Vander Plaats: Culver, Democrats Took Advantage of Flood Victims to Tax, Spend More

SIOUX CITY – The failure of Gov. Chet Culver and legislative Democrats to mesh the state’s tax code with federal disaster relief provisions was “simply a way to take money from people who had already suffered far too much,” Sioux City Republican Bob Vander Plaats said today.

In a story published in today’s edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, state Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, said his party did not adopt the appropriate federal tax laws because the state would have taken in $56 million less in this fiscal year. Although Democrats refused to consider a GOP proposal to reduce spending by $300 million, McCoy said action to spare Iowans from the higher taxes was “a hit to the budget that, frankly, was not an option.” As a result, many Iowa flood victims who filed their state taxes early will be forced to repay refunds that were based on the federal guidelines.

“Where was Chet Culver when this was happening? Was he simply asleep at the switch again or did he go along with the plan to feed his voracious spending habit?” Vander Plaats asked. “When he signed the state budget into law, he effectively said to thousands of flood victims that he was going to balance the state budget on their backs. It was simply a way to take money from people who had already suffered too much to pay for his bloated government that consistently does less with more.”

He added, “This is the clearest evidence yet that state government doesn’t have a revenue problem; Chet Culver has a spending problem. When Senator McCoy is willing to admit that his party didn’t couple the state tax code with federal disaster relief provisions because it was ‘a hit to the budget’ that tells Iowans that we need leadership that going to look out for them rather than pick their pockets when they’ve been knocked down by a natural disaster.”

Vander Plaats said the episode also demonstrates the need to make our state’s tax structure simpler. “We’re long overdue for tax reform that helps Iowa’s working families and the people who create jobs. We’re never going to get that on Chet Culver’s watch but it will be a priority for my administration,” he said.
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Vander Plaats: Culver Needs Fiscal New Year’s Resolution to Curb His Out-of-Control Spending

SIOUX CITY – With the start of the new fiscal year today, Gov. Chet Culver should make a resolution to control his excessive spending habits that have already pushed the state to the brink of an illegal deficit, Republican Bob Vander Plaats said.

“The Legislative Services Agency reported today that state revenues are $123 million less than the estimate the budget was based on. That may mean the state is deficit spending or Chet Culver’s budget director may be correct in saying he can transfer enough funds to ‘manage’ the estimated $58 million shortfall. Either way, Chet Culver’s irresponsible, out-of-control spending have left state government with a deficit or just pushed it to the very edge. He needs to make a resolution to change his ways,” Vander Plaats said today. “I realize that traditional New Year’s resolutions come on January 1, but the fiscal year starts today. Besides, because of Chet Culver’s irresponsible handling of the budget, we can’t afford to wait another minute for him to start a healthier fiscal regimen.”

He added, “It takes 21 days to develop a new habit so if the governor starts today and works very hard, he’ll be able to resist his big-spending ways by the time his staff starts to work next month on the next fiscal year budget. He might even work up the ability to say no to legislative Democrats who only want to increase spending, taxes and the size of state government.”

Culver said last week that the state budget “should be all right,” despite concerns by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency that slumping state revenues can’t keep pace with sharp spending increases approved by Culver and the Democrat-controlled legislature since the Democrat took office in January 2007.

While, the state’s largest union agreed to a zero-percent pay raise this year, merit raises and “step increases” that move employees closer to the top pay in their grade mean state workers still will receive an average 4.5 percent raise in the coming fiscal year.

“That adds $121 million to the overspending that’s already going on,” Vander Plaats said today. “I respect state workers but we shouldn’t be giving raises when the private sector is cutting back and state government is faced with a $903 million shortfall this year because of the governor’s fiscal mismanagement.”

Culver has also said he hopes Iowa’s economy will rebound faster than other states so the state can work its way out of the financial hole he’s dug. However, a published report on Monday indicates economists expect Iowa’s employment and revenue to remain down for the next two years.

“New Year’s is a time when people often face the cold, hard facts, reflect on their shortcomings and resolve to take action and make constructive changes,” Vander Plaats said. “I’d encourage Chet Culver to do exactly that today on the fiscal new year and set the state budget back on the right course.”

Des Moines Register Story Updates Ryan Hargens Case

Des Moines Register staff writer Grant Schulte writes in today’s edition about former Johnston resident Ryan Hargens, whose 2005 murder in Sioux Falls, S.D, was first ruled a suicide as a result of hasty, incomplete work by authorities.

Schulte writes, “The death investigation of a former Iowan who was shot in the head raises numerous questions that might have been answered if not for a series of mistakes, according to an investigator hired by the man’s family.” To read the full Register story, click here.

Healthcare: Obama’s Waterloo?

Political strategist Dick Morris observes in a commentary featured on the Rasmussen Report site: “To quote the esteemed Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the chickens that were hatched in the stimulus package are coming home to roost in the healthcare proposal. The budget deficit Obama racked up paying for the massive federal spending passed in January is now having a real economic and political impact, which is forcing the president and his congressional allies into hard choices as they face his healthcare legislation.” To see the Morris commentary in its entirety, click “Healthcare: Obama’s Waterloo?”

Vander Plaats: Unlike Other Candidates, I’ll Stand Up for Separation of Constitutional Powers

DES MOINES – Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats said today his willingness to take a strong stand to protect the separation of powers and hold activist courts in check distinguishes him from at least one of his primary election opponents, former House Speaker Christopher Rants.

Vander Plaats said during the Jan Mickelson program on WHO Radio with guest host Bill Salier that he would sign an executive order banning same-sex marriages as part of an effort to give Iowans the right to vote on the issue. Rants, who has said he does not believe the governor has the authority to sign an order, would limit his attempts to using the bully pulpit of the office.

“With all due respect to Representative Rants, I believe that’s the kind of leadership that’s brought us from being the majority in the state to being the minority in the state,” said Vander Plaats, who defeated Rants by more than a two-to-one margin in a poll conducted last week by TheIowaRepublican.com. ““When you give complete power over to the Supreme Court, you’ll have tyranny not liberty.”

Noting that Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order that defied a Supreme Court decision, Vander Plaats added, “Executives need to lead. This is not about winning the office it’s about leading. That’s what separates me from anyone else out there.”

Vander Plaats expressed confidence that he can win “any primary that presents itself,” but added, “This is not about winning a primary. This is about winning the leadership of Iowa. That means you have to defeat Chet Culver and cast a vision for Iowa. You don’t get to lead unless you win. You don’t get to govern unless you win.”

Vander Plaats said he has more education degrees and experience than Gov. Chet Culver, a former high school teacher. He also has more front-line human services experience. Education and human services comprise more than three-fourths of the state budget.

“Culver’s going to be about growing a bureaucracy and growing government. I’m going to be about growing people’s potential. We need to be able to get into his base … that’s how we win with Chet Culver,” Vander Plaats said. “Everyone knows Culver doesn’t want to run on his own record. That means he’s going to run on someone else’s record. In my vision, we’re going to open up Iowa for business … with a competitive tax structure and regulation structure. When you have a vibrant business economy the ripple effect is dynamic.”

Vander Plaats said he would move the state toward a flat tax. He noted that a simplified, competitive tax structure would help businesses of all sizes and help draw young entrepreneurs, including former Iowans, back to the state. “I know we can’t get there overnight but I don’t think the founders of this state thought we should have to jump through all these hoops and hire people to figure out our taxes,” he said.

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Is Michael Moore Poised for his “Jump the Shark” Moment?

In a Newsweek web exclusive, documentary filmmaker James Scurlock questions whether his populist-posturing peer Michael Moore has bitten off more than he can chew in his upcoming project about “the wealthy.” To read Scurlock’s insightful piece, “Moore in Less”, click here.

Vander Plaats Comes Out on Top in GOP Primary Poll, Wins Nod from Chuck Norris

DES MOINES – Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats topped former House Speaker Christopher Rants by more than a two-to-one margin and outdistanced two other potential GOP gubernatorial candidates by even larger margins in a poll conducted by TheIowaRepublican.com. Meanwhile, actor and martial arts legend Chuck Norris has announced his backing for a Vander Plaats candidacy, drawing more national attention and a broader fund-raising base to the campaign.

Vander Plaats received 52.4 percent of the 559 votes in the poll, followed by Rants with 25.6 percent, Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley with 18 percent and former state Sen. Jeff Lamberti at 4 percent.

“This is only one poll and it’s early in the campaign cycle but TheIowaRepublican.com is a respected and unbiased information source and the results of this poll are very encouraging. Christopher Rants is well known across the state, especially in Republican circles, for his years in the legislative spotlight. For Bob Vander Plaats to have such an impressive showing against him and two other respected leaders is a reflection of the deep and broad support he has within our party,” said Vander Plaats spokesman Eric Woolson. “That said, the Vander Plaats organization is going to continuing working very hard every day to build the grassroots organization necessary to win the primary next June and defeat Chet Culver next November.”

Announcing his support for Vander Plaats, former Rep. John Kasich of Ohio and Judge Roy Moore of Alabama, Norris wrote in his national syndicated column, “I encourage you to spread the word about these gentlemen and patriots, learn about their platforms, support their campaigns, and see to it that they are elected in their gubernatorial races. Theirs is leadership we can trust. I’m convinced that if we are to win back America, it’s going to start in the heartland and spread out from there because of the influence of leaders like them.”

He continued, “Don’t like what you see in government? Tired of incumbent lethargy and inactiveness? Does a political issue grind on you like fingernails on a chalkboard? It comes down to this: Either you will change our country or your opponents will, and if you let them change it, you might not like the outcome.” (To see the complete column, click here.)

Norris has taken an increasingly higher profile on issues of national importance since his prominent role in former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Vander Plaats, who served as Huckabee’s Iowa chairman said, “I had an opportunity to get to know Chuck Norris during the 2008 campaign and we’ve remained in touch because we share the same values and public policy goals. He’s committed to defending Americans’ constitutional rights and the principles that made this country so great. I’m honored to have the support of Chuck and Gena Norris. They are great friends and they’re going to play an important role in our winning campaign.”

For more information about Bob Vander Plaats, click here.

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Associated Press: Iowa Presidential Campaigning Returns

Associated Press reporter Mike Glover writes, “It’s been six months since voters handed Barack Obama the White House, and in the minds of a lot of Iowa activists that means only one thing: It’s time to start the campaign again.

2012 already?”

To see the complete story as it was published in the Washington Post, including a quote from Eric Woolson of The Concept Works, click here.

Exemplar Genetics Team Attends 2009 BIO International Conference in Atlanta

SIOUX CENTER – The world’s largest biotechnology conference will have a northwest Iowa connection as members of the Exemplar Genetics management team attend this year’s conference in Atlanta.

“Nothing compares to the BIO International Convention in terms of size, innovation or industry and media interest,” said John Swart, president of Exemplar Genetics.

Exemplar Genetics, which partners with medical researchers to seek cures for some of the most challenging diseases facing humans, made its industry debut at the 2008 BIO conference in San Diego.

“The 2008 BIO convention was a tremendous venue for us to introduce Exemplar Genetics’ unique expertise, products and technology. This year’s convention is giving us the opportunity to let more biotech and pharmaceutical companies, researchers and investors know about the ground-breaking work that’s going on at our firm,” Swart said.

Before Exemplar Genetics was founded, researchers lacked animal models to faithfully represent human diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Relying on laboratory mice before advancing to tests on humans, they faced a large barrier on the path to discovering how some human diseases work and how to treat or even prevent them, Swart said. Exemplar Genetics has bridged the considerable gap between the laboratory mouse and human testing with a patented process featuring a substantially improved animal model: the pig.

BIO is the world’s largest biotechnology organization. It provides business development, communications services and providing advocacy for more than 1,150 members around the globe. Since its formation in 1993, BIO has helped the biology-based, entrepreneurial industry grow from a small number of companies concentrated in a few cities to an industry that increasingly extends throughout society.

This year’s event, which runs from Monday through Thursday, plays host to a number of domestic and international public officials who are seeking the biotech industry’s employers and their high-wage, high-value jobs. At least eight U.S. governors and more than 90 international public officials from 18 countries and the European Union. The convention also has drawn industry leaders like Exemplar Genetics from approximately 48 states and 60 countries and hosts more than 1,800 exhibitors. This year’s program features 170 sessions addressing the biotech industry’s most pressing issues, including healthcare pricing and access, capital formation and partnering strategies in a tight credit environment, and climate change and biofuels.

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Varney: Obama Wants to Control the Banks

Stuart Varney writes in today’s Wall Street Journal that there’s a reason President Obama refuses to accept repayment of TARP money. For the full story, click here.