Iowa’s Political Relevance

The caucuses are over and done with in Iowa. The winners are Hillary Clinton on the Democrat side and Ted Cruz on the Republican side. I say that definitively because those are the results. However, as politicians nuance every word and syllable, Bernie Sanders came in .3 of a point behind Hillary so the two are in a virtual tie. And for the Republicans, Trump lost to Cruz, and Rubio was a very close third behind Trump. So in nuance terms Trump lost, Rubio made a very good showing against the top two candidates, and Cruz clearly won the contest.

The losers cannot be tallied of course. There are seconds, thirds, fourths and fifths in these matters, but losers claim that territory for themselves. Either they made it the way they wanted it to be, or they didn’t, and then consider whether such an outcome is a loss or a setback, or a relative finding of hope. The words here become overly flexible to withhold true meaning! We are, after all, in the world of politicians who will spin whatever message they wish from whatever words are available!

Iowa, of course, is the first stop on the presidential political campaign only because it actually is the first stop. So the issues are discussed here. The speeches are tried out in Iowa. Crowds appear or don’t for each of the candidates as they push and shove their way to prominence in the press coverage. They work hard to develop campaign teams and followers so they have polling results to be proud of.

So America awakens its political interests in Iowa and that is the role of the state. It does not tell America who the party nominees will be. It often doesn’t even come close to doing that.

No, Iowa helps candidates practice for later days of campaigning in other states. Speeches are written for researched audiences – types, interests, etc. – to see if issues that play in Iowa are universal in other regions. Probably not a slam dunk. No, Iowa is way different than most of America. It is very white – 92% versus the national norm of 77%. Iowa is rooted in agriculture-culture. This is a place of farms and crop cycles and harvests and storage and futures pricing on commodity markets. Iowa is a place of small churches and basic beliefs. It is a way of life; communities work with one another and support each other. It is a community thing and a family way of life. America is not much like that as much as we say we yearn for such.

No, Iowa is not a predictor of America’s political temper.

Bernie Sanders may be close to Hillary in voting appeal. But it is his message that captures voter interest. When the actual date of selecting a political candidate for President arrives, I suspect we will chose candidates who are seasoned and prepared in a myriad of roles necessary for fulfilling the role of President. Bernie is a good man but not of Presidential timber. Hillary is and most likely will be chosen eventually.

On the Republican side, the noise makers often have leading roles in polls near the beginning. But two years down the road the noise calms and is sorted out. What really matters lies much closer to home. It is about world peace and consistency, economic development and repairs, and a host of feel good items along the way. It is not about the stark question of whether government is good or bad. Or whether government has the authority to do what it does and has done for nearly 400 years in America.

The people of America know that practicality will win out. Things must get done. Governments do what individuals simply cannot do. It is the commonwealth of the people that we speak of. And it is rarely if ever addressed properly by private sources. Only government seems able to consistently fill this vital role.

Education, health, common defense and national economic well being are the focus of the national government. Saying it is otherwise or ought to be, will not sway American voters. They know in their gut that our shared values insist things be done for the good of us all.

And that, folks, is what government is all about. We authorize it; we elect it; we expect it. To make it better we will have to work for it. Altogether.

Attacking good government accomplishes very little but fear. For some I guess that’s all they need to feel good about themselves. Feed common fears so they feel good about themselves. Don’t do anything about the fear, just stir it up. Feeding the lowest common denominator does this.

Just look at cable television to see what I mean. Hell, just look at Fox News!

I rest my case.

February 4, 2016

ellH