding declaration on the state of the party here in Iowa. I have to admit that it was difficult making a decision as to who to throw my support behind. However, in the end it was Dave Funk that earned my support. I was so impressed with Dave’s understanding of the constitutional principles that I volunteered to work with his campaign. I don’t say this to disparage the other candidates because there are a few that I would have no problem voting for in the general election, but the primary is about putting forth the best candidate that we have to represent our district and I believe that candidate is Dave. So it is without any hesitations that urge each of you to get to the polling place tomorrow and cast your vote for Dave Funk for Congress.

Now we find ourselves considering the race for Secretary of State. This is a race that has gotten little if any fanfare from the press, including Iowa Defense Alliance. With all the buzz coming from the Gubernatorial and Congressional races mentioned above in conjunction with life in general, well we just didn’t have time to cover it like I would have liked. I managed to meet Matt Schultz at the 3rd District Convention and found him to be an energetic and intelligent man. Our state would do well to have someone such as Matt Schultz as our Secretary of State. I have also met with George Eichhorn in the past and have found him to be a very competent and intelligent individual. However, I feel that Schultz would be our best candidate to take on Mauro in the general election. And so I enthusiastically support Matt Schultz for the Secretary of State nomination.

There is a lot riding on the primary votes that will be placed tomorrow. In all likelihood the direction our state will take in the next four years will be decided by tomorrow’s outcome. That direction will be decided upon the votes that the thousands of Iowan’s will cast. And so it is without hesitation that I urge Iowan’s to get and vote for the three candidates that I have set before you. I believe with all my heart that they are the right individual to lead our state.

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A thank you to Stacia at The Iowa Republican

June 6, 2010 by 2 Comments

Some people read romance novels, mysteries, or nonfiction. Some people read The Iowa Republican where Iowans write “stories”.

Some people seem to have endless amounts of time to comment on these “stories”.

While there are comments written that seem well informed and from respectful people many are just lots of hot air and words that border on character assassination and that get down and dirty about candidates.

Heaven forbid that citizens could comment on the positive ways a candidate would contribute to the lives and liberty of Iowans and Americans.

Oh, no- there has to be talk about hair pieces, hair coloring, and whatever else nasty comes to mind as they drivel on and on and on and on.

There is one person, Stacia, who posts comments on the stories written on The Iowa Republican. Wow, I do not know this person but she needs a gold star in her Republican crown for the tenacity, courage, and grit that she shows with her comments.

“Stacia” wrote something on Saturday that I really liked reading and wish to share:

My late 20-something cousin went to the rally in West Des Moines today. He just went to get an autograph from Chuck Norris. He was a Terry Branstad guy all the way and made fun of my Bob Vander Plaats bumper sticker and said Bob is going to lose. Anyway, while he was waiting in line to get Chuck’s autograph, Bob went to shake hands and talk to people in line. Bob had a short conversation with my cousin, and now he is a solid BVP supporter. He called me to tell me that he is supporting Bob this next Tuesday. Is is no wonder that people who know both Bob and Terry, vote for Bob by more than 5% in the poll. And besides he said, “If I don’t vote for Bob, Chuck will hunt me down and give me a roundhouse kick in the face.”

Thanks “Stacia” for these words left on one of the many “stories” at The Iowa Republican. After all this site is “the news for Republicans by Republicans.” You, Stacia, and a few others, are a breath of fresh air in a place that has become more and more stale, mean, and down right ugly.

And to answer “Cycho Killa”: no I am NOT “brainwashed by Deace/BVP acolytes”. Nice try to put down Stacia and Callmecrusader. We can and do think for ourselves.

Enough about the stories at TIR. Really, enough!

I attended the Des Moines Bob Vander Plaats and Chuck Norris event. I saw lots and lots of happy and enthused people. Young people, seasoned citizens, parents with little babies. People waving Bob Vander Plaats yard signs, Americans shouting “Bob, Bob” and then “Chuck”. There were lots of pictures being taken and voters picking up information to walk around their neighborhoods to promote a vote for Bob. You know, just the American way of positive get out the votes by people who do not spend lots of time writing stories or getting T. B. (tired butt) from sitting at the computer.

I heard a terrific speech by Bob Vander Plaats and positive and encouraging words from Chuck Norris.

One candidate telling the crowd what he will do when he is elected Governor of Iowa.

One American citizen pointing out the great attributes of an awesome candidate.

Yes, it was a happy and rewarding few hours made even better to read the comments by “Stacia” and learning that a voter was influenced to vote for the best candidate, Bob Vander Plaats.

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Why IDA is Supporting Bob Vander Plaats for Governor of Iowa

June 4, 2010 by 2 Comments

Have you ever taken a good look at our country and state and wonder where it all went wrong?  How it got to the point that it has?  Are you fed up?  I know we would all like to blame President Obama and Governor Culver, but the truth is that just as much blame lands in the lap of the Republican party and its leaders.  A party that used to stand for something, but now stands for nothing except how to get through the next election cycle because the position that is supposed to be about serving people has now become a career in which politicians can stuff their pockets and become power brokers with our money, our property, and our freedoms.

However, there is a candidate out there who is nothing like that.  His name is Bob Vander Plaats and he is running for Governor of Iowa against a type of politician that I described above, Terry Branstad.  Bob is not a member of the party establishment that both sides of the aisle are fed up with.  He has no ties to the Republican party machine that the Democrats can use against him and he pays no allegiance to the lobbyists and business cronies that stuff  politicians’ pockets in hopes that they will sell-out their constituents.  Bob is a businessman who was once a teacher, a principal, and a CEO and who loves this state and sees the same things happening to it that we are, and that is why he is running for governor.

Bob Vander Plaats’ feet are firmly planted in the Constitution and the Republican party platform.  His agenda as Governor of Iowa shows us that he has a commitment to education that will restore local control to schools and to parents instead of the government.  His economic ideas stem from growing businesses and bringing new ideas and jobs into the state instead of selling out to the gambling industry or government subsidized programs.  His commitment to the Constitution is demonstrated in his recognition that the Federal Government is reaching beyond its scope and that it is not fulfilling its duty to protect our borders.  He also realizes that the activist courts are eroding our freedoms and need to be put in check.  He is unwavering in the areas of protecting life at all stages and holding on to the bedrock of our society; traditional marriage.  “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” mean something to him.

Fed up?  Join the members of Iowa Defense Alliance and vote for Bob Vander Plaats for Governor of Iowa in the Republican primary on June 8.  Learn more about Bob on his website and join him on facebook and twitter.  Our state is worth it.

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Palin Commits Political Suicide

June 4, 2010 by 13 Comments

Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to remember a once promising political career. A political career cut short by political broken promises and unfulfilled aspirations. It was just yesterday afternoon that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin did what many conservatives across the state thought unthinkable; yesterday afternoon Sarah Palin endorsed former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad in the current gubernatorial primary race. Many Iowa conservatives were at first perplexed at the endorsement; surely this must be a joke they thought. They couldn’t understand why a woman that has proclaimed herself as conservative as Sarah Palin has could endorse a candidate such as Branstad. They think surely Rod Roberts and Bob Vander Plaats are much more conservative than Branstad. Then they go one step further by thinking surely Jonathon Narcisse is more conservative than Terry Branstad is. For those in the audience that may be uninitiated into the realm of Iowa politics it is a very well known fact that former Governor Branstad is not the most conservative candidate in the primary race. In fact there are two other candidates in the race that are much more conservative that Branstad is. I can see that you may be doubting that this is possible so why don’t we review his record so that you can see just how anti conservative Terry Branstad can be.

During his tenure as the Governor of Iowa, Branstad more than doubled the size of the state budget. While I would be able to handle this if the population of the state had doubled but it didn’t. During the Branstad administration the size and scope of the State government increased dramatically as well, something that Palin has campaigned against as she hit the Tea Party tour. Another item that Palin has campaigned against is taxes, wanting to lower them at every opportunity. However, her pick for Iowa Governor can claim his signature to adorn the document codifying the largest tax increase in the history of the State of Iowa. Palin has also been a very vocal opponent to the fiscal mismanagement occurring within the Obama administration, but I guess when a Republican does it, it’s alright. After all it has been no secret that former Governor Branstad used budgetary gimmicks such as using two sets of accounting books during his tenure. Former Governor Branstad has also been traveling around the state proudly proclaiming that he left the State of Iowa with a $900 million surplus, unfortunately he viewed it as the governments money and not the taxpayers. Hasn’t Palin been advocating giving our money back to us?

As you can see Palins pick to win the Republican Gubernatorial nominee is clearly nowhere near conservative as she proclaims to be. Now I know that there are some of you in the audience saying that this is just an anomaly, and that she made a simple mistake and we should forgive here. I might have been able to buy this excuse if this was the first and only occasion where this had happened, but it is not. It is just the most recent in a long list of sell outs. Do I need to remind you that she endorsed John McCain in Arizona, or how about Nikki Haley in South Carolina, and then of course there is Carly Fiorino in California. It truly saddens me to see such a promising young conservative become infected by the same hunger for power that infests Congress. Perhaps it is for the best that we learn this about Palin now rather than during the 2012 Presidential race. It now looks as if Sarah Palin’s Presidential aspirations for 2012 are DOA in Iowa. It saddens me that Palin has torched her own career in order to ride the coattails of the establishment candidates across the country. Maybe from the ashes of her career something good will rise.

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