Ken Veenstra

From dKosopedia

Categories: Iowa Republicans | Homophobes

Biography

Ken Veenstra served 2 terms in the state house and 2 in the state senate. Veenstra chaired the Senate Human Resources Committee. He fought for tougher abortion restrictions and was viciously anti-gay, trying to ban gay adoption, pass a state constitutional amendment against any benefits for gay couples, and killing the appointment of an openly gay man to the State Board of Education (upon Jonathan Wilson's defeat, Veenstra proclaimed that they had "fulfilled the wishes of God-fearing people").

During the June, 2004 Iowa primaries, nearly everyone was stunned when the influential incumbent Veenstra was defeated by a former public school teacher and economics professor, Dave Mulder. Although the main battle was over public schools (both men share the same opinions on social issues) some observers felt that Northwest Iowans were sending a message that they wanted a representative who would talk about issues that actually impacted their lives, instead of nothing but constant fundamentalist rage.