Vander Plaats gets endorsement

First-term Rep. Kent Sorenson, R-Indianola, has endorsed GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats, saying the Sioux City businessman epitomizes the American ideal of a citizen-servant who will take bold stands to defend Iowans against an overreaching, activist judiciary.

In an open letter to Iowans, Sorenson noted that he respects the three other Republicans running for governor but added,

“What impresses me the most about Bob, and why I chose to endorse him, is that he is the candidate most willing to take on the system and stand up for our rights,” Sorenson said in a letter to Iowans.

“Like Bob Vander Plaats I have had enough of renegade courts defining for us what is right and wrong and overturning our laws on fundamental issues like traditional marriage.  Bob has vowed to fight them with a boldness not seen since Abraham Lincoln stood up against slavery and the Dred Scott opinion.”

“Some of you may have heard that the establishment in my own party has brought Terry Branstad out of retirement to run for a fifth term as governor,” the letter continued. “Terry Branstad has always been kind to me, and is a respected figure in our party. Yet I have probably traveled this state more recently than he has, and I've heard from so many of you that are tired of career politicians.

“To a lot of you out there in the grassroots, nothing smacks of elitism more than thinking anybody ought to be governor for 20 years,” Sorenson said. “I fear that by nominating someone viewed by many as a career politician who hasn't run a race in 15 years, the Republican Party may end up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory next November.”

 Sorenson urged his supporters to “resolve to never cast one more vote for career politicians who stay in power so long it's hard to tell which party they belong to.”

 Among Sorenson's concerns about Branstad's candidacy are the fact the former governor had signed the largest tax increase in state history, overseen the growth of state government while the state population had been static, appointed justices who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage and that he would not “stand up to the courts like Bob Vander Plaats has promised to, is willing to let the courts make law and have the final say and not we the people, just like Culver.”

He continued:

“If Branstad's record is the party establishment's idea of what being a 21st century Republican is then it's obvious they haven't learned anything from their losses in recent elections. If we want to beat Chet Culver, we have to offer voters something different than Chet Culver.“It's obvious based on Branstad's recent complaints about a ‘confrontational right' that his campaign is based on country club nostalgia for a bygone era. I take great offense at the idea that we should just roll over and play nice while (Senate Democratic Leader) Mike Gronstal denies us the right to vote on a marriage amendment, local sheriffs try to deny our Second Amendment rights, and illegal immigrants drive down wages while driving up the cost of the welfare state.  You're darn right we're confrontational when our freedoms, traditions, and liberties are being taken from us. We need a governor that understands that and will fight the good fight with us!”

“It's obvious based on Branstad's recent complaints about a ‘confrontational right' that his campaign is based on country club nostalgia for a bygone era. I take great offense at the idea that we should just roll over and play nice while (Senate Democratic Leader) Mike Gronstal denies us the right to vote on a marriage amendment, local sheriffs try to deny our Second Amendment rights, and illegal immigrants drive down wages while driving up the cost of the welfare state.  You're darn right we're confrontational when our freedoms, traditions, and liberties are being taken from us. We need a governor that understands that and will fight the good fight with us!”