Earlier this year, we introduced you to the FAMiLY LEADER, the extreme anti-gay group in Iowa, and its leader, Bob Vander Plaats. Tomorrow, Vander Plaats is hosting a “Thanksgiving Family Forum” for presidential candidates. If history is any guide, this event promises to be a veritable cornucopia of attacks on gays and women’s health care and a celebration of fringe social views.
Here’s a rundown of that history, just to remind you who and what Republicans presidential candidates choose to associate themselves with — something that definitely matters.
Vander Plaats — The Lowlights
- a Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist called last week’s Iowa State Senate District 18 special election loss a “stinging rebuke” to Vander Plaats’ FAMiLY Leader
- Vander Plaats received national and local condemnation over his group’s “Marriage Vow” for 2012 candidates, which included language:
- suggesting that children were better off under slavery than they are under Obama (later removed after a national outcry)
- likening homosexuality to polygamy, adultery, or polyandry
- attacking gays as a public health risk
- saying homosexuality is a choice
- fomenting the non-existent “Sharia” threat to America
- banning pornography
- Top Iowa Republicans attacked Vander Plaats, saying his “credibility is waning to the point of no impact” and attacked the Marriage Vow as a “huge distraction”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TQz7AV73GQ8
- Vander Plaats’ group took millions in federal funds while decrying federal spending
- Vander Plaats’ political career has been marked by failure:
- 2002: ran for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and lost.
- 2006: ran for the GOP gubernational nomination again, dropped out during the primary, joined the GOP ticket as Jim Nussle’s running mate, and promptly lost again.
- 2010: ran for the GOP gubernational nomination again and lost, again.
This local TV news report from Des Moines last night outlines most of the recent controversies facing Vander Plaats and his organization — and why his influence is on the wane. Check it out:
Stay tuned to ThinkProgress LGBT and our twitter feeds for live updates on tomorrow’s presidential forum in Iowa.