Where do we go from here?
This has been a question increasingly on my mind since the last round of caucuses here in Iowa. The GOP has failed to uphold its own ideals and principles and we all will soon feel the effects of its decline, which we allowed to happen.
The Iowa GOP is not Conservative.
In the last round of caucuses and conventions, the state GOP proved to be far from the conservative grass-roots party it claimed to be. The Iowa GOP state convention failed to uphold traditional marriage or the right to life as part of the state platform. The convention then, after these failed votes, heard from the junior delegates and had a new plank proposed by them that was firmly for the abolition of abortion. This plank, which, after a vote was passed, should have been added to the platform according to the rules of the convention. However, when the platform was published publicly weeks later, it was mysteriously absent. Attempts to reach out for clarification on the issue from Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann and State Central Committee Member Starlyn Perdue were left unanswered.
We have also had the failure to uphold conservative principles in our state capital. Governor Kim Reynolds failed in her handling of the COVID pandemic when she ordered the closure of churches but allowed bars to remain open as an essential service. She and the state legislature allowed the display of Satanic exhibits in our capital building. And more recently has been the governor’s veto of a bill that would have protected Iowa landowners from the horrific abuse of eminent domain by Summit Carbon Solutions for their CO2 pipeline. It would not be right to only point to the Governor, however, as the current GOP frontrunner, Rep. Randy Feenstra, has refused to take a principled stand on either side. And let’s also not forget the continued efforts to pass bills abolishing abortion in Iowa that have been repeatedly blocked from even reaching a vote on the floor of the legislature by Rep Steve Holt, also another state central committee member.
What happened? Why is a midwestern state full of farmers and hardworking industrial workers tolerating this limp wristed, hollowed-out, soulless shell that we call the Iowa Republican Party? It’s because we have no standards, or at least not the right ones.
The Right Standards.
“Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” Exodus 18:21 ESV.
This short verse of scripture gives us a few qualifications for leaders that seem rather simple when we look at them. They should be able. An elected leader ought to be capable of doing the job he is elected to. He should fear God. He should recognize that there is a higher moral standard that he is held accountable to, specifically the God of the Bible. He should be trustworthy. He should not be full of deceit, but honest and transparent with his constituents. He should hate a bribe. He should not be compromised by money in his political positions. These are not impossible or unattainable standards. This is a basic list of the minimum character qualifications one ought to have to serve as an elected official, emphasis on minimum.
How do our state leaders hold up to these standards?
Our State GOP party leaders edited, arguably illegally, the state platform to better align with then presidential candidate Trump’s position, then refused to elaborate. Our Governor and her apparent successor refuse to fight for their constituents’ property rights while receiving huge campaign donations from the CEO of the company trying to take those rights away. Our state legislature refuses to honor God’s moral standards and instead chooses to allow Satanic memorials and the murder of unborn children. All of this has happened or is happening in supposedly conservative Iowa and all is being led by a state GOP whose only standards are what was said on Trump’s X account that day and what the Democratic position was in the early 2000s. We are lost and, if nothing is done soon, we are in for troubled times in Iowa.
Back to the beginning.
This brings us back to the initial question. Where do we go from here? If we want to have any hope of a conservative future in Iowa, and I mean truly conservative, not the bland GOP slop we’re being force-fed, we have to do two things. Set our standards and conquer our counties.
Set our Standards.
The standards for a truly moral and decent people, of which political leaders should be held to even more so, used to be preached from our pulpits regularly. But, for a state that is full of so many conservative people, we seem to be tolerant of many moderate or even liberal churches. Not even tolerant of them, but attending them regularly and allowing them to shape our worldviews and those of our friends, our neighbors and our families. The first step to setting the standard for our politicians and policies is reminding the pastors and elders who occupy the pulpits across our state what the standard they are held to is, and that is the Word of God. If they are failing to teach and admonish their congregations and communities across the state, is it any wonder that those same church members are failing to uphold those standards in the ballot box? We need a revival and reformation in the churches in our state. We need our churches to preach the God of Scripture. The God who upholds and is the standard for all that is True, Good, and Beautiful. Nationally, we saw such efforts beginning in organizations like TPUSA Faith, led by Charlie Kirk. We also see efforts being led in our state by ministers like Cary Gordon in Sioux City or Sam Jones in Humboldt. Reminding Christians about the robust thought on how their faith is actually meant to play a role in their public and political life is the first step to correcting our trajectory, and that starts in our churches.
Conquer our Counties.
Once we remember the standards for our leaders and how they should act, it’s time to begin taking back what ground we can, and that starts in our counties. With the big media headlines about what is going on in the state, the nation, and even the world, it is easy to forget that we even have local elected offices, let alone the fact that they actually do things. And with the right people in these positions, following the right standards, they can actually do good things. School Board members could ensure that radical progressive curricula are not being taught to our children. County Supervisors can pass legislation and take actions in defense of their constituents against higher government overreach. City Council members can work to ensure that public spaces are being used in ways that are moral and for the good of the people and don’t promote lies or indecencies that are being celebrated by radicals across the country. County Central Committees can promote caucus participation by qualified men and women and work to vote out corrupt and unqualified state party leaders. These and many more positions in our local communities have real power that can be used for good and to work for a truly conservative future in our state if we elect truly qualified people to the positions who aren’t afraid to take action.
Take Action.
Elections will be here before we know it. Now is the time to take action. We need principled conservatives now more than ever in our state to get to work, not just in the highly publicized races, but in our county elections, our congregational meetings, our school boards and our elder elections. We need to build a truly robust and deep conservatism in our state while there is still something to conserve.
- T.J. Webb
Franklin County
1. The 2024 state platform specifically states Republicans oppose abortion and calls for a right to life amendment.
2. The full report of the junior delegates, including a provision that abortion should be treated as murder is published at the end of the platform.
3. The platform states that all laws allowing any marriage between anyone other than a biological man and biological woman ought to be repealed.
The 2024 Iowa Republican Platform is at nationbuilder.com. it ought to be at the Iowa GOP website, but is well hidden if it is there.
Jacob, let me offer a different perspective.
Marriage: Your initial conclusion is not correct. When the party makes a platform, representatives on those committees are creating a set of beliefs defining what they believe our government should look like. The Platform committee debated the issue extensively. NO ONE in the room was against marriage. Let’s say that most Republicans believe in the institution of marriage. I believe this is true. Now ask them (and I will ask you), should marriage be a government institution or a religious institution? Some Republicans will say it’s a government institution and some will say it’s a religious institution. Now which of those two camps would you say are the most conservative? Do conservatives want more, or less government? I thought it was less. Would you agree? If those who believe that marriage is a religious institution believe the government shouldn’t be involved, why would you not think of them as conservatives? Do the Republicans who believe marriage is a government institution want to keep it because “it’s always been there”? (in their lifetime) Or do they want to keep it so they can continue to be taxed on that institution? Do you believe they are more conservative than those who believe marriage is a religious institution and that the government shouldn’t be involved? What do YOU mean by traditional marriage? I thought conservatives wanted LESS government control.
Life: The preamble of the Iowa Republican Platform says, “As Republicans, we uphold the principles of individual responsibility and liberty, adherence to traditional moral standards, a strong national defense, a free enterprise system, equal rights for all, respect for the sanctity of human life, and freedom of religion and the free exercise thereof. We believe in retaining the original intent of our Constitution. We believe high moral character is a necessity for public servants. The highest standard of character should be embodied in both private and public life. We encourage the proliferation of these principles and their passage to future generations.”
This preamble has been in the Iowa Republican Platform since 2014. Which part of that preamble removes the right to life???
I can’t speak to why the junior delegate plank was not included. I was there, I heard it. I took the vote. It was overwhelmingly approved. It should be there.
There is a huge misunderstanding among Republicans, delegates to the state, district, and county conventions, the media (yourself included) over what a platform is and is not. Public second guessing has become a great sport for those involved in politics. Republicans are notorious for circular firing squads. Instead, could we try to understand each other before throwing each other under the bus?
The former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas correctly said the First Amendment protects the thought we hate. While he may have been wrong on other things, he got that one right.
I too am offended by the Satanic display, but my offense doesn’t allow me to prohibit it’s display anymore than an atheist or Satanic Democrat offended by the Nativity gets to remove it.
There would be nothing that I know that would prevent members of the legislature expressing their disdain, in public session, for a monument honoring the prince of liars and their approval for a Nativity honoring the Prince of Peace. You might even work the Gospel into that.
The platform is not hard to find on the iowagop.org web site. Click “About” at the top of the page and slide down to the bottom where you will find links to the Constitution, bylaws and platform.
In the platform under the Liberty section, line 17 supports traditional marriage.
The preamble clearly states “respect for the sanctity of human life” while section I of the platform principles includes acknowledgment of unalienable rights given by God including life and goes on to say, “Further, the Right to Life shall be understood to include all innocent people from conception to natural death.” There is an entire section on Life as a legislative priority including support for a Protect Life Amendment to the Iowa Constitution.
Junior delegates planks are included at the end of the platform.
I’m not sure what convention the author attended, but it was apparently not the convention I attended as much of what he or she states is demonstrably untrue.
It’s possible the author is referring to the platform presented by the platform committee and not the platform adopted by the state convention. At least 30, maybe 40 amendments were submitted, debated and many adopted by the grass roots delegates in the final version.
The platform committee is not RPI or the GOP. The committee is elected by delegates at district conventions to scour the platform, adopt or reject planks and present it to the state delegation. Many of the planks removed by the committee were removed by a margin of one vote. Many of those planks were reinstated by the delegates.
You have to select “About” on the GOP website and then select “About” a second time and then scroll down the page until you find links to the GOP Constitution, Bylaws, and Platform. All three should have links listed after the first time you selected “About”.
Rep. Williams and Mr. Bohlken are both correct. TJ Webb’s summary of the convention is not close to the actual situation that I witnessed. I was there and had the privilege of participating in one of several groups that restored the marriage plank to the platform. As they pointed out, you may easily check the platform on the RPI website and see the marriage and life planks are there.
We had a hijacked Platform Committee, a majority of which tried hard to tear down what the Republicans of Iowa have believed for generations. Thankfully, the delegates said no, and at the end of the day our platform was successfully restored on the convention floor – but we definitely need wise conservatives there in 26, for the same group will likely attempt a re-run!