VanderPlaats to Bolt?

Rumors of a third party run by defeated GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Vander Plaats are starting to swirl. Apparently, he met with Branstad and asked for a spot on the ticket (ballsy of him, no?) And when Branstad (quite rightly) said no, Vander Plaats took his bat, ball and decided he's about 50/50 on whether to bolt the GOP and run as an independent in the fall.

The Iowa Independent is of the opinion that this would effectively doom the chances of the GOP for taking down incumbent Democrat Chet Culver and I have to admit, they're probably right. A third party run by Vander Plaats would mean that Branstad would have to be digging for votes from his right and from moderates and independents and while I know that as an independent, I'd walk over broken glass to keep Bob Vander Plaats far, far away from the Governor's mansion, the calculus for other independents wouldn't be so clear cut I think.

Time for Mr. Vander Plaats to go away, I think. He's now 0-2 for getting the GOP Nomination (he tried in 2002 and lost to Doug Gross) and if he implodes the party's chances of winning in the fall (very high with Branstad as the nominee) then I know as a Republican, I'd stick him in GOP Jail for a very, very long time. I know there's this whole 'establishment v. tea party' thing going on throughout the Republican Party I think and for sure, Branstad can't be seen as anything but an Establishment candidate, but Bob Vander Plaats is running the wrong kind of insurgency. As much as the Social Conservative Republicans can move and shake Iowa Republican circles, I really think the mood of the state and the party is moving back towards radicalism when it comes to fiscal conservatism and letting the hard stances on social issues drift to the back of the line, in order to appeal to a broader base.

I could be totally wrong on that, of course- but that's what I'm reading in the tea leaves, anyway. But Mr. Vander Plaats should endorse Branstad, retire and maybe consider a run for state legislature? If social issues are what drives him, then getting gay marriage overturned is going to require his kind of Republicans to dominate the legislature. And Speaker of the House (should he get there) is another platform to try and get to the big house in Des Moines if that's what he wants.

As for Mr. Branstad well, there's a really simple solution to this: put Rod Roberts on the ticket. Do it now. Roberts has social conservative credentials that could be useful in reaching out to that area of the party, while you concentrate on moderates and independents.

But I could be totally wrong on that, as well.