This morning I had the opportunity to sit in a room with former Governor Terry Branstad along with about a half dozen others and learn his positions on issues. In the room with me were a couple of other pastors as well as Chuck Hurley with the
Iowa Family Policy Center, Kim Lehman with the
Iowa Right to Life, Jonathan Narcisse, Steve Scheffler with the
Iowa Christian Alliance,and my buddy Shane Vanderhart who maintains the blog
Caffeinated Thoughts.
What occurred at this meeting is exactly what I thought would occur. Terry Branstad said things we wanted to hear. He made some things clear to us. He is NOT running a campaign on social moral issues. His campaign is going to have one primary focus. Here's the focus: Culver is doing a lousy job, I can do better.
What Branstad hopes to accomplish in these back-room meetings with pastors and other socially conservative Iowans is to appease us in some way by saying something like this: "We're on the same team. I think the same way you do about these issues. Even if you don't hear me talk about them, they are important to me privately."
But that is NOT leadership. Definitely not the leadership we need. Here's Branstad's track record in Iowa with conservatives:
Under his leadership gambling became legal in this state. There really isn't a need to hold him accountable for the havoc this has reaked on the people of Iowa because as he said to us in that room, "What was I supposed to do? Over 70% of the people wanted it even though I was personally opposed to it."
Under his leadership the DHS allowed homosexual couples to adopt and provide foster care for children. He said he simply wasn't aware of that. Kind of like the Griswold's driving to Wally World in the movie Vacation when they fell asleep at the wheel.
Under his leadership he appointed two of the Iowa Supreme Court Justices who voted to redefine marriage in this state...an act of judicial tyranny.
I asked him if he would openly campaign against retaining those justices and speak out against their decision. He bristled at the thought. He said that privately he feels that way but he can not publicly do something like that. WEAK!
I told him that I was concerned about Doug Gross' influence in the campaign and his potential future administration. Doug Gross, in case you aren't aware, spent lots of money polling people in the state to try to prove that social issues need to be put on the back burner if Republicans are going to win elections. You can see an article about that
Here.
Branstad just ignored my concerns and didn't even respond to them. All in all, if Branstad wins reelection, he will simply be a Republican version of Culver. He is a politician through and through.
The people in this state need to take a stand and not keep getting force-fed candidates who don't have a backbone. We need leadership. We need someone who will be a true champion of conservative values.
We need a strong stand on moral issues (not back-room meetings)! We need someone to fight those who have brought same-sex marriage to this state. Someone who will not be afraid to speak out against rogue justices who have ignored our state's constitution!
Basically what we need in gubernatorial leadership in Iowa is something that Terry Branstad is not able to deliver.
