The Iowa Caucuses - The Sausage Being Made

[Clinton Huxley]

I think that newt will win.

Double trouble, boil and bubble

Eye of Newt and scrotum of Santorum.

[Coito ergo sum]

Please, please, please, let Dec. 21st be the end of all this.

Won't it end before, like, on election day?

November 5th, this year. Can't fuckin' wait.

It will be a glorious day, when hope and change will prevail.

That will be the moment when the rise of the oceans begins to slow and our planet begins to heal. Oh, wait...that was 4 years ago - the planet has had a few years to heal already. Whew!

This is our time, to put our people back to work [?] and open doors of opportunity for our kids [?]; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace [?]; to reclaim the American Dream [?] and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one;[?] that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Or, well...I guess we couldn't.

[Coito ergo sum]

This is the only time I ever notice Iowa now that I know they aren't the state famous for potatoes.

Or, are they?

Corn,

And, fried foods at their state fair, like deep fried coke, deep fried cotton candy, deep fried candy bars, etc.

Iowa is ranked 2nd in the nation for quality of life, per 2011 Congressional Quarterly’s annual State Rankings compares states on such quality-of-life factors as economics, education, health, public safety and environment.

owa is ranked the nation's 2nd-most livable state based on 43 factors ranging from median household income to crime rate and from sunny days to infant mortality rate
CQ Press, 2011
Iowa is named the 5th-best state to raise a child.
Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2011
Iowa ranks 9th in the nation for number of state parks, recreational areas and natural areas.
CQ Press, 2011
Nine metros in Iowa are ranked among the best places in America to start a business or career.
Forbes, 2011
Iowa ranks 6th in safest neighborhoods in the U.S.
CQ Press, 2011
Iowa has the 3rd-highest public high school graduation rate in the U.S.
CQ Press, 2011
Iowans enjoy the 7th-shortest average commute time (19.1 minutes) among the 50 states
US Census Bureau, 2010
Iowans enjoy the 9th-lowest housing costs
US Census Bureau, 2010
Iowa is listed as the 8th-healthiest state in the country.
CQ Press, 2011
Iowa's capital city, Des Moines, was listed as one of the best cities to live, work and play.
Kiplinger 2010
Iowa has over 1400 miles of trails for hiking and biking within its state parks and recreational areas.
Iowa Department of Transportation

http://www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/ ... flife.aspx

[Coito ergo sum]

DRUDGE CAUCUSES OPEN NOW

PAUL 29% ROMNEY 25% SANTORUM 18%

DRUDGE READERS FROM IOWA VOTE:

PAUL 624 32.07%
ROMNEY 412 21.17%
SANTORUM 412 21.17%

[Coito ergo sum]

Chris Moody, a political reporter with Yahoo! News tweeted this gem: “Iowa HS girl on Ron Paul when he enters rally: ‘He’s got his glasses on. Like a BOSS.’”

http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2 ... gh-school/

[Coito ergo sum]

Iowa voters are "too white.." http://cnsnews.com/blog/bill-hobbs/medi ... -too-rural

LOL. Too white.

[Rum]

Seems to me the Republicans can't put anyone up with credibility mostly because anyone with credibility wouldn't want to be President with all the shit that Merica has on its plate at the moment

[Coito ergo sum]

Seems to me the Republicans can't put anyone up with credibility mostly because anyone with credibility wouldn't want to be President with all the shit that Merica has on its plate at the moment

You don't think Mitt Romney, a successful governor of the State of Massachusetts and successful businessman, with Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration joint degrees from Harvard's law and business schools is credible, even with his management consulting business experience which led to a position at Bain & Company, where he eventually served as CEO and brought the company out of crisis. He was also co-founder and head of the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became highly profitable and one of the largest such firms in the U.S. No credibility?

Jon Huntsman, successful and wildly popular governor of Utah, and who was staff assistant for Ronald Reagan, and he was appointed by George H.W. Bush as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce and later as United States Ambassador to Singapore from 1992–1993. Huntsman served as Deputy United States Trade Representative under George W. Bush, launching global trade negotiations in Doha, Qatar in 2001 and guiding the accession of China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organization. No credibility?

Newt Gingrich - House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and Speaker of the House in 1995 onward - he attended Emory University, and eventually obtained a PHD from Tulane University. He was a college professor in History. No credibility?

No credibility? The Democrats just elected a guy with 1/2 a term in the Senate after serving as a fundraiser for activist organizations and a college professor for a couple of years. And, you're saying nobody in the Republican field has any credibility?

[Rum]

You think business success makes for good politicians/statesmen?

In any case they are all Republicans. For me their credibility evaporates instantly for that reason, besides any others. They are also all pretty heavily religious to a greater or lesser extent. You like that about them?

[Coito ergo sum]

You think business success makes for good politicians/statesmen?

I think business success can be evidence of accomplishment, and the above listed candidates not only had business success, but also had political success, and a great deal of political experience. Did Huntsman just have business success? No, of course not. He was a highly placed official in world trade and a diplomat, and a successful governor. Mitt also was a governor, in addition to his other successes, and Newt was a House member for nearly 2 decades, and was House Whip when the GOP was in the minority and Speaker of the house.

Where in all that were they limited only to business experience? But, at least they HAVE business experience - the current denizen of the white house did not have business experience, had 1/2 a Senate term, and acted as a fundraiser for activist organizations. Does THAT make for good politicians/statesmen?

In any case they are all Republicans. For me their credibility evaporates instantly for that reason, besides any others. They are also all pretty heavily religious to a greater or lesser extent. You like that about them?

Well, fair enough. But, isn't that different than saying they can't field anyone with any credibility. If, no matter what their curriculum vitae, you would not find them credible, then it's not because they can't field someone credible, it's that whatever credibility they have is discounted by you because of their party. If they had the exact background of Obama, you'd say they have no credility.

No, I don't like the religious ones. But, of course, the perception is different than reality, and the current denizen of the White House is a "religious one."

John Huntsman is a nominal Mormon, but doesn't practice and his family is multi-religious, having adopted children of different religions. He told Newsweek in December 2010 that the LDS Church doesn't have a monopoly on his spiritual life. In an interview with Time magazine, he stated that he is more spiritual than religious and that his membership in the LDS Church is "tough to define". Although still Mormon, Huntsman has said that he and his wife draw from an array of sources for inspiration, stating: "I was raised a Mormon, Mary Kaye was raised Episcopalian, our kids have gone to Catholic school, I went to a Lutheran school growing up in Los Angeles. I have an adopted daughter from India who has a very distinct Hindu tradition, one that we would celebrate during Diwali. So you kind of bind all this together."

In one of the debates, Huntsman said:

The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party – the anti-science party, we have a huge problem. We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012. When we take a position that isn't willing to embrace evolution, when we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 of 100 climate scientists have said, what the National Academy of Science – Sciences has said about what is causing climate change and man's contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science, and, therefore, in a losing position.

Obama espoused his religion far more than Huntsman and much more than Mitt Romney does. When was the last time you heard Romney talk about religion at all? Romney is an open Mormon, and he did missionary work in France, and was active in his church, but he hasn't been any more active than Obama or Carter (Jimmy Carter was a born again Christian).

During his campaign in 2008, Obama had advertisements featuring him praying with the words "COMMITTED CHRISTIAN" in large letters across the middle. It said Obama will be a president "guided by his Christian faith" and includes a quote from him saying, "I believe in the power of prayer."

A second piece included photos of Obama with his family and a caption that says they are active members of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. It explains how as a young man Obama "felt a beckoning of the spirit and accepted Jesus Christ into his life."

He said - "I’m a Christian by choice. My family didn’t ... frankly, they weren’t folks who went to church every week. My mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn’t raise me into church. I came to my Christian faith later in life. ... It was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life I would want to lead. Being by brother’s keepers ... treating others as they would treat me ... also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings. ... We’re sinful, and we’re flawed, and we make mistakes, and we achieve salvation through the grace of God. ... We can still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. So that’s what I strive to do and pray to do every day. ... I think my public service is a part of that effort to express my Christian faith."

Anyway - as atheists we are a tiny percentage of the population, even in the UK. The non-religious folks help us into the mainstream by lumping together atheists, agnostics and "spiritual but unaffiliated" folks into one group of the non-religious. But, to find a politician who doesn't have a religion is impossible in either the Republican or Democratic party.

[Warren Dew]

They are also all pretty heavily religious to a greater or lesser extent. You like that about them?

Mitt Romney was way less religious as governor of Massachusetts than Obama is as president of the U.S. Yes, that's one reason I prefer Romney.

[maiforpeace]

Santorum and Romney are tied.

[Ian]

Wow, totally neck-and-neck.

The nominee will be Romney. The process stories over the next few days will discuss the reasons for Santorum's surprise surge - namely, that he's a repressive Christian jerk who spent all his time in Iowa and appealed to the evangelicals there. He's the New Huckabee. And in a couple weeks he'll be absolutely demolished in New Hampshire, where his sort of social conservatism doesn't fit at all well with the New England crowd; he might, however, stick it out as far as South Carolina. Romney should take NH in a walk (though Ron Paul may pull a surprisingly strong showing in this quirky state), and he'll have the money and organization to keep going. Perry is destined to drop out (probably no later than after NH, if not after Super Tuesday), as is Bachmann (probably within days). Huntsman - he's like the anti-Santorum, so he's ignoring Iowa and focusing on New Hampshire. But he can't last too long after that. He's only running for name recognition for 2016, IMO. Gingrich, I think, will keep fighting and get a few surprise showings here and there in other states, but he won't end up with the nomination. Ditto Ron Paul - except that he's the Wild Card. He won't get the nomination, surely knows it, but he also isn't running for Congress again. This election is his last hurrah, and he might pull a Nader and run as a 3rd party candidate.

[Warren Dew]

The LA Times says Perry is gone after a disappointing finish in Iowa:

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la ... 0108.story

[Warren Dew]

And Romney wins - by 8 votes out of over 120,000

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01 ... a-verdict/