By Ken Zino
Two percent. That’s the number of Iowa electors as a percentage of the total delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention where the presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidates will be selected or rejected. With the Iowa results fresh-frozen yesterday, here’s a bird’s eye view of (apologies to Brooklyn born Clarence B, the founder of what became General Foods) the Iowa Republican Caucuses.
The vote in Iowa on Monday may or may not signify something new. Consider some history that is a miniscule part of all the millennia of history studies that Republicans want to ban. Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee were the last three winners of the Iowa Caucuses. I’m still waiting for any of them to become a presidential candidate. Advice to followers of the often-breathless coverage of such non-events. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Republican cornfield crownees to run, unless it’s from a congressional committee, grand jury or court.
This brings us to Mr. Trump’s win in Iowa. If there was any doubt about his grip on the base of the basest in the Republican party in a voter’s mind, it shouldn’t require electro-shock therapy now to understand the obvious. Trump is going to be the Republican candidate for president. He held sway among rural Iowa caucus voters who already think he should be president because the election was “stolen.” Christion nationalism is the latest name for white fascism and supremacy.
Yes, Donald Trump was indicted four times. And yet, Trump appears to have a fundraising advantage so far. Polls are showing that Trump and President Biden are roughly tied. But consider the well-timed strategic broadcast leak on MSNBC Sunday with former White House insider Jen Psaki that played under the guise of an interview with Biden’s re-election campaign staff. It is more than likely that aside from political nerds, the potential voters who will decide the 2024 Presidential race are not paying any attention to the race yet. Moreover, Trump’s Republican opposition in Iowa didn’t force him to clarify his position on any of the issues that will be crucial in swing states.
Now is the is the time for Biden and his campaign staff to play up the policy and positions of the president. The incumbent with vast foreign policy experience is grappling with Gaza. He can point to a great, growing economy that is uplifting all here and is in far better shape than the post-pandemic economy in the rest of the world. He supports reproductive rights and gun control regulations. He wants to make the wealthy two-percenters pay their share of taxes. He has demonstrated ability to address climate change and fix the infrastructure, including bringing Wi-Fi to rural economies and he has no indictments or convictions on his record.
Biden has beaten Trump before. The president made a mockery of the “Red Wave” in the midterms.
In Iowa, roughly as many Republicans in total voted against Trump as voted for him.
Biden needs to address younger voters’ concerns in way they can relate to. Biden is pro-democracy. His party needs to be actively talking about this non-stop. Biden can win again. Let’s get on with clarifying the policy and positions that matter.
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What Does Iowa Mean?
Read the right column for pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay’s take on the Iowa Republican Caucus and then let us know what you think, with an e-mail to editors@thehustings.news.
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