MIRACLE IN IOWA
THANK YOU IOWA!!! Tonight I witnessed a miracle. Four months ago, Bernie Sanders was in single digits in Iowa, given no chance, and ignored by the media. As of 1:30 AM EST, he was locked in a virtual dead heat with Hillary--she had 49.8% and he had 49.6%--and whoever eventually wins, they will split the Iowa delegates. Then they move on to New Hampshire, where Bernie enjoys a 24 point lead (and growing) in the polls.
Many people outside of New England don't realize it because the media keeps referring to New Hampshire as Bernie's "neighbor state," but you can't find two states more different than Vermont and New Hampshire. Vermont is green, liberal, independent, and sort of hippie. New Hampshire is redneck, libertarian, gun toting, and conservative Republican. Since 1980, they've elected only two Democrats to the US Senate, both for one term. Its state motto is "Live Free or Die." And still they love Bernie Sanders!
But that's not the miracle I witnessed. The miracle is that tonight, finally, CNN discovered that Bernie Sanders is running for president. They quite literally talked about him more tonight than they did in the previous four months. They showed his entire speech after the caucus, a rousing speech that was pure Bernie and pure class. I had honestly believed that if he were elected president, they wouldn't cover the inaugural. Now, I'm about half convinced that they will. And that, my friends, is a miracle!
Bernie’s post caucus speech: www.bustle.com/..
P.S. Of course, CNN had to spin it, something about Hillary being the head and Bernie the heart, indicating that she’s the smart candidate and he’s the hopelessly idealist candidate. But they did acknowledge his existence. As Jeremy Irons said in Reversal of Fortune, “It’s a start.”
NOTES ON THE IDIOCY OF A CAUCUS
1. Now that I fully understand how they work, if there is a stupider, more convoluted way of voting than a caucus, I can't imagine what it would be. Actually, yes I can. How about everyone goes to a church and waits for Jimmy Chitwood of Hoosiers to walk in and say he'll play basketball again if candidate X wins the caucus?
2. Jesus! This is democracy? Hillary gets an extra delegate by a coin toss in a precinct where Bernie had more votes? I feel like I'm watching Friday Night Lights.
3. A glimpse into the utter chaos of a caucus. For God's sake, just get some voting machines and vote. Your caucus does not inspire confidence.
www.c-span.org/…
4. Oh for God's sake, Iowa. The nation watches you once every four years, and this is how you perform? From the Des Moines Register:
"Democratic caucus results in more than a dozen precincts are missing. The Iowa Democratic Party reached out to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders Monday asking for their help in tracking down the missing results. IDP Executive Director Ben Foecke sent an email to both campaigns with a spreadsheet of contacts for temporary caucus chairs. The campaigns are directing those people to dial into a hotline to report their results."
www.dailykos.com/...
That’s all for now, folks. Feel free to trash me in the comments. I don’t read them anyway.