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A comment made over the weekend by Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats has sparked a war of words between the Republican gubernatorial candidate and the state Democratic Party chair.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats, left, and IDP chair Michael Kiernan.
While criticizing national Democrats’ plans for health care reform at a dinner hosted by Black Hawk County Republicans on Sunday night, Vander Plaats said “That’s why (President) Barack Obama has been really, really good for two industries — guns and ammunition.”
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Michael Kiernan called the comment “outrageous, irresponsible and very dangerous.” He also demanded Vander Plaats retract the statement and disavow such “inflammatory speech” in the future.
“The rhetoric of armed extremists has no place in the race for Governor and is outside the bounds of what’s acceptable to Iowans,” Kiernan said. “It’s reckless and very dangerous to incite the misguided few who take such statements seriously.”
Kiernan called on other Republican candidates to condemn Vander Plaats’ statement.
“I would think the other candidates would agree this kind of talk has absolutely no place in Iowa,” he said. “It’s odd that not one of them has stepped forward to condemn it.”
Vander Plaats spokesman Eric Woolson said Kiernan knows the only way Democrats are going to get Gov. Chet Culver re-elected is by distracting Iowans from the issues of the day.
“The Democrats’ strategy is going to be to talk about anything other than the $900-million budget shortfall state government faces because of Chet Culver’s voracious appetite for more spending,” he said. “They are going to avoid talking about the state’s highest unemployment rate in more than two decades and they’re going to try to divert Iowans away from Chet Culver’s flip flops on issues like defending the separation of powers and allowing Iowans to vote on the issue of same-sex marriages.”
Kiernan’s statement will likely be the first of many distractions Iowans can expect to be thrown out by Iowa Democrats leading up to the 2010 election, Woolsen said.
The exchange comes a day after U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley faced similar criticism for not publicly denouncing what many considered a threat of violence issued by a constituent at a town hall forum in Pocahontas.Reports of protesters attending presidential events in recent weeks carrying firearms, and an increase in violent rhetoric at Congressional town halls, has concerned many who fear that a violent undercurrent is taking shape around the county.
The back and forth over Vander Plaats’ comment also comes two days after Kiernan issued a threat of legal action if another GOP gubernatorial candidate, Christian Fong, did not take a radio ad off the air that the Des Moines Democrat felt was misleading and materially false.
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