Live from Iowa...

[Styles 0]

I'm suprised there hasn't been a thread started yet. Yes, tonight citizens of Iowa, the state known for...um, it's that square looking one...near Montanna....I think...anyway, they kick off elections 2004 tonight in a treasured and somewhat convoluted ceremony where people gather at their houses, and...run to different corners of the room and form teams for their candidate...there might be capturing of flags involved, I'm not really sure. So, anyway, then people get to speak and make cases for why people should join their candidate allowing the voters to run to other corners of the room...and if a group has less than 15% of the people gathered, they're eliminated...BUT they can stay and join another group and vote again, well there's no real voting, just counting. And so, whoever is counted as having the most support wins the caucus. Pretty cool, eh? Oh the storylines! Is crazy Howie's ANGRY MAN~! routine reached it's end? Did John Kerry REALLY serve in Veitnam? Can a charming young (ok, so he's 50 but I guess that's young in politics) trial attorney named John Edwards win the heart of the nation and be the REAL candidate for Southern white voters with confederate flags on the back of their pickup trucks? Why is Dennis Kucinich still running? Will OMGFAUXNEWSFAIRANDBALANCEDLOL2004~! hilariously cover the event with a...*GASP* conservative slant?! It will all be settled TONIGHT, at the IOWA CAUCUS! Until a few days from now when we do it all again in New Hampshire without all that stupid caucus crap. Post all predictions/comments/latest totals here.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

There's really nothing to do but just sit and wait. It looks like a four-way heat.

 

My guess is Kerry and Edwards make big jumps, Gephardt fizzles, and Dean doesn't look like the unstoppable force he's looked like for four months.

[Downhome 0]

Right now (with 20% in) it looks like 36% for Kerry, 34 % for Edwards, and 18% for Dean. This could all change, but still.

 

Just how in the world did Dean go from being the runaway favorite, leading in polls for months, to all of a sudden being bumped down to about third place? That doesn't make a lick of sense to me at all.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

My guess is people liked Dean both because the media was happy to give him attention, and because he provided the kind of energy people wanted to see.

 

What with the fact that Bush is definitely going to wrap himself as the President that united us on 9/11 and fought terrorism, a lot of Democrats felt it was a foregone conclusion for a longest time and it was a fight not worth fighting. Dean raised sprits and began convincing the country that, yes, this man is beatable.

 

But now that we've come down to voting time, people are now seriously considering who they think can beat Bush, and that doesn't necessarily mean Dean.

[Styles 0]

Just how in the world did Dean go from being the runaway favorite, leading in polls for months, to all of a sudden being bumped down to about third place? That doesn't make a lick of sense to me at all.

He opened his mouth...

[Slayer 0]

Maybe the first thing they can do is get Iowa the hell away from me

[Jobber of the Week 0]

74% in:

Kerry 38%

Edwards 32%

Dean 18%

Gephardt 11%

Kucinich 1%

Sharpton 0

(Source: MSNBC)

 

 

Sweet Jeebus!

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Gephardt is dropping out.

[Vyce 0]

WOW.

 

Gephardt loses big time, and....

 

....well, what can I say? I wish Tyler was still here so we could gloat about Dean's poor showing.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Whatever happened to Tyler?...

[Downhome 0]

Just how in the world did Dean go from being the runaway favorite, leading in polls for months, to all of a sudden being bumped down to about third place? That doesn't make a lick of sense to me at all.

He opened his mouth...

Well said, I'm laughing my ass off over all of this.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

well.. the Missouri primary is coming up, and I might vote for Edwards over Dean now.

[BX 0]

WOW.

 

Gephardt loses big time, and....

 

....well, what can I say? I wish Tyler was still here so we could gloat about Dean's poor showing.

And I was Marney was here so I could goat about the fact that her employeers are a bunch of dirty liars.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I was watching C-SPAN2 just to see the riveting "Old Woman Trying To Make a Phone Call" segment around 8:45.

 

As intense as political debate can be, sweet holy FUCK was that shit boring to watch on C-SPAN and C-SPAN2.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Poor Howie...

 

At an event meant to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a stern if not angry Howard Dean, told the news media to “get a new life.”

 

With the start of the Iowa Caucus only hours away, the former Vermont governor arrived at the Iowa Historical Museum for the State of Iowa King remembrance.

 

Dean, who was not scheduled as one of the speakers, arrived with the national and local media waiting. The event had been posted on the media roster by his campaign.

 

After Dean’s bus pulled in at about 10:30 a.m., he circled the large building, just blocks from the golden-domed capital, as hordes of press and orange-capped Dean “storm troopers” followed in tow in the subfreezing weather.

 

When Dean finally made his way into the building, chaos ensued - although nothing out of the ordinary for the kick off of a closely contested caucus race.

 

“Dean came here and he was hoping that his henchmen would get the job done," said 26-year-old Seville Lee, who heads a mentoring program for at-risk youth in Des Moines. "He thought he was going to speak."

 

“I’m offended that Dean would even try and do this,” said Lee, who organized a children’s play that day in honor of King. “He wasn’t scheduled to speak.

 

"If he wanted to come he could go sit down like everyone else.”

 

After Dean entered the packed auditorium with a mostly black audience of about 300 people, the former Iowa front-runner took a seat in the front row for about five minutes.

 

Photographers and camera crews followed, positioning themselves at the foot of the stage. A clearly perturbed Dean sat through the flashes, but soon walked up on stage and had a discussion with local organizers.

 

A while later he exited the auditorium, making a beeline to the front entrance and to his bus. Wedging through the media, he stopped at the front step before boarding the bus to answer a reporter's question about how he was feeling.

 

"You know why I wasn’t able to attend this event,” Dean said, “because you guys are behaving so badly you’ve got to get a new life.”

 

Upbraiding the media, Dean told the press: “I’m feeling great, we’re going to win but you guys got to behave yourselves out of respect for Dr. King.”

 

Blaming the media for the commotion of his arrival, Dean refused to answer any more questions.

 

“Dean did not come there to speak," Dean’s national spokesman Jay Carson later said. "He came there to pay his respects, and he felt that the crush of the press was distracting and not showing the respect that Dr. King deserves.”

 

Organizers were left confused and frustrated, as the bulk of the media quickly followed Dean out of the auditorium.

 

“I think it was very disrespectful," said Donna Graves, who was on the planning committee for the commemoration ceremony. "The intent of today was not to look at Howard Dean.

 

“The planning committee didn’t know he was coming as we invited a lot of people. It was very hectic and this is a day that is supposed to be about Martin Luther King.”

[Guest Cerebus]

So all of the 300 black people in Iowa showed up to this thing?

[NoCalMike 0]

Question: What does this Iowa Caucus actually mean for the primaries? They were throwing up stat after stat earlier on MSNBC of guys who win the Iowa Caucus yet didn't win the primary. So how does this Iowa caucus matter in the big picture, and does it deserve all the coverage it gets, or are the new channels just desperate to sink their teeth into the first thing related to the election in november?

[Guest MikeSC]

Poor Howie...

 

At an event meant to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a stern if not angry Howard Dean, told the news media to “get a new life.”

 

With the start of the Iowa Caucus only hours away, the former Vermont governor arrived at the Iowa Historical Museum for the State of Iowa King remembrance.

 

Dean, who was not scheduled as one of the speakers, arrived with the national and local media waiting. The event had been posted on the media roster by his campaign.

 

After Dean’s bus pulled in at about 10:30 a.m., he circled the large building, just blocks from the golden-domed capital, as hordes of press and orange-capped Dean “storm troopers” followed in tow in the subfreezing weather.

 

When Dean finally made his way into the building, chaos ensued - although nothing out of the ordinary for the kick off of a closely contested caucus race.

 

“Dean came here and he was hoping that his henchmen would get the job done," said 26-year-old Seville Lee, who heads a mentoring program for at-risk youth in Des Moines. "He thought he was going to speak."

 

“I’m offended that Dean would even try and do this,” said Lee, who organized a children’s play that day in honor of King. “He wasn’t scheduled to speak.

 

"If he wanted to come he could go sit down like everyone else.”

 

After Dean entered the packed auditorium with a mostly black audience of about 300 people, the former Iowa front-runner took a seat in the front row for about five minutes.

 

Photographers and camera crews followed, positioning themselves at the foot of the stage. A clearly perturbed Dean sat through the flashes, but soon walked up on stage and had a discussion with local organizers.

 

A while later he exited the auditorium, making a beeline to the front entrance and to his bus. Wedging through the media, he stopped at the front step before boarding the bus to answer a reporter's question about how he was feeling.

 

"You know why I wasn’t able to attend this event,” Dean said, “because you guys are behaving so badly you’ve got to get a new life.”

 

Upbraiding the media, Dean told the press: “I’m feeling great, we’re going to win but you guys got to behave yourselves out of respect for Dr. King.”

 

Blaming the media for the commotion of his arrival, Dean refused to answer any more questions.

 

“Dean did not come there to speak," Dean’s national spokesman Jay Carson later said. "He came there to pay his respects, and he felt that the crush of the press was distracting and not showing the respect that Dr. King deserves.”

 

Organizers were left confused and frustrated, as the bulk of the media quickly followed Dean out of the auditorium.

 

“I think it was very disrespectful," said Donna Graves, who was on the planning committee for the commemoration ceremony. "The intent of today was not to look at Howard Dean.

 

“The planning committee didn’t know he was coming as we invited a lot of people. It was very hectic and this is a day that is supposed to be about Martin Luther King.”

Hey, kkk, how long until we spend our time ripping into Wes Clark's constant flip-flopping (his advance team is here right now, so I have no doubt he'll be in Columbia within the week)? I figure he is about as unelectable as Dean-o is/was.

-=Mike

[Guest MikeSC]

Question: What does this Iowa Caucus actually mean for the primaries? They were throwing up stat after stat earlier on MSNBC of guys who win the Iowa Caucus yet didn't win the primary. So how does this Iowa caucus matter in the big picture, and does it deserve all the coverage it gets, or are the new channels just desperate to sink their teeth into the first thing related to the election in november?

The caucus is WAY too covered for its total lack of usefulness.

 

Let's keep in mind that the supporters must sit in meetings for 2.5-3 hours to determine who is the "winner". Thus, the ONLY people who MIGHT do it (and, this year's possibly record number of participants will only be about 125,000) are fervent, die-hard special interest whores.

 

Honestly, the SC primary is of more importance than either the NH primary or IA caucus.

-=Mike

[Styles 0]

Question: What does this Iowa Caucus actually mean for the primaries? They were throwing up stat after stat earlier on MSNBC of guys who win the Iowa Caucus yet didn't win the primary. So how does this Iowa caucus matter in the big picture, and does it deserve all the coverage it gets, or are the new channels just desperate to sink their teeth into the first thing related to the election in november?

It depends, it's all about the big mo, momentum. A poster in this thread just said he now might vote for Edwards over Dean. The pereception after tonight is that Kerry and Edwards are on the rise while Dean is falling out...

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Hey, kkk, how long until we spend our time ripping into Wes Clark's constant flip-flopping (his advance team is here right now, so I have no doubt he'll be in Columbia within the week)? I figure he is about as unelectable as Dean-o is/was.

-=Mike

 

I'm not touching Wes. He scares me -- look what he did to that certain cable network reporter that "questioned his patriotism."

 

Oh, and did you know that John Kerry served in Vietnam...

 

 

while this guy was in diapers?...

[NoCalMike 0]

well this is interesting because if the Iowa Caucus is nearly meaningless altogether then couldn't the media be accused of cooking up biased coverage for the winner and highly damaging the losers? Considering the caucus is pretty useless and meaningless, that is.

[Guest Cerebus]

Hey, kkk, how long until we spend our time ripping into Wes Clark's constant flip-flopping (his advance team is here right now, so I have no doubt he'll be in Columbia within the week)? I figure he is about as unelectable as Dean-o is/was.

-=Mike

 

I'm not touching Wes. He scares me -- look what he did to that certain cable network reporter that "questioned his patriotism."

 

Oh, and did you know that John Kerry served in Vietnam...

 

 

while this guy was in diapers?...

Whoa so not only did Kerry serve in Vietnam but Edwards wore diapers at some point in his life? GET OUTTA TOWN~!!!1

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

well this is interesting because if the Iowa Caucus is nearly meaningless altogether then couldn't the media be accused of cooking up biased coverage for the winner and highly damaging the losers? Considering the caucus is pretty useless and meaningless, that is.

That's why I voted for who I did back the 2000 GOP Primary -- because a bunch of hicks from Iowa did, too.

 

BTW, who won GOP 2000 Iowa circus?...

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

A long time ago - a good year or so ago - most people I talked to thought either Edwards or Dean would be the big name. And now, after a year of one being the Number One Guy and another doing nothing, they're in the same spot. Wild.

 

I guess I should get my Florida absentee ballot, since it might actually be necessary after all.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

well this is interesting because if the Iowa Caucus is nearly meaningless altogether then couldn't the media be accused of cooking up biased coverage for the winner and highly damaging the losers? Considering the caucus is pretty useless and meaningless, that is.

Yeah, but you gotta remember it's coming from Mike. It's not quite as unimportant as that, but also not too important either. Clinton mostly forgot about Iowa.

 

This Dean speech was the worst thing ever.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

is it just me or was Howard Dean a bit weird tonight?

[Styles 0]

This Dean speech was the worst thing ever.

VIVA LA RAZA! VIVA LA RAZA! WE'RE GOING TO NEW HAMSHIRE, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO SOUTH CAROLINA! NEW MEXICO! DELEWARE! AND THEN....(heavy breathing)...THEN...WE'RE GOING TO MINNESOTA! AND NEBRASKA!

He sounded like Roddy Piper.

 

The guy is nuts.

My dad: "He sounds like one of those wrestlers you watch".

Edited January 20, 2004 by Slapnuts!

[Styles 0]

is it just me or was Howard Dean a bit weird tonight?

Just tonight!?!

[Guest I'm That Damn Zzzzz]

well this is interesting because if the Iowa Caucus is nearly meaningless altogether then couldn't the media be accused of cooking up biased coverage for the winner and highly damaging the losers?  Considering the caucus is pretty useless and meaningless, that is.

That's why I voted for who I did back the 2000 GOP Primary -- because a bunch of hicks from Iowa did, too.

 

BTW, who won GOP 2000 Iowa circus?...

source: http://www.gwu.edu/~action/chrniowa.html

 

Iowa's precinct caucuses were held on Monday, January 24, 2000.

Republican Precinct Caucus Results 2,114 of 2,131 precincts reporting (99%): 87,666 total votes. Bush 35,948 (40.99%), Forbes 26,744 (30.50%), Keyes 12,496 (14.24%), Bauer 7,487 (8.53%), McCain 4,093 (4.67%), Hatch 898 (1.02%).

 

Democratic Precinct Caucus Results 2,131 of 2,131 precincts reporting (100%): 60,760 total votes. Gore 63.44%, Bradley 34.92%, Uncommitted 1.60%, Other 0.05%.

 

 

I'm bored right now.