And a Step to the Right
I thought with a Republican in the White House, I might get by without talking about the ubiquitous Bob Vander Plaats.
I won't.
Vander Plaats leads an organization in Iowa called The Family Leader and quite frankly, to break rule #1 (Never speak ill of the Caucus) is a reason that reality is that sometimes a very small group helps make big national decisions.
Vander Plaats appeared to be just a marginal Iowa character- the perennial far right candidate governor topping out at 30-40% of the primary vote. Instead, he set out to be a kingmaker.
All glory be to God, but Bob thinks quite a bit of himself too. Aspiring to be a Jerry Falwell or Ralph Reed, his results have been mixed at best. Indeed, he likely wakes up at night while similar Iowa loudmouths like Sam Clovis and Steve Deace went to bigger things.
One can’t blame BVP as he got off to a hot start, backing Mike Huckabee, who had a sizable Caucus Night victory over strong competition from McCain, Romney and Giuliani. Of course, Huckabee would only carry 8 states total (mostly in the South)
In any case, the Huckabee win was enough that when 2011 came around, he decided the Family Leader would endorse a candidate. In this case, kissing the ring meant signing the Marriage Pledge. Bizarrely, the Pledge said life was better in the Fifties...... the 1850s.
Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President.
In 2011 anyway, you couldn’t do that. Though Michele Bachman signed quickly, Iowa Republicans were among many who had an issue with those words. The Leader never did endorse anyone, though Vander Plaats did endorse Rick Santorum.
In 2013, Donald Trump headlined Vander Plaats event sowing the seeds of his 2016 run. In 2015, most of the Republican candidates did attend. Of note, Trump attended (the McCain wasn’t a War Hero speech) and began his move away from his previous socially liberal positions. Also, of note, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie did not attend.
BVP would endorse Ted Cruz in 2016 (for his picks to go 3 for 3 in Iowa and 0 for 3 nationally). He since has come around to Trump if this garish painting is any indication.
Unexpectedly, while BVP found Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney too liberal for his tastes, here he was in 2019 inviting the top Democrat candidates to attend his summit.
In a year where Bernie Sanders appeared on a Fox News Town Hall, maybe all bets were off.
It was one of the biggest storylines of April and May. At first, it seemed like Pete Buttigieg might attend. Pete’s Episcopalian faith is a cornerstone of his campaign and he’s fought back with Mike Pence with a real understanding of scripture.
At the end of the day, the Dems turned down Vander Plaats, and like any bully, maybe it is best to ignore him. For sure the party line has been that showing up at the summit means that you are endorsing Vander Plaats. The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa actively encouraged candidates to decline and their reason that The Family Leader “has nothing to do with civility” and essentially they are doing it for all the wrong reasons.
It’s a tantalizing what if. Though Vander Plaats has been gloating uglily since. But as NPR noted, what if VanderPlaats was sincere in some actual civil discourse.
It would not be our intent" for candidates to face a hostile audience and that he hopes to "model civil conversation, even in areas where we have deep disagreements."
"You get points just for showing up," Vander Plaats said. "And so I think our audience would embrace them."
All of this has led to an appreciation of Vander Plaats’s relationship with the late Donna Red Wing. Red Wing invited Vander Plaats for coffee in 2012 while taking active contrasting stands on gay marriage. They famously became friends of a sort. A case of serious odd fellows. There are few more life affirming stories in politics than the story of these two.
Though Vander Plaats occasionally comes off as “Bigot? I have a Lesbian friend” as he tells and retells his Red Wing stories, there are some universal truths. We can all make sweeping statements as we hide behind the keyboard, but to really get to know some one is to achieve real understanding.
Which is a good segue to the Fox News Town Halls. With the candidates skipping the Family Leader Summit, it is likely it will be a fraction of the news story it might have been. However, it doesn't mean the Democrat candidates aren't open to appearing on the opponent's field.
First up was Bernie Sanders, who grabbed headlines in its oddness and juxtaposition. It's probably not fair to categorize the event that way, but that was the first take on it. It did go down as a Hit and I think pundits miss the populism that can transcend party lines. There are bigger similarities between Trump and Sanders than might be obvious. When a maverick shows up- Sanders, Paul, Nader, Ventura, Perot- there is an appeal there that some people gravitate to, and Trump was effective in harnessing it.
Of course, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris decided not to do the Fox News Townhall, which seemed to be maybe the Party Line, but Pete Buttigieg did decide to appear. (Gillibrand will do it later on).
Pete was able to get on the News Channel and effectively take it to the News Channel. It was the kind of appearance that showed he would be able to get on a stage with Trump and be able to hold its own.
I won't spend too much time more on the topic as Ira Lacher's excellent piece for Bleeding Heartland
makes the points better than I could.
Still, the takeaway is that candidates should use these opportunities to not only defend their truths but also reach new audiences.
I won't.
Vander Plaats leads an organization in Iowa called The Family Leader and quite frankly, to break rule #1 (Never speak ill of the Caucus) is a reason that reality is that sometimes a very small group helps make big national decisions.
Vander Plaats appeared to be just a marginal Iowa character- the perennial far right candidate governor topping out at 30-40% of the primary vote. Instead, he set out to be a kingmaker.
All glory be to God, but Bob thinks quite a bit of himself too. Aspiring to be a Jerry Falwell or Ralph Reed, his results have been mixed at best. Indeed, he likely wakes up at night while similar Iowa loudmouths like Sam Clovis and Steve Deace went to bigger things.
One can’t blame BVP as he got off to a hot start, backing Mike Huckabee, who had a sizable Caucus Night victory over strong competition from McCain, Romney and Giuliani. Of course, Huckabee would only carry 8 states total (mostly in the South)
In any case, the Huckabee win was enough that when 2011 came around, he decided the Family Leader would endorse a candidate. In this case, kissing the ring meant signing the Marriage Pledge. Bizarrely, the Pledge said life was better in the Fifties...... the 1850s.
Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President.
In 2011 anyway, you couldn’t do that. Though Michele Bachman signed quickly, Iowa Republicans were among many who had an issue with those words. The Leader never did endorse anyone, though Vander Plaats did endorse Rick Santorum.
In 2013, Donald Trump headlined Vander Plaats event sowing the seeds of his 2016 run. In 2015, most of the Republican candidates did attend. Of note, Trump attended (the McCain wasn’t a War Hero speech) and began his move away from his previous socially liberal positions. Also, of note, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie did not attend.
BVP would endorse Ted Cruz in 2016 (for his picks to go 3 for 3 in Iowa and 0 for 3 nationally). He since has come around to Trump if this garish painting is any indication.
Unexpectedly, while BVP found Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney too liberal for his tastes, here he was in 2019 inviting the top Democrat candidates to attend his summit.
In a year where Bernie Sanders appeared on a Fox News Town Hall, maybe all bets were off.
It was one of the biggest storylines of April and May. At first, it seemed like Pete Buttigieg might attend. Pete’s Episcopalian faith is a cornerstone of his campaign and he’s fought back with Mike Pence with a real understanding of scripture.
At the end of the day, the Dems turned down Vander Plaats, and like any bully, maybe it is best to ignore him. For sure the party line has been that showing up at the summit means that you are endorsing Vander Plaats. The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa actively encouraged candidates to decline and their reason that The Family Leader “has nothing to do with civility” and essentially they are doing it for all the wrong reasons.
It’s a tantalizing what if. Though Vander Plaats has been gloating uglily since. But as NPR noted, what if VanderPlaats was sincere in some actual civil discourse.
It would not be our intent" for candidates to face a hostile audience and that he hopes to "model civil conversation, even in areas where we have deep disagreements."
"You get points just for showing up," Vander Plaats said. "And so I think our audience would embrace them."
All of this has led to an appreciation of Vander Plaats’s relationship with the late Donna Red Wing. Red Wing invited Vander Plaats for coffee in 2012 while taking active contrasting stands on gay marriage. They famously became friends of a sort. A case of serious odd fellows. There are few more life affirming stories in politics than the story of these two.
Though Vander Plaats occasionally comes off as “Bigot? I have a Lesbian friend” as he tells and retells his Red Wing stories, there are some universal truths. We can all make sweeping statements as we hide behind the keyboard, but to really get to know some one is to achieve real understanding.
Which is a good segue to the Fox News Town Halls. With the candidates skipping the Family Leader Summit, it is likely it will be a fraction of the news story it might have been. However, it doesn't mean the Democrat candidates aren't open to appearing on the opponent's field.
First up was Bernie Sanders, who grabbed headlines in its oddness and juxtaposition. It's probably not fair to categorize the event that way, but that was the first take on it. It did go down as a Hit and I think pundits miss the populism that can transcend party lines. There are bigger similarities between Trump and Sanders than might be obvious. When a maverick shows up- Sanders, Paul, Nader, Ventura, Perot- there is an appeal there that some people gravitate to, and Trump was effective in harnessing it.
Of course, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris decided not to do the Fox News Townhall, which seemed to be maybe the Party Line, but Pete Buttigieg did decide to appear. (Gillibrand will do it later on).
Pete was able to get on the News Channel and effectively take it to the News Channel. It was the kind of appearance that showed he would be able to get on a stage with Trump and be able to hold its own.
I won't spend too much time more on the topic as Ira Lacher's excellent piece for Bleeding Heartland
makes the points better than I could.
Still, the takeaway is that candidates should use these opportunities to not only defend their truths but also reach new audiences.
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