The National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council, and the Susan B. Anthony List have launched the 2011 Values Bus Iowa Tour.
Starting on August 9th, the tour will drive 1,3-5 miles and make its way through 47 of Iowa’s 99 counties, ending in Ames, Iowa on August 12th.
The bus tour will be kicked off in Des Moines by the Faith Family Freedom Fund Chairman Connie Mackey, and will include participants such as Republican presidential candidates Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum. Republican candidate Michele Bachmann is also expected to participate over the four day tour. The presidential candidates will also be joined by U.S. Republican Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).
Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, an organization headquartered in New Jersey, emphasized the importance of the Iowa tour and its goal of putting a social conservative in the Oval Office, said:
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“President Obama has done virtually everything in his power to undermine the institution of marriage, including refusing to defend the bi-partisan Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by President Clinton.
“NOM is committed to ensuring that the next President is a strong and committed supporter of traditional marriage and will commit his or her administration to vigorously defending marriage in the courts, Congress and in the court of public opinion. We were the largest contributor to the effort to unseat the state judges who imposed same-sex marriage on Iowa by judicial fiat. We look forward to playing an extremely active role in encouraging the people of Iowa, including our tens of thousands of supporters, to make a difference in selecting an unambiguously pro-marriage candidate in Iowa.”
Tony Perkins of the Washington D.C-based Family Research Council, a certified “hate group” as designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center, echoed Browns sentiments:
“Last November, the people of Iowa reclaimed their right to govern themselves by removing three activist judges from power. We were honored to play a part in that victory with our successful Judge Bus tour that traveled the state highlighting the issue.
“The Values Bus Tour will speak to the views held by millions of American voters who want to make sure that issues impacting the family and the broader culture are understood and addressed by each of the candidates. The race is clearly wide open. Values voters will be closely watching next week’s events as they determine which of the candidates are willing to do what it takes once elected to restore fiscal sanity, protect marriage, safeguard religious liberty and protect the rights of the unborn,”
Recall, that in the effort to oust the three “activist” judges during the 2010 election, NOM and the FRC allied themselves with the social conservative organization The Family Leader and its CEO Bob Vander Platts.
This organization has come under fire nationally for its Marriage Vow presidential pledge; a pledge which both Bachmann and Santorum signed.
The pledge not only asserted (before retraction) that African-American children were better off in slavery than in modern America, but also that pornography should be outlawed, and that sexual orientation is a choice. Other Republican candidates, such as Gary Johnson and Mitt Romney, condemned the pledge, refusing to put their name on the document.
