VANDER PLAATS WHACKS BRANSTAD FOR NELSON TIES, BUT TERRY MAY BE THE MEANEST GRINCH OF ALL
December 23, 2009
It looks like the sparring in the GOP primary for Governor won’t stop for a holiday break. Bob Vander Plaats hammered Terry Branstad’s support of Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson Wednesday. Nelson, a Democrat, has been among the key Senate votes on the health care reform bill, agreeing to support it a week ago after exacting concessions from his leadership.
Vander Plaats wants to play guilt-by-association and make Branstad and Nelson appear to be as snug as a bug in a rug this holiday season. It's certain that we’ll soon see gauzy video of the two of them ice skating together and playfully throwing snowballs at one another.
The reality is both Vander Plaats and Branstad would be ‘no’ votes on the historic health care bill Congress is about to pass. Neither has a record of standing up to meet the needs of Iowans who have health care needs, including Iowa’s seniors. Neither has shown the least bit of concern about more than a quarter million Iowans who find themselves without health care. Neither supports Gov. Culver’s expansion of health care to nearly every Iowa child.
Vander Plaats hopes to make Branstad look not-conservative-enough in an attempt to win the hard core true believers in the Republican primary. But if the battle is to see who can be the meanest Grinch on the block this holiday season, Branstad might just be the big winner.
Branstad has been willing to attack Iowans with special needs, including vision-impaired Iowans. Branstad helped create the federal No Child Left Behind provisions for students in need of special education. With Branstad’s blessing, GOP legislators are going forward with plans to make big cuts to special education funding.
Branstad’s had 16 years of practice making cuts to programs that help the most vulnerable Iowans. Taxin’ Terry is experienced at raising taxes on hardworking Iowans and then giving massive tax breaks to big corporations. It’s going to be tough for Bob Vander Plaats to out-Grinch that record.
The entire Vander Plaats release is below.
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NEWS RELEASE
Vander Plaats Calls on Branstad to contact Sen. Ben Nelson, urge ‘no’ vote on health care legislation
12/23/2009
DES MOINES – Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats said today that former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad should stand up for Iowans by contacting his close friend, Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and urging him to vote Thursday against the government’s takeover of America’s health care system.
“Terry Branstad helped get Ben Nelson elected. He went to Nebraska and campaigned for him. He urged Republicans to vote for Ben Nelson. He gave money to Ben Nelson’s campaign. What Iowa got in return is that we have to pay for any future increases in Medicaid in Nebraska because that was the price of Ben Nelson’s vote for this bill,” Vander Plaats said. Branstad campaigned for Nelson in 2000, saying if the Nebraska Democrat lived in Iowa, “he probably would be a Republican.”
“The fact is, Ben Nelson is not a Republican. Chuck Grassley and all the Senate Republicans are standing against this trillion-dollar train wreck engineered by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi with the help of Terry Branstad’s good friend and political ally. Ben Nelson literally is the deciding vote on this bill, which says Nebraskans will never have to pay for any increases in the Medicaid program.
Unfortunately, the rest of us are going to have to pay our share and theirs unless this bill is defeated – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This bill will destroy health care as we know it,” Vander Plaats said. “Terry Branstad helped elect Ben Nelson. He has a responsibility to step up and tell Ben Nelson to vote no.”
Over the weekend, Nelson gave Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, the first of three votes he needed to cut off debate and advance the legislation. The result is that Democrats have proceeded with legislation that will effectively destroy the country’s private health care system while saddling businesses and working families with hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes and limiting access to care.
“At a time when we need bold leadership, we get more politics as usual from Ben Nelson," Vander Plaats said. "Terry Branstad helped make that happen. And, if he doesn’t change Ben Nelson’s vote, he going to have to answer to Iowans about why he thought it was more important to elect a Nebraska Democrat who goes along with Herry Reid and Nancy Pelosi rather than protecting the best interests of our state’s small businesses and hard-working families.”