Iowa caucus

Herman Cain Not Signing 'Marriage Vow' Either

Eric Kleefeld | July 13, 2011, 6:39PM

Herman Cain

Yet another Republican presidential candidate is declining to sign the controversial "Marriage Vow" pledge put forward by the Iowa conservative group Family Leader: Herman Cain.

"While I commend their intent regarding the pledge, I believe my stated position encompasses their values without the need to sign the pledge," Cain said, the Des Moines Register reports. He also added: "I am, and will continue to be, an ardent defender of traditional marriage and will work to preserve and protect the sanctity of human life, which I believe begins at conception."

Read more »

2012 elections

Vander Plaats: Romney 'Has Been All Over The Board'

Eric Kleefeld | July 13, 2011, 4:41PM

Bob Vander Plaats

TPM spoke with Bob Vander Plaats, the Iowa conservative activist and former gubernatorial candidate who has pitched the "Marriage Vow" pledge for presidential candidates competing in the state caucuses. And while he's not too perturbed that Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty are not signing it (at least not yet), he's got some pretty strong words for Mitt Romney.

Tuesday night, Romney's campaign slammed the pledge, saying that it "contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign.

"One of the reasons we put the pledge together was for a person or candidate like Gov. Romney," Vander Plaats told TPM, "because it's been well documented that Gov. Romney has been all over the board when it comes to marriage, or abortion, or universal health care."

Vander Plaats also added: "These types of no-commitments on my part to marriage and family, I don't think that's going to do his campaign any favors in the state of Iowa.

Read more »

Iowa caucus

Pawlenty: 'I Respectfully Decline' To Sign 'Marriage Vow'

Eric Kleefeld | July 13, 2011, 3:17PM

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Tim Pawlenty is the newest Republican presidential candidate to refuse to sign an Iowa religious right group's "Marriage Vow" pledge -- but he's being really nice about it.

"I deeply respect, and share, Bob Vander Platts' commitment to promoting the sanctity of marriage, a culture of life, and the core principles of the Family Leader's Marriage Vow Pledge," Pawlenty said in a statement. "However, rather than sign onto the words chosen by others, I prefer to choose my own words, especially seeking to show compassion to those who are in broken families through no fault of their own."

The "Marriage Vow" involved a candidate pledging personal fidelity to his or her spouse, that he or she would change divorce laws to make "quickie divorces" more difficult, and would oppose gay marriage, pornography, and "Sharia Islam," among other things. Two Republican candidates, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, signed the pledge, and then immediately encountered controversy due to the resolution's original preamble language on slavery -- which has since been edited out -- stating, quite contrary to the facts, that African-American families were more secure under slavery than they are today, under an African-American president.

Read more »

Iowa caucus

Romney Campaign Slams 'Undignified And Inappropriate' Marriage Pledge From Iowa Group

Eric Kleefeld | July 13, 2011, 10:12AM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney is further distancing himself from the GOP's religious right base in Iowa, by refusing to sign a social conservative group's controversial "Marriage Vow" pledge -- with his campaign going the extra mile by excoriating the pledge itself.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet The 2012 GOPers: Mitt Romney]

The "Marriage Vow" involved a candidate pledging personal fidelity to his or her spouse, that he or she would change divorce laws to make "quickie divorces" more difficult, and would oppose gay marriage, pornography, and "Sharia Islam," among other things. Two Republican candidates, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, signed the pledge, and then immediately encountered controversy due to the resolution's original preamble language on slavery -- which has since been edited out -- stating, quite contrary to the facts, that African-American families were more secure under slavery than they are today, under an African-American president.

As the Associated Press reports, Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul bluntly declared that the pledge "contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign."

Read more »

2012 Presidential Primaries

That Marriage Vow Guy Says He's No Sharia Expert But He Hates Sharia Anyway

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 12, 2011, 12:12PM

Bob Vander Plaats

The leader of the group behind the contentious Marriage Vow in Iowa says he's not really trying to ban pornography -- that's just unrealistic, he says. But he is trying to protect women from porn. And he's trying to keep an eye on Sharia Islam, even though he really doesn't know what that is.

Salon's Justin Elliott interviewed former Iowa gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats (R), whose Marriage Vow has caused more than a little agita for the two Republican presidential candidates who signed it.

Read more »

2012 elections

Gingrich Seeking To Tweak 'Marriage Vow' -- From Iowa Conservative Group

Eric Kleefeld | July 11, 2011, 6:31PM

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich has decided not to sign -- at least, not sign as of yet -- an Iowa conservative group's controversial 'Marriage Vow' pledge for Republican presidential candidates to personally and publicly uphold heterosexual monogamy and sexual morality.

"We're happy to work with you to sharpen it so people understand where we're going with it," Gingrich told Family Leader head Bob Vander Plaats, according to Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond, in a National Journal report. "It's not there yet."

Read more »

2012

Inflammatory Social Conservative Pledge Trips Up GOP Contenders

Benjy Sarlin | July 11, 2011, 3:30PM

Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum are taking heat for signing onto a group's pledge suggesting African-American families were better off in some ways under slavery.

The two most prominent social conservatives in the 2012 field signed onto "The Marriage Vow - A Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family," by The Family Leader, a Christian group. According to the pledge, "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."

Read more »

2012 elections

GOP Candidates To Be Served With 'Marriage Vow' Pledge In Iowa

Eric Kleefeld | July 7, 2011, 10:16AM

Republican presidential candidates going through Iowa will now be asked to take new marriage vows -- that is, a pledge to uphold traditional marriage.

David Brody at the Christian Broadcasting Network reports, the actual title of the document is "The Marriage Vow -- A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family." It is being put forward by the social conservative group the Family Leader, headed up by 2010 gubernatorial candidate and 2008 Huckabee state campaign chair Bob Vander Plaats.

Among the points for candidates to pledge are personal fidelity to his or her spouse, opposition to gay marriage and support in legal fights for the Defense of Marriage Act, opposition to sex trafficking and pornography, and opposition to "anti-women" Sharia Islamic law.

Hmm...a strict Sharia adherent would also oppose gay marriage and pornography, and likely demand the legal defense of DOMA. Oh well.

Iowa caucus

Huntsman Slams Iowa, And Iowa Returns The Favor

Eric Kleefeld | June 6, 2011, 2:14PM

Jon Huntsman

Former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman now says he will not compete in Iowa for his potential presidential run -- and leaders in Iowa aren't thrilled by his open snubbing of the state.

As ABC News reported over the weekend, Huntsman spoke to a crowd in New Hampshire:

"I'm not competing in Iowa for a reason. I don't believe in subsidies that prop up corn, soybeans and ethanol,"Huntsman said, according to multiple news sources at the event.

Huntsman, the former ambassador to China, continued, "I think they destroy the global marketplace.... We probably won't be spending a whole lot of time in Iowa. I guess I understand how the politics work there."

Now, the Des Moines Register reports, Iowa Republicans are firing back.

Read more »

Iowa

Planned Parenthood Defund Gives Mitch Daniels A Social Conservative Boost In Iowa

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 9, 2011, 2:29PM

Bob Vander Plaats

If Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) hoped making his state the first to defund Planned Parenthood clinics would give a boost to his presidential ambitions, it appears he may have been right.

Speaking with reporters after a tea party meeting about the debt ceiling on Monday morning, Iowa social conservative star Bob Vander Plaats said that Daniels' decision to sign the bill ending taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood in Indiana puts the concerns over Daniels' talk of a social issue "truce" to rest.

Read more »

Iowa caucus

2012 GOPers Lining Up For Iowa Conservative Lecture Series

Eric Kleefeld | January 20, 2011, 6:07PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

An early event is already taking shape in Iowa for potential Republican presidential candidates: A series of lectures organized by social conservative group the Family Leader, headed up by former gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.

Vander Plaats ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010, winning 40% in the GOP primary to 50% for ex-Gov. Terry Branstad, who went on to win the general election.

Five speakers have been lined up so far: Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, his fellow Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and businessman Herman Cain.

Read more »

2012 Presidential Primaries

Pawlenty Meeting With Anti-Gay Iowa Group Next Month

Jillian Rayfield | January 19, 2011, 12:52PM

Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty, who is considering a run for president in 2012, is continuing to court the social conservative vote, reportedly planning an appearance next month with Bob Vander Plaats' anti-gay group in Iowa.

Read more »

IA-GOV

Poll: Branstad Under 50% In IA-GOV Republican Primary

Eric Kleefeld | June 1, 2010, 9:35AM

Former Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA)

A new survey of Iowa by Public Policy Polling (D) suggests that former Gov. Terry Branstad, who is seeking to reclaim the office he held for 16 years in the 1980s and 1990s, could be surprisingly vulnerable in next Tuesday's Republican primary against Tea-Party aligned businessman Bob Vander Plaats.

The numbers: Branstad 46%, Vander Plaats 31%, and state Rep. Rod Roberts 13%. The poll of likely GOP primary voters has a ±4.5% margin of error.

"The race is particularly tight among the conservative voters who have been giving GOP establishment candidates fits across the country so far in 2010. With them Branstad leads Vander Plaats only 41-35. He expands his overall lead thanks to a 58-19 advantage with moderates," writes PPP communications director Tom Jensen. "Among voters that actually know who Vander Plaats is- whether they see him favorably or unfavorably- he leads Branstad 42-37. The question is if there's enough time left for Vander Plaats to completely make up the huge gap in name recognition he began the campaign with."