A growing number of rank and file Iowa Republican lawmakers are ready to see State Senator Kent Sorenson exit the political stage as soon as possible. While legislative leaders have remained silent on the issue, yesterday State Senator Brad Zaun and State Representative Clel Baudler both called on Sorenson to resign over allegations that he solicited and received payments in exchange for ditching Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign for Ron Paul.  

I have been surprised by Republican leaders’ mild reaction to documents and recordings published on The Iowa Republican blog earlier this month (see also here). Regardless of political affiliation, everyone should recognize that it hurts the Iowa caucuses for politicians to be trying to make money from endorsements. Governor Terry Branstad seems to understand the risks to the caucuses but hasn’t gone beyond saying the Senate Ethics Committee should proceed with its investigation of Sorenson’s actions.

Iowa Senate Minority Leader Bill Dix hasn’t made any public comments on this scandal to my knowledge, though he found time to express his disgust at vandals who defaced the butter cow at the Iowa State Fair. Yesterday he finally released a statement saying the “process in place” to investigate Sorenson should be allowed to work “to maintain the integrity” of the Iowa Senate.

As a guest on WHO-TV journalist Dave Price’s program “The Insiders” on August 11, Iowa GOP Chair A.J. Spiker echoed Branstad’s line:

Spiker: I think it’s premature to say [Sorenson should resign]. We’ve got serious allegations against Senator Sorenson. Those investigations–the investigation is currently ongoing in the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee, and I think we need to allow that process to work before we move forward with making a statement as far as whether or not Senator Sorenson ought to resign or not.

Dave Price: If he solicited money and he got the check, is that enough for you that he’s broken enough rules that you don’t want him to represent your party?

Spiker: Well, I think we really need to let the process work in the Iowa before we cast judgment, so I’m gonna allow the process to work. I agree with Governor Branstad that the Senate Ethics Committee is where this needs to be discussed.

Spiker was involved with Ron Paul’s campaign before the 2012 Iowa caucuses, but he told Price that he hadn’t heard about any alleged payments to Sorenson until The Iowa Republican’s coverage this month.

Rank and file legislators appear to be growing tired of waiting for the wheels to turn on the ethics investigation of Sorenson. Who knows how long it will take for the special investigator appointed by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady to complete his review of Sorenson’s conduct?

GOP State Senators Jack Whitver and Mark Chelgren discussed the scandal on WHO radio host Simon Conway’s August 15  program. You can listen to the podcast here; Craig Robinson posted the relevant portions of the transcript at The Iowa Republican blog. Excerpt:

Sen. Mark Chelgren: […] In this case, I can’t speak for Senator Sorenson, but it’s one of those issues where it doesn’t look good, and I think that the damage that is being done is not just for him directly, but its also effecting his colleagues.  Its effecting some of the organizations that he’s been supportive of in the past, because it’s just difficult, it’s a distraction.

Simon Conway: So I’m not asking you to pontificate on his guilt or otherwise.  That’s what the Ethics Committee is there for, and I’m not going to ask you to do that, but for the sake for the rest of the Republican caucus in the Iowa Senate, should he not just go, and quick?

Sen. Mark Chelgren: I’m not willing to answer that at this point.  That’s something for him to know.  I can tell you that if the situation is accurate, where he did accept this money, if he did break the rules, and he has tried to minimize that in any way, shape, or form, then the answer is yes, he should go.  But not knowing that for sure, I can’t say. […]

Simon Conway: Let me ask this to Senator Whitver in a slightly different way then.  I don’t want to ask you the same question because that would be a pointless exercise.  Bearing in mind what Mark just said.  Jack, is it not better for the Iowa Republican caucus in the senate for him to go at this point?

Sen. Jack Whitver: Well it does hurt all of us. If it was me, and I was in that situation, I would see the damage it is doing to our caucus and resign.  But we are all duly elected people, and he has a right to do what he wants to do. If I were in that spot, I would.

Whitver went on to say that the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee, on which he serves, won’t look into the new allegations “until someone files a formal complaint.” Earlier this year, Whitver made the poor choice of voting against referring the Sorenson allegations to a special investigator.

Incidentally, both Whitver and Chelgren are up for re-election in 2014, but only Chelgren is likely to be targeted by Democrats. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t want Kent Sorenson to be in the news next year at all.

Yesterday State Senator Brad Zaun went further than either Whitver or Chelgren when WHO-TV’s Dave Price asked him about Sorenson. Zaun was an early endorser of Michele Bachmann who stuck with her to the bitter end of her Iowa caucus campaign. Here’s my partial transcript of his remarks on “The Insiders”:

Zaun: I know the answers to many of the allegiations. I am a part of the police investigation in Urbandale (into the alleged theft of an e-mail database), as well as the ethics investigation. With that said, I think it’s been a big distraction for the Senate Republicans, and I would have to agree with Senator Chelgren and Senator Whitver that he needs to resign. And I think it’s unfortunate, and it gives all of us in the Iowa Senate a bad, you know, it just, there’s always that temptation. I worked for zero [dollars] to help out Michele [Bachmann] as well as other presidential candidates. But I think when you take any kind of money, legal or not legal, it takes away the genuineness of the endorsement.

Price: To be clear here, are you saying he should resign now, or he should resign once this investigation goes through and it’s found that he took it [the money]?

Zaun: I know answers. I think that Senator Sorenson should resign.

Price: In your mind, if a campaign offered your wife the money, and not you, does that still violate the spirit of the Senate ethics rules?

Zaun: Well, I think it does. I mean, if you look at the ethics rules, the rules say it would be your wife, or a family member, but I personally, would never. I just think, you know, let’s let the investigation go forward, but I think it’s been a major distraction to the Senate Republicans, and I certainly think he should resign.

Zaun is no longer part of the Iowa Senate GOP leadership team, but he is one of the longest-serving members of the Republican caucus in the upper chamber.

I haven’t seen any public comments from Iowa House Republican leaders about the Sorenson scandal, but at a GOP event in Adair County last night, State Representative Clel Baudler praised Zaun for speaking out. According to Radio Iowa’s O.Kay Henderson, Baudler described Sorenson as “a cancer within our party,” adding that if you have cancer, you should cut it out.

It’s only fair to add that Baudler, a national board member of the National Rifle Association, has drawn sharp criticism in recent years from Iowa Gun Owners, a gun rights group closely associated with Sorenson. In fact, documents published at The Iowa Republican blog indicate that Iowa Gun Owners Executive Director Aaron Dorr served as the “chief negotiator” between Sorenson and Ron Paul campaign staffers.