1 on 1 with Terry Branstad

Thursday, former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad starting making the media rounds as he tries to find his fifth way back into Terrace Hill. We've all been waiting for some time with him. My conversation with him coincided with the day of his first statewide of the state as a candidate, or almost official candidate. O.K., maybe it wasn't much of a coincidence. We met at his campaign headquarters in Urbandale. It looked familiar for several reasons. Tim Albrecht was there. He is Branstad's communications guy. He was also former presidential candidate Mitt Romney's guy, too. Romney also used the same Urbandale location for his efforts. He finished second in Iowa. Branstad won't be happy with a second place finish. Obviously.

A nice woman greeted us as we walked in. The office is pretty sparse, so far. There were signs up on the walls. But other than Jeff Boeyink, Branstad's campaign manager, and Tom Beaumont, the political reporter for the Des Moines Register, I think the office was empty.

We met in a back office with Branstad while Albrecht watched and kept track of the time. Branstad had a busy morning of meetings and interviews. It was two days after Branstad turned 63. He mentioned he got Sarah Palin's new book, "Going Rogue", and loaned it to his uncle. So I couldn't get the gov's literary reviews of her work. He also showed me a prized collection of autographed baseballs. Branstad told me when he was younger, he visited St. Louis to watch former Cardinal great, Stan Musial, play ball for my beloved Cardinals. Musial's autograph is one of the highlights of his collection. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, I would say is one of the lowlights. Those were my thoughts, though, not his:) Branstad said he was a Cubs, Cards and Twins fan, but mostly a Cubs' fan. So much for his judgement:)

He also proudly pointed to a baseball he threw out during an Iowa-Iowa State baseball game (ISU got rid of its baseball program after the 2001 season.) He seemed to take great pride in mentioning he threw a strike that day.

O.K., now the interview. Thanks to my photographer, (and the pride of Wellsburg) Travis Jungling, for putting together the full interview. Carroll's pride and joy, Dave Olson, our other photographer, ran the second camera.

Here are the highlights:

He admits that his coming out speech fell flat.
He comes out against same-sex marriage.
He doubts the legality of the plan of rival, Bob Vander Plaats.
He doesn't have much good to say about Governor Chet Culver.
He praises fellow Republican Christian Fong, for trying to one-up one of Branstad's ideas.

Here's our conversation. Your thoughts, as always, are welcome. And encouraged!

10pm story, including response from Gov. Chet Culver:



Raw Interview:

Same-Sex Marriage Again

Iowa Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Vander Plaats is again making same-sex marriage a campaign issue. Earlier today, former Lt. Governor Joy Corning told the Des Moines Register she is lending her voice to a "robocall" effort to promote marriage equality in the state.

Corning was lt. governor under former governor-turned-(almost official) candidate Terry Branstad. Vander Plaats, who voted for Branstad and Corning, sent out this statement late this afternoon:

VANDER PLAATS: CORNING POSITION ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE,

PROMOTION OF ISSUE IS OUT OF IOWA, U.S. MAINSTREAM

DES MOINES – Former Lt. Gov. Joy Corning’s announcement that she has recorded a statewide call urging Republicans to support same-sex marriage reflects how out of touch she is with mainstream Iowans’ stance on the issue, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats said this afternoon.

Corning, who was selected by then-Gov. Terry Branstad to serve two terms as his lieutenant governor, said she had recorded the call on behalf of the pro-gay marriage group One Iowa because she believes “it would be nice if we had at least one gubernatorial candidate that was espoused to mainstream traditional centrist values instead of concentrating on those far right social values.”

“This is the sort of thing that happens when you appoint a lieutenant governor who is completely out of step with Iowans’ values,” Vander Plaats said. “As we celebrate Veterans Day, the beauty of America is that our men and women in the military fought to protect our rights, including the right to free speech. The former lieutenant governor is entitled to her opinion, but I’m certain that she is the one who is outside of the mainstream not only in Iowa but across the United States. The belief that the institution of marriage as one man and one woman is simple, settled and overwhelmingly supported. That is why voters in 31 states that have voted on the issue have voted every single time to affirm marriage as one man and one woman. It is the foundation of our society.”

The Sioux City Republican said the timing of Corning’s call is “too obvious to overlook.”

“Terry Branstad enters the governor’s race on Saturday night without stating where he truly stands on the issue and on Tuesday night his lieutenant governor does an automated call urging Iowans to support same-sex marriages. All of that takes place not too long after his former chief of staff wrote an opinion piece saying the Republican Party needs to nominate a candidate with ‘centrist’ views on social issues,” Vander Plaats said. “Urging Iowans to support same-sex marriage is not only out of touch with Republican values but it is overwhelmingly out of touch with Main Street Iowa.”

He added, “If you listened closely to his speech on Saturday night, Terry Branstad did not say he supports one-man, one-woman marriage. He said he would break the legislative logjam that is preventing a referendum by Iowans. That’s not the same thing. If he wants to break the road block, he should join me by committing to sign an executive order banning additional same-sex marriages on day one in office until Iowans have a right to vote on the issue.”