Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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An automated call featuring one of Terry Branstad’s former lieutenant governors asking Republicans to support same-sex marriage has drawn the ire of social conservatives.
The calls, which feature the voice of Republican Joy Corning and were paid for by gay rights group One Iowa, say the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage continues “Iowa’s tradition of protecting the civil rights of all Iowans.”
One of Branstad’s rivals for the 2010 gubernatorial nomination, Bob Vander Plaats, said the calls are another reason to question Branstad’s commitment to opposing same-sex marriage.
“Terry Branstad enters the governor’s race on Saturday night without stating where he truly stands on the issue and on Tuesday night his lieutenant governor does an automated call urging Iowans to support same-sex marriages. All of that takes place not too long after his former chief of staff wrote an opinion piece saying the Republican Party needs to nominate a candidate with ‘centrist’ views on social issues,” Vander Plaats said. “Urging Iowans to support same-sex marriage is not only out of touch with Republican values but it is overwhelmingly out of touch with Main Street Iowa.”
Conservative group Iowa Family Policy Center issued a statement saying if Branstad had never appointed a “public supporter of abortion and homosexuality” to be his lieutenant governor she would never have a platform to “undermine traditional family values.”
“Joy Corning has given us another clear example of just exactly why as Christians and conservatives we should no longer sacrifice our convictions for perceived political victories,” said Chuck Hurly, president of IFPC. “When we elect people like Joy Corning, we elevate and advance the destruction of the family.”
Conservative blogger Craig Robinson believes that since the calls didn’t encourage people to attend One Iowa’s Marriage Equality Public Forums in December, they could be attempts by liberals to thwart a Branstad candidacy.
“…Corning’s call might have also been orchestrated by gay activists and liberal Democrats to lessen the chance that Branstad will win the Republican nomination for governor,” Robinson said.
He also wonders whether One Iowa is “taking advantage of the 77 year-old former lieutenant governor in hopes to advance their own political agenda.” Corning is a long time supporter of marriage equality, even writing joint letter to the editor of the Des Moines Register promoting same-sex marriage with former Democratic Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson. She is also a member of Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines, which is a prominent supporter of civil rights, including same-sex marriage.
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