A story from the Huffington Post notes a slight rule change for Caucus night in Iowa. Typically the doors close at 7:00PM with no exceptions. However on Caucus night anyone who shows up at the right time but the wrong precinct can be given a note that will let them into the right precinct even if they are late.
No offense to Iowa, whom I have continually bashed on this blog for running things in a less than straightforward manner, but if someone cannot find the right precinct I think it is OK to disqualify them. Remember you do hold these things every two years regardless of whether there is a presidential campaign.
In short, good news for the Obama campaign which is hoping out-of-state students will show.
There are several issues at play this year. First the fear that out-of-state voters will cross state lines to vote in the Caucus. The major potential offender? Ron Paul Supporters
Next are campaign staffers many of whom are out-of-state voters who are living in Iowa to help the campaigns. Almost all of the Democrats have signed a pledge to bar their staffers involvement. The major potential offender? Bill Richardson’s campaign. Richardson claims he doesn’t want to offend real Iowa voters who are part of his campaign by barring everyone from participating.
Finally is the recruitment of out-of-state Iowa college students who are being asked to vote. The major potential offender? Barack Obama supporters. Read the rest of this entry »
Republican officials in Iowa are scheduled to hold a conference call at 6 p.m. today (Iowa time) to discuss the pros and cons of moving their caucuses to Jan. 3 or Jan. 5 from Jan. 14. About 20 people, most of them members of the party’s state central committee, are to be on the call.
If Republican official decide to move the caucus up than undoubtedly Democrats will follow. After a year of the media crying out that the campaigns started too early it could be over very soon!
I pointed out the other day how I don’t believe it is necessary by any means for a front-runner to take Iowa. I actually don’t think Iowa is necessary at all for a “strong” candidate. HOWEVER it has become important for the media and because of that the “second tier” candidates are increasingly looking at it as the potential last ditch for their campaigns as the NY Daily News and others are reporting.
How did we get here? Well since the early 1970’s Iowa was given the status as the “first caucus” in the nation. Because of that it is seen as a place where those in the second tier who give a strong performance can potentially win and use said win to raise money and influence in the coming primaries.
The problem? A candidate could potentially spend so much time and energy in Iowa (and New Hampshire really) that they aren’t battle ready anywhere else in the country. The support and financial boost they gain helps them move forward but not forward enough to win or if they do take some other high profile states by splitting the votes by a margin they face a general election with no real infrastructure to mount an effective national campaign. Read the rest of this entry »
Sen. Barack Obama’s wife Michelle made the following statement yesterday:
“Iowa will make the difference,” Mrs. Obama said. “If Barack doesn’t win Iowa, it is just a dream. If we win Iowa, then we can move to the world as it should be.”
The campaign is now trying to downplay the comment.
