With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
Bob Vander Plaats and the Iowa Family Policy Center were quick to comment about the Corning situation. In a press release sent out by his campaign, Vander Plaats said, “The timing of Corning’s call is too obvious to overlook. Terry Branstad enters the governor’s race on Saturday night without stating where he truly stands on the issue, and on Tuesday night, his lieutenant governor does an automated call urging Iowans to support same-sex marriages.”
“If you listened closely to his speech on Saturday night, Terry Branstad did not say he supports one-man, one-woman marriage. He said he would break the legislative logjam that is preventing a referendum by Iowans. That’s not the same thing. If he wants to break the road block, he should join me by committing to sign an executive order banning additional same-sex marriages on day one in office until Iowans have a right to vote on the issue,” Vander Plaats added.
Chuck Hurley, the President of Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION said, “[Corning] would never have become Lt. Governor without the electoral support of tens of thousands of Christians and conservatives, and we have no one to blame for this but ourselves.” He went on to say, “Joy Corning has given us another clear example of just exactly why as Christians and conservatives we should no longer sacrifice our convictions for perceived political victories. When we elect people like Joy Corning, we elevate and advance the destruction of the family.”
The Branstad campaign now finds itself in the midst of mess that it didn’t create. Now more than ever, Governor Branstad and his campaign must address the issue of gay marriage head-on. What’s may be more important is that he also has to comment on Corning’s recent actions and distance himself from her radical beliefs.
The best thing Branstad could do is get out on the road and talk to Iowa Republicans about his vision for Iowa. The reason why his recent lackluster speech and Joy Corning’s auto calls drive so much news coverage is because there is nothing else significant to report from the Branstad campaign. For the first month of his campaign, Branstad himself and a few of his friends have been his own worst enemies.
