Did the leaders of an Iowa evangelical group want financial support for their Rick Santorum endorsement? That’s what the Family Leader is vociferously denying.
On Tuesday, Santorum received the endorsement of two top leaders of the Family Leader, Bob Vander Plaats and Chuck Hurley, though the organization itself remained neutral.
Since then, a super-PAC has been promoting Santorum with a series of robocalls, starring Vander Plaats himself — and as the Des Moines Register reports, it has the familiar-sounding name “Leaders for Families.”
And as the paper reports, these robocalls have led to questions about whether Santorum and Vander Plaats have coordinated — or even worse, whether Vander Plaats sought money for his own endorsement — both of which Vander Plaats has denied.
Santorum does confirm that Vander Plaats asked for his help to raise money.
“What he talked about was he needed money to promote the endorsement and that that would be important to do that,” Santorum told CNN on Wednesday. He also added: “There was never a direct ask for me to go out and raise money for it.”
The Family Leader on Thursday put out a statement, denying that any financial requests were made for their endorsements. They also deny that they were divided over their presidential endorsement –Â group’s board all favor Santorum, they say, but wanted the organization itself to be officially neutral.
“It is disheartening to learn about the misrepresentations and half-truths being circulated among the media and among fellow conservatives,” Vader Plaats said in the statement. “I encourage all conservatives to show the utmost respect for each other as the voters of Iowa help determine the next presidential nominee.”
The full statement from Thursday:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, December 22
The FAMiLY LEADER Offers Clarifying Statement
Pleasant Hill, IOWA. – The FAMiLY LEADER offers the following statement in order to clarify misrepresentations that have been circulating since the announcement of Bob Vander Plaats’ and Chuck Hurley’s personal endorsement of Senator Rick Santorum for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, December 20th.The perception that the FAMiLY LEADER Board of Directors was unable to reach agreement or did not achieve consensus on a candidate is completely false. The board had unanimous consensus 1) that The FAMiLY LEADER’s role is as a standard bearer, not a kingmaker, 2) to allow Bob Vander Plaats and Chuck Hurley to personally endorse a candidate, and 3) that as of Monday, December 19th, each board member personally indicated support for Rick Santorum.
The FAMiLY LEADER board was unanimous in their personal support for Rick Santorum but opted not to endorse as an organization out of respect for many constituents that support candidates other than Rick Santorum. The board wanted to avoid offending any constituents who may be bothered by the possibility that their support to The FAMiLY LEADER may be used to promote a candidate the constituents themselves were not backing. However, the board is thankful they can allow a voice of leadership by permitting Bob Vander Plaats and Chuck Hurley to personally endorse Senator Santorum.
The allegation by an unnamed source that Bob Vander Plaats asked any campaigns for money in exchange for his endorsement is absolutely false.
The allegation that Bob Vander Plaats asked Congresswoman Michele Bachman to drop out of the race to join with Rick Santorum is completely false. The truth is that after much prayer and discernment, The FAMiLY LEADER board members directed Bob to contact Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum to present the concept of merging in order to provide a solution to the fractured vote of caucus-going conservatives. The board’s request is reflective of the broader caucus community. At no time did Mr. Vander Plaats make any specific demands in regard to who should merge with whom. The action to contact the campaigns was at the request of the board, not an action Vander Plaats initiated on his own.
Bob Vander Plaats, President & CEO, said, “It is disheartening to learn about the misrepresentations and half-truths being circulated among the media and among fellow conservatives. I encourage all conservatives to show the utmost respect for each other as the voters of Iowa help determine the next presidential nominee.”
