ChetChase 2010 - Bad Day for BVP

As a candidate for governor, this is not the sort of day you want to have 17 days before a primary.

First, the reviews of Bob Vander Plaats' one and only TV ad are in. 

Not so good. The ad:

On the right, Krusty Konservative at The Iowa Republican:

Bob Vander Plaats will begin running his TV ads today. This is the first time Vander Plaats has run TV ads since the closing weeks of the 2002 campaign. Vander Plaats is using Mike Huckabee's media firm, and to be honest I thought his ads would have been a little better.

Now, thank the Lord that the ad doesn't contain any strange people eating carrot cake like Rod Roberts' ads, but still I expected a little more. Frankly, I think the ad tries to do too much. I like the fact that he attacked Culver, but I really thing this should have just be a positive ad about himself.

No, but it does have Huckabee's trademark subliminal background cross.

On the left, desmoinesdem at Bleeding Heartland:

I am shocked by the poor quality of this commercial. Vander Plaats speaks much more naturally in clips I've seen from his stump speeches than he does when he talks straight to the camera. They should have ditched the boilerplate anti-Culver visuals at the beginning and pulled 30 seconds worth of material from some of his campaign rallies, or even from the gubernatorial debates. I know I'm not the target audience for this commercial, but it doesn't seem like a good way to introduce himself to the voters.

If Vander Plaats had not spent so much of what his campaign raised in 2009, he might have been up on television more than two weeks before the June 8 primary. Then he could have introduced himself in an all-positive commercial about his background, and perhaps run a couple of different ads on his issue agenda (making Iowa the business capital of the world).

We have some rare bipartisan agreement.

I also thought it was odd that Vander Plaats decided to use 6 seconds/20 percent of his ad to hit Culver when he's in a primary race and is likely behind Terry Branstad. No time to waste.  

The economy/jobs is the top issue, and I give Vander Plaats points for understanding that. Maybe the notorious Doug Gross' call for focusing on our pocketbooks and not our bedrooms was good advice after all. But is it too late? 

It's never too late, however, to get bad press.

From the Sioux City Journal's Bret Hayworth:

SIOUX CITY -- The human services agency led at one time by 2010 Iowa gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats nearly closed its doors in the early 2000s in large part because he failed to produce adequate fundraising support after stepping down as CEO, according to a former board member and executive for Sioux City-based Opportunities Unlimited.

Vander Plaats' inability to raise funds for Opportunities Unlimited in what is described as a hybrid management/board position led to his termination by the board, said Jackie Kibbie-Williams, a former board member and the person who succeeded Vander Plaats as CEO of Opportunities Unlimited.

"He wasn't producing, so he lost his job," Kibbie-Williams told The Journal on Friday. "The board made a decision to discontinue his employment because of performance issues."

This is not new. BVP critics have been pushing back against his claim of being a "turnaround CEO" for years. Then-candidate for governor Christopher Rants assailed Vander Plaats Opportunities Unlimited record last fall.

The difference is the primary date is oh so close, and Hayworth is as straight a shooter as they come. So this time, the charge may have some legs.

The article does show that OU raised money like gangbusters in the late 1990s when he was CEO and struggled later when his role changed. The fighting point is how much of a role did he have in the non-profit when it hit the rocks in 2003. And was he really terminated?

(The smoking gun is held by the daughter of a Democratic legislative leader, Senate President Jack Kibbie, which the article makes clear.)

BVP says it ain't so.

Vander Plaats, reached for comment on Saturday, said his duties while serving as a board member in the early 2000s were consultative in nature, not centered on fundraising, and he said he was not terminated from the position.

"Absolutely not," Vander Plaats said. "She has no documentation. The letter of resignation... that was a resignation that took place."

Vander Plaats also notes that his current firm, MVP Consulting, currently has a consulting contract with the outfit that runs OU. Why would they hire him if he had been drummed out?

Vander Plaats'  makes his case, but the headline allegation could be damaging. But his supporters are loyal and distrust the media, so they may not care.

One guy who doesn't care is Bill Salier, who endorsed Vander Plaats over the weekend:

"Bob Vander Plaats is the only candidate in the governor's race who stands for true conservative values,” Salier said during a Vander Plaats campaign rally at Crossroads Park. “He understands that our freedoms depend on the checks and balances that our Founding Fathers so wisely installed into our system of governance. He'll be a governor who stands up for what is right and stands strong in defense of our rights."

A former Marine who completed his tour of duty in Somalia, Salier shook up the state's political scene when his grassroots campaign for the GOP's 2002 U.S. Senate nomination garnered 42 percent of the vote against then-Congressman Greg Ganske. Salier served as the Iowa state chairman of then-Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo's 2008 presidential campaign. A graduate of Iowa State University, Salier and his wife Karla operate the family farm near Nora Springs.

Salier co-founded Everyday America, a group that believes an educated voter is the key to a good government and great nation. Everyday America's mission is to teach the voting public that “Constitution is the rulebook for government and voters must make politicians accountable to our rulebook.”

In addition to helping Tom Harkin become senator for life by hobbling his last credible opponent, Salier also endorsed President Tom Tancredo and President Fred Thompson. So clearly, this is a game-changer.

But hey, Chuck Norris will be here on June 4. Hang on.

Vander Plaats will be in Cedar Rapids bright and early Friday morning. He speaks at 7 a.m. in front of the Cedar Rapids Daybreak Rotary, Elmcrest Country Club, 1000 36th St. NE.