DES MOINES – Sioux City Republican Bob Vander Plaats issued the following statement on the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling concerning same-sex marriages: “Like hundreds of thousands of Iowans, I respect the rule of law but I am certainly disappointed by the court’s ruling. The Defense of Marriage Act had strong bipartisan support when it was […]
DES MOINES – Gov. Chet Culver’s statement that vocal opposition to Democratic plans to raise taxes on half of all Iowans is “over the top” is the trademark of a politician who is out of step with the needs and concerns of voters, Sioux City Republican Bob Vander Plaats said today. “Chet Culver is out […]
Iowa’s senior senator, Charles Grassley, has been in the national spotlight recently with his blunt statements about the executives at troubled financial giant AIG. Today, Politico staff writer Anne Schroeder Mullins asks, “Is Grassley on a roll?” To read the full story, click here
DES MOINES – Bob Vander Plaats, a Sioux City Republican who was his party’s lieutenant governor nominee in 2006, said he would veto Democratic plans to burden more than 450,000 Iowans with news taxes by stripping away their right and ability to deduct their federal taxes on state returns. “Legislative Democrats budget and tax policies […]
SIOUX CITY – Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats issued the following statement today in response to legislative Democrats’ proposal to eliminate Iowans’ ability and right to deduct federal taxes from their state tax returns: “The Democrats’ plan to get rid of federal deductibility has nothing to do with reform and everything to do with […]
SIOUX CITY – Fresh on the heels of proposing to sell the state lottery for a fraction of its real value in order to solve the budget problem he created, Gov. Chet Culver’s borrow-now-and-pay-later economic stimulus plan will only create one-tenth of the jobs he claims. “We need a governor who under-promises and over-delivers not […]
There’s no denying it: The newspaper industry is facing tough times. An investment banker who helped put together the deal announced this week to sell the venerable San Diego Union-Tribune to a private equity group has some great advice for editors. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jonathan Knee suggested that editors ought […]
Rick Smith of the Cedar Rapids Gazette has an outstanding report this morning about former Iowa House Speaker and current Cedar Rapids mayoral candidate Ron Corbett’s call for action to repair the city’s flood-ravaged City Hall. It begins, “Mayoral candidate Ron Corbett on Thursday morning stood outside the empty, flood-damaged Veterans Memorial Building/City Hall and […]
SIOUX CITY – Gov. Chet Culver’s plan to have Iowa businesses, unions or interest groups pay to participate in a health care forum underscores his administration’s mismanagement of the state budget, Bob Vander Plaats said this afternoon. Culver’s office has dropped a plan to have health-care interest groups pay $5,000 each to sponsor a health-care […]
Today’s Wall Street Journal includes an excellent commentary by one of my favorite political leaders, former Delaware Gov. Pete du Pont, on America’s current fiscal policies. It’s a must read that begins: “What do Delaware and California have in common? Not much: One is very small, one very large, but more important they have over […]
