Tuesday's big victory in Iowa

By Phil Boehmke

The people of Iowa scored a major victory on Tuesday and have sent a clear and powerful message across America. The April 2009 Iowa Supreme Court decision to declare the state’s law banning same sex marriage unconstitutional was a controversial win for far-left judicial activism at the expense of the people. Three members of the court learned on election day that judicial activism has consequences.

The DesMoines Register reports that Chief Justice Marsha Ternus along with Justices David Baker and Michael Streit were handed their pink slips by the voters after Tuesday’s mid-term election. Since Iowa adopted the merit selection and retention system in 1962 no state Supreme Court justice had failed to earn the simple majority required for retention.

The campaign to remove the judges was spearheaded by Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats and supported by U.S. Congressman Steve King who crisscrossed the state to rally the electorate. A jubilant Vander Plaas told supporters “The people of Iowa stood up in record numbers and sent a message…that it is ‘We the people,’ not ‘We the courts.’”

Exit polls confirmed that the unpopular gay marriage decision was the overwhelming issue regarding the retention vote.

Bernie Noel of Bloomfield said he never voted “no” on a justice until Tuesday. The 43-year-old said he opted to retain his local district judges, who “do a great job, and are good people.” But the gay marriage ruling swayed him against the justices. “I don’t think they should have the power to change the constitution and take things into their own hands,” Noel said. “It’s a hard job to do, but here, in this case, I just really think they overstepped their bounds.”

The remaining members of Iowa’s Supreme Court will be held accountable to the people in 2012 (David Wiggins) and 2016 (Mark Cady, Daryl Hecht and Brent Appel). The people of Iowa have made a stand for all of us who believe in the sovereignty of the people and the consent of the governed.

paboehmke@yahoo.com