For reasons only Allah knows, King Corn has decided to show the rest of the nation what Iowans already know — that this so-called emperor has no clothes.
Those who live and die by corporatism and taxpayer-funded subsidies have determined to go all-in to stop Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, from winning the Iowa Caucuses in a few weeks.
Apparently Mr. Cruz believes too much in freedom and limited government for these people’s tastes. It won’t work, because these people have lost almost all their political clout for various reasons. Not the least of which is most people are tired of the corporatist gravy train.
Case in point, King Corn ran its top lobbyist for Congress in my home district last year and he finished a distant fourth in the primary. However, the last remaining kernels of King Corn are undaunted by such an embarrassing setback, and have set out to single out Mr. Cruz in order to further embarrass themselves.
And it’s really too bad, because all of this is unnecessary. See, Mr. Cruz is actually willing to be the best friend the renewable fuels industry has ever had. But don’t just take my word for it. That’s according to one of the top renewable fuels guy in the industry, David VanderGriend, the CEO of ICM, an engineering firm whose specialty is innovation with renewable fuels such as ethanol.
After several personal meetings with Mr. Cruz to discuss his thoughts on renewable fuels, Mr. VanderGriend wrote an op-ed for a local Iowa newspaper in which he said Mr. Cruz’s approach to energy independence is exactly what the industry needs.
“We are at 96 percent of the allowable volume for corn ethanol under the renewable fuel standard, (therefore) we simply must create new values and pathways,” Mr. VanderGriend wrote. “All we want to do is be able to compete in a free market and allow the consumer to choose the fuels they would like. The RFS from here on does nothing to ensure that. Eliminating the regulations that are holding us back opens a market three times bigger than the RFS, and I submit that Senator Cruz just may be the most enlightened, forward-thinking ally ethanol has.”
Numerous reporters and pundits from outside of Washington, D.C. have communicated to me their astonishment that Mr. Cruz’s opposition to crony capitalism hasn’t sunk him in Iowa. Far from it. With less than four weeks to go he’s the clear favorite to win the first presidential contest of the year.
That’s because many rural Iowans and farmers — the very people who understand agricultural issues best — are a fair and reasonable lot whose patriotism doesn’t stop at the barn door. They know as well as anybody that the nation’s culture is eroding, the world is riddled with hostile and destructive forces, and the U.S. Constitution’s integrity is in serious jeopardy.
Single-issue sellouts these folks are not. Not like the group America’s Renewable Future, which this week will lamely troll Mr. Cruz’s campaign bus across more than two dozen Iowa campaign stops. Since he believes in crazy things like the free market, and opposes the growing rot of government welfare.
Somehow, that strikes me as a clear distinction the Cruz campaign will be happy to draw as the debate rages on. In an age when most Americans think government gone wild is the biggest problem we have, the crony capitalists are ironically helping to brand Mr. Cruz as the candidate most likely to turn over their money changers.
These aren’t attacks as much as they are in-kind contributions to the Cruz campaign.
And this Cruz supporter wants to say thanks for the help.
(Steve Deace is a nationally-syndicated talk show host and also the author of the new book “Rules for Patriots: How Conservatives Can Win Again.” You can “like” him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @SteveDeaceShow.)
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