{{Short description|American socially conservative umbrella group}} {{Infobox organization | name = | image = | type = | tax_id = | founded = | founder = | location = Pleasant Hill, Iowa | coordinates = | origins = | key_people = Bob Vander Plaats (President and CEO)<br>Chuck Hurley (President, Iowa Family Policy Center) | region_served = Iowa | focus = Social conservatism | method = | revenue = | endowment = | num_volunteers = | num_employees = | num_members = | owner = | former_name = | website = | dissolved = | footnotes = }} '''The Family Leader''' (stylized The FAMiLY LEADER)<ref>{{cite news|last1=Howley|first1=Kerry|title=The Road to the White House Is Paved With Pizza|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/magazine/mag-13YouRHere-t.html?_r=0|access-date=July 29, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=March 11, 2011}}</ref> is an American socially conservative umbrella group comprising The Family Leader Foundation, Marriage Matters, Iowa Family PAC, and Iowans for Freedom. The Family Leader is loosely affiliated with the national social conservative organization Focus on the Family.<ref>[http://www.thefamilyleader.com/pollster-frank-luntz-to-moderate-the-thanksgiving-family-forum-for-republican-presidential-candidates Pollster Frank Luntz to Moderate The Thanksgiving Family Forum for Republican Presidential Candidates]</ref> According to its website, The Family Leader "provides a consistent, courageous voice in the churches, in the legislature, in the media, in the courtroom, in the public square...always standing for God’s truth."<ref>[http://www.thefamilyleader.com/inside-tfl/missionbeliefs Mission/Beliefs]</ref>
==Arms of the organization== {{expand section|date=December 2011}}
*The Iowa Family Policy Center is the educational arm and works through the media and also operates the Iowa Liberty Justice Center, a public interest law firm handling cases "in the areas of religious liberty, family values, or sanctity of life."<ref>[http://www.thefamilyleader.com/inside-tfl/ifpc About IFPC]</ref> *Marriage Matters seeks to strengthen marriage through individual mentoring and seminars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marriagematters.org/about-us/welcome.html |title=Marriage Matters|work=marriagematters.org|access-date=8 May 2015}}</ref> *The Iowa Family PAC is a political action committee which supports social conservative candidates. It was formed in 2004<ref>[https://webapp.iecdb.iowa.gov/PublicView/statewide/2004/Period_Due_Date_19-Oct/PACs/Iowa%20Family%20PAC__9715__scanned.pdf Iowa Family PAC campaign finance report, 2004]</ref> *Iowa for Freedom "stands up against judicial activism" and was heavily involved in the campaign to remove three Iowa Supreme Court justices who legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa in the ''Varnum v. Brien'' case.
==2012 presidential election== Through the new group, the organization planned to play a more influential role in the 2012 Iowa caucus campaigns than in 2008, including offering an endorsement for the first time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/11/15/vander-plaats-to-lead-iowa-group-with-2012-endorsement-plans/|work=Des Moines Register|date=November 15, 2010|title=Vander Plaats to lead Iowa group with 2012 endorsement plans|author=Tom Beaumont|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716192241/http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/11/15/vander-plaats-to-lead-iowa-group-with-2012-endorsement-plans/|archive-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref>
In mid-2011, The Family Leader gained national recognition for its pledge, "The Marriage Vow: A Declaration of Dependence upon MARRIAGE and FAMILY",<ref>{{cite web|title=Marriage Vow|url=http://www.thefamilyleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/themarriagevow.final_.7.7.111.pdf|publisher=The Family Leader|access-date=September 6, 2011|archive-date=September 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905012854/http://www.thefamilyleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/themarriagevow.final_.7.7.111.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> which it asked 2012 presidential hopefuls to sign. Vander Plaats himself also gained recognition, being referred to in one news post as a "kingmaker".<ref>{{cite news|last=Linkins|first=Jason|title=Bob Vander Plaats, Iowa Social Conservative Kingmaker, Unveils A New Pledge For 2012ers|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/bob-vander-plaats-iowa-pledge_n_892549.html |access-date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=July 7, 2011}}</ref> ''The Hill'' claimed Vander Plaats' endorsement as one of the top 10 coveted endorsements for Republicans running for president.<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Brien|first=Michael|title=10 coveted endorsements for Republicans running for president|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/94874-10-coveted-endorsements-for-republicans-running-for-president/ |access-date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=The Hill}}</ref>
Though the pledge was signed very quickly by candidate Michele Bachmann,<ref>{{cite news|last=Petroski|first=William|title=Update: Bachmann is first to sign Family Leader's pro-marriage pledge|url=http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/07/07/update-bachmann-is-first-to-sign-family-leaders-pro-marriage-pledge/|access-date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=Des Moines Register|date=2011-07-07|archive-date=2013-11-26|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20131126074222/http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/07/07/update-bachmann-is-first-to-sign-family-leaders-pro-marriage-pledge/|url-status=dead}}</ref> others were not so quick to sign or support it. Former Iowa State Senator Jeff Angelo, a Republican, said: "This pledge is an attempt to shut down dialogue between voters and the people vying to represent them."<ref>{{cite news|title=Update: Bachmann is first to sign Family Leader's pro-marriage pledge|url=http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/07/07/update-bachmann-is-first-to-sign-family-leaders-pro-marriage-pledge/|access-date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=Des Moines Register|date=2011-07-07|archive-date=2013-11-26|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20131126074222/http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/07/07/update-bachmann-is-first-to-sign-family-leaders-pro-marriage-pledge/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney called the pledge "undignified and inappropriate".<ref name="Romneynotsigning">{{cite news|title=Mitt Romney Not Signing Family Leader's 'Marriage Pledge'|url=http://www.urbanchristiannews.com/ucn/2011/07/mitt-romney-not-signing-family-leaders-marriage-pledge.html |access-date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=Urban Christian News|date=2011-07-13}}</ref> Romney's campaign later clarified that he would not sign because language in the pledge made the assertion that African American children born into slavery in 1860 were better off than children raised today.<ref name="Romneynotsigning"/> He was not the only one to take issue with this language.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bingham|first=Amy|title=Family Leader Under Fire Over Slavery Comment in Marriage Defense Pledge|url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/07/family-leader-under-fire-over-slavery-comment-in-marriage-defense-pledge/ |access-date=September 6, 2011|publisher=ABC News|date=July 11, 2011}}</ref> The "slavery portion" of the pledge was soon removed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Stephen|title=Conservative Group Removes Slavery Language From Marriage Pledge Amid Controversy|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/conservative-group-removes-slavery-language-from-marriage-pledge-amid-controversy/ |access-date=September 6, 2011|publisher=Fox News|date=July 9, 2011}}</ref>
After the controversies with the pledge, House Speaker Pro-Tem Jeff Kaufmann, said the pledge has "ridiculous implications", questioned Vander Plaats' integrity, and said that his "political credibility is waning to the point of no impact."<ref>{{cite news|last=Clayworth|first=Jason|title=Presidential marriage pledge has 'ridiculous implications' GOP leader tells Vander Plaats|url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/07/22/presidential-marriage-pledge-has-ridiculous-implications-gop-leader-tells-vander-plaats/ |access-date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=Des Moines Register|date=2011-07-27}}</ref>
In November and December 2011, the organization "agonized" over whether to make an endorsement and whom to endorse.<ref name="DMR12192011">{{cite web|url=http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/12/19/family-leaders-endorsement-struggle-reflects-angst-among-iowa-social-conservatives|title=Family Leader's endorsement struggle reflects angst among Iowa social conservatives|work=Iowa Caucuses|access-date=8 May 2015}}</ref> After removing Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney from consideration, the seven-member board of directors of the organization could not decide on one candidate among Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Rick Perry. The organization announced on December 20, 2011, that it would officially stay neutral and instead allow board members to make their own endorsements; Vander Plaats and Hurley endorsed Santorum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wcfcourier.com/iowacaucus/local/update-family-leader-group-to-hold-off-on-gop-endorsement/article_216a6d0a-2b3f-11e1-842d-001871e3ce6c.html|title=UPDATE: Family Leader group to hold off on GOP endorsement|work=Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier|access-date=8 May 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== *[https://www.thefamilyleader.com/ The Family Leader]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Leader, The}} Category:Non-profit organizations based in Iowa Category:Political organizations based in the United States Category:Conservative organizations in the United States Category:Polk County, Iowa