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IDA Caucus Countdown #1: Rick Santorum
Over the last two weeks I have worked my way through seven candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination. I have ranked the candidates based on their strengths and weaknesses. And I have even ruled some candidates out altogether based on a few extremely subjective criteria. I would like to provide a quick recap before I move on to my number one choice for the Iowa Caucus. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman came in dead last due to his refusal to campaign in Iowa. Texas Congressman Ron Paul finishes sixth due to his reluctance to defend life and his overly naïve foreign policy. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney takes fifth place largely because I find him untrustworthy. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann claims fourth place as she seems to find it difficult to be truthful. Coming in third is former Speaker of the US House Newt Gingrich. Gingrich’s surprising finish is largely due to his intelligence as once again I found a politician that I was unsure that I could trust. The runner up in the Countdown had an extremely weak start, but has grown stronger as the campaign has worn on and has continued to grow on my. If he had done things differently from the start it is entirely possible that Texas Governor Rick Perry could have taken the top spot. The candidate that has taken the top spot in the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown and earned my support and my vote on January 3rd is none other than former Pennsylvania Senator, Rick Santorum.
Senator Santorum is another one of those candidates that at the beginning of the caucus season I had all but written off. I completely disregarded his campaign because of my own preconceived notion that he was not worthy of support. I erroneously viewed him as an establishment candidate. That all changed on July 28th, 2011. On that evening I had the opportunity to see Senator Santorum at the home of the Marion County Attorney. It was the first time I had the opportunity to see him and was very impressed. My first thought was that he reminded me a lot of former Arkansas Governor and the winner of the 2008 Caucus, Mike Huckabee. He proved himself to be an articulate man with a clear and concise message. I was intrigued, I had to know more.
During the course of Senator Santorum’s appearance in Pleasantville we learned that he didn’t just claim to be Pro-Life he lived his life Pro-Life. He told us about his daughter Bella. It was such a heartwarming story. Here is a video that will do better justice to that story than I ever could.
And this is just one of the reasons that I am supporting Senator Santorum.
There are many other areas that Senator Santorum is strong in as well. Take for instance energy policy. Senator Santorum has openly stated that we need to eliminate all energy subsidies and tax credits; that the government doesn’t need to be in the business of picking winners and losers.
And I agree with that sentiment. By eliminating those expenditures we can save the federal government money and in the process force a wide variety of companies to become more competitive.
And he has openly criticized the Troubled Assets and Relief Program, otherwise known as TARP; as well as other government bailouts of private industry. Senator Santorum correctly asserts that government funded bailouts do nothing more than punish the successful while rewarding the irresponsible.
As I look back at the last several months I can see how my preferences for the 2012 Iowa Caucus have evolved. Early in the race my preferences leaned toward Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul. As the days went by my preference for the candidates continually changed. That is until late July and early August. At that point Senator Santorum vaulted to the front of the pack and has remained there ever since. It had rapidly become clear that the one candidate that I could trust to restore our nation above all others was and is Rick Santorum.
IDA Caucus Countdown #4: Michele Bachmann
Now that Christmas is behind us it is time to round up the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown. As I have mentioned before, the IDA Caucus Countdown is not my predictions as to what the results of the 2012 Iowa Caucus will be. Rather it is a countdown on the candidates based entirely on my preferences. As you will recall former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman was honored with the last place based on his decision to forego campaigning in Iowa. Number six on the list went to Texas Congressman Ron Paul primarily based upon what I perceive to be naïve foreign policy. And candidate number five was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney due to his consistently inconsistent policy positions on issues that I feel are very important. So now it is time to unveil the candidate that inhabits position number, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
To be perfectly honest, Congresswoman Bachmann was in a virtually dead heat with Mitt Romney for the fourth position on my preferences list. The only reason that she edged him out was due to the fact that Governor Romney has enacted taxpayer funded abortions, mandated same sex marriage, and enacted an unconstitutional insurance mandate. I would like to point out that at the beginning of this year’s caucus season Congresswoman Bachmann was the frontrunner to receive my support. I have numerous friends whose opinion and intelligence I admire greatly openly endorse her early in the race. However as the campaign progressed I began to have some doubts about her candidacy. We began to see some cracks appear that gave me cause for concern.
The first such crack appeared during one of Congresswoman Bachmann’s campaign events in New Hampshire. During the event she remarked that “You’re the state where the shot was heard round the world at Lexington and Concord.” Unfortunately for the Congresswoman that event took place not in New Hampshire, but Massachusetts. And then in June during Fox News interview Congresswoman Bachmann made the comment, “Well, what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.” The problem is that John Wayne was from Winterset, not Waterloo. These comments are the kind that has become a staple of her campaign. It shows an unfortunate lack or research. One has to wonder, if she were to become President, would she continue to make these kinds of rookie mistakes?
During another Fox News interview conducted on December 21st. At the beginning of the interview a Rasmussen Poll from just a few days earlier is displayed on the screen. It clearly shows that Congresswoman Bachmann has slipped behind former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in the polls. Just a few minutes later Bachmann makes the assertion that she has never fallen behind Senator Santorum in the polls. She also makes the absurd claim that her campaign was the only one doing a 99 County tour which is absolutely false. Senator Santorum completed one at the beginning of November and promptly began another one.
I mentioned Congresswoman Bachmann’s 99 County bus tour above. When it was announced the Bachmann campaign released what I consider to be an overly optimistic schedule to say the least. Team Bachmann claimed that they were going to hit all 99 counties in Iowa in just ten days. Unfortunately this led to some very disappointing stops along her route. For instance in Muscatine Bachmann was 50 minutes late in getting to the event, at which point she spent, according to Craig Robinson of The Iowa Republican, just 12 minutes mingling among the remaining crowd before loading back aboard her bus and heading for the next stop. On Thursday of last week I attempted to attend the Bachmann event at the Pizza Ranch in Oskaloosa, Iowa. I will openly admit I was late. The event was announced to begin at 6:30 PM; I arrived at 6:38 PM. As I was arriving, Congresswoman Bachmann was departing. It became very clear to me that the primary reason that she was engaging in this farce of a tour was to be able to claim that she had visited all 99 counties.
As I stated above, Congresswoman Bachmann was high on my preference list initially. She has advocated and supported the many issues that rank high on my list of importance, but it takes more than simple advocacy to win my support. When I decide on a candidate to support they must have a high degree of honesty, integrity, and competency. And it is in this area that I have found her candidacy lacking. I honestly don’t know if Congresswoman Bachmann is being dishonest or whether some of her campaign staff is practicing incompetency. Either way it has cost her in my opinion. And this is why she is ranked just fourth in my preference list.
‘Project Jeremiah’ leader endorses Santorum for POTUS
Sioux City pastor was instrumental in ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court Justices one year ago
By Bob Eschliman
A little more than a year ago, the Rev. Cary K. Gordon became famous — or infamous, depending upon your political leanings — for taking on a leadership role in the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices.
Gordon, president of PeaceMakers Institute and pastor of Sioux City’s Cornerstone World Outreach received national attention last year for “Project Jeremiah,” a statewide campaign involving a controversial letter he sent to over 1,000 Iowa churches. It called for the removal of the three Iowa State Supreme Court Justices for their abuse of judicial authority in imposing same-sex marriage upon Iowans, while promising pro-bono legal defense for any Iowa church harassed by the I.R.S. for exercising their rights to free speech in the pulpit.
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in Washington, D.C., called Gordon’s actions one of the most outrageous attempts to politicize a church that he has ever seen.
Now, Gordon’s “outrageousness” has extended to presidential politics. Today, he made his choice for president known through an online video, as well as a text message that will be delivered to nearly 800,000 cell phones of registered Iowa voters and residents of Iowa’s Fifth Congressional District, where he lives.
His choice: Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.
“He’s committed to rescuing this nation from economic disaster,” he said. “Rick Santorum is committed to family values, and it shows in his own family.”
Gordon said the public endorsement of a presidential candidate is new territory.
“It’s not something I’ve ever done before, not publically,” he said. “It’s a real privilege to be an Iowan, and it’s a role I take very seriously. I have spent hours … vetting everyone that is running for the presidency right now.”
He described the vetting process as “at times inspiring, sometimes it’s been fun, but a lot of times it’s been frustrating and difficult.”
Gordon said many leaders are afraid to make public endorsements because it is somehow implied that an endorsement is approval of a candidate’s past failures. He said that’s both unfair and unrealistic, and generally doesn’t ring true.
“That attitude, that if you endorse someone you’re approving of all the things they’ve done wrong, I think that’s the biggest reason why pastors like myself refuse to participate in the process in a public way,” he said. “Ironically, the lack of public participation by ministers, I believe, is at the root of everything that is wrong with our country.”
Gordon said it’s going to take “an imperfect human with God’s help and God’s blessing” to turn the country’s misfortunes around. He said he was looking for a candidate who was both “humble and credible, someone I can trust, and someone who has generally good ideas.”
In his endorsement video, expected to pop-up on I-Phones, Droids and other such “smart phones” this weekend, Gordon emphatically rejects frontrunners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, while urging Iowans to support Santorum – in part because Santorum has declared he would include fellow GOP Presidential contender, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, at the top of his administrative team.
“I have thoroughly vetted every candidate that is currently running for president, and I have come to a conclusion that there are only two people currently in this race that have faithfully championed the legitimate solutions necessary to get this country back on course,” Gordon said, adding, with only a month until the Iowa Caucus, “it is abundantly necessary that the conservative community coalesce behind only one of … two great candidates,” Santorum and Bachmann. Santorum’s recent declaration of his aim to make Bachmann a vital part of a Santorum administration made Gordon’s decision much easier, he said. “I want them both in the White House!”
He said Santorum and Bachmann’s swift July responses to the Iowa Family Leader’s Marriage Vow – a sweeping political pledge document that addresses issues ranging from adultery and marital fidelity, homosexual unions and gay health issues, U.S. monogamy and Islamist polygamy, fatherless children and U.S. military policy – has been extremely important to his decision. Gordon noted that only Santorum, Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have signed the document, while frontrunner Gingrich, the former U.S. House Speaker, has rejected both the Iowa vow and the National Organization for Marriage pledge against same-sex unions.
Santorum and Bachmann, Gordon said, have both pledged to reinstate the military’s longstanding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy against open homosexuality, reversed earlier this year by President Obama.
“Rick and Michele would make a great GOP match, and would defend Judeo-Christian monogamy, while I think it’s increasingly clear Gingrich simply cannot be trusted with the institution of marriage in any sense,” he said. “I think the 2010 Esquire interview with Newt’s second ex-wife and former mistress was very troubling.”
Gordon also praised Santorum for championing a Personhood Amendment to the Constitution, something the pastor said was necessary if Americans wished to “stop the barbaric evil of abortion once and for all.” He added, “Rick Santorum is committed to rescuing this nation from economic disaster, and that’s good news for everyone concerned about their families.”
He also acknowledged his endorsement comes with consequences.
“Someone will inevitably disagree with the decision I have made. And I know any leader who decides to stick their neck out and make a public endorsement is suddenly going to face criticism of their own,” he said. “I’m prepared for that, because I think our country is in a lot of trouble.”
Gordon said Iowans, like most Americans, are fearful of what another four years of Barack Obama in office would do to the country. But, he is hopeful Americans do not let their fear rule how they will vote in the GOP presidential nomination process.
“We don’t have to be afraid,” he said. “I hope that voters won’t be driven by fear to just go by polling data and grab someone we can’t really trust and throw them at the helm of this government. I posit to you that isn’t going to save America.”
The full-length version of Gordon’s interview is available for viewing here.
The Thanksgiving Forum Recap
The 2012 Presidential race has been billed as one the most important election cycles in recent history. And perhaps due to this prophetic proclamation it seems that the number of debates hosted around the country has increased dramatically. That would not be a bad thing if the debates that we being conducted were anything more that soundbite machines hosted by moderators that seem to want to turn the candidates on each other in some sort of political version of the a battle royal. That is why yesterday evenings Thanksgiving Family Forum hosted by The Family Leader was so refreshing. The basic rules of the evening were crafted so that the candidates could not only answer questions, but answer them in depth so as to allow the audience to really understand how the candidate reached the conclusion that they did. For those of you that were unable to attend you can view the forum in its entirety at this link.
Now I could give you a complete rundown of everything that happened during the two hour long forum, but due to time and space constraints I will simply break it down in to how I believe each participant performed.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul
In my opinion Congressman Paul started the evening out with a whimper. In his response to the very first question Congressman Paul was all over the place, but not with any comment of any consequence. And despite his longwinded answer he still provided an answer that did not satisfactorily answer the question. This appearance really hit the bottom during the second half of the program where he really let the naivety of his foreign policy stance show through.
Georgia Businessman Herman Cain
Last night we had another appearance by Mr. Cain in which there were times that he looked absolutely amazing, and then other times when he left you scratching your head in wonder. One of the times where Mr. Cain really shined was when the question revolved around the phrase “So help me God” in the Presidential oath of office. Mr. correctly asserts that when that phrase is uttered in the oath that the person is asking for God’s help in fulfilling the duties of the office in question. When the candidates were asked about the sanctity of life his answers seemed intentionally vague and evasive; and gave the audience the impression that he will not fight for life as hard as some of the other candidates would.
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachman
I have to admit that this was one of the best performances I have seen from Congresswoman Bachmann for some time. During this forum the Congresswoman does have at least a rudimentary knowledge of American History. She demonstrated this by correctly recited the fact that it was the first President of the United States, George Washington, that was so instrumental in having that short little phrase included in the oath of office. In my opinion I really did not see the Congresswoman make any fatal mistakes last night.
Texas Governor Rick Perry
After having endured the painful experience of watching Governor Perry take part in the last several debates I was prepared for the dreadful nails on a chalkboard effect that his appearance would create. To say that I was surprised by his extremely competent performance would be an understatement. Whenever he happened to field a question the answer seemed to be directed at the audience. It was like he was just having a conversation with us, not the moderator. Not only did he do a good job speaking to the audience, he responded with well thought out remarks that demonstrated that he is not a light thinker.
Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich
If only one candidate can be said to have had a huge night, that candidate is Newt Gingrich. The former speaker’s wit and wisdom were on display for all to see last night. He repeatedly answered the questions posed to him with reason and knowledge. He really did not have any misstep for anyone to attack him on. Among the most memorable lines of the night was this gem describing the occupy movement.
“All the occupy movement starts with the premise that we all owe them everything. They take over a public park that they didn’t pay for, to go nearby to use bathrooms that they didn’t pay for, to beg for food from places that they don’t want to pay for, to obstruct those that are going to work to pay the taxes that sustain the bathrooms that sustain the park so that they can self righteously proclaim that they are the paragons of virtue to which we owe everything. Now that is a pretty good symptom of how much the left has collapsed as a moral system in this country. That is why we need to reassert something as simple as saying to them go get a job right after you take a bath.”
Former Senator Rick Santorum
This was yet another strong performance from the former Senator from Pennsylvania. He delivered strong and rational arguments supporting his beliefs and his positions. He was able to articulate clear and concise reasons for denying the nation of Iran the ability to produce a nuclear weapon. He delivered a powerful piece of testimony illustrating for all to see that even though he is a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, he is really just a flawed human being like the rest of humanity. As he was confessing this past mistake for all the world to see you could see that reliving that period of his life was just as hard now as it had been then.
Everyone at The Family Leader deserves a hearty round of applause for the outstanding event that they had put together. I would not hesitate to state that this type of format will definitely be copied and utilized in the future. As promised, last night’s forum allowed those in attendance to learn more about the candidates and what made them tick than in any of the other debates or forums combined. All in all, a great event.
New Feature on Iowa Defense Alliance
With the race for the Republican Presidential nomination heating up, I have come to realize that finding news and commentary can sometimes be difficult and time consuming. There are a great many voters out there that simply do not have the time needed to conduct this search in order to vet the candidates. In attempt to help our readers become more knowledgeable and informed about the Republican Presidential candidates Iowa Defense Alliance has launched a new feature to the blog.
If you will avert your eyes to the right hand side of the page you will see a heading titled Pages. Underneath this header you will see, in alphabetical order, a list of eight Republican Presidential candidates. To find the information and commentary that we have gathered you must simply click on the desired candidate’s name which will take you to a page with numerous links on it. These links will then take you to a multitude of news and commentary articles about the candidate you have chosen. Naturally we cannot and will not be able to catch all the stories and opinions out there, so if you have an article you would like us to link to simply post it in the comment section below or you can send it to me at abregarjr@hotmail.com.
GOP Presidential Field: Scapegoating Nevada
It has been more than one year since the Republican National Committee and the Democratic Committee came together in a bipartisan fashion to adopt updated rules governing the nomination process. This was done in an effort to prevent the kind of confusion and chaos that occurred after Florida and Michigan moved their primaries into January in 2008. The modified rules would in effect give provide for the punishment of any states that would attempt to change their primary or caucus dates in opposition to the approved rules. It was naturally assumed that this rule change would prevent a repeat of 2008.
All was going smoothly until Florida decided to buck the rules and moved their primary date to January 31st. This in turn prompted South Carolina to move their primary date to January 21st which in turn led Nevada to pick January 14th for their caucus date. This prompted to the state of New Hampshire to contemplate picking and early December date for their primary and Iowa to select January 3rd for its caucus date.
As you can see, Florida’s violation RNC rules have created a domino effect on the early part of the 2012 nomination process. When the State of Florida decided to blatantly flout the rules of the nominating process they created a chaotic and uncertain atmosphere that has spread across the country. Clearly Florida should be subject to punishment from not just the RNC for its rules violations, but the candidates themselves can and should boycott the state to affirm their support for the integrity of the nominating process.
However this does not seem to be the case. Instead there seems to be a movement shaping up within the GOP field to scapegoat Nevada. There is a clear desire to place the blame on one individual state for the chaos and confusion that have been wrought on the nomination process, but that blame is being placed upon the victim. It is like blaming the rape victim for getting raped. Several GOP Presidential hopefuls have already spoken up with a vow to boycott the Nevada contest. In fact Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, and Jon Huntsman have all vowed to boycott the Nevada contest.
Like I said these boycott’s are the equivalent of the blaming the victim for being the victim. If the Presidential candidates wanted to preserve the integrity of the nominating process they would absolutely boycott the State of Florida’s contest. It was the date change in Florida that initiated this chaotic snowball that we are now experiencing. Florida was and is the origin. If they ant to punish someone, punish Florida.
However, I don’t really see that happening because there are just too many votes in Florida for the candidates to ignore. And this really shows the candidates in a different light. Do they really want to preserve the nominating process or are they just attempting to pander and appear tough. And the RNC has been all too quiet on the issue as well. If the RNC will not hold states accountable to the rules, then what good are they? If the RNC refuses to punish Florida you will see an unraveling of the nominating process. If you think the chaos that we are feeling now is bad, wait until the other states catch a whiff of the stuff at the RNC.
The Iowa Straw Poll: A tale of success and failure
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the Republican Party of Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll. For those of you that were unable to attend you missed out on an incredible spectacle that is an important step in the Presidential nomination process. You missed the opportunity to mingle with the various Republican Presidential candidates. You missed the opportunity to learn what a wide variety of conservative organizations were up to. And most of all you missed the opportunity to help shape the debate in the election process. And once the dust had settled there it was clear those that had successes and those that had disappointments.
First off, for those of you that do not understand the significance of a non-binding straw poll I would like to explain the significance. The significance of the Ames Straw Poll is that it is the first real test of the various campaigns organizational strength. Basically it tests how well a campaign can motivate it’s supporters to come out and spend the day in Ames to vote for them. At the end of the day it is up to the campaign’s to determine how well they accomplished that task and plan accordingly. Now without further ado I would like to give you my thoughts on the outcome of the 2011 Ames Straw Poll.
Michelle Bachmann – 4,823 votes
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann emerged from the Ames Straw Poll as the victor. Last Saturday Congresswoman Bachmann was able to lay claim to the mantle of the first woman to win the RPI Straw Poll. This in and of itself is a major success for Team Bachmann, more so considering that it happened in a state that has never elected a woman to serve in the federal government. Despite this symbolic victory it cannot be overlooked that Congresswoman Bachmann just barely managed to hold off Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Most Republican circles began to write off the Texan after the horrid debate performance he had on Thursday evening. One reason for this apparent disappointment could stem from the fact that in the weeks leading up to the Straw Poll many media outlets began to launch a constant stream of attacks designed to diminish her performance. And in spite of these attacks she managed to pull off the win.
Ron Paul – 4671 votes
I would categorize Congressman Ron Paul’s performance at the Straw Poll as a success. As I mentioned above, many Republicans that I spoke with prior to between Thursday night and Saturday morning expected his performance to drop after his performance in the Fox News debate. Despite this performance I still fail to see Congressman Paul winning enough support to emerge from the Iowa Caucus victorious. The reason that I believe this is his stance on foreign policy. It remains to be seen if American foreign policy was the cause of the irrational hatred felt by many Muslims toward the United States. However, we do not have the luxury of traveling back in time to change the past. We must live in reality, the here and now. We cannot allow attacks upon our nation to go unanswered. And once we were engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq we could not withdraw our troops until their nations were once again stable, to do otherwise would be irresponsible. And as for Iran, it is the only nation in the world that has publicly stated that their ultimate goal was to destroy another nation. If we were to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons it would have disastrous consequences for every other nation in the world. And after Congressman Paul publicly announced otherwise, it marginalized him as viable candidate in my opinion. I am confident that very few Iowans’ subscribe to Congressman Paul’s idea of foreign policy.
Tim Pawlenty – 2,293 votes
I would say that the biggest disappointment of the day belonged to Team Pawlenty. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was banking on a great finish in the Ames Straw Poll that never materialized. Governor Pawlenty’s biggest impediment in the race was his lack of excitement. He just couldn’t fire up the voters the way that Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann could. As a result of his disappointing finish on Saturday, Governor Pawlenty made an announcement that he was dropping out of the race on Sunday. The expertise and wisdom that Governor Pawlenty brought to the race will be missed, but the Ames Straw Poll succeeded in helping Iowans to vet the Presidential candidates.
Rick Santorum – 1,657 votes
One of the biggest success stories from Saturday’s Straw poll was the emergence of Rick Santorum. Last week I was one of the few commentators to predict that the former Senator from Pennsylvania would jump up and surprise some people at the Straw Poll. And while I did expect him to fare better than Governor Pawlenty, I wasn’t off by much. The reason that I consider fourth place a success for Santorum is because he finished above many candidates that have been in the race longer. The fact that Santorum was able to fire up almost seventeen hundred votes in just a couple of months is a testament to his ability to campaign. I look forward to the next six months as we get closer and closer to the 2012 caucuses. I think that we may see another rise similar to the one Governor Mike Huckabee had post 2007 Straw Poll.
Herman Cain – 1,456 votes
I would also characterize Herman Cain’s performance at the Straw Poll as a success. In my prediction last week I thought that Cain could surprise Iowa Republicans, even though I thought it was unlikely. With his fifth place finish the former Godfathers Pizza CEO has proven to be a tenacious campaigner with the drive to win. However, he still finished in fifth place after having campaigned for longer than most candidates. Perhaps his refusal to answer surveys has held him back. Many Iowans, myself included, have to wonder why he would avoid this free advertisement. Unless it is because he doesn’t want to go on the record in his own handwriting.
Rick Perry – 718 votes
The biggest surprise to me was the fact that Texas Governor Rick Perry who came in sixth with 718 votes. To say that this wasn’t a success would be utter madness. Governor Perry was successful beyond my wildest imaginations. At the same time I find it disappointing that 718 Iowans voted for a candidate that had never campaigned within the state. I find it disappointing that 718 Iowans voted for a candidate that they could know little about. To be perfectly honest I cannot fathom any reason for Governor Perry to finish this high without any campaigning at all. Still I have the nagging feeling that when Iowans begin to actually get to know him, that his campaign will fall back to earth.
Mitt Romney – 567 votes
I know that the defending Straw Poll victor, Mitt Romney, decided not to participate in the 2011 version but I still expected him to do better than Texas Governor Rick Perry. At least Romney has done some minimal campaigning within the state. Furthermore, Romney did campaign extensively in the state during the last caucus. To have him fall so far was hard to imagine. I would say that this does not bode well for Team Romney as we get closer to the 2012 caucus. To say that his performance was disappointing would be an understatement.
Newt Gingrich – 385 votes
I would say that former Speaker of the US House Newt Gingrich suffered neither successful nor a disappointing Straw Poll, although it is still astounding that Rick Perry finished better than Gingrich. Instead, I believe that Gingrich managed to tread water in spite of refusing to participate in the event. We know that he was on the ground in Ames on Saturday, so it is probably because of a lack of campaign funds that held him back from participating in the event.
Jon Huntsman – 69 votes
To be perfectly honest with you, I did not expect Huntsman to fare this well. The man has openly dissed the Iowa Caucus and the Straw Poll. That sixty-nine Iowans voted for him simply astounds me. Due to this I would without hesitation that Huntsman experienced a success at the Straw Poll.
Thaddeus McCotter – 35 votes
You might be asking just who McCotter is. Well the best way to describe him is probably as someone that wanted to be able to put candidate for President on his resume when he leaves Congress. If you had been at the straw poll you would have noticed that his tent area had very few people in attendance. In all honesty I was surprised he received as many votes as he did. It was definitely a disappointing day for McCotter.
There you have it, my take on the results of the 2011 Iowa Straw Poll. I am sure that most of you will have your own opinions as to the aftermath, and you are entitled to them. That is the beauty of our great nation.
Ron Paul: “Santorum is Still a Loser”
Here in Iowa expect a lot from potential Presidential candidates. We expect them to friendly, thoughtful, and intelligent; just to name a few. Iowans do not tend to respond well to candidates that take on a mean streak. We just do not like it when a candidate engages in personal attacks on their opponents. Because of this I was thoroughly stunned when I found a blog post on Facebook published by one of the many candidates running for the GOP nomination launched a personal attack on one of his opponent.
Earlier this evening the campaign of Texas Congressman Ron Paul published a blog post declaring Congressman Paul the winner of Thursday nights Fox News Debate. And while I would question that assertion it was the short little statement that accompanied it for absolutely no reason that drew my attention. The statement really drew my scrutiny was when Congressman Paul’s campaign asserted that former Pennsylvania Senator and current GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum was “still a loser.”
Then I got to thinking that at last night’s Fox News Debate Senator Santorum excoriated Congressman Paul on the 10th a question about Iran. The exchange between Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul worked in Senator Santorum’s favor by making Congressman Paul to seem foolish and shortsighted. Here is the video of that exchange.
With the personal attack on Senator Santorum being perpetrated less than twenty four hours after the end of the debate one has to wonder if Congressman Paul is a little thin skinned. Could the fact that Senator Santorum made Congressman Paul look like a fool in a nationally televised debate be the rationale behind the Paul campaigns decision to launch into an unwarranted personal attack. Rest assured that I will attempt to find out tomorrow when I attend the Iowa Straw Poll.
Straw Poll Predictions
While I may have been notably absent from the political blogosphere for the last few months I have not neglected to attend the variety of political events that have occurred in the run up to 2011 Republican Party of Iowa Ames Straw Poll. As the summer progressed the candidates vying for the Republican nomination to challenge President Obama have been making the rounds of Iowa in a determined attempt to drum up support for their candidacy.
Unlike four years ago when I attended my first Straw Poll, I am not going in with a candidate already selected. Instead I find myself in the curious position of neutrality toward the candidates. In my honest opinion all of the candidates scheduled to be in attendance have some great attributes in their favor. At the same time they all have some negatives working against them as well. So this year I will walk into the Ames Straw Poll having to as yet make a decision as to who I intend to support. That doesn’t mean that I do not have an opinion as to how each of the candidates will perform once the ballots are tallied. And now without further ado, here are my predictions as to how the poll will shake out.
I believe that Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann will the one candidate that will come out on top on Saturday. I have attended her events and seen an excitement amongst her supporters that I haven’t seen since Mike Huckabee last campaigned in Iowa prior to the 2008 Iowa Caucus. And while Congresswoman Bachmann does have some baggage I do not believe that it will be enough to hold her back.
I firmly believe that Congressman Ron Paul will come in a close second. Congressman Paul was right on almost every count on America’s fiscal policy 4 years ago and that has won him increasing support. However he has several issues that will draw down his potential support. Among them is his continued policy of inserting pork into bills even though he votes against them. Another significant negative that I believe is keeping him from winning the number 1 spot at the Straw Poll is his fanatical fringe of supporters. These are the supporters that are willing to get into your face and shout you down as you attempt to politely debate them on the issues. I saw this fanatical fringe first hand at the 2008 Straw Poll when several of the fringe lined the entry way to the event. One of the fringe got in the face of one of my companions despite being politely rebuked. If Congressman Paul were to somehow manage to gain control of these dedicate, if somewhat socially challenged individuals I believe that he may have had a stronger shot at winning the poll.
Now I am going to surprise some people with my next prediction. In third place I don’t see what some others see. I don’t see former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty drawing enough votes to take third. I don’t see the defending Straw Poll winner, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney pulling it off either. Instead I see a surprise in the wings much along the same line as Governor Huckabee’s surprising win four years ago. I am going out on a limb to predict that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum will pull of a third place finish on Saturday. Despite the media’s tacit dismissal of Senator Santorum’s presidential campaign he has steadily built upon his solid social conservative credentials and his lengthy track record in the US Senate to build a support base in much the same way that Governor Huckabee did. He hasn’t done it by taking part in a lot of GOP party fundraisers. Instead he has traveled across the state going from one house party to another speaking directly to the voters in Iowa. While he does have the albatross of losing his seat in the US Senate, I don’t think that it will hold him back all that much.
Predicting the candidate that will come in fourth place on Saturday was really the toughest prediction that I have made thus far. This really was a toss up between two candidates in my honest opinion. This slot could have gone to either defending Straw Poll winner Mitt Romney or former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. After careful consideration I came to the prediction that Governor Pawlenty would be the one to take fourth place. The major difference here is that Governor Pawlenty has been tirelessly crisscrossing the state in a concerted attempt to win the support of Iowan’s. Despite his relentless campaigning I don’t believe that he will be able to inspire enough support for him to place higher in the Straw Poll.
As I am sure that you can surmise, I believe that Mitt Romney will come in fifth in Saturday’s Straw Poll. It is not that I believe that he could not do better than this. It is more that I believe that most Iowan’s attending Saturday’s event will take offense to the fact that Romney has not really campaigned in Iowa this time around. Furthermore there are a large number of Iowa Republicans that will not vote for Mitt Romney under any circumstances. So this coupled with his lack of a campaign presence in Iowa will hinder his chances this weekend.
In my honest opinion positions six through nine are too fluid to really predict. However with that said, anyone of these candidates could provide a surprise on Saturday. For instance former Godfathers Pizza CEO Hermann Cain’s campaign started out with a bang. He picked up rapid support due to his status as the outsider, the non-politician candidate. However his campaign quickly lost steam when it began to hemorrhage staffers. Today Cain’s campaign is just a shell of its former self. Another candidate that held promise early in the campaign season was former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich. However after some of his staff left over differences in opinion on campaign strategy the Gingrich campaign quickly lost steam. Michigan Congressman Thadeus McCotter will be a non-entity on Saturday due to the fact that he really hasn’t been campaigning. No one in Iowa really knows much about him and I don’t believe that he will have the time to rectify this problem. Another candidate that I believe will be a non-entity at the Straw Poll will be Jon Huntsman due to the fact that he has decided to bypass Iowa.
With a few days remaining until the Iowa Straw Poll the political situation is volatile. Anyone of these candidates can break their campaign with some entirely avoidable gaffe. And at the same time a candidate has the ability to elevate their status through some shrewd and effective campaign strategy. Essentially, until the ballots are cast on Saturday the outcome of the Straw Poll is entirely fluid. But it is fun to make predictions isn’t it.
Guest Commentary: Please Caucus for Rick Santorum
Jan 2
Posted by Al Bregar
It seems arrogant to think a letter I write will carry any weight to win your vote on caucus day for Rick Santorum, but maybe it will. Here’s why I am supporting Rick Santorum for President:
1. He’s worked for it. The Iowa Caucus is a big deal. It’s our responsibility to run the candidates through the wringer, ask the tough questions and get them ready to be President. If there are big money candidates who fly in, have a press conference so we know they were here, ignore the events we sponsor and fly out, why should we give them our support? Santorum not only respected the caucus process, he’s visited all 99 counties several times and was the first to do it. Folks, that’s recognizing the importance of rural Iowa. And whether it is a crowd of 1 or 100, his answers are thoughtful, respectful and truthful, not just saying what you want to hear. We need a President who will tell us what we need to hear, so we can work to fix it. Not one who is in campaign mode 24/7!
2. Rick Santorum’s character. Rick doesn’t just spout theory; he has worked for what he believes in and won. He is consistent, conservative, intelligent and articulate. He has had life events that tested his character and he made the right decisions for him and his family. He has had events in Congress that tested his character and he persevered, many times winning the day in a bipartisan way. Winning without compromising his principles, personally or of the office he held. And a quality we see very little of, he’s humble and self-evaluating. He admits when he could have done better, like in his 2006 election loss. He learned from it and became a better person.
3. His ideas to bring America back to strength. Plans for a domestic energy policy that will bring jobs and independence. Plans for a sound fiscal policy that bring manufacturing back to the U.S., increasing jobs and middle class wealth. He has an understanding of and has initiated foreign policy like none of the other candidates, knows our role in the world and the danger of us letting the balance tip to the people who would do us harm.
4. He’s experienced and more interested in solutions, than a gotcha poke in the eye. If you really want to solve problems, you don’t poke the other side in the eye. We’ve had that for the last four years, complete disenfranchisement. He knows how to work with all parties to achieve a solution, without them losing face. Now, that is a leader. This is not to say he doesn’t have courage to call people out if he needs to, he does, but it isn’t sport to him.
There are more reasons, but really, I just like him. He’s likeable and that means he is electable. Sincere, genuine, strong, intelligent, honorable, kind and a ‘he gets us and loves us’ guy. He is the antithesis of Obama and can debate like nobody’s business. You KNOW he has your back.
Rick needs us to blast him out of with a strong finish and has humbly asked and worked for our support. Let’s give it to him! Please join me and vote SANTORUM in the Iowa Caucuses.
Sincerely yours in service,
Dawn Pettengill
State Representative, Iowa House
Posted in Guest Commentary, Iowa Caucus, Politics
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Tags: Dawn Pettengill, Iowa Caucus, Iowa Caucus 2012, Rick Santorum