Fort Dodge, we have a problem.
Republican Rep. Ann Meyer is chair of the House Human Services committee. This is nothing personal, it is just a simple policy-related review of how she is doing when it comes to furthering the GOP agenda in Des Moines.
Conclusion: Not good.
Meyer had perhaps the worst interview on LGBTQ issues I’ve ever seen a Republican have.
She attacked her Republican colleagues for standing up for and defending the GOP platform.
“I’m not going to deny there are people in our caucus that put through, that introduce several bills against LGPBTQ and transgender,” she said.
Meyer called one piece of legislation “offensive,” stating that she believes “everyone should just live and let live.”
“The thing is is when that legislation gets introduced by one or two people, it, it makes our entire caucus look bad,” Meyer said. “A lot of these bills comes right to my desk as chair of Human Resources, those are not advanced.”
So, let’s just see what the Republican Party platform states on these LGBTQ issues and who is making who look bad here:
*We believe that traditional, two parent (one male and one female), marriage based families are the foundation to a stable, enduring, and healthy civilization. Therefore, public policy must always be pro-family in nature, encouraging marital and family commitment, and supportive of the parental rights and responsibilities.
*We encourage the repeal of any laws allowing any marriage that is not between one natural man and one natural woman.
*We call for the repeal of sexual orientation as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Code and reject any additional similar legislation to Local, State or National Code.
* We reaffirm our support for appointment of judges who respect tradition family values and the sanctity of life.
Does Ann Meyer know what the Republican Party believes when it comes to LGBTQ issues? And if her statement is accurate, that it is “one or two” people making the party look bad, does this mean only “one or two” people in the Iowa House agree with the GOP on these LGBTQ issues?
Meyer stumbled through the interview. It was bad. Especially considering she is a registered nurse. The interview was already recapped, but if you want to watch it, you can do so:
Now, despite the GOP platform saying what it says about LGBTQ issues, I know not every Republican agrees. But this is not the only area where Meyer stands against the platform.
She completely flip-flopped on school choice. So, let’s quickly check what the platform says:
*We believe that parents are responsible for their children, and we support the rights of parents to be the ultimate authority for the discipline, protection, and education of their children.
*We believe money should follow the child in education – whether that child attends public, private, parochial or home school- to assist parents financially in educating their children using the option best suited to their family’s educational needs. We call on the General Assembly to provide for tuition vouchers, tax deductions, or tax credits to permit parents’ choice in educating their children- without government intervention in the school curriculum.
When Meyer ran for office, she told voters she approves of at least some use of school vouchers. It was a defining issue in her race as her opponent opposed them.
But when the rubber met the road during the legislative session and an education savings account bill passed through the Senate and entered the House, Meyer changed her tune.
Meyer said she had concerns if the state is giving public dollars to private schools, which are not under the same restrictions as public schools.
“This is a big bill, there are a lot of parts to it, but what I’ve heard about is mainly the voucher system,” she said. “Those are my concerns with it, and I’m hearing the same concerns from a lot of my members in the House. Unless we have some changes in the requirements of the private schools, I probably won’t be supporting that.”
