By DUANE NOLLEN
OSKALOOSA — Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats says that the next election is a “winner take all” affair and the only way Republicans can win is to stay true to who they are.
Vander Plaats spoke to a packed house at the Mahaska County Republican Central Committee meeting Thursday night at the county courthouse.
“If we don’t win, we don’t govern,” Vander Plaats said. “We will not win by selling out the core values of who we are.”
If Republicans do sell out, then voters will not trust them to lead, he added.
Vander Plaats argued that he was the man Republicans should pick in the primary to challenge Democratic Gov. Chet Culver in 2010. Vander Plaats delivered a message that spanned economic, educational and values issues.
Vander Plaats argued that in order for Iowa to keep its young people and to attract Iowa natives from other states to come back home to raise a family, it needs good jobs for them.
“We need to open up Iowa for business,” he said.
Vander Plaats said the state needs to do things such as revamp its tax code to make it more business friendly and to sell Iowa as a “Right to Work” state.
He said Gateway computers moved from Iowa to South Dakota because South Dakota has no business income tax.
Vander Plaats also said the state government needs better management.
He said that Culver inherited a $5.3 billion budget and now the budget has grown to $6.3 billion.
If Culver did not throw money at issues and listened to ideas about curbing state spending, he would not have had to make the 10 percent across-the-board cut in the budget.
“We need a Republican who is a conservative” who believes in a limited government that performs well as governor, Vander Plaats said.
“We need a CEO in charge. I was a turn-around CEO,” he added.
Vander Plaats also discussed education. He was a school teacher as well as a high school principal.
He said the education bureaucracy has grown, and as a result, students have paid the price.
“No Child Left Behind should be left behind,” he said.
Vander Plaats also spoke against the state core curriculum.
“It’s a disaster, a train wreck,” he said.
The core curriculum’s mandates would create “cookie cutter” education. Instead, Vander Plaats said that local districts need to set high expectations, make teacher accountability transparent and devote more resources to the classroom.
Vander Plaats also spoke on social issues such as the defense of marriage. He is a staunch believer in marriage being between one man and one woman.
“On Day 1, I’m going to issue an executive order to put a stay on same-sex marriage,” he said.
The crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Vander Plaats said the governor needs to keep the judiciary in check. He also touted his recent endorsement from the leader of the Iowa NAACP.
Vander Plaats reiterated that Culver can be defeated — as long as Culver’s record is the focus of the campaign.
In alluding to a possible run by former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, Vander Plaats said that Culver’s “only real shot” at winning would be to turn the focus of the election to a candidate’s past record.
“I don’t have a record, and my parents are glad I don’t,” he quipped.
Herald Editor Duane Nollen can be reached by email at oskynews@oskyherald.com
