Separation from Reality

GOP canddiate for governor Bob Vander Plaats performs for Bill Salier on WHO radio, then puts out a press release. An excerpt:

Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats said today his willingness to take a strong stand to protect the separation of powers and hold activist courts in check distinguishes him from at least one of his primary election opponents, former House Speaker Christopher Rants.

Vander Plaats said during the Jan Mickelson program on WHO Radio with guest host Bill Salier that he would sign an executive order banning same-sex marriages as part of an effort to give Iowans the right to vote on the issue. Rants, who has said he does not believe the governor has the authority to sign an order, would limit his attempts to using the bully pulpit of the office.

"With all due respect to Representative Rants, I believe that's the kind of leadership that's brought us from being the majority in the state to being the minority in the state," said Vander Plaats, who defeated Rants by more than a two-to-one margin in a poll conducted last week by TheIowaRepublican.com. ""When you give complete power over to the Supreme Court, you'll have tyranny not liberty."

Noting that Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order that defied a Supreme Court decision, Vander Plaats added, "Executives need to lead. This is not about winning the office it's about leading. That's what separates me from anyone else out there."

So, to review, Vander Plaats would protect separation of powers by destroying separation of powers. Christopher Rants is a squishy sissy  because he actually believes his oath of office. And taking civil rights away from people makes you like Abraham Lincoln.

I'll give you a second to download that.

I like Vander Plaats, I really do.  But this tap dance for the fringe on judicial review, which any fifth-grade Iowa history student could see through in five minutes, is embarrassing.