Not signing on to Branstad’s Comeback Tour
June 21, 2010 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.
Love your post. I feel the same way.
Happily trudging my irrelevant path as a member of the BVP cult.
Hey, I received a letter from Branstad today. He wants $25. or $50 or even more if possible. He is inspired by my loyalty and motivated by my support. I think this letter went to the wrong person! No money from me for Branstad and certainly no loyalty.File 13 for this piece of junk mail!
I wear my label of “loser” and “kook” proudly. At least the people in my “cult” stand for something instead of lining up at the trough.
Time for some fireworks at the state convention! Delegates, pack along your first aid kits and hope that Chuck Norris comes for back up! BVP supporters, show those stuck up moderates that you won’t be pushed around. If you are going to be labeled as trouble makers, you might as well live up to your reputation! Craig Dailywipe Robinson might need something of interest to write about so go for it!
No warm and fuzzy words from the Branstad Fan Club. Looks like their stingers are out!
In 2008 I voted for John McCain, a candidate that in my opinion was a fatally flawed candidate. I fell for the axiom that a vote for a third party candidate was a vote for Barack Obama. Since that time I have matured and come to realize that the only way to waste a vote is to vote contrary to your conscience. Fast forward to 2010 and I am faced with the same choice. We have from the two major party’s big government candidates with the only difference being one is for bigger government than the other one. This year I vow to not settle for the lesser of two evils. I will advocate that the only wasted vote is the vote that is contrary to the voters conscience. That is why I will not vote for either Chet Culver or Terry Branstad.
I so agree with you Al Bregar. My vote is mine to give or to take away.
The power of prayer and some gutsy state convention delegates. I’m ready!
“Why don’t they just all go fishing. That would be a more worthwhile endeavor.”… Deace Voted for Obama wants State Convention delegates to just go fishing. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad as this is one of her nicer suggestions for BVP supporters.
Gosh… with all of the rain in Iowa who wants to go fishing for actual fish when there will be so much real baiting to do at the convention???? After the many weeks of vile comments by TB supporters I don’t think taking Sat. off is an option for those who will have a voice/vote at convention.
Great points – but then a couple things need clarifying. If you’re not voting for TEB because of the name calling – why did BVP ask to join the TEB ticket? In doing so, does that bother you?
Abacus,
I really don’t think that BVP asked to be on the ticket with Branstad. I believe that to be a manufactured story to stir the Branstad faithful up. If you want me to believe that story bring me some actual evidence to support the claim, not some story based entirely on anonymous sources.
Well, after being called a “teabagger,clinging to my guns and religion”, why not call me an, “idiot, kook, loser, troublemaker”. Or and don’t forget “spoiler”. That will definitely bring me back into line with the Iowa GOP.
I am NOT a “Deace Groupie”, and I will NOT sign on for the “Branstad Comeback Tour”. I will however continue to follow my God and stand on the values my parent taught me.
I agree entirely about the name-calling. It serves no purpose but to widen the divide.
That said, I don’t think holding Gov. Branstad responsible for a few message board bullies is the right solution either. If you really have problems with his nomination, I think I’d start by writing a letter laying out your concerns, or better yet, attending an event and asking him to address personally. State Convention might be a great place to do so, if you are a delegate.
I voted for Rod Roberts. I’ll support Gov. Branstad, and I would have supported Bob if he had won.
We need to come together this fall. Not because the bullies tell us to, but because we’re part of the GOP team, and we need to help take back our state.
Mark- while my post was about the name calling – or the bullies… it is more than crude/rude comments. Many BVP supporters feel social concerns are important and some who surround Terry Branstad wish voters like us would just go away.
How many times must we “come together”? As long as citizens/voters cave in and vote the way the big boys in the Republican Party want us to vote we get more of the same.
I appreciate your thoughtful words and comments.
The Republican Party does not own me. It is not my job to “unify” around Terry Branstad. That stupid ad in the convention flyer – “We Are Unified” – is nothing more than wishful thinking. If Terry Branstad wanted to unify the party, he would have figured out a way to reach out to the 41% of us who voted for Vander Plaats. He hasn’t, and I don’t think he will. Even if Vander Plaats doesn’t run as an independent, he’ll have my vote in November anyway. No way am I ever going to cast a vote for Branstad.
My comment: One thing I can say: For too many decades, social conservatives have laid down and died before the almightly establishment — their votes are never appreciated, simply expected.
For the record – I could care less about Deace Voted for Obama who lurks on another blog site. For all of her tons of negative comments about Steve Deace, WHO and all sorts of other people – what a big mouth. And now she is pushing Rod Roberts. Too late, DVFO. The plan is made and now to be carried out!
Great post….HERE, HERE!!
I will be joining you in your decision in Nov.
I don’t vote for the lesser of 2 evils any more!!!
So I take it none of you had a problem with Bob asking to be on the ticket with Branstad? Hmmmmmm, interesting.
Abacus,
You are spreading a myth. There is no evidence to support the claim that BVP has asked to be on the ticket with Branstad. As I stated in my above comment, all we have is supposed news sources claiming to have confirmation from anonymous sources that this event took place. There is no hard evidence to support this absurd claim.
Hey, I didn’t think you used anonymous names. I can see your email address
I am looking forward to Saturday. The Republican “establishment” will be getting a surprise! They think we are going to roll over–again. Not I. I am through voting for the lesser of two evils.
The “anonymous source” who says that Bob demanded to be on the ticket with Branstad that Craig at the Republican Wipe and others are referring to in that meeting between Branstad and Vander Plaats is the campaign manager for Branstad, Jeff Boeyink, who resigned from RPI after making phone calls for TB behind closed doors. Need I say more?
Listening now to Deace – he is discussing this topic and who BVP supporters would want for Lt. Gov. He wonders if any one of us would sell our vote. Should be interesting. While I will not call I am a NO to be sold. Being sold out by the Republican Party is bad enough.
I’m a delegate to the convention. Is there anyone who is organizing a group of conservative delegates so we can stand together against the Brandstad establishment? I’m lucky to be from a county with many delegates who agree with the same issues that Vander Plaats ran on. I will be in the 4th district delegation from Warren County.
“You Can’t Drink Grapes”
WHEN DEATH COMES TO YOUR VISION
Randy Davis
For those of you unfamiliar with Oswald Chambers, he was a prominent early twentieth century Scottish minister and teacher born in 1874, best known as author of the widely read devotional “My Utmost for His Highest.” In one devotional he speaks of the believer who desires to truly be a Christ follower by using the analogy of being made “broken bread and poured out wine.”
In 1910 Chambers wrote, “God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.”
You see, each of us can expect that God’s major dealings with us will be in harmony with His basic ways. In Psalm 95:10 God said of His own people,
For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know my ways.’
He wants us to know these ways so we can properly respond to the events He brings into our lives. Since each one of us has a special purpose for being here God will often reveal them to us by giving us a special burden, goal, or “vision” for what He may want to accomplish in and through us. Some might call it a “dream” of what we can do or become in life. Man’s way is usually to get a vision – and just plow through and do it.
However, God’s way of doing things is usually not our way. He will often use a sequence or pattern of events that could be categorized as the “Birth of a Vision”—“The Death of a Vision” and then the “Supernatural Fulfillment of the Original Vision.” During the “death of our vision” it is common to become discouraged, distraught and depressed as our commitment is challenged. At this point we can find ourselves in a delicate position. Are we going to hang on to the vision or just throw in the towel and quit? Too often we quit rather than holding on to the hope or vision of our calling. But when we remain faithful in seeking God’s wisdom during these times, He usually fulfills our expectations in ways that we never would have thought.
For example, Abraham had a “vision” of being the father of a great nation. But death soon came to that vision with the realization that his wife Sarah was barren and too old to have children. During the death to our vision, rather than giving up, we sometimes even attempt taking matters into our own hands in order to acquire the fulfillment to our vision, thinking our circumstances confirm the impossibility of God ever fulfilling this dream or vision for our life. Abraham did exactly that by having a child with Sarah’s handmaid Hagar, which not only created more problems for him at the time, but lead to even more problems down the road. God did supernaturally fulfill the original vision in His own time when he gave Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age. Isaac became the father of a great nation.
Joseph had a vision that he would be a great leader and that many would bow down to him. He experienced the death of that vision when his older brothers sold him to some merchants and he became a slave. Later he was falsely accused and condemned to spend his years in prison. (Talk about the death of a vision.) You may recall that God did fulfill that original vision years later, when he allowed Joseph to interpret the dreams of the butler and baker and later the king, whereupon, he was made ruler in the land.
Moses had a vision of leading his people out of the bondage of Egypt. Soon however, he experienced the death of his vision when Pharaoh, as well as his own people drove him out of Egypt after his first attempt to relieve their bondage. In time, that original vision was supernaturally fulfilled when God gave Moses special signs and wonders to convince Pharaoh and his people that God was speaking through him to lead the nation to Canaan.
The Disciples of Jesus had a vision of establishing and being an important part of the Kingdom of God. The death to that vision came when Jesus was killed by the very ones He came to save, and the disciples saw Him buried in a tomb. God supernaturally fulfilled that vision as you know (a few days later in this case) when he raised Jesus from the dead, and great miracles were performed by the disciples until the Gospel had spread throughout the entire world.
It could be said that a grain of wheat has a “vision” of reproducing itself and many more grains of wheat. However, death comes when that grain of wheat is planted because it dies and rots in the ground. That vision is supernaturally fulfilled at a later time when a bountiful harvest springs up out of the very process of “death” in the ground. As Jesus said in John 12:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
In our lives today, I believe we must see the need for the death of a vision.
This may apply to the spiritual arena of our life, but could involve our occupation, our relationships, or even our political involvement and preferences. When we are finally certain that there is no way we can in our own strength, knowledge, or wisdom, accomplish the vision – it is at this point of “letting go” that God is free to work. As we rest in Him, He expresses His workmanship. This is not to say we should remain “idle or lazy” during the death to our vision. We must actively trust, obey, seek and serve God as we anticipate and expect Him to work out His revealed will in our life, even when it doesn’t seem possible. God always provides for the birds of the air, but they do not remain idle on a tree branch expecting food to be placed in their beaks or for nests to magically appear. Watch the birds, they are always moving, searching, and working.
Since God is far more concerned with our becoming like Jesus Christ in character than He is with our doing good works to further His Kingdom, He uses this time of “waiting” during the death of a vision to accomplish character building. Qualities we are sure to develop during the death to our visions include patience, in waiting on God’s timing; Faith, in knowing what He can and will do; Meekness, in yielding our personal rights to Him: Self control, in not running ahead of God, and many others.
Satan’s purpose or “building program” during the death of a vision is to destroy God’s work in our lives and also as much of the potential for achieving God’s work as he can. He prompts us to try in our own energy and wisdom to fulfill the original vision. He does not want us to learn God’s qualities, and whenever we follow his leading-conflict results. A classic example mentioned earlier is Abraham trying to fulfill God’s promise of a great nation by having a son by Hagar. Conflict has resulted ever since between their descendants. We have read and heard about this Arab-Jewish conflict on a daily basis now for many years.
You may wonder why God has chosen to do things in this way. One reason may be this. If we could accomplish the vision totally on our own, we would. Then we would take the glory for our self. But when we turn it over to the Lord, allow the “seed to die” and wait on Him to fulfill the vision in ways we could have never even imagined, then He gets all the glory.
Many times over the years, I have experienced the death of a vision, and each time have seen the Lord fulfill that vision in ways unlike anything I could have ever even thought of. Using the grape analogy, I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have we sometimes been more like a marble and escaped?
From my observations and experiences over the years in meeting and dealing with people, it is very rare indeed to find an individual willing to put them self in the public political arena that have the honesty, integrity and character of a man like recent Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Vander Plaats. Bob is a rare jewel worthy of our prayer for the direction and plans God may have already in place for him. His loss on June 8th certainly seemed in our household to be the “death to our vision”, at least in a political sense where the race for Governor was concerned. There may be others reading this who had “their candidate” experience a difficult race or even a defeat.
However, what may have seemed to be the death of Bob’s “vision” on June 8th – may only be the beginning of something God finishes in a supernatural way that we could never even think of now.
In conclusion, keep in mind that God knows left to ourselves, many of us would only develop a small portion of the aptitudes, abilities and capacities which He has put within us. Therefore, in order to direct and motivate us in developing the rest, God chooses to bring into our lives certain problems, irritations and responsibilities. Our plans and visions must sometimes experience death, so that God can shape us and mold us into the person He wants us to be.
Among many other reasons, when seemingly unjust and unfair things occur in life that make us ask why or how, it may in part just boil down to this. You can’t drink grapes.
Randy Davis
Ottumwa, Iowa
641-680-2997
http://www.chalkartist.com