Well, gee. I am all dressed up and I have wines and cheeses and bread and dips all laid out. Where is anybody?
107,984 Iowans will turn out this evening for the Republican caucus thing, by my guess. There will be an average of 50 folks per site; in private homes, libraries or in schools where they will sit in chairs designed for 3rd graders.
They will start about now. And then fervent supporters of each candidate will talk for a couple of minutes. After that, attendees will indicate who they favor by writing a name on a piece of paper and putting it through the slot cut into a shoebox. They might hang around for a while. But then they will go back to the warmth of their own homes.
A few hours later, the 107,894 votes will be counted. And, after millions of dollars being spent, some of the candidates will move on to NH to repeat the exercise.
I am sticking with my ranking of the results.
I think Bachmann will drop out after tonight.
Anyone want any cheese? Wine?
@realjohnboy,
realjohnboy wrote:
I think Bachmann will drop out after tonight.
Anyone want any cheese? Wine?
I agree about Bachmann. This will probably result in her ramping up even more awesome soundbytes in the next ten months. Nothing on the line is the perfect time for her brand of idiot courage.
No thanks to the cheese, but I'll gladly take a glass of wine.
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The wine caucus.
@failures art,
I wouldn't be one bit surprised if Bachman drops out of the GOP race but decides to go on as a independent candidate. Granted, this is a highly unscientific sampling, but I know a number of self-described Libertarians who're disgruntled with Ron Paul but would back Bachman in a heartbeat.
@ehBeth,
ehBeth wrote:
Any Iowa cheese?
No. Not yet. I love cheeses and tend to get quite a bit this time of year from the likes of my attorney, accountant, real estate manager and parole officer.
@realjohnboy,
realjohnboy wrote:
I am sticking with my ranking of the results.
I think Bachmann will drop out after tonight.
Anyone want any cheese? Wine?
As I recall that was in rank order; Paul, Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, Bachman. I haven't studied the polls nearly as carefully as have you, but it wouldn't surprise me to find that Romney comes in very close to or even ahead of Paul.
Always ready for some red wine and slightly tart cheese.
@georgeob1,
NPR has live coverage for the next 2 hours. I can go to be and listen w/o commercials.
@Lustig Andrei,
Lustig Andrei wrote:
I wouldn't be one bit surprised if Bachman drops out of the GOP race but decides to go on as a independent candidate. Granted, this is a highly unscientific sampling, but I know a number of self-described Libertarians who're disgruntled with Ron Paul but would back Bachman in a heartbeat.
Libertarians for Bachmann? What type of libertarians? On matters like social issues, she's a libertarian nightmare.
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@failures art,
Well, not being one myself, it's hard for me to judge the degrees of Libertarianism in other people. The folks I know
claim to be Liberttarians (I said 'self-described'). One fellow I know quite well switched his allegiance from Paul to Bachman quite a while ago. Dunno. A ground-swell building?
@ehBeth,
Quote:How could I forget?
Beats me, Beth.
The Republican Nomination For President: The Race For The Race For The White House
I'm enjoying the spread of Santorum across Iowa. It seems like a good outcome in terms of destabilizing the field even more.
Romney or Paul could still do it though.
(I kind of love how many news outlets are choosing a variety of the color brown to represent Santorum. The NYT's might be more towards rust, but it's the brownest one they have...)
@sozobe,
sozobe wrote:
I'm enjoying the spread of Santorum across Iowa. It seems like a good outcome in terms of destabilizing the field even more.
Romney or Paul could still do it though.
(I kind of love how many news outlets are choosing a variety of the color brown to represent Santorum. The NYT's might be more towards rust, but it's the brownest one they have...)
*snicker*
Seriously though, Santorum put in the work. Nobody should be surprised.
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11:30 EST
Santorum: 28,242
Romney 28,108
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Bachmann - Not out?
Perry - Not admitting he's out.
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8 vote spread. Iowa congratulates Mitt Romney.
Romney - 30,015
Santorum - 30,007
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@georgeob1,
georgeob1 wrote:As I recall that was in rank order; Paul, Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, Bachman. I haven't studied the polls nearly as carefully as have you, but it wouldn't surprise me to find that Romney comes in very close to or even ahead of Paul.
Good call!
georgeob1 wrote:Always ready for some red wine and slightly tart cheese.
Careful! You're beginning to talk like a French, which may jeopardize your Republican membership card.
Speaking of Republicans, I think you guys are off to a pretty good start. With Romney way ahead in New Hampshire, I think he now has enough momentum for his campaign to snowball. The Democratic Party may face disappointment of its hope for a long, self-cannibalizing, Republican primary season.
@Thomas,
Romney will probably take NH but Santorum could catch up in SC and FL.
@JPB,
Florida could be big because it is a winner take all.
But then Florida is also scheduled to lose half their delegates so it might not be that big.
I guess SC is winner take all as well.
