Here Comes Ted Cruz

The Iowa Caucuses are like honey to flies for politicians. If you have even a small Napoleon Complex and think you could be the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth then Iowa is your venue every four years for the caucuses.

You will soon be tired of seeing "Here Comes" but unfortunately you are reading a blog on the Iowa Caucuses and we are "only" three years from a Presidential election so every Republican with a pulse is coming to Iowa, and frequently!

This week Texas Senator and "Tea Party Darling" (that was what one good political reporter calls him) Ted Cruz was in the state. As usual he was the guest of the guest of the network of Christian Educators and homeschooler's.  He then went to Mason City for a fund raiser with "Tea Party darling Iowa Congressman Steve King.

Cruz is trying to cement his credentials as a social conservative and as "the" religious candidate of the GOP. His main theme was the persecution of religion and imposition of unconstitutional mandates on schools by the federal government.

Iowa is the state of corn and ethanol, alcohol made from corn and blended with gasoline by federal law. Cruz is an opponent of ethanol blending which is no surprise since he comes from Texas where oil and gas are king.

On his March visit he got push back from a group calling itself VoteVets.org. "The Voice of American's 21st Century Patriots." It featured a picture of a soldier on his stomach aiming a rifle at a distant, Afghan-looking landscape. The ad admonished Cruz for opposing " ... the renewable fuels industry which supports 62,000 jobs and provides $4 billion in income for Iowa families."

The full page ad asked "Senator Cruz, as military veterans. we have one question for you. Do you want to import more oil from dangerous parts of the world, or produce more clean, homegrown American Biofuels?

The ad ends "A new job for you [ President of the United States?] shouldn't come at the expense of 62,000 Iowa jobs."

VoteVets Mission Statement states,

"Founded in 2006,  and backed by over 360,000 supporters, the mission of VoteVets.org is to use public issue campaigns and direct outreach to lawmakers to ensure that troops abroad have what they need to complete their missions, and receive the care they deserve when they get home.  VoteVets.org also recognizes veterans as a vital part of the fabric of our country and will work to protect veterans' interests in their day-to-day lives.  VoteVets.org is committed to the destruction of terror networks around the world – with force when necessary – to protect America."

The ad also has a banner line at the bottom from "SaveTheRFS.org" with RFS being the Renewable Fuels Standard which is the mandate that requires ethanol to be blended with gasoline. There is also a .com version with a different theme (no military veterans on this page) http://www.savetherfs.com/ 

If I am Ted Cruz I'm not very happy to have bumped into this hornets nest. These are heavy hitters. When you come to Iowa campaigning it doesn't matter how much Congressman King takes you pheasant hunting (that was last time) you are staring at a formidable coalition of farmers, ethanol plant investors, clean fuel consumers, and jobs. And in Iowa you don't mess with veterans either!

Even if this whole initiative may actually be launched by liberals, which is hard to tell since it is well packaged in a very patriotic theme.