To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
Some Iowa households received an automated phone call this week that featured the familiar voice of former Lt. Gov. Joy Corning:
In the call, which is paid for by One Iowa, Corning reminds Iowans of the state's history of being open-minded and fair, and requests that other residents join her in ensuring that the civil rights of all are protected, and that the state "continues to move forward as a leader in fairness and equality."
Corning, an Iowa native, has a long political history in this state and has been a role model for many women. She served as a senator in the state legislature, the first woman ever elected to serve in that chamber, representing a district in Black Hawk County. She was the president of the Cedar Falls School Board. She was also the director of the Iowa Housing Finance Authority during the early 1980s.
She's probably best known, however, for her service as lieutenant governor alongside former Gov. Terry Branstad during the of the 1990s. At the end of Branstad's tenure, in 1998, she became the first Republican woman to ever make a bid for governor, but was not successful in garnering her party's nomination.
Despite being elected as a Republican woman and serving as a Republican woman, Corning's views on two key social conservative issues -- abortion and marriage equality -- often put her at odds with a state party that has been drifting (if not speeding) toward a more and more social conservative stance. Not only has she served on the board of directors for Planned Parenthood in Iowa, but has co-authored open letters with Sally Pederson, another former lieutenant governor of the Democratic variety, stating her support for same-sex marriage and rebuffing the claims of radio entertainer Rush Limbaugh that reproductive health care is abortion.
"Women's reproductive health is primary health care," the women wrote, and went on to explain that such health care includes gynecological exams, Pap tests, mammograms, prenatal care, birth control and screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
"Providing safe and legal medical services for terminating a pregnancy is only one small part of a comprehensive health care system. Defining the discussion of women's reproductive health as this issue alone is a great injustice to all women and to the professionals that serve them."
The letters, of course, have drawn the ire of those within the Republican Party of Iowa who disagree. Those disagreements have, however, paled in comparison to the reactions to the One Iowa automated call.
The action arm of the Iowa Family Policy Center used the call as a warning to Republicans as they prepare to select a 2010 gubernatorial candidate:
...The current recorded phone messages are consistent with Corning's long-standing anti-family ideology and leftist political social agenda.
According to IFPC Action President Chuck Hurley, "She would never have become Lt. Governor without the electoral support of tens of thousands of Christians and conservatives, and we have no one to blame for this but ourselves." He went on to say, "Joy Corning has given us another clear example of just exactly why as Christians and conservatives we should no longer sacrifice our convictions for perceived political victories. When we elect people like Joy Corning, we elevate and advance the destruction of the family."
With the 2010 campaign now in full swing, many Iowans are beginning to pay more attention to where candidates stand on key issues. Hurley said, "We need reminders from time to time as to why personal convictions and party platforms are so important, and Joy Corning has given us a gift that punctuates the need for a new paradigm in Iowa politics."
Bob Vander Plaats, a self-proclaimed social conservative Republican who is seeking the office of governor for the third time, derided Corning for being "out of touch" with mainstream Iowans and, of course, used the connection between Corning and Branstad to attack his primary competition:
"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."
Both political parties are making a lot of noise these days about their "big tents," meaning their ability to overlook the platforms that have been created by their membership and accept people into their fold who hold opposing viewpoints on some issues. What has become clear over the past two decades, however, is that there are certain members of each party that would like to hold leaders and members to specific purity tests.
Due to current events within the state, this divide is primarily apparent in Iowa within the Republican Party as predominantly fiscal conservatives (like Corning) butt heads with predominantly social conservatives (like Vander Plaats).
So, why do Iowa women owe Joy Corning a big round of applause? Because it takes a lot of backbone to stand firmly where you feel you need to be politically -- in her case, within the Republican Party -- and still voice your own deeply-held beliefs about what is right and what is wrong.
I have watched as friends have left one party or the other to join ranks with third parties, which simply do not have much political clout in America. Instead of standing up within their political party and demanding that an opposing viewpoint be heard and acknowledged, these individuals have found it easier and less stressful to bow out and leave the parties to find their own way -- even when "their own way" was not in the best interests of this county, state or nation.
I began this post by telling you that Corning has been a role model for many women. I want to end by telling you why she will continue to be a role model for young Iowa women: She speaks her mind, regardless of the political cost. She not only stands up for what she believes, but crawls up on a table to be heard above the din around her. While her former titles alone garner her an audience, she understand the value of partnering with others to amplify her voice and her beliefs.
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