So The Family Leader isn’t sure what to do about Iowa’s judges this election . . .

What can we say about this communication (set forth below as well) from                          Bob Vander Plaat’s and The Family Leader?  Keep in mind that they were the organization pushing so vociferously for “heartbeat” legislation in Iowa that “would save babies” and as a supposed vehicle to find its way through the federal courts resulting in the overturning of Roe V Wade. They were breathless in their repetition of the suggestion. As we explained in other communications, given the Federal Court of Appeals circuit Iowa is in, we felt that was pure fund-raising BS.

Vander Plaats bamboozled people with the “over-turn Roe v Wade” fund-raising appeal as if Planned Parenthood and their ilk would be so stupid as to not try first to stop the legislation dead in its tracks in Iowa, especially given prospects for Trump appointments to federal courts and the helpful pro-abortion signals from the Iowa Supreme Court.

It turns out the Iowa Supreme Court didn’t even wait for heartbeat legislation to give us Roe v Wade in Iowa . They did so before the ink was dry on the heartbeat bill based on an earlier challenge to Iowa’s passage of a 72 hour waiting period prior to an abortion that was attached to a 20 week abortion “ban”.  Yet Vander Plaats barely mentioned the prospects of Iowa court review of the heartbeat legislation pre-passage. That is not being honest with people when you are hyping something as a pathway to overturning Roe V Wade at the federal level. 

But NOW they contemplate Iowa judges (as part of a fundraising pitch) but can’t muster more than ~~ well use your discernment.

How about vote the bastards out for their indifference to the voting public and as an incentive to reform Iowa’s judicial nomination and selection processes.  And Bob, if they won’t respond to your survey, maybe voting against them will help make others more responsive.

TFL hyped heartbeat legislation without the integrity to not obscure the role of the Iowa Supreme Court in such matters. We warned here and elsewhere that the legislation would not save one baby, and certainly additionally risked an Iowa Supreme Court decision that would set babies back in Iowa in so many ways.

That Iowa Republican legislative leaders were not more sober in rejecting the hype and the proponents, for not remembering what this Vander Plaats organization has been like in the past in opposing practical legislation as too imperfect to support, then going on to advocate passage of “heartbeat” legislation on false or hyped pretenses with all manner of compromises.

Perhaps someone should stay after school and not presume to be at the head of the class when it comes to judicial selection reform.


We at V’pac have advocated for a long time that the Missouri Plan that Iowa uses has to be modified or eliminated.  It is a playground for processes inimical to a reliable conservative judiciary. Recent related reading from these pages:

Judge retention: our verdict — none have earned our vote

R Mall

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