The first shall be last, and the last shall be first

State Senator and 3rd District Congressional candidate Brad Zaun has made it known that he may leave the GOP and run for Congress as an independent.

He was first in the polls and in the primary voting but ended up last at the state GOP convention run-off. David Young, who was last, wound up being first. To quote the Bible: “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” Matthew 20-16.

I remember a communication from Zaun during the 2012 election. He was an adamant supporter of Minnesota Representative Michele Bachman. She came in first in the Republican straw poll but last in the Iowa caucuses six months later.

History repeats itself!

Voters eventually see through the fraud of the conservative right wing and elect more moderate candidates. First impressions can be deceiving. But over the long haul, the truth comes out and the voters see the light!

Democracy, not theocracy

The Supreme Court ruled that for religious reasons a business can exclude insurance coverage on prescriptions for birth control. Genesis 38:8 gives a warning concerning spilling semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring. So should Viagra be paid for by insurance because it may not be used for reproduction? Or would no business object because it considers it acceptable to give men access to unlimited sex without consequences?

The Bible can be shaped to whatever is the political agenda. According to Hebrews 12, God sends sickness as one means of punishment. So can an employer conclude that an employee sinned and does not deserve treatment for an illness?

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,” 1 Cor 6:19. So what stops a business from excluding cancer, heart disease, or emphysema treatments if someone was a smoker? Or any health care for those who are overweight? Or how about those who engage in risky behavior like rock climbing or racing?

The Supreme Court made June 30, 2014, a terrible day for health care in the U.S. as well as the separation of church and state. If you think that our country should be a democracy instead of a theocracy like Iran, please contact your Congressman to strengthen laws concerning the separation of church and state.

They seldom spend their own money

A month ago, Civic Skinny reported the lack of political contributions by many of those long-time politicians (Branstad, Hatch, Northey, Matt Shultz, Mike Fitzgerald, Mary Mossiman, Tom Miller) from both parties who are running for office in Iowa.

This week, Civic Skinny reported that new office-seekers David Young, Monte Shaw and Robert Cramer all made significant personal loans from $30,000-500,000 to their own campaigns.

Is the lesson here that after being elected politicians seldom spend their own money?

Protesters have forgotten history

Michael Gartner’s “A great day for America,” (Cityview, July 3) delivered a welcome and inspiring historical review to newly naturalized citizens. He reminded them of the brave and courageous Americans that have fought and died in order to expand and preserve those liberties they can now enjoy.

However, as Gartner was delivering this welcome to new citizens in Iowa, we saw buses filled with migrant children fleeing violence in Central America blocked by other Americans shouting “go back home.” These three buses bringing innocent women and children from overfilled immigration processing shelters in Texas were forced to turn back after this vicious assault and blockade by anti- immigrant protesters in California.

The Republicans’ stubborn refusal to fix a broken immigration system is directly responsible for creating this atmosphere of hate and misunderstanding about immigration reform. House Republicans have intentionally fueled immigrant hatred by stoking fears of amnesty and law-breaking rather than trying to find compromise. We are now reaping the violence from their obstruction and unwillingness to act.

Just as the courageous Americans Gartner cited fought for solutions to racism, today’s problem solvers must step forward and demand action by Congress on immigration reform.

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