Iowa

Rick Perry's Call For National Fasting And Prayer Causes Confusion In Iowa (UPDATED)

Eric Kleefeld | June 9, 2011, 5:08PM

Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA) and Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Post Updated:

After initial reports that Gov. Terry Branstad had signed on to Texas Gov. Rick Perry's call for a national day of fasting and prayer on August 6, Branstad's spokesman has now told the Des Moines Register that he was mistaken, saying Branstad has not yet taken action on the request.

As the Des Moines Register reports, Perry has asked Branstad to urge Iowans to fast and pray on August 6, as part of an event organized by Perry and the American Family Association, called "The Response."

From the Response's web site:

As a nation, we must come together, call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles, and thank Him for the blessings of freedom we so richly enjoy according to His grace, mercy, and kindness towards us. A historic crisis facing our nation and threatening our future demands a historic response from the church. We must, as a people, return to the faith and hope of our fathers. The ancient paths of great men were blazed in prayer - the humility of the truly great men of history was revealed in their recognition of the power and might of Jesus to save all who call on His great name.

Perry has invited the 49 other governors in the country to join the Response's big event on August 6 at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Branstad's spokesman earlier on Thursday told the Register: "We have not scheduled that far out at this time."

Pres '12

Iowa Gov: I'm Not Supporting Pawlenty (Or Anyone Else)

Eric Kleefeld | February 3, 2011, 2:57PM

Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA) and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's office is putting the kibosh on a report that he was supporting former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty in the state's key early presidential caucus -- saying that he is remaining totally neutral instead.

In a column today, David Broder mentioned as a side point:

An exceptionally skilled politician, Branstad is generally counted in the Pawlenty camp. His support is the main reason Pawlenty is given a chance in the leadoff caucuses - even against Huckabee, the surprise 2008 winner in Iowa; Romney, who has invested heavily in organizing the state; and perhaps others, including Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.

Branstad's people moved quickly to refute the story, with a pair of tweets on his account.

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Iowa

Iowa GOPer Branstad: Don't Impeach State Justices Over Gay Marriage

Eric Kleefeld | January 4, 2011, 11:10AM

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad (R-IA)

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad (R-IA) has now taken a firm position on a push by some state legislators from his party to impeach state Supreme Court Justices who legalized same-sex marriage: He's against it.

As the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports:

"I don't think that impeachment is the appropriate remedy," Branstad said in an interview.

...

"I think if you look and read the Constitution, which I have, I think it's pretty obvious. The Constitution says what the grounds for impeachment are. My reading is it's not there," he said. "There's a difference between malfeasance and over-reaching, I think. I really think that if people look at the Constitution, I think the remedy is that when they come up for retention that people have a chance to vote them out. I think that's the appropriate remedy. I don't think that impeachment is the appropriate remedy."

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Gay Marriage

Iowa GOPer Branstad: Impeach Justices For Gay Marriage? I Have No Role In That

Eric Kleefeld | December 29, 2010, 8:45AM

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad (R-IA)

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad (R-IA), who will be leading the critical first presidential caucus state, is not commenting on the hot-button issue of whether the state Supreme Court justices who legalized same sex marriage in his state should be impeached -- after he'd previously urged the legislature in strong terms to pass a constitutional amendment undoing the decision.

This past November, Iowa voters removed three state Supreme Court justices who had faced up-or-down retention elections, and who were heavily targeted by conservatives for their role in the unanimous 2009 ruling that legalized same marriage in the state. Now, as we've reported, some of the incoming Republican legislators would like to impeach the remaining four justices.

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Iowa

Iowa GOPer Branstad: Dem Leader 'Dictator' For Not Holding Anti-Gay Marriage Vote

Eric Kleefeld | December 7, 2010, 11:14AM

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad (R-IA)

Gay marriage is heating up as a political issue in the big presidential caucus state of Iowa. Gay marriage was legalized by the state Supreme Court in 2009, and now Republican Gov.-elect Terry Branstad is attacking Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, for saying that he will not hold a vote to send a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the state's electorate.

As the Quad-City Times reports:

"Just because you're a leader in the Legislature doesn't mean you're a dictator where you have the right to make a unilateral decision, I think, on an issue of this importance and magnitude," Branstad said. "Certainly the senators should be given an opportunity to vote on this."

Asked about Branstad's comments during a separate session at the seminar, Gronstal said he has no intention of reversing course.

"Dictators are people who take away other people's rights," said Gronstal. "I'm not going down that road."

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IA-GOV

Ad Attacking GOP Candidate As A 'Liberal' Was Paid For By Dems

Jillian Rayfield | July 16, 2010, 2:29PM

Former Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA)

An attack ad against Terry Branstad -- the former Republican governor of Iowa who is challenging Dem Gov. Chet Culver for the seat -- labels him as a "liberal." So which group of liberal-haters paid for the ad?

As it turns out...it was the Democratic Governors Association.

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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."