King + NOM = Autocalls

By Emily Geiger

I got an interesting email from a mole, I mean, friend of mine. It seems that Steve King is lending his name and voice to phone calls being made to Iowa residents from the National Organization for Marriage. My mole/friend says he/she didn’t get the exact wording, but the following is a pretty close representation of the call script.

The calls are basically an automated survey with Steve King asking the questions. First he asks if you are a registered voter. Then he asks if you believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman.

Then, King explains that the Iowa Supreme Court has attempted to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples, and he asks if you think voters instead of unelected judges should decide how marriage is defined in our state.

King then tells you that the call was paid for by the National Organization for Marriage. He asks if you would be willing to Call Governor Chet Culver to tell him to call for a special session of the Iowa legislature so that there can be a legislative response to the Supreme Court’s decision. He asks if you would be willing to help find others who will also call the governor to request a special session.

King gives you the number for Culver’s office (515-281-5211) so that you can call and voice your opinion about the need for a special session. He also asks if you’d be willing to contribute to the National Organization for Marriage and provides you with the website for that group, www.nationformarriage.org.

I’m not really sure what to make of all of this. First, it tells us that NOM is attempting to get active in Iowa. At this point, I’m just glad that someone is trying to do something, even if it’s just trying to put pressure on Culver. It is also interesting that King is associating himself with this group. They have been successful in California (so far), so if this group does make a big difference in Iowa, I’m sure King will get a lot of credit for that.

I think it’s important that all the pro-traditional marriage groups are all constantly working to keep this issue at the forefront and keep up public attention and awareness of the need to do something about this issue.

While I don’t think Culver will give in and call a special session, this particular plan of attack will give the future Republican gubernatorial nominee further ammunition to use against Culver, who I’m sure will (again) refuse to abide by his promises to do whatever it takes (including a special session) to protect traditional marriage.