I attended the Conservative Breakfast Club at the Republican Party of Iowa headquarters this morning.  The speaker was Doug Gross, local attorney and former gubernatorial candidate.  He spoke to us some findings of a poll he commissioned for the Iowa First Foundation.

He noted that the Republican party has a ā€œbrandingā€ problem.  In the poll he took the majority considered the Democratic Party to be the party of reform, that is open and affirming, and is the party of the future.  He said that we need to work hard to correct that in order to win.  Then he said, ā€œthanks to our good friends the Democrats some of that work is already being done.ā€

People are concerned about jobs and they are concerned about spending.  So itā€™s the economy stupidā€¦ he said we need to focus on economic issues ā€“ taxes, spending, etc.  Do that and then weā€™ll be able to defend traditional values.

Three things he said Republicans need to focus on in order to win in 2010 in the Gubernatorial and General Assembly races ā€“

  1. Adopt a reform agenda ā€“ focus on the fraud and abuse related to Democratsā€™ spending.
  2. Be open and transparent
  3. Be the party of economic conservatism
  4. Recruit the right kind of candidates ā€“ identify community leaders, not just the strongest ideologues.

I understand where he was coming from, and I do think those are things that are highly important to focus on.  He made a couple of remarks that makes me truly question his desire for party unity and his strategy for success.

The first was when he said we shouldnā€™t wear our religion on our sleeve.  That people donā€™t want to come to a public meeting and be preached at.  That we need to respect the separation of church and state.

This is obviously a dig at Bob Vander Plaats and social conservatives who are pushing for a vote on a marriage amendment.  Some problems I have with this.  For starters, what does he mean by ā€œwearing our religion on our sleevesā€?  In effect it seems like heā€™s telling evangelicals to shut up, go home, the gay marriage decision isnā€™t that important, etc, etc.  Also there is an expectation for people to compartmentalize their faith which Iā€™m not getting into as it would be a blog post in and of itself.

Secondly, the strategy to focus on economic issues so that we win and then can defend traditional values on the surface sounds good, but it is all contingent on candidates who are committed to defend traditional values.  Former Governor Terry Branstad would be Grossā€™ pick, and he thinks that he will likely run.  One question that Governor Branstad needs to answer is what was with your Iowa Supreme Court nominees?  All of his appointees decided in favor of gay marriage and I believe his nominees still hold the majority on the court.  How committed is he to appointing judges that donā€™t legislate from the bench?

Third while economic issues are very bright on the radar now that doesnā€™t mean social issues are no longer important to Iowans.  For the first time a majority of Americans identify themselves as pro-life, and 67% of Iowans want the chance to vote on marriage so it isnā€™t as though social conservative views are out of the mainstream.

Evangelicals and other social conservatives need to be able to make their arguments (in the political realm) in a winsome manner pointing why our positions will benefit society in order to gain an ear of the independent voter.  With gay marriage and the right to vote on an amendment ā€“ that isnā€™t a religious argument, itā€™s a constitutional one.  We have a constitutional crisis in Iowa with one branch thinking it trumps the others.  The case can be made that way, and if we were to lose an amendment vote then we would have to accept that.  With abortionā€¦ again constitutional ā€“ what about the fundamental right to life?  Everybody except the unborn?

Separation of church and state doesnā€™t mean you check your values at the door.  It doesnā€™t mean you donā€™t live out your faith even in the political realm.  It does mean that the state wonā€™t establish a church, nor will it establish a theocracy.  Of all the social conservatives I know I donā€™t know of anyone advocating that.

Another thing that Gross said when talking about the recruitment of the right kind of candidates.  I agree with him when he said we need to identify those who are community leaders, not just the strongest ideologues.  Heā€™s right.  Look for people who have done something in the community.  Who has influence, who has shown results.  Who has a record of getting things done.  He then said that we tend to ā€œrecruit the pastor of a breakaway church who homeschools their kids.ā€

Afterwards I was tempted to introduce myself saying, ā€œHi, Iā€™m Shane and Iā€™m a former pastor who homeschools his kids,ā€ but I resisted.  He obviously doesnā€™t know many pastors.  How many pastors have run or actually want to run any way?  Most would consider that a demotion as they already have a higher office.  I donā€™t know what he means by breakaway churches, but many pastors are community leaders and carry influence.  Not that every pastor is qualified and should run, but it shouldnā€™t disqualify you either.  Many pastors I know are heavily invested in their communities and would be an asset in elected office.

Regarding homeschoolingā€¦ Doug Gross should ask Mike Huckabee and President Bush how important homeschooling families were to their campaign in Iowa.  Remarks like this does nothing for party unity.

My point is while we canā€™t just be a one issue party.  If Branstad ends up running heā€™ll have to be a unifier.  Here in Iowa we do need to reach out to like-minded independents, but we canā€™t neglect the base.  Evangelicals and social conservatives donā€™t want to be used for their votes; they want their issues acted on.  They donā€™t want a wink and a nod, but commitment.  So the successful candidate in Iowa will have focus on the economic issues since that is the current felt need, but at the same time demonstrate a commitment to traditional values.

To throw social conservatism under the bus or to sweep it under the rug is a losing strategy.  If you lose the evangelicals and social conservatives in Iowa, you will also lose elections.  Itā€™s not one or the other.  It needs to be both.

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