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A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Churches should not face a tax penalty if pastors engage in partisan politics from the pulpit, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Terry Branstad said Thursday during his final debate with Democratic incumbent Gov. Chet Culver.
When asked about the issue during the debate’s lightning round, Branstad said, “No. No, people should have the freedom to say what they want.”
Despite its brevity, the discussion of the separation of church and state marked a big difference between the candidates, as Culver responded to the same question, “[Churches] need to follow to laws related to non-profits.”
The issue has garnered headlines of late, with Sioux City pastor Cary Gordon openly challenging the law that bans tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from intervening in elections in support of or opposition to any candidate. His church, Cornerstone World Outreach, is organizing pastors across the state to ignore the law and to encourage their congregations from the pulpit to vote against the three Iowa Supreme Court justices up for a retention election this year. The church, which is working with the Iowa Family Policy Center, has even arranged for the Texas-based Liberty Institute to provide free legal defense for churches who face an IRS investigation.
The church opposes the court’s unanimous 2009 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
“Since it is true, that in 1857 sodomy was considered a criminal offense across much of our nation, we are beyond certain that the Iowa Constitution did not, nor could it now produce the canard of gay ‘marriage,’” Gordon said in explaining his decision to formally oppose the judges.
Jeff Mullen, pastor of Point of Grace church in Waukee, joined the effort by launching two websites aimed at to convincing other pastors around the state to inform their congregations about “out of control” judges.
Branstad’s support of these churches is in line with many other Iowa Republican leaders, including 3rd District Congressional hopeful Brad Zaun and Branstad’s former rival for the GOP nomination, Bob Vander Plaats. And each makes the argument that the issue is about free speech.
“I believe the church up in Sioux City, as well as any church in America, should have the right to be able to give their views from the pulpit,” Zaun said last week.
Even the editorial board of The Des Moines Register has argued that churches and other 501(c)3 nonprofits should not be “muzzled” by the federal government.
Rob Boston, a senior policy analyst with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the freedom of speech argument is common in this type of discussion.
“In a nutshell, tax exemption is a very lucrative benefit,” Boston said. “To receive it, groups must agree to any number of conditions. For example, tax-exempt groups are monitored to make sure they are providing some benefit to the public and not just enriching their founders. The ‘no-politicking’ rule is another of these conditions. It’s a requirement groups must meet in order to receive a benefit. It is well established in the law that government has the right to condition the receipt of benefits on certain conditions.”
Any house of worship that truly believes its free speech is being violated is free to surrender its tax exemption, Boston said.
“In Iowa and in other states, we have recently encountered pastors who demand the lucrative benefits of tax exemption but don’t want to meet the IRS requirements that come with,” he said. “This is wholly unrealistic – as well as rather arrogant.”
Both candidates were also asked about their position on same-sex marriage, the issue that has motivated the churches to work to oust the three Supreme Court justices. A question submitted via video by a lesbian couple with two small children asked Branstad “why you would support a constitutional amendment that would overturn freedom to marry in Iowa and deny vital protections and rights to families like ours.”
Branstad responded by defending the Defense of Marriage Act, a bill he signed into law in 1998 that the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional last year.
“I’m a Catholic. I believe in traditional marriage,” he said. “I believe that we, the people of Iowa, should have an opportunity to vote on that issue.”
Culver was asked about his change of heart on this issue of same-sex marriage. In 2008, Culver said if the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling and legalized same-sex marriage he would be willing to call legislators into special session to “do whatever it takes to protect marriage between a man and a woman.”
Following the court’s 2009 ruling, however, Culver said since the court did not require churches recognize the marriages he would not seek to overturn it with a constitutional amendment.
“Iowa has always been an inclusive, welcoming place,” Culver responded Thursday, later adding: “We don’t want to discriminate against individuals in our state.”
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