Vander Plaats Sets the Pace for GOP Primary Field

• Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 4:30
• Iowa, News Center, Top Story
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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.

63 Comments on “Vander Plaats Sets the Pace for GOP Primary Field”

• 
  Christian Ilene Onum wrote on 15 July, 2009, 4:56

  Thanks for the look into the primary. It is as most everyone has expected and some fear, the clear leader is BVP who has excellent marks because of his flat out hard work. He worked with Huckabee and I remember at the New Years Eve party Huckabee announcing Bob as the next governor of Iowa. Others have a very monumental task in taking his lead away. The climate is just right for BVP.
• 
  Iowans Rock wrote on 15 July, 2009, 6:11

  Let the comments begin…………and please don’t disappoint. I expect lots of name calling.
• 
  Moderation in Everything wrote on 15 July, 2009, 6:19

  It’s like watching a slo-mo video of a car accident over and over again. You hope with each viewing that some detail will emerge that will alter the inevitable. The same with BVP–another inevitable loss in the general.
• 
  LoboSolo wrote on 15 July, 2009, 6:23

  an online poll with a 5% margin of error ? it should be 100% margin for error. if we could believe online polls, Ron Paul would be president. this site seems very pro Vander Plaats, so its not surprising he is leading their poll. i think at this point Rants has the best conservative credentials, although he does not seem that likable.

  it looks like we might be stuck with Jim Ross Vander Plaats….. its going to be a long year
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 15 July, 2009, 6:31

  Whether or not someone WANTS VP, I fear he is not our best candidate to defeat Culver.

  I would not count out Fong. Geographically, he has a lot going for him.
• 
  Moderation in Everything wrote on 15 July, 2009, 6:44

  Fong has so much going for him. Yes, geography is important. But also consider that he is young, a businessman, a minority and comes across well. He is the future of our Party.
• 
  Christian Ilene Onum wrote on 15 July, 2009, 6:50

  MIE~ Which party are you in?
• 
  Craig Robinson wrote on 15 July, 2009, 6:52

  Lobo,

  This is not an “online” poll. It was conducted over the phone. This site is a Republican site and not pro-any candidate. I understand that you might like the results, but they are what they are. I have said that Vander Plaats is the front runner for some time now. I gave him that title because I believed it to be true and the poll proves it.

  As for Rants, his unfavorable numbers were muck like the other candidates. We will look more closely at his campaign tomorrow.
• 
  Timmy wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:23

  I wouldn’t read too much into this just yet, Don’t Know has a pretty comfortable 2nd place according to this. There is a whole lotta time between now and the primary. Also, there are a lot of folks that won’t weigh in until the last few weeks.
  As for the comparison to the Huckabee selection, all that proves is there are way too many who don’t really care about conservative principles(ie: smaller gov’t, etc.) as long as you throw religion and a few God words around. Huckabee had definite socialist leanings, but it didn’t matter because he was the most “Christian” candidate. As someone who takes my faith seriously, I’m offended when it is used as a ploitical ploy.
  I fear a similar scenario is playing out with BVP, to some he is going to make “gay marriage” magically dissapear with a stroke of the pen and the rest doesn’t really matter.
  One really needs to re-consider the actual validity of the 2008 caucus and Iowa’s influence on the rest of the Nation Neither party’s candidate was properly vetted in Iowa, Huckabee went on to lose his momentum and all the dems really wanted was the Republicans out of power so most of them never looked past “Hope & Change”. BTW, how’s that working out?
• 
  Moderation in Everything wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:23

  Christian–I am a Repub trying to reclaim the Party from the likes of you so that we can win.
• 
  Moderation in Everything wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:26

  Timmy–good observations. Since the zealots have taken over the Party the caucus results are meaningless. You have to look no further than Robertson and the Huckster. Soon the Repub establishment will consign us to flyover country.
• 
  HawkCR1 wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:29

  Christine..

  Let’s be honest here..if you’ve been running for Governor as long as BVP has…he SHOULD have numbers like this…

  Don’t sit around and think that this nomination is BVP’s for the taking….we’re just under a year away from the primary..and that’s a lifetime in politics.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:32

  This is totally shocking! I NEVER would’ve thought that this would be the result of this poll!
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:39

  Seriously though, this TOTALLY threw me for a loop. I was just SURE that someone other than BVP would emerge as the victor in this poll.

  I think you need to go on Deace today and you guys can talk about how “important” and “groundbreaking” this poll is.
• 
  Craig Robinson wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:51

  Mr. Hawk you are kind of like Governor Culver. You want to ignore things that you personally don’t want to accept. This poll was not conducted to give credibility or an advantage to any candidate. I admitted in the article, that there is still a lot of time before people go to the polls. But for those who want to ignore or underestimate Bob Vander Plaats because you personally don’t like him, you do so at your own peril, especially if you are running against him.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 7:55

  I TOTALLY agree, Chris. You and Steve Deace have no dog in this fight at all. You guys are just completely impartial observers and are just reporting the facts. You guys don’t have a favorite at all. I’m with you on that, 100%. Really.
• 
  Christian Ilene Onum wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:02

  “those who want to ignore or underestimate Bob Vander Plaats because you personally don’t like him, you do so at your own peril” ~Very well said!
• 
  Christian Ilene Onum wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:03

  Who is Chris or did I miss something?
• 
  Craig Robinson wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:04

  Hawk,

  Deace clearly has a dog in this fight. I on the other hand do not, and don’t plan to.
• 
  gohwks wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:10

  Sure there is still a lot of time before the primary next June – but the more crowded this field gets, the easier it will be for BVP to win. Remember that a candidate needs 35% of the vote in the primary or it goes to convention and in 2002 with only 3 candidates in the race Gross barely got 35%. I’m not a BVP fan by any means, but I would be willing to be a lot of money that he wins in a convention. With 6 candidates in the race, we are practically handing the nomination to BVP. Scary.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:10

  Then why does every sentence of your when you’re on his show begin with “Steve, I couldn’t agree more…”

  Any credible polling analyst would make a huge, huge effort to temper these results by pointing out this this is about name ID at this point. Steve won’t want to do that, so we’ll see if you call him on it.
• 
  Craig Robinson wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:18

  I think I made a pretty good effort to make sure people realize the result of the poll is due to Vander Plaat’s name ID. I can’t speak for Deace, but I’m sure he will blog about this at http://www.WHOradio.com
• 
  Thinking wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:19

  Speaking of dogs in the fight, it appears as though Mr. Hawk barely has an interest in the outcome. Oh wait, he must have opinions, feelings, and bias too!!!

  Craig, I appreciate the poll as it is an early indicator of where things stand in Iowa. Am I going to stake my eternity on your poll, no. But I do find the results interesting and informative. Thanks for stepping out on a limb to create this website, it has provided me a lot of great insight over the last several months.
• 
  Lydia wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:19

  Did Mr. Hawk read this article? He wants everyone to know it’s about name ID at this point? Gee, I wish someone had already made that point.

  “Say what you will about Bob Vander Plaats, but his persistence has paid off. Vander Plaats is clearly the best known candidate in the GOP primary field. He has benefited greatly from his multiple campaigns for the Republican nomination. He also benefits from his association with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, but nothing has helped Vander Plaats more in his current bid for the Republican nomination that being Jim Nussle’s running mate in 2006. Having been on the general election ballot is an advantage no other candidate in this race has, and it’s catapulted him to the top of the list.”

  Oh wait, I guess someone did.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:34

  Unfortunately, Lydia, that paragraph is crafted specifically to have a few possible interpretations. Contrast it with the language about Fong (which much more clearly goes to Name ID). Either way, we’ll see if Craig calls out Deace when they discuss this topic, and Deace tries to imply that this means that BVP is clearly the guy everyone should support because of this poll.
• 
  Timmy wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:37

  GOHWKS, I agree with you about having too many candidates. The 2008 caucus was a classic example of that, there wasn’t enough consenus for one strong candidate to emerge and in the end we all lost. I’d much rather have 3 strong candiates than 6 or more splitting off in different directions. An example would be Sen. Paul McKinley, he’s a great guy but I fully believe he(and us) would be much better served if he stays in the Senate. We are going to need his leadership and wouldn’t it be great if he became the Senate MAJORITY Leader!
• 
  Lydia wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:50

  It’s funny that Mr. Hawk wants to believe that this is all so biased in Bob’s favor. Whenever I hear that radio segment, I always hear Robinson say that he doesn’t buy into Bob’s executive order plan. You must be listening to a different radio show than everyone else.

  Mr. Hawk just needs to get it into his thick skull that Fong is Iowa’s mini-Obama. He tries to be on all sides of all issues. That doesn’t fly with Iowa GOP primary voters, and so his golden boy is going to lose.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 8:53

  I don’t support Fong. Sorry. I just point out when others target one candidate in favor of their own.

  “That doesn’t fly with Iowa GOP primary voters, and so his golden boy is going to lose.”

  - Which, incidentally, is what your golden boy has done more than once already.
• 
  Christian Ilene Onum wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:07

  This poll comes down to grassoots movement. There is a broken aparatus called RPI. There is disconnect between state party and county central committees. There is nobody willing to dig in and do the hard work in the party. Bob VanderPlaats has people that will work for him as volunteers because they trust him. You cannot buy that with any amount of money nor match it with campaign strategy of direct mail or nifty commercials on radio or television.
• 
  Moderation in Everything wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:12

  Christian–money is the mother’s milk of politics. Money can buy grassroots drones and lots of TV. We need to get the Repub monied elite engaged. Right now they are supporting moderate democrats because they feel the Party has been taken over by people who are consumed by religious issues rather than economic issues. Moreover, the vast middle is more threatened by the right fringe than the left fringe. We need money to change those opinions.
• 
  Christian Ilene Onum wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:21

  No question money is an issue. The last time I heard, BVP was raising significant amounts of money. There is also no doubt Fong and Rants will have money. However, if you rely on buying votes like Romney, you go away disappointed. Iowa republican primary voters cannot be bought.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:25

  I’m no fan of Fong’s either but a case can be made where he could get the nomination. If we have four conservatives from western Iowa running against one “moderate” from Eastern Iowa, it looks to me like the moderate from eastern Iowa could very easily slip in the back door.

  As to the VP nomination. I do not believe he would be our strongest candidate to defeat Culver. He has painted himself into a corner. We will defeat Culver and the Dims on the economy–not gay marriage.

  To be sure, the issue should be part of the campaign but VP right now has reversed the importance of the issues according to polls naming voters’ most imporant issues.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:28

  I can’t get past VP relying on Huckabee’s endorsement. Huckabee is a pro-life populist that will say whatever to please a group.

  He is bad on illegal immigration, he thinks it’s the function of government to regulate potential earnings (socialism, just like Obama), and he raised taxes.

  Huckabee is unacceptable. I don’t want him back, nor Romney either. We need some new faces. No more Huck. No more Romney.
• 
  SharpHawkeye wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:33

  Why do you refer to Fong as “Christian Fong, the 32 year-old AEGON employee”? You don’t refer to any other candidate that way. You don’t say “Bob Vander Plaats, the 46 year old self-employed political activist” or “Chris Rants, the 41 year old State Representative”.

  Also, it’s unfair to expect Craig to go on the Deace show and disagree with Deace. Craig is there to be Deace’s “wingman”. He’s not there to disagree with him. That’s how these things work. Deace throws out a point and Craig agrees. Assist and score.
• 
  gohwks wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:38

  “I’m no fan of Fong’s either but a case can be made where he could get the nomination. If we have four conservatives from western Iowa running against one “moderate” from Eastern Iowa, it looks to me like the moderate from eastern Iowa could very easily slip in the back door.”

  Doubtful because he has to get 35% of the vote to avoid a convention which with 3 or more people in the race is very hard to do – especially since BVP has so much of his base locked up. BVP is the only one who could conceivably win a convention.
• 
  gohwks wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:39

  Until everyone who does not want BVP as the nominee starts to rally behind one candidate we are handing him the nomination.
• 
  Stacia wrote on 15 July, 2009, 10:05

  The reason why Bob is getting so many headlines and the reason why some say that the Iowa Republican is biased could because of Bob himself. He is the frontrunner and people talk a lot about a frontrunner. Whoever heard of Huckabee back in Jan. of ‘07 or even August before the Straw Poll. The newscoverage was about Romney, Rudy, and McCain. The 2nd teir got ignored in the debates. Attention is just what the frontrunner gets; however, he also gets scrutinized as well. No one is shrilling for any candidate at the Iowa Republican. Geez, they just report the facts. Actually, there have been a lot of negative articles on Bob as well. I haven’t seen a negative article about Rants, Behn, Roberts, or Senator Mc. Everyone relax. If you don’t like Bob, then try to garner support across Iowa instead of pick apart other candidates.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 15 July, 2009, 10:14

  Who knows what would happen at convention. It could even be someone who was not running in the primary.

  Besides all these people are probably not going to actually run for governor. They must make a decision to run for reelection for the seats they currently occupy.
• 
  Moderation in Everything wrote on 15 July, 2009, 11:07

  Chrisitan–you my dear have been bought and sold many times over. You just don’t know it.
• 
  Nathaniel Bumppo wrote on 15 July, 2009, 11:59

  “Also, it’s unfair to expect Craig to go on the Deace show and disagree with Deace. Craig is there to be Deace’s “wingman”. He’s not there to disagree with him. That’s how these things work. Deace throws out a point and Craig agrees. Assist and score.”

  Sorry, that should not be how these things work. The minute you become a “wingman”, you are no longer an analyst or commentator, you are a shill.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 12:19

  “Why do you refer to Fong as “Christian Fong, the 32 year-old AEGON employee”? You don’t refer to any other candidate that way. You don’t say “Bob Vander Plaats, the 46 year old self-employed political activist” or “Chris Rants, the 41 year old State Representative”. ”

  - You noted that too, huh? It’s probably because he “has no dog in this fight”.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 15 July, 2009, 13:26

  Craig has created a dilemma for himself. He can continue to go on the Deace show and suck up to him or risk stop going on his show and have Deace eviscerate him 15 hours a week. That is why many Republicans no long go on the Deace show.

  It is also the reason Deace is losing listeners. He’s boring. He only has one topic.
• 
  Mike C wrote on 15 July, 2009, 13:56

  This poll has generated a lot of heat, but not much light. I think the telling data at this point is the remarkable “unaware of candidates” portion. There is a clear and direct relationship between “awareness” and “favorability”, which is what you would expect. A massive 60 to 80+% of the GOP voters polled don’t even know who McKinley and Fong are. I think it is reasonable to expect both of them to prove to be viable candidates by the time this is done, so they won’t remain unknown forever. Until we are closer to the finish line and the candidates have had more time to establish themselves, polls like this aren’t going to be particularly helpful.

  The summary of what this poll tells us: Lots of GOP voters know who BVP is, most know Rants, a few know McKinley, and no one know Fong.
• 
  SharpHawkeye wrote on 15 July, 2009, 14:05

  I agree Nathanial. However the way things should be and the way things are are often very different.

  Mr. Deace doesn’t like to have people on his show who disagree with him. Since God informs his every thought, he is always right. His opinions and worldviews are divinely inspired and beyond reproach…therefore anyone who disagrees with him is hellbound.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 15 July, 2009, 14:53

  Stop listening to the bore. I did and I’m happier for it. Almost all my friends have also stopped listening. The point of being a curiosity is past. He’s now just plain boring.
• 
  Polly Twocents wrote on 15 July, 2009, 16:00

  Wow, did TIR ever push some buttons with this poll!

  What’s interesting is that the folks who think issues such as traditional marriage and abortion need to be placed on the shelf in order to win, who think that a socially moderate GOP candidate is going to be a stronger candidate than a socially conservative candidate do not seem to know what to do with poll results that show 1) that 70% of Iowans want to vote on marriage rather than have the courts redefine the institution, and 2) the socially conservative candidate, BVP, is not just the front runner but his poll numbers are stratospherically above every other candidate who wants the job.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 16:17

  And he’ll lose, Polly. Everyone knows it.

  The poll did not ask if people agreed with BVP’s plan to issue an executive order directing that the Supreme Court’s decision in Varnum is not to be followed. There’s a REASON that question wasn’t asked in this poll. Because about 15% of those responding would have said they agreed with it.
• 
  Stacia wrote on 15 July, 2009, 18:43

  Let the guessing games begin. The Gross group wants another candidate in the race because they would rather have Chet Culver than to see Bob Vander Plaats in the governor’s mansion. My guess is that they will have Branstad run again. Whoever Gross picks is not running to be governor of Iowa..he is running so Bob Vander Plaats will not be the governor of Iowa. If a Gross candidate emerges. I think the conservatives will revolt and I doubt they will come back to the party this time.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 15 July, 2009, 18:54

  “I think the conservatives will revolt and I doubt they will come back to the party this time.”

  - lol
• 
  Conservative Demo wrote on 15 July, 2009, 19:05

  Stacia predicts: “I think the conservatives will revolt and I doubt they will come back to the party this time”

  Oh-ho, that’d be the best thing that could happen for the Republican Party, but I uspect they like being used and abused and will hang around and just grumble. I do assume you say “conservatives” meaning the churchy wing.
• 
  Stacia wrote on 15 July, 2009, 20:50

  Actually Mr. Hawk. There is rumors that Sarah Palin will form a 3rd party and if that happens Barack will win a 2nd term in 2012. I think the GOP as a whole needs to stop talking about moderation because then they will lose. They need the “religious nutcase base” as some on hear think to win. Otherwise, you get Sarah Palin being more than a Ross Perot in 2012 and handing the election to Obama since the electorate will be split. I didn’t mean to say “they will never come back to the party”, I’m saying that they won’t vote in the 2010 elections this time around. However, if we nominate a social and fiscal conservative, then they will put a check by the R.
• 
  Stacia wrote on 15 July, 2009, 20:51

  And no, I would never vote for Sarah Palin. She quit her job that she was elected to do. In 2012, I could vote for Thune, Pawlenty, Jindahl, or Huckabee.
• 
  red247 wrote on 15 July, 2009, 21:41

  God help us. Vanderplaats has ZERO chance of winning in a statewide election. He has zero charisma, zero enthusiasm, and zero chance.

  Culver is vulnerable. We need to put up a candidate who can WIN. It’s not Vanderplods.
• 
  slk45 wrote on 15 July, 2009, 22:43

  So much ignorance. So few Republicans.
• 
  Christian Ilene Onum wrote on 15 July, 2009, 23:30

  Instead if worrying about how you are going to take out the front runner…

  “gohwks wrote on 15 July, 2009, 9:39
  Until everyone who does not want BVP as the nominee starts to rally behind one candidate we are handing him the nomination”

  Why don’t you try something civilized like finding a candidate who matches up with your line of thinking and support them. By making this an anything but Bob primary, you are exposing us to all kinds of criticism from the media and democrats. Stop all of the petty back-stabbing and promote your candidate. Nobody can fault you for that.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 16 July, 2009, 7:01

  Stacia: You have to be kidding about Palin. There are other Republican factions who believe she is the Second Coming and if anyone dare question anything about Palin, they’re called RINOs and say they’ll follow Palin to wherever she wants to go–even over a cliff if that’s where she wants to go.

  This goes to show how independent minded are Republicans. We cannot all threaten to take our balls and go home if things don’t go our way.

  We must stay united in our zeal to dislodge Dims. Surely, we can see the need to remain united.

  It may not go the way I want, either and of course, I know best (sarc) but regardless, I pledge that after a primary, my goal will be to defeat Dims.
• 
  Mr. Hawk wrote on 16 July, 2009, 7:32

  “Actually Mr. Hawk. There is rumors that Sarah Palin will form a 3rd party…”

  A. The rumors are wrong;

  B. Steve Deace will never allow Palin to get a foothold among western Iowa social conservatives, because he’s intent on keeping that flank clear for his candidate, Mike Huckabkee. As soon as she starts making a move into Iowa, he’ll do to her what he’s doing to Fong (and will do to Rants et al).

  Sorry, but it’s true.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 16 July, 2009, 7:43

  This is stupid. Huckabee is no conservative. Surely, we can find a real conservative to run for president.
• 
  Thinking wrote on 16 July, 2009, 7:54

  DVFO,

  In many respects, I am on the same side as you on ALL of the issues. We agree on the social issues, agree on the fiscal issues, and generally agree on ‘Republican’ issues. Unfortunately, every candidate that has appeal to the base, you find flaws (i.e. Huckabee, Palin, BVP). Many here keep saying that BVP has no chance of winning a general election. Really, maybe thats because those same people are intent on tearing our candidates apart. You talked months ago about how you would support the eventual Republican nominee no matter what, and generally I agree with that. However, is your party best served by finding flaws in our potential candidates, or by enthusiastically supporting your candidate? This is where you seem to have a lot of disagreements with Deace, yet you often are guilty of it yourself. Just a thought…
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 16 July, 2009, 9:12

  Thinking: I’m not sure what you mean but I am serious about saving our state and country from the grasps of these radical leftists that have a stranglehold on our throats right now.

  I WILL support any Republican candidate. I see far too many who believe it is virtuous to only support someone they believe suits their perception of someone pure enough.

  This is a very dangerous philosophy but you can be sure I will be flamed for it.
  I’m not sure if you’re defending Deace but Deace and I have a totally different agenda. I believe he enjoys tearing down Republicans so he can exalt himself in the process. You have to remember, he considers himself too good to be a Republican and frankly, as radical as he is, that is ok with me.

  But make no mistake about it, if VP is his person and from what I read VP is his person, then he will do all he can to undermine any other candidate Republicans may select.

  I don’t see how any Republican working to try to rescue Iowa from the grasps of these Dumbocrats can listen to Deace and give him any credit whatsoever. He’s working against you.

  So far Deace has worked to elect Obama, Culver and Boswell. This jerk doesn’t need to set himself up as some kind of perfect person when he is working for the Dumbocrats.

  He has zero credibility.
• 
  Thinking wrote on 16 July, 2009, 9:32

  DVFO,

  To me, Deace is irrelevant, so we can let that horse die. You say you “will support any Republican candidate.” I don’t necessarily agree with that, but I respect your logic and reasoning to get to that conclusion. In other words, it makes sense where you’re coming from.

  But then you say things like “no more Romney,” “Huckabee is not a conservative,” patronize Palin supporters by referring to her as the “second coming,” note that you’re “no fan of Fong,” and assert that “BVP is not our strongest candidate” (all in this one blog, I’m not hunting around for quotes). I’m not weighing the merit of any of those statements, but what I am saying is that you seem to have a “purist” mindset of sorts (albeit different from Deace’s). In other words, you have ideals that you want in candidates and many don’t meet that standard. Your quotes clearly reflect that sentiment.

  Your contention that you will support ANY Republican gets lost in all your critiques. By all means, find a candidate to support, but don’t tear down all the others in the process. I don’t believe that is helpful for the party you are so adamantly bound to support.

Trackbacks

1. race42008.com » Blog Archive » Poll Alert: The Iowa Republican 2010 Republican Governor Primary Poll
2. Vander Plaats early lead in TheIowaRepublican.poll | Des Moines Register Staff Blogs

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