Iowa Family Policy Center and Bob Vander Plaats are Helping Kent Sorenson
October 26, 2010 9 Comments
There seems to be some confusion on a Republican website regarding the Kent Sorenson vs. Staci Appel race in Iowa Senate district 37. The confusion is not on who is the better candidate (Sorenson) but on who has got his back in this personal and down-right ugly race in the website’s latest post.
It’s also disappointing that more people have not come to the defense of Sorenson. For the past two years, Sorenson has carried a lot of water at the Statehouse for conservative organizations like the Iowa Family Policy Center (IFPC). He was there for them when they needed him, but where are they when he needs help? The same goes for Bob Vander Plaats, who Sorenson supported in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Sadly, IFPC probably can’t be of much assistance to Sorenson because most of its staff has either quit or was fired in recent weeks after Vander Plaats came on board as the new CEO of IFPC’s parent organization.
Since I am closely aligned with voters in this district I know for a fact that Bob Vander Plaats sent out a personal letter to Kent Sorenson supporters giving them a page of reasons on why we need him in the Iowa Senate and to donate directly to his campaign. The Iowa Family Policy Center sent out a sleek-looking voter guide to people in that distract comparing Sorenson’s record to Appel’s liberal agenda. The IFPC also sent out an additional 20,000 piece mailer to the district in support of Sorenson with Staci Appel’s home phone number. It looks like The Iowa Republican either failed to check the facts or purposely ignored them for their own personal vengeance.
What I am wondering is why it took a Republican website so long to come to the defense of one of its own. Kent Sorenson has been under Staci Appel’s attack for quite some time now and there is just now an article on it? And embedded in the article is a couple of hit jobs on the same person and organization that the website rallied against during the Republican primaries? And not only that it makes reference to a Vander Plaats’ position at IFPC that hasn’t even been announced yet and gives undocumented names of people quitting or being fired?
I realize that Kent Sorenson needs all the help he can get against Staci Appel and her attacks but using the story to embed a personal vendetta with fabricated facts is just plain bad journalism.
Right on.
The Iowa Republican is the supreme R.I.N.O. blog – who sees people like Kent Sorensen as “the enemy” because the “R” party machine can’t control him. If the IA”R” blog and ITR and other R.I.N.O. types don’t wake up – they’ll rise one morning to see they have no party left. We’ve all gone to find a group that cares about principles before party.
Maybe “The Iowa Republican” should change its name to “The Iowa Moderate.” The article obviously doesn’t support the only true conservative in the gubenatorial primary race. The writer also wants to discredit the organization that Bob Vander Plaats recently joined.
I know moderates wantto keep conservatives from taking over the party.Conservatives should be just as mad that the moderates mouth conservative principles while governing and legislating like socialists lite.
Well, well, well. So TIR is up to its old tricks. I am wondering what it will take for them to quit bashing the same people over and over again. What did the CEO thing have to do with their article on Sorenson?
Vander Plaats is destroying IFPC. He has fired/pushed out the door many of the people that made IFPC what it is today, including former Sec. of State candidate Mike Hartwig. Vander Plaats needs to take a break from Iowa Politics.
Of those who have left or were fired from IFPC, only Mike Hartwig was on staff when I moved back to Des Moines 8 1/2 years ago.
I don’t know all of the details, but I think Mike’s departure has more to do with funding for Marriage Matters than anything to do with politics.
I could be wrong about that… I mean you are the “Insider”.
The Iowa Republican is self serving and quick to smear Bob Vander Plaats – so putting down BVP is more important that the opportunity to assist Sorenson.
Appel repeatedly lies about Sorenson in her print attack ads. First, she falsely stated that Sorenson did not pay his taxes. Despite their discharge in bankruptcy, Sorenson elected to pay all his taxes with penalties and interest. See http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2010/09/another-staci-appel-smear-against-kent-sorenson-in-iowa-senate-district-37/ AND http://www.topix.com/forum/city/ackworth-ia/T4QG87MP53NOAOOCC. Second and third, Appel falsely alleged Sorenson “sponsored legislation which would allow kindergarten teachers to carry concealed weapons in classrooms” and “led the effort to allow concealed weapons in bars.” House file 596, the legislation cited by Appel as support for these allegations, does not even mention these topics. http://coolicelegis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=billinfo&Service=Billbook&menu=false&hbill=HF596 AND http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/09/30/iowa-democrats-strategy-for-iowa-senate-district-37-smear-kent-sorenson/.