Ministers, Heat and Toeing the Deep End

Eight-hundred-plus Iowa pastors signed a petition this week in support of “real marriage.”

As someone whose marriage has, at times, been held together through the use of preservatives, chemical additives, refined sweeteners and perhaps even xanthan gum, I took some offense. Are they suggesting my marriage, a delicate mix of natural and artificial flavors, is not real? “I Can't Believe it's Not Marriage,” perhaps.

Turns out these folks are seeking to make Iowa candidates “feel the heat” ahead of Tuesday's primary election. The Iowa Family Policy Center circulated the petition and will send it to Tuesday's winners as a “loud and clear” message that they'd better not go around supporting fake marriages, aka same-sex marriages.

It's worth noting that the Iowa Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex unions places no obligation on any church to change anything. These petitioners, however, are determined to impose their views on us. Makes perfect sense.

Still, speaking of feeling heat, you have to wonder whether the thermostat at the IFPC is up a few degrees. After all, the group put all of its eggs in Bob Vander Plaats' gubernatorial basket. If BVP fails to win the Republican nomination on his third try, the loud and clear signal may not be music to their ears.

Tuesday's GOP primary is not a referendum on whether marriage equity remains legal. All three candidates - Vander Plaats, Terry Branstad and Rod Roberts - want a constitutional ban on same-sex unions.

But it is a referendum on whether Republicans are willing to take a high dive into the deep end. Vander Plaats continues to anchor his run to the claim that a governor has the authority to veto supreme court rulings. Last week, Branstad called such a power play an “illegal” act that would discredit the office. Correct. Although the fact that it took until the end of May for one of BVP's rivals to say it in such stark terms publicly is troubling.

In my years of watching Iowa politics, I can't remember a major candidate for high office peddling a folly this misguided as a centerpiece of his or her campaign. Maybe hanging around Chuck Norris made Vander Plaats think a lone action hero can run the whole show, but that's not how our system works. If Vander Plaats were to somehow get his way, one person, the governor, would be the last and sole authority on what is constitutional and what is not.

If that doesn't send a chill up a real conservative's spine, I don't know what would. Lucky for us, however, the judicial veto is a fake. I can't believe it's not obvious.

Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@gazcomm.com