Iowa schmiowa: Who cares?
by Leigh Pomeroy
The whole lead-up to the Iowa caucuses and the caucuses themselves kind of reminds me of first-time sex: There's a hell of a lot of anticipation... months, even years. And then it happens and it's all over so quickly. Boom. Afterwards there's the after-glow — the winners — or the second thoughts, perhaps regrets — the "losers".
I put "losers" in quotations because even though two candidates end up at the top of the heap as clear winners, in this case Huckabee and Obama, I don't consider those who finished second, third and even fourth "losers". It's simply that they didn't finished first among Iowans, who make up less than a whopping one percent of the entire U.S.
Yep, a lot of Iowans did show up for the caucuses, so many in fact that caucus monitors had to check local feedlots to see if they were missing some residents during that brief two- to three-hour span Thursday night. In Chicago, dead people vote; in Iowa, it's hogs.
The clear winner in Iowa — my opinion only — was campaign finance reform.... Or is that wishful thinking? Despite his paucity of political plunder, Mr. Huckabee clearly emerged as the frontrunner in the GOPBA, the Grand Old Party of the Born Agains. My chiropractor suggested to me this morning that the GOPBAs didn't need any of the local hams to generate votes since, being born twice, they all had two votes anyway.
But being in charge of Congress, if not the government, the Dems are now at the top of the pork heap, adding it willy-nilly to legislation of their choosing and collecting it from campaign contributors. They didn't have to raid feedlots for votes; it came already cut up, sliced, diced, packaged and ready to be fed to Iowa's now fat media outlets. BURP!
As for Obama's "surprising" ability to attract white votes... forget it! The so-called color barrier for white males ended when blacks became NFL quarterbacks and Tiger Woods won the Masters. Besides, Obama isn't black at all. Like Tiger, he's cocoa, and everyone likes cocoa. I suspect that if you put all the males in America into a giant Cuisinart — a thought, no doubt, that appeals to a lot of women these days — and mixed 'em all together, you'd come up with a color (excluding the blood, of course) about the same as Obama's. So there.
If you were in Iowa this past week I'm sure it was fun. The caucuses are a great boon for that state, allowing it for once every four years to become a tourist attraction. Yet Iowa reminds me of the pre-Thirteenth Amendment South. Up until 1865, even though blacks were disenfranchised, they were counted as three-fifths of a person for determining political representation, giving those states' voters an inordinate amount of power.
What with all the ridiculous attention given to Iowa every four years, it's as if three-fifths of all the denizens of the state's feedlots pad its political importance as well.
The whole lead-up to the Iowa caucuses and the caucuses themselves kind of reminds me of first-time sex: There's a hell of a lot of anticipation... months, even years. And then it happens and it's all over so quickly. Boom. Afterwards there's the after-glow — the winners — or the second thoughts, perhaps regrets — the "losers".
I put "losers" in quotations because even though two candidates end up at the top of the heap as clear winners, in this case Huckabee and Obama, I don't consider those who finished second, third and even fourth "losers". It's simply that they didn't finished first among Iowans, who make up less than a whopping one percent of the entire U.S.
Yep, a lot of Iowans did show up for the caucuses, so many in fact that caucus monitors had to check local feedlots to see if they were missing some residents during that brief two- to three-hour span Thursday night. In Chicago, dead people vote; in Iowa, it's hogs.
The clear winner in Iowa — my opinion only — was campaign finance reform.... Or is that wishful thinking? Despite his paucity of political plunder, Mr. Huckabee clearly emerged as the frontrunner in the GOPBA, the Grand Old Party of the Born Agains. My chiropractor suggested to me this morning that the GOPBAs didn't need any of the local hams to generate votes since, being born twice, they all had two votes anyway.
But being in charge of Congress, if not the government, the Dems are now at the top of the pork heap, adding it willy-nilly to legislation of their choosing and collecting it from campaign contributors. They didn't have to raid feedlots for votes; it came already cut up, sliced, diced, packaged and ready to be fed to Iowa's now fat media outlets. BURP!
As for Obama's "surprising" ability to attract white votes... forget it! The so-called color barrier for white males ended when blacks became NFL quarterbacks and Tiger Woods won the Masters. Besides, Obama isn't black at all. Like Tiger, he's cocoa, and everyone likes cocoa. I suspect that if you put all the males in America into a giant Cuisinart — a thought, no doubt, that appeals to a lot of women these days — and mixed 'em all together, you'd come up with a color (excluding the blood, of course) about the same as Obama's. So there.
If you were in Iowa this past week I'm sure it was fun. The caucuses are a great boon for that state, allowing it for once every four years to become a tourist attraction. Yet Iowa reminds me of the pre-Thirteenth Amendment South. Up until 1865, even though blacks were disenfranchised, they were counted as three-fifths of a person for determining political representation, giving those states' voters an inordinate amount of power.
What with all the ridiculous attention given to Iowa every four years, it's as if three-fifths of all the denizens of the state's feedlots pad its political importance as well.
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4 Comments:
While, as an Iowan, I grimaced a bit about your feedlot comments, I do agree that we don't represent the country very well.
On the other hand, as I noticed at my own Democratic caucus precinct last night, 104 folks came out because they wanted to be counted among those who think our government policies are way off course. We were farmers, retired teachers, and factory workers. We were college students and parents with small children. We want an end to the war in Iraq now, more fairness in our economic system, and campaign reform.
One hundred four (104) of us crowded into a room at North Polk High School, in Alleman, in rural Polk County on a cold January night and wanted change. On the first go-round the only viable candidate was Edwards. On the second go-round, after the horse-trading amongst the non-viable candidates, we ended up with one delegate for Edwards and one for Obama.
After we chose our candidates, we passed platform planks on curbing development in rural areas, Internet access outside of towns, and ending the war.
So while your point about non-representative Iowa is well taken, remember that at least some of the citizenry have woken up and want to be counted among those that demand change in our national policies. We also demand more say in our local governance. That is a good outcome of the Iowa caucuses however unrepresentative we are of the nation as a whole.
Lee Tesdell
Slater, Iowa
Gee, Leigh, get a grip!
There are so many ways I disagree with your post-Iowa diatribe, I haredly know where to begin. Sure, there are serious flaws in the process - flaws our Minnesota caucuses share, since we adopted the Iowa subcaucus rules about thirty years ago when I was in my first caucus here. At the time we believed this was a positive step because it guaranteed that significant minority voices would not get shut out by an established majority that ran the party apparatus like a private club. We were able to demonstrate there was a lot of support for progressive issues like opposing the Vietnam War and candidates like George McGovern in '72 and Fred Harris in '76.
Because the rebels of 1972 are, by the scant virtue of longevity, the old pros of 2008 doesn't change the principle that got them in the door in the first place.
If anything the caucus process favors progressive voices that are drowned out in the money and media-driven primaries in bigger states. This has been historically true in Iowa where Harold Hughes inaugurated the modern brand of Prairie Populism, ended the death penalty, opposed the Vietnam War, nominated Gene McCarthy for President and carried enormous popularity to a U.S. Senate seat. Since then the Iowa caucuses have also sent such voices as Dick Clark, John Culver and Tom Harkin to speak to and for the nation. Not too shabby! (It was the 1974 victories of Harkin and Berk Bedell in my parents' district that made me believe Tim Walz could win in the MN First, a district that is very like our neighbors)
Iowans seem to take their civic duty seriously, and they have the opportunity to meet and consider the candidates over an absurdly long courtship, but to me this seems like a reason to take their participation and choice more seriously, not less - because they have what the rest of us want to have: to be taken seriously. In this way they act as surrogates for the rest of us. That they did not choose to be swept away by the Romney Rent-a-Vote franchise or by Clinton's Ms. Inevitability pose is encouraging.
Finally, I believe your remarks on Obama's pedigree and racial attitudes in general, along with the comparison of Iowa to the antebellum South, to be so wrong-headed, ill-considered and at variance with all evidence to the contrary as to be baffling. Were you backing a "loser?"
I think we can all agree that the current system is unrepresentative … yet isn’t that what the political parties want ?
Could Iowa’s selection of Obama cause problems for the national party leadership? Will the SuperDelegates (Congressmen, Governors, DNC, etc.) respect the opinion of caucus-goers ? Currently Clinton leads.
Other thoughts.
a lot of Iowans did show up for the caucuses, so many in fact that caucus monitors had to check local feedlots to see if they were missing some residents
Why don’t the Republicans require driver licenses to confirm that only registered Republicans voted ? CSPAN broadcast one caucus site. Management and control were sorely non-evident …. If anyone claimed fraud, I would not be surprised.
Huckabee clearly emerged as the frontrunner in the GOPBA
Huckabee got 34% yet Roberston got 25% against a sitting VicePresident and neighboring Senator in 1988. Huckabee should have gotten 40% minimum without Brownback to compete for the GOPBA vote. Romney also was rejected at 25% if you compared it to Steve Forbes getting 30% in 2000 with the same message (versus Bush at 41% and Alan Keyes at 14%). If Uncommitted was an option, Uncommitted would have won ! There are probably more Republicans looking today at Obama and saying “I could vote for him.”
Obama's "surprising" ability to attract white votes
That may be true for you (and me), but the strength of the Illegal Immigration proponents is based on ethnic-bias. It may be a non-factor for the election as those people would not have voted for a Democrat anyway, but longterm it may be good for society as a whole.
political importance
Iowa did a service.
It reduced the field considerably. I was surprised that Biden did so poorly … my observations were that he had some committed advocates. In the old days, candidates would have stuck around for months of primaries … now Tancredo/gone, Biden/gone, Dodd/gone. Culling the field, leaves the top candidates to compete.
The increase in the number of participants is good for America.
The clear winner in Iowa — my opinion only — was campaign finance reform.... Or is that wishful thinking?
Yep … that’s wishful thinking … look at how much money Romney spent out his pocket; Obama and Clinton spent millions. The winner – in my opinion – is the Democratic Party. The Republicans are in shambles and fundraising will not be invogorated. The Republicans will have their race move on undecided … Guiliani ?? McCain ?? Romney ?? Huckabee ?? All have so many detractors, that getting unity will be a problem. If Obama is the nominee, the anti-Hillary Republicans don’t have the target they want. The other winner is us -- we won’t have to hear all those commercials and speechs until the conventions.
The last question is : Would Tim Pawlenty have won Iowa and even the nomination? The people of Minnesota may know Pawlenty and all his mistakes, but the image of a Christian, glib, No-tax, ethanol-loving Governor with Big Ideas (from drugs for seniors to the environment) be appealing ?
Encouraging words in Barak Obama’s USA OpEd piece regarding campaign spending limits.
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