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Republican gubernatorial hopeful Terry Branstad holds extreme positions that are out of step with mainstream Iowa values, Democratic Gov. Chet Culver said Wednesday at a press conference in Des Moines.
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Iowa Democratic Party
“Let’s be honest here: Terry Branstad is the extremist candidate in this race,” Culver said, later adding: “I could go on and on about the extreme and out of touch positions Terry Branstad has taken in this campaign, but what we need is the electorate to pause and take the time necessary to compare and contrast.”
Every poll of the race shows Branstad with a comfortable lead over Culver. But once voters find out where Branstad stands on a variety of issues, from stem cell research to immigration, his support will plummet, Culver said.
“Let’s have an honest conversation about the choice on Nov. 2,” Culver said. “When Iowans find out that Terry Branstad wants to shut down the Center for Bioscience and Discovery at the University of Iowa, where we’re doing stem cell research, that’s not going to cut very well with people like me who believe in providing hope for those struggling with diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But a lot of people don’t know that. They don’t yet know about his extreme views.”
In July, Branstad’s campaign disputed Culver’s accusations about stem cell research, telling the Cedar Rapids Gazette that Branstad supports adult stem cell research, where the “real promise” lies.
Culver then turned to Branstad’s position on reproductive rights. Branstad supports an Oklahoma abortion law that requires women who want to terminate a pregnancy to watch ultrasounds of their fetuses and listen to details from doctors about the function of vital organs. There are no exemptions for rape or incest.
Branstad’s view that undocumented immigrant children should be denied access to public education also came under fire. Branstad has said he would like to see overturned the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandated states allow immigrant children in public schools, a position the D.C. news site Politico said “goes further than other GOP candidates” around the country. So far only Tom Tancredo, a third-party gubernatorial hopeful in Colorado and former presidential candidate, has publicly gotten on board with Branstad’s position, saying that if elected he would ignore the ruling in order to push the issue back to the Supreme Court in hopes of reversing the decision.
“Tom Tancredo and Terry Branstad are the only two people in America that think we should overturn a 1982 Supreme Court decision with respect to those rights,” Culver said.
The most heated criticism came when Culver discussed Branstad’s opposition to the I-JOBS infrastructure bonding plan. Branstad has said the $800 million bonding plan created too few jobs while saddling the state with future debt.
“If Terry Branstad wants to have a discussion about bonding, let’s have it,” Culver said. “When he was governor, he bonded for $4.3 billion in projects. We’ve bonded for roughly $800 million. He was for bonding before he was against it. Worse than that, he borrowed $3 billion to pay the bills. It’s a fact. The idea that we’ve done anything that he didn’t do… the difference is we did it better. We didn’t raise taxes to pay off those bonds. We didn’t raise the gas tax or the sales tax.”
The barrage of criticism from Culver appears to be in line with a strategy memo released Wednesday by the Democratic Governors Association which calls for candidates around the country to point out the “extreme” positions of their GOP rivals.
“… the DGA’s messaging, media campaigns and grassroots actions will make it crystal clear that (1) GOP candidates are not mainstream candidates; (2) they hold radical policy positions that are contrary to the values of moderates and independents; and (3) their extreme policies pose a clear and present danger to our economic recovery and the future of their respective states,” the memo written by DGA executive director Nathan Daschle states. “Again, our research and polling shows great promise that voters can see that the choice in November is a simple one – it’s the choice between Democrats’ common-sense solutions or extreme and dangerous Republican policies and politics.”
In a statement to The Iowa Independent, Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said Culver has “resorted to name-calling because he is desperately trying to change the subject away from his failed management and massive debt.”
“Terry Branstad will return us to a pay-as-you-go system and enact policies that again put Iowa on a path toward job creation,” he said. “When Terry Branstad left office, Iowa had record-low unemployment and a $900 million surplus. The contrast with today’s budget mess could not be more stark.”
Culver said his hope is to “hit the restart button” on the campaign and inform voters of the choice they will make in 55 days.
“We will win on Nov. 2,” he said. “We are going to cover the entire state in the next 55 days to get the truth out there.”
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