Iowa Family Leadership Summit - A Hate Fest By Any Other Name

If one wants to see the Republican agenda of hate and division in action look no farther than the Iowa Family Leadership Summit taking place in Ames, Iowa.   While participants call themselves "social conservatives," in reality they are a bunch of religious extremists and white supremacists.  Gays, non-whites, non-Christians, non-racists are all equally despised by these "godly Christian" folks.  Not surprisingly, many of the usual GOP suspects are flocking to Ames to either desperately try to remain relevant - e.g., Ken Cuccinelli - or prostitute themselves to the hate merchants orchestrating the gathering.  Note that the hate group Family Research Council is a co-host of the event.  It would only be fitting if KKK robes and Bibles were handed out simultaneously to all participants.  Here are highlights from the Ames Tribune:

A who’s who of social conservatives, among them a handful of potential presidential contenders, will descend on Ames Saturday for the annual Family Leadership Summit at Stephens Auditorium.

The event is organized by Iowa activist Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, an umbrella organization of family policy groups known best for its opposition to same-sex marriage and influence over the GOP’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.

Those scheduled to speak at the event include Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and his father Rafael, a pastor; Texas Gov. Rick Perry; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott; and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad — all of them Republicans.

Vander Plaats’ ability to attract high-profile politicians to Iowa and his influence over its presidential caucuses have earned him the title of social conservative kingmaker from the national news media.

The past two caucus winners — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in 2012 — were both endorsed by Vander Plaats.

Both have been floated as possible 2016 contenders and also plan to attend Saturday’s event.

The Family Leader has long been a lightning rod for criticism because of its unwavering commitment to deeply conservative, biblical views on marriage, abortion, education and other issues. 

Progress Iowa, a liberal advocacy group, condemned Vander Plaats’ organization as an “anti-LGBT hate group” in an email criticizing Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds for participating in the event. In an email titled “Good luck this week, Republicans,” the Iowa Democratic Party used the summit as an opportunity to slam the GOP’s “far right base” and the records of Cruz, Jindal and Perry.

The Family Leadership Summit is co-hosted by the legislative action arm of the Family Research Council, a national organization similar to The Family Leader, and Citizens United, the group whose Supreme Court challenge overturned laws limiting independent political spending by corporations and unions.

Other speakers scheduled include baseball players-turned-entrepreneurs David and Jason Benham; former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli; Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King Jr.; FRC President Tony Perkins; and evangelical author Joel Rosenberg.