Confident and Relaxed, Vander Plaats Believes the Third Time’s a Charm.
- Monday, March 16, 2009, 4:45
- Iowa, Top Story
- 8,205 views
- 116 comments
Just over seven weeks ago, Bob Vander Plaats announced that he would begin raising money and building a grassroots organization for his third attempt to win the Republican nomination for Governor. On Friday, Team Vander Plaats allowed TheIowaRepublican.com an up close look inside his campaign as the candidate campaigned in Cedar Rapids.
The day began long before Vander Plaats’ 1998 GMC Suburban picked me up at the abandoned truck stop at exit 197 near Brooklyn. At 7 a.m., the campaign team held its weekly conference call, which was followed up by Vander Plaats talking to a couple of his business clients. Vander Plaats is the President of MVP Leadership, a strategic planning, executive mentorship, personal inspiration, fund development, and succession planning business.
Later that morning, Vander Plaats taped an episode of Iowa Press, which aired on Iowa Public Television this past weekend. You can watch the video or read the transcript of his visit by clicking here. Vander Plaats then had lunch with the Editor of the Des Moines Register, Carolyn Washburn, before heading to eastern Iowa for the rest of the day.
As we made our way to Cedar Rapids, we talked about Vander Plaats’ 2002 campaign, where he was basically unknown, but managed to get almost 32% of the vote in a very tight three person contest. We also discussed his 2006 campaign, which he ended before the primary to join Jim Nussle on the ticket as the Lt. Governor nominee.
Vander Plaats said that the 2006 gubernatorial primary was dividing the people and the party. He said the decision to end his campaign before the primary was one of the toughest decisions he has had to make. In fact, Vander Plaats told me, “It was the most un-Vander Plaats decision ever.”
When talking about his 2010 campaign, Vander Plaats believes his previous attempts are a strength rather than a weakness. He admits that in 2002, and even 2006, he was relatively unknown, but being Nussle’s running mate and being involved in Mike Huckabee’s 2008 caucus campaign has opened more doors than he would have ever imagined possible.
Vander Plaats believes Iowans respect hard work and perseverance and look at him as someone who is trying to provide leadership to our state, not just as person trying to add another accomplishment on a resume. He says that there is no such thing as a perfect candidate and he certainly is not perfect, but he wants to “finish what he started.”
Vander Plaats acknowledged that some criticize his campaign for not being more aggressive out of the gate. He said that he could be at the capitol every week speaking out against various issues, but said he wanted to respect the new Republican leaders in House, Senate, and state party. Instead, Vander Plaats is focused on building a state-wide organization and raising money, which he believes are the keys to building a winning campaign.
Our first stop in Cedar Rapids was a press conference announcing Peter Teahen as the campaign chairman for Linn County. Teahen ran for Congress in 2008, but narrowly lost the second district primary to Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. While Teahen was unsuccessful, he was able to garner almost 67% of the vote in Linn County. Teahen is recognized for his work responding to various disasters with the American Red Cross.
After the press conference, Vander Plaats and his finance director had a meeting with a prominent Cedar Rapids businessman who is helping the campaign raise money in the area. On our way there, I asked Vander Plaats if this individual is a previous donor. He informed me that this individual did not support his 2002 or 2006 campaigns.
The final stop of the day was a Conservative Coalition of Iowa event. The meeting was organized by former U.S. Senate Candidate Christopher Reed. Nearly 70 people packed into a basement room at the Longbranch Hotel in Cedar Rapids to watch Glenn Beck’s “We Surround Them” TV special.
After the group watched the television special, State Representative Renee Schulte, State Senator David Hartsuch, and Vander Plaats spoke. In his keynote speech, Vander Plaats focused on leadership. He told the story about how his father, John Vander Plaats, graduated high school at the age of 74 in 2000. Bob’s father was one of twelve WWII Veterans who graduated that day.
Vander Plaats then told the audience that his father would never tell him about his WWII experience.
His father participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima, which Vander Plaats never knew until his High School graduation. After the ceremony, Vander Plaats convinced his father to let him record his story about WWII. At the end of that interview, John’s advice to his grandkids and great grandkids was “Love this country, Serve this country, Give your life for this country if you have to. Defend this country, and you start by Defending our country on your knees every night.”
Vander Plaats then recounted a story about his oldest son Hans. Hans was the TV athlete of the week a few years ago, and when asked by the sportscaster how he can take his game to a different level, he said he writes his brother’s name, Lucas, on the inside of his basketball shoes. Lucas is severely disabled, and will never be able to run the court, shoot a basket, or make the winning shot. Hans said he had to give it his all since he gets the opportunity to play, and his brother never would.
Vander Plaats concluded his speech by telling the audience “I believe the best days are ahead of us, because once you have seen the dark, you don’t want to go there.” He asked those in attendance to accept the challenge of his father and be a great generation. He then asked them to accept the challenge of his son and advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves.
After spending a day on the campaign trail with Vander Plaats, I found him to be very relaxed and confident. When asked if he is worried about additional candidates joining the race, he said, “Come on in, the water is fine.” Vander Plaats’ confidence comes from his previous experiences in running and the faith he has in the people organizing on his behalf.
In addition to Teahen in Linn County, Vander Plaats said he has the support of Luana Stoltenberg in Scott County, Rose Kramer is Dubuque County, and has an outstanding person who just signed on to head up his efforts in Polk County. One gets the sense that with each day that passes with noone else officially in the race, the more confident Vander Plaats becomes.
About the Author
Craig Robinson has written 454 stories on this site.
Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.
116 Comments on “Confident and Relaxed, Vander Plaats Believes the Third Time’s a Charm.”
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- IowaRepublican.com: Confident and Relaxed, Vander Plaats Believes the Third Time’s a Charm « THE CONCEPT WORKS
- Bob Vander Plaats Gives Strong Performance on IPTV « Iowa Defense Alliance
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Nice article, Craig.
Well written, Craig. Keep it up!
Excellent article.
You describe perfectly the poised, relaxed–dare I say, Reaganite–Bob Vander Plaats I saw this weekend on Iowa Press. Go Bob. The Conservative Bob Ray…
Perhaps you mean ‘confident’ rather than ‘confidant’…
My bad, thanks Robin.
It’s a ‘teacher’ thing…even if this teacher’s school is behind razor wire.
No problem Robin. I hope to never be in your classroom….
I hope that some of Mr. Vander Plaats unnamed campaign staff (apparently they only have first names??) include an elocution coach. Throughout Iowa Press, he hardly ever put a “g” on the end of a word that ended in “ing.” As with “runnin’” and “goin”.
and has an outstanding person who just signed on to head up his efforts in Polk County.
Who?
Isn’t Teahen the spooky fraud that got emboiled in some scandal right before primary day last year?
Great article. I would love to link to it but this URL is not working. Any suggestions?
Does Bob have a job?
Yes he has a job. He has had the same job for 10 years. It’s called running for governor. Now mind your own business.
“It was the most un-Vander Plaats decision ever.” What happened to putting the “cause above self” Bob or are you saying that really is un-Vander Plaats?
BVP is not about cause above self. He is about Bob first and foremost.
Excellent article. Very accurate. Bob and Darla have sacrificed a lot to run for governor. They are a quality family. Iowa should be proud of such a family. Families like this are what makes our state a great place to live. That said, Bob is not the perfect candidate. But he does have significant experience in the major areas of state government–education and health care and management. His role and positions in this campaign will bring sharp contrasts with current state management practices. As our nation and state slip down the slope of increasing debt, inflation and taxes, Bob will remind us that there is a better way. Conservative policies work. Liberalism will bankrupt us.
And now he has partnered with Teahan who has twice as many ex-wives as Nussle. But only 1/3 of the election loses as Bob.
The same people that are upset that Bob is too right-wingy and social conservative are mad that he has support from Teahan. What’s up? Bob did awesome on Iowa Press.
News flash Anon 19:43, the Anononymous blogers on this and every other site that hate BVP are the same small handful of people with an Ax to grind. There are too few of them to actually undermine Bob so they do the only thing they can do. They go on blogs and pick at Bob hoping someone actually believes that there is a ground swell of people who believe as they do. There aren’t, that’s why they post Anononymously.
Vander Plaats should know better than to put Peter Teahen into a high profile position within his campaign.
Teahen was basically exposed as a fraud in his campaign for Congress last year. He got caught red handed inflating his resume, he tried claiming his was this big conservative guy when he had switched parties in 2007 in order to run as a Republican. He made donations to PRO-ABORTION candidates such as Julie Thomas and Mike Blouin and then he had his stories about “staring death in the face” in Darfur blow up in his face by a fellow aid worker who said the stories were pure fantasy.
If Vander Plaats wants to court the conservative vote, going with someone like Peter Teahen to be in his leadership is not the way to go.
Steve King will endorse Bob. You heard it here first.
Will Steve King endorse BVP if he has intentions of running?
Mariannette is probably right that King will avoid endorsing anyone early because that would end the speculation that he’ll run before he can get the maximum statewide exposure as a potential candidate. In the end, King is too smart to take on an incumbent Governor in a state that typically doesn’t vote them out. I would be willing to bet King’s plan is to wait until Culver, Harkin or Grassley retires and then go after the open seat. Until then, he’ll just bide his time in his safe congressional seat. My guess is that he endorses BVP early next year when he announces that he’s going to run for another term in Congress. That is, unless of course Mariannette knows something that the rest of us don’t.
King would be stupid to give up his “safe” seat to run for Governor. He could be a congressman as long as he wants and only Governor of Iowa for up to 8 years. If no one with a big name jumps into the race.. I agree…He will endorse Bob early next year. We need everyone to get behind a candidate, otherwise we will lose. No more “in-fighting.”
I was impressed with Bob’s speaking skills on Iowa Press. I was a Nussle supporter in 2006, but I am on the Vander Plaat band wagon this time around. We need someone who can communicate effectively. Average Iowans are not politcal junkies. They watch TV and make their decision. I would love to see the Big Lug face BVP.
If you think we republcans are having a good chuckle at Bob’s expense, just imagine what the democrats are doing right now. BVP is our Sol Muhammed. Isnt there somebody credible that will step up and run? You know, somebody who has had a job in the last nine years or has not lost every race they entered. Hes run for governor twice and Lt. governor once and now he is running for governor again or at least until he is forced out and decides to run for congress or something else.
6:51, we all know that you and another handful of “insiders” don’t like Bob because he’s not your pawn. But comparing him to Sal Muhammed is asinine and it makes you look foolish. Just take a look at this story. Its over a week old and people are still commenting on it. In fact, it’s the hottest story on the whole site. Bob is big news and he’s clearly got the boys in the tired old establishment scared. Why else would they orchestrate a concerted effort to undermine him at every turn with idiotic comments like the one you just made? The big difference is, for every anti Vander Plaats post, there is a pro Vander Plaats post pushing back. Sorry guys, this is 2010. In 2002 and 2006 people like you convinced us to get behind 2 losers. People aren’t buying your anti Vander Plaats manure this time.
7:30 I second your post. If Bob wasn’t a threat, no one would read this post or comment on Bob. Who is the other guy running? Rod something and no one comments under that article because we no he isn’t a threat. Actually, the more they comment, the more we know that Bob is a threat. Keep the comments comming peeps!
In all fairness, the only reason this story is getting comments is because people want to poke fun at a laughable candidate. Correction, a laughable perrenial candidate. The fact that he has been running since the Clinton adminstration makes he himself a member of the old boys network. With one exception, the rest of the old boys network is sitting back and saying we told you so. And its not just Nick Ryan or Doug Gross or Steve King. Its basically everyone who has every worked with him, for him or against him that are united in their view that this dog can’t hunt. How else can you explain that guys like Ed Failor or Rod Roberts can even be mentioned as possible candidates unless the Great Dutch Hope is really a Greatly Hopeless Dutch?
That’s a simple question. The reason these people keep getting mentioned is because the spineless former establishment guys like Doug Gross and Rants are so desperate to hold onto some semblance of their former power in a party that has turned its back on them that they are looking for any Manchurian candidate the can. Keep in mind, whoever takes their bate and runs in this primary will be nothing more than a shill for Gross and Rants. That’s the dirty little secret isn’t it 16:30? You boys can’t find anyone dumb enough to carry your water. No one wants to bare the stink of being their candidate. That’s why they all toy with it for a week or 2 and then pass. Truth is, outside of Anonymous blog posts, and the Ivory towers of Des Moines law firms, Bobs detractors are few and far between. If he was really such a joke to the voters and volunteers out in the trenches, some one would have stepped up to run against him by now.
7:30 – I’m not going to tread in to the BVP “love him or hate him” argument, but I just have to comment on the “hottest” article on this site. I can click refresh multiple times a second on this post and it’s viewership goes up. If I worked for Bob, I would be doing that at least a few times a day to maintain top billing. I’m not being cynical, I’m just stating how that works. Back to everyone else why BVP sucks/rocks – whatever.
I just gave constitution daily over 400 hits on their grassley/northey post in less than 1 minute.
I am no ivory tower Republican and I think Bob Vander Plaats is a certifiable weirdo. Give me anybody but Bob.
Does anyone know if he’s raised the $250k or is that a secret like the last names of the people that are goin’ to work on his campaign??
Why don’t any of Vander Plaats’ former staffers support him when there are no other declared candidates? What do they know that we don’t?
Which former supporters exactly are you referring to? I noticed this came up a while ago on Krusty. I asked, and no one ever provided any specific names. That leads the rest of us in the general public wondering if what you’re saying is true or if its just more anti-Vander Plaats hype? There seems to be a lot of anon posters on blogs spreading that but in my County, Jasper in case you’re curious, people are raving about Bob.
Who does everyone think will run against Bob in the primary?
I think Bob may be a sacrificial lamb like Hartsuch or Schmet or even Reed and that is unfortunate. All credible candidates seem to be sitting this one out for fear that this state will continue to not throw out a sitting governor. I think Culver is ripe for the picking and can easily be beaten with the right candidate. Bob? Been there. Done that. Several times actually.
When have we “been there, done that” with Bob? From my perspective, he was right 2 previous times. The talking heads in the establishment said he was the “wrong guy” like you just said now … Turns out, their candidate of choice was wrong. I think the difference is that this time, people are willing to give Vander Plaats the bennifit of the doubt and let him have his chance and telling the talking heads like Doug Gross and Chris Rants to shut up and get out of the way.
Nice straw man argument there buddy. We aren’t talking about Doug Gross or Chris Rants no matter how much you’d like to. This is a discussion about Bob Vander Platts. Been there and done that in 2002 where he came in 3rd in a 3 way race. In 2006 he came in a distant 2nd in a 2 way race. Also in 2006 he joined the general election ticket to show his “broad support” in Western Iowa and you know what? He got smoked. So at the risk of defining insanity by doing the same thing over and over again yet especting a different result like yourself, I’ll just restate my point this one last time; BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT!
And for crying out loud, he’s been running for governor since the Clinton Adminstration. How can you possibly ask how we have been there and done that? Are you fresh out Northwestern College and did not pay attention to the last 10 years of Iowa politics? WTF
Bob Blows. NEXT.
I think one of the earlier commenters raised the serious question that was subsequently ignored. Who is going to take him on in a primary? Is it too early to tell or will he be the sacrificial lamb?
No offense the Bob’s bashers out there, but who did you support in 2002 and 2006. I bet they LOST to the Dem. Governor is office. Normal Iowans don’t want some political establishent figure. We are SICK of the establishment or politian currently in office. Iowans from all areas of Iowa demonstrated their anger at the state capitol yesterday. I’m not saying Bob is the best option we have, but currently he is the only one who is willing to step up and speak out against Culver and the Dem’s crazy ideas and is doing a pretty good job. He speaks well and relates to many Iowans. He is an educator, coach and businessman. If Bob is the man to win the primary, I’m all for it. I can see him relating to Iowans more than some politcal establishment selected person who only wants to run because the establishement picked him. Bob has conviction and I think normal Iowans will appreciate and respect Bob. Bob’s supporters are not decreasing, but increasing. He has better organization this time around. I bet everyone thought Reagan was a loser to when he ran 3 times, but he showed them and won 49/50 states. I’m not saying Bob is Reagan, I’m just saying that you can’t just exclude someone who ran before. The establishement won the primaries in 2002 and 2006 but LOST in the general. Maybe it’s time to pick someone who isn’t a politician. That is what we need. Culver the Politician vs. Bob the Common Man. —See, makes sense.
Bob, you left out from your bio and past experiences that you are also a visionary and a leader.
To: Countdown to Culver’s Last Day
I supported Bob in 2002 and 2006. A couple of points if I may. Bob came in third his first try and although he did as well as one might hope for a 3rd place finish in a 3 way race, you cannot ignore the fact that it became a 3 way race only after a great big gapping void in the party had been left by both Bob and Sukup’s inability to ignite a fire in the belly of Iowa republicans. So voters looked to a new alternative in Doug Gross. Was Gross a perfect candidate? No, but compared to the other options he was. In 2006 I gave bob my support yet again due in part because Sukup had decided to chair his campaign or at least that is what we were led to believe. Bob started out strong but began to fizzle before reaching the finish line. To make matters worse he lied to me and my fellow Iowans who supported him by denying that he was joining the Nussle ticket only to learn that he had in fact already agreed to do so thanks to Governor Branstad blabbing to the media about it in an attempt to remain relavant. So once joining the ticket he did what exactly? He made a deal with the devil and then he went into hiding and refused to campaign unless he got to call the shots and hire/fire the Nussle staffers. Lastly, I gave him 2 and a half shots at Terrace Hill already so to claim that he is the “common man” candidate when he has been a “common man” candidate since the Clinton administration is utterly absurd.
I’ll support whoever wins the primary. Don’t get all riled up. We should all support whoever wins. It is the only way we will beat Culver. We should be a united party. I think it depends on who enters the race. I can only comment on Bob because he is the only candidate that entered so far.
I think Bob just won the primary. Social Conservatives will be out in force next year. They will be so angry about today’s ruling. Actually, a lot of Iowans are. Chet Culver and Tom Harkin both said they would support an ammendment to the constitution in support of traditional marriage as between one man and one woman.
Humm almost 3 weeks and still the same old tired lines against Vander Plaats. He was standing up for marriage in Iowa today. He was standing up for taxpayers on Tuesday. Where were you guys? You had better get some better find some new talking points, or better yet, a candidate to run against him ASAP. The window of opportunity is slowly closing.
Any Republican will be better than Culver.
Bob has no shot, no matter what his nameless staffers post on a blog. Get a clue people, ask yourselves why all of his former staff won’t support him when he is the only candidate running.
I like how anon doesn’t have a name unless his name is anon. Whether you like Bob or not, he has the best chance of wining now that this ruling occured.
go bob go. go bob go.l
Best chance of who to win? How is Bob going to win in November when he realizes he isnt running against a Mormon to rally the Huckabigots? Not gonna happen.
bob vander plaats is a loser who has not had a real job or career other than running for governor in the past 10 years.the fact that some of you people find him compelling or credible is absolutely just plain weird. the guy is a loser.
Iowa Independent reports that Steve King would run for governor is Culver doesn’t respond quickly to having congress pass a marriage ammendment.
Hey, who stole Bob’s eyebrows?
The fact that so many people who claim Vander Plaats is a loser and unworthy of our time spend so much time bashing him though anonymous comments on blogs is funny. If he’s such a loser, why are you talking about him? Truth is, you’re scared that you’re candidate (who doesn’t seem very forthcoming) cant beat him and therefore, wont give you a job on their campaign. Your comments as transparent as a windshield. But keep them coming. You’re keeping this story the #1 story on the site and giving Bob even more attention.
Who thinks King will run? Do you believe his comments that he would likely run if Culver doesn’t act fast on the gay marriage issue? Would he be the best candidate or is he too devisive?
If King runs for Governor, I’ll be surprized. Dont get me wrong, I think he would be a great Governor, but I for one am terrified about who takes the 5th District seat in Kings absence. Chris Rants is a wheezle and shouldnt even be in the Iowa House, let alone Congress. If King leaves you will see a total power vacume in the 5th District as every major conservative jumps in. This leaves the door open an insincere power monger to gain a plurality in the primary, take the nomination and dominate one of the safest Congressional seats in the country. Conservatives in Iowa and nationally seem to take what King does for granted. King is a stand-up kind of Congressman and because his district is so safe, he has the ability to carry water on the immigration, marriage, life and every other issue that other Congressmen cant carry. I trust Steve King 100% and I hope he will stay in Congress and start working his way up into the House Republican leadership. King is the only man in Congress who can paint the vision for the future of America that compairs to the vision Newt Gingrich painted in 1994. That is my 2 cents. Steve King rocks! That’s why we need him in Congress.
I agree that Steve King is a great congressman and would make a great governor, but I still just don’t believe he could win statewide. Which would mean we would have 4 more years of Culver and God knows who in Congress.
I think the GOP will for sure take back the House in 2010 after all the shananigans the Dems are pulling. Iowans woke up last Friday morning and turned on their TV sets and wondered what the HEDoubleHockeySticks happened. I bet 90% of Iowans didn’t know the Supreme Court was about to make a decision. I have several Democratic neighbors who are disgusted with the Supreme Courts decision. 2010 looks to be a good year for the GOP and that was before the decision on Friday.
I can’t believe the innocence of some of the posters. Yes, 2010 could be a good year for the Republicans, if Iowans can remember in November of that year what’s going on now. We also need to have candidates that can win statewide races. We don’t have any that have announced yet. And our party needs to focus more on winning back the statehouse instead of an undescribable standard of ideological purity, which is its current obsession. Finally, anyone who thinks that it is a level playing field to win back the governor’s seat and statehouse doesn’t have a concept of of the voting roadblocks that have been placed in front of Republicans, and which our organization doesn’t acknowledge.
Everyone should pray for Bob Vander Plaats family. He lost his Dad last night. Here is what Bob sent out in an e-mail…
“Many of you have heard me talk about my Dad. He is a hero to me. He lost both of his parents and one of his brothers due to a tragic car crash when he was 13 years old.
He served his country as a member of the US Navy in WWII. He was trained in amphibeous landings. He participated in the invasion of Iwa Jima. He was honored by Sheldon High School as an honorary high school graduate in the year 2000 at age 74.
When he returned home from the war, he served his Church, his spouse, his children, his community, and his country. As a parent he had the most difficult task of burying three of his eight children. Barbie passed away at age 6 on Christmas day due to complications of a rare kidney disease. Bradley was stillborn at birth. And Harlan passed away at age 21 as a result of injuries incurred in a car crash.
At 8:41 last evening, April 6, my Dad joined his parents, his three children,and many of his WWII peers in the Heavenly Hosts.
Best of all, he has met his Savior face to face and cheek to cheek and every tear has been wiped away.
I can only imagine his singing, his laughing, and his feasting at the Lord’s table. One of his favorite hymns is, “By The Sea of Chrystal.” Today, I am confident he is walking streets of gold by that Chrystal Sea.
Our mourning of a great loss of a great man is lightened by knowing where he is. Thank you for your prayers during this time.”
Sincerely,
Bob Vander Plaats
Son of John & Kathryn
Our sincerest sympathies to the VP families. He sounds like he was a great man.
bob vander plaats is a fraud
Said the guy with no name … Bob Vander Plaats is far from a fraud. He has never reversed himself on any of his positions and he is an articulate speaker who can energize our base for victory in 2010.
steve thompson: bob vander plaats is a fraud. what has he ever won? what has he ever accomplished? what is so great about his loser?
Mr. Anonymous, what have you ever won or accomplished? Does that make you a fraud too? At least Bob has conviction and a willingness to serve that remains undetered in the face of childish comments like the one you just made. A lot of people win who shouldn’t your comment that good people who havent won an election yet are somehow frauds is an insult to everyone who works hard for a cause the believe in and simply havent won an election yet.
steve thompson: again, what has bob vander plaats accomplished in his life? give me his professional accomplishments. please. please. please. and don’t forget to add getting running a non-profits finances into the ground to the list please. please. please.
Running non-profits into the ground? That’s a pretty bold statement Mr. Anonymous. Do you have anything to back that up? If he ran a non-profit into the ground, why did the organization he led receive credit as “a model in the country for serving people with disabilities” from Commission on Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities? If he did such a horrible job, why did Governor Branstad appoint him to Chair the Governor’s Council focused on prevention, research, and clinical service of Brain Injury? That doesn’t really sound like someone who “ran a non-profit into the ground” to me?
Also, Bob has a background in education as a former teacher, coach and principal. He has more of a background in education than anyone else mentioned as a candidate including Governor Culver who taught at Hoover High School until he was elected Secretary of State in 1998. Bob has the biography I look for in a leader. I am sorry that you apparently have too much of an ax to grind against him to see that. All you have to do is look at Bobs own website to see his accomplishments. That’s where I got the information I just posted. It wasn’t hard to find. It also wasn’t hard to verify if you Google it. I am sorry that you didn’t feel like doing your homework on Bob and instead chose instead to lie about him.
steve thompson: don’t be such a dumbass. yes, there is plenty to back it up. go look at the tax returns for opportunities unlimited during bobs time as ceo. they are public. now put your glass of vander kool aid down and go read them.
I can’t believe Steve Deace went on a rant about Bob Vander Plaats not leading on the marriage ammendment. Dude, the guy lost his dad. When a family member dies, especially your dad or mom, you have to set up funeral arrangements and go to the funeral and wake. what does deace expect?–Bob do leave his mother and not go to his father’s funeral? Sheesh! Bob was at the Supreme Court building last Friday. He woke up at 4 AM and drove there. He also called out Culver this past Monday demanding that he stick to his word and that a true leader doesn’t need to think about his convictions. Bob also replied to Culver’s statement. That is more than I would do when a family member died. Deace shouldn’t be pointing the finger. Was he at the captiol today? No candidate is 100 percent perfect. Only Jesus is. I hope Deace doesn’t destroy the only candidate that is for our values. Huck is for the Federal traditional marriage ammendment. Deace will probably call out Huck for not being in iowa this week, when he’s been in Ireland all week. Huck cannot change Iowa. Iowa needs to change iowa. The people need to change Iowa. Iowa legislatures will not listen to the top of the ladder GOP. They will listen more to the people of Iowa since they are supposed to represent us. I like Deace, but I think some of what Deace said today went a little too hard. He seems to award Chris Rants and praise him based on one thing Rants has done good. Then he calls out Bob and possibly Huck for one thing that they may not be doing righ out of the many thing they are doing righ. Huck has his HuckPac Iowa team that is doing a lot. They send e-mail updates getting everyone involved at the grassroots. This is how it should be.
The fact that you care anything about what that idiot Deace says is why the Iowa GOP is in the crapper.
christopher rants did more in one day for the marriage movement than vander doof has done in his 25 years of running for governor. why? because christopher rants has actually won an election and bob hasnt. and bob wont.
bob vander plaats is creepy
bobby is creepy weird
Bob is creepy? I do believe that is one of the dumbest arguements the anti-Vander Plaats folks have ever come up with. Yawn. Cant you guys do better than that?
Bob advertised on Drudge. Someone must think he’s a winner.
isn’t one of bob’s first supporters a convicted homo pedophile that abused little boys?
Nice strawman arguement there Jack. By extention, should we also hold the Iowa Federation of College Republicans (he was their president,) Chris Rants (he actually hired the guy to run the LMF,) RPI (he worked for them too,) Mitt Romney (Romney hired him to run the state for him originally,) Ed Failor, Jeff Boyink and ITR (They hired him to work for them right before he got caught) responcible for the guys behavior? I serrious when I say that you guys really need to get some better arguements.
Here is a video of Bob’s Tea-Party Speech in Souix City, Iowa on April 15th. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsGBQwAyOxA
I’m in the “BVP is a loser” camp. In ‘02 everyone outside Polk County who wasn’t a Farm Bureau member knew Gross was an establishment tool. Sukup was willing to take the fight to him and give the people an alternative. Along comes BVP with his nice-guy, no-negative- campaigning crap dividing the conservative vote and the rest is history. He’s latched onto the gay marriage issue hoping he can at least ride it to a primary win. We need a conservative alternative, but you can’t blame King too much for not wanting to give up a safe seat for a high-risk run for governor.
Joe, Im sorry you either dont know your history or you simply dont pay attention. You do realize that Gross’ nomination had less to do with Vander Plaats being in the race than it had to do with Sukup and Vander Plaats’ inability to raise significant funds in 2001. Gross got in at the last minute becauce Sukup had actually raised less money that Vander Plaats collectively and Vander Plaats reported only $19,000 cash on hand going into 2002. There is a big difference between Vander Plaats today and Vander Plaats in 2002. Also, he didnt latch onto the marriage issue. It latched onto him. He made 1 public statement last monday and we’re still talking about it today on the news. Thats pretty impressive if you ask me.
You’re right. There is a difference in Bob Vander Plaats from 2001 until today. He is 8 years old and has 3 more electoral defeats under his belt. The dude is a loser.
Eight years old?! I thought Iowa had some minimum age requirements for gubernatorial candidates. First same sex marriage, now this?
Sorry to correct you Party Pooper but he has really only lost 1 time for Governor. He lost one election for Lt Governor but you really cant blame him for that one. The average person cant even tell you who the Lt. Governor is let alone who is running for it. But we’ve been through this over and over again and its pretty obvious that no one who didnt already have another candidate of choice actually cared. Here is my question for you Party Pooper, if so many people like you exist who have a problem with Vander Plaats, why havent the come out yet? Wwe hear all kinds of names, and none of them every materialize. Whats up with that?
why haven’t other candidates materialized? is that a serious question? IT IS APRIL 2009!!!!!!!!!! Not everyone has an unnatural obsession with running for governor and makes it their life mission for 20 freaking years like freako Bob. Don’t worry there will be one or two other candidates enter the race. And one or both will beat Bob. All in good time, my freako friends.
If thinking that helps you sleep at night 7:21, you go right ahead and think that.
Has anyone else noticed that as this thread gets older and older, the posts have deteriorated to an “I know you are but what am I?” level of intelegence? Serriously? Is anyone who is indifferent to Bob even still reading these comments?
I think we all know that its just a matter of time before a serious alternative candidate emerges and defeats bob by a 2-1 margin. They will have the money advantage as Bob will have Mike Wells, but they will have everyone else. There are an awful lot of non Huckabee supporters, both in the donor and activist community that want nothing better than to repay Bob and Huck for making the caucus a sham over religious bigotry.
Anon 15:22,
The caucus wasn’t a sham over religious bigotry. Why not then point fingers at McCain, Thompson, Rudy, or Paul? You got to admit, the so-cons make up a big part of the caucus goers. Mike was the strongest social-conservative besides Fred but Fred was going nowhere. Mike connected to average Iowans. I talked to many at the caucuses and they didn’t mentioned Mike’s religions or Romney’s religion. They mentioned that Mike seems more caring and trusting and that he “gets” them. Romney went around in suit/tie and his speeches were like executive board meetings. Come on–a power-point? Meanwhile, Huck was going around hunting, playing bass, giving great speeches without notes, and was also advocating for the Fair Tax (Which by the way seems to be taking off this year with the tea-parties). ANON- I don’t think it is fair to say bigotry caused Mike to win, but I think it would be fair to say that you are bigoted towards any Christian that decides to run. Why can’t they. It is their country too. Go ahead and believe that Mike’s supporters are religious bigots…those supporters were probably the same ones up at the capitol last Wednesday attending tea-parties. I didn’t vote for Barack Obama–Am I a racist?–No, I just don’t like his policies. I didn’t vote for Romney because he was a pro-gay, pro-choice governor. We are having this gay marriage crisis in Iowa because of Romney in Mass. Romney didn’t do anything to stop it. He also held out “vote for me” cards at a gay marriage rally. That is the reason why Romney lost in Iowa.
bob vander plaats is much more gay than mitt romney eric. how are houses selling bubba?
Eric, If you really believe that Mitt Romney was responsible for handing out those cards at a “gay” rally, I think you need to go back and check the facts. We all know that was an outside job and politics 101. Also, what was Romney to do exactly about gay marriage when he was faced with a 80%+ legislature of D’s working against him?
This is what we don’t need in our primary right now. We don’t need this to turn into a rehash of Romney v Huck v McCain. I voted for Vander Plaats and Romney but this is a complete turnoff if you are going to keep bringing up this 2008 presidential trash. Don’t forget that Huck won and Romney lost. Let’s move on. (BTW – don’t take any of this personally, I just hate how we have to relive 2008 to get to 2010.) Thanks Eric
Hey 2007, 2009 maybe Romney could of issued an illegal Executive Order like BVP has suggested. That seems to be the popular strategy by failed candidates!
I’m sorry but ANON’s 15:22 really irritated me. He/She said “There are an awful lot of non Huckabee supporters, both in the donor and activist community that want nothing better than to repay Bob and Huck for making the caucus a sham over religious bigotry.” That “religious bigotry” needs to stop. I always see comments like that on many site like this one and it irritates me. Those comments like that only divide the soc-cons and fi-cons. In order to take back the legislature and executive branch in 2010, we need to be united. I shouldn’t have gone off on a tangent, but I’m just defending many people who find being called a “religious bigot” offensive.
Understood Eric. The new Linn County GOP Chairman said best when stating that social conservatives and moderate Republicans need to be tolerant of each other if we want to win again. Kudos to Tim Palmer and let’s keep moving forward.
2007, 2009
Screw that! Now is the time to purge the herd and make the RINO’s extinct once and for all! Now is the time for Leadership, Now is the time for a no holds bar Conservative. Now is the time for a Gov. Steve KING!
The time to relive the 2007 Presidential primary ended in June of 2008. If anyone things the Huckabee v. Romney v. McCain fight is healthy they are wrong. I caucused for Huckabee, but I didnt really mind Romney. I just related to Huckabee more as a middle class midwesterner. Im not bitter about what happened and I think its time to move on. I agree with you too reality, Iowa needs a rock-ribbed Conservative candidate for Governor. King and Vander Plaats are the only 2 people I see filling that role.
Here is a link to Bob’s letter to the Big Lug and a draft of an Executive Order that is within the iowa constitution that Culver can and should sign. http://learfield.typepad.com/radioiowa/2009/04/former-high-school-teacher-coach-times-two.html
Eric – why do you divide Republicans into So-Cons and Fi-Cons? Don’t you think most Republicans are both? Or can you only be a So-Con if you home school your children, don’t vaccinate them and attend only certain churches? It is tiring to see people try to divide the party. I think that those that continue this rhetoric are really democrat interlopers onto this website.
ANON 21:22.
Well, aren’t you divided the GOP with your comment too? About every so-con is a fi-con. Some fi-cons don’t put social issues on the front-burner, and some (Leech) is a fi-con but not a so-con and that is proabably why he endorsed Obama. I’m only talking about reality. Someone who doesn’t believe that their is a divide in the party is ignorant. I’m not saying it is best that their is a divide because we would be doomed and would never win. I’m just saying that that is they way things are now, and the only way we will win is if we have a candidate that is a strong fiscal and social conservative. And your comments about homeschoolers and Christians is not “uniting” the party either.
eric there is only a divide because of divisive morons like you. the rest of the republican party wants to win and get rid of these horrible democrats that raise our taxes, wreck our schools and wreck the social fabric of society. crawl out of your cave and realize who the real enemy is. the majority of us think its the democrats. instead you spend all your time attacking republicans. the candidates you support like bob vander plaats do more to make our party a laughing stock and marginalize and divide us than the democrats have ever done to us. by the way, how is the fec complaint coming along?
Party Pooper, do you even realize how divisicive what you just said is? Do you even care? I would wager that you dont. You personally hate Vander Plaats. We get that, and its great you arent affraid to show it, but serriously? Do you really think your comments are helping? Please think next time before you post.
Party Pooper, I know you want the Christians to get out of the GOP, but you’ll lose every time. We need to unite. I’m all for attacking the Dems. It is ironic that you said that I’m not supposed to attack republicans and focus on the Dems, but your comment attacked your fellow republicans which you called “divisive morons.” That language doesn’t help. The same is going on in the Dem. party. It’s the Liberals vs. the Moderate Dems. The reality is–the only way we’ll win is if we nominate a socially and fiscally conservative candidates and stick to our promises while we are in office. Peace.
Eric I am a christian you divisive moron.
and by the way eric, how is that fec complaint coming along? you earn the tag of divisive because of your repeated attacks on other republicans. you earn the tag of moron because you broke federal election law and put the entire linn county republican committee at risk. oh, and because you support the running joke we all know as vander dumb.
Party Pooper,
I’ll support whoever becomes the nominee. Will you do the same?
I heard that Bob is going to be on “Huckabee” this weekend on Fox at 7:00 Central time Saturday and Sunday or you can catch it at 10:00 pm. Sunday.
Bob will be on Huckabee’s show on Fox this weekend. – enjoy
Is Bob still running for governor?
The western third of the state might as well be in South Dakota or Nebraska. In fact, I would vote for secession! Please correct me if I am wrong, but nobody from western Iowa has won statewide office since the days of Senator Jack Miller (Sioux City) and Governor/Senator Harold Hughes (Ida Rove). That’s over 30 years!
What has Bob accomplished?
From Wikipedia: Robert L. “Bob” Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963), is an American politician. He is a former high school principal, non-profit CEO, and currently the president and CEO of MVP Leadership, INC in Sioux City, Iowa. MVP Leadership specializes in Strategic Planning, Fund Development, Succession Planning, Inspiration, and Executive Mentorship.
Gee, that sounds like more accomplished than, say, a community organizer? And look where that got Obama…