Focus on the Family pet Iowa State Sen. Kent Sorenson wants to impeach husband of his opponent

Kent Sorenson, elected to the Iowa Senate from district 37, has said he will push for impeachment proceedings against remaining Iowa Supreme Court justices, among whom is the husband of his recent Iowa senate race opponent.

Sorenson, boosted by Focus on the Family, defeated incumbent Staci Appel, wife of  Iowa Supreme Court Justice Brent Appel, by 5,095 votes, 58.85% to 40.92%, and will sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Burn this place down!
He told Christian radio host Steve Deace he will push for impeachment proceedings against the four Iowa Supreme Court justices not recently ousted in a judicial retention vote, among whom is Brent Appel, appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2006 by Tom Vilsack. Appel's term expires 12/31/2016. Appel is the husband of Sorenson's recent Iowa senate race opponent, Staci Appel. Sorenson also described a  conversation he had with a Republican leader who reminded him that his constituents elected him to come to the Capitol and “burn this place down." "They want me to do battle. And I understand that,” said Sorenson.

The Des Moines Register reported the following about Sorenson's financial past:

Federal court records show Sorenson and his wife failed to pay their federal income taxes due in 1995, 1997 and 2002 and owed a total of $8,749.

Sorenson and his wife declared bankruptcy in 2003, owing nearly $174,000 to various creditors. The debt included more than $10,000 in medical care obtained over several years starting in October 1999, such as newborn birthing services, court records show.

Right-wing blogs in Iowa circulated a letter supposedly written by Sorensen's 12-year-old daughter taking the fall for her father's bankruptcy.

Despite Sorenson's inability to cover the medical bills for all of his six children, he attacked Appel for fiscal irresponsibility during his campaign.



UPDATE: Jeff Danielson: "Good thing I'm a firefighter!"

That was Iowa Sen. Danielson's cheerful response to newly elected Sen. Kent Sorenson's “burn this place down" allusion, which apparently referred to the chambers of one or both of Iowa's deliberative bodies. State senator Danielson represents Cedar Falls, where he has been a firefighter for 15 years.