A Wisconsonite (the preferred term, nimh ... and, to "Us", Iowans are "Flatlanders" :wink: ) here, just checking in. I get a little fuzzy Iowa TV, and a bit of Iowa AM radio. I'm gonna follow along as well as I'm able. I trust Swimpy will provide better info than The Pundits.
As I noted elswhere, an Iowa talk radio show this morning indicated that bakeries and pizza-delivery outfits are expecting a real surge in sales this afternoon/evening, which probably means turnout will be heavy.
It's funny you should ask about my friends and neighbors. I live in a place where it's considered impolite to talk about two things... religion and politics. I'll add abortion to that. I know a few people's opinions. A couple of Dean supporters and a Clark. Now Clark doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of finishing in the top three in Iowa. As I understand it, no person who did not finish in the top three in the Iowa Caucuses has ever been elected president. The Dean supporters are from Iowa City, a liberal bastion. Dean and Dennis Kucinich recently won the coffee poll at the Hamburg Inn #2 (I added that for Cobalt if she's listening.)
I expect some surprises tonight. I hope you will all be glued to the tube.
timberlandko wrote:A Wisconsonite (the preferred term, nimh ... and, to "Us", Iowans are "Flatlanders" :wink:)
Funny ... what do Iowans call Wisconsonites?
What do you call someone from Illinois - an Illinoiser?
What does someone from Ohio call himself? Or, do they just prefer not to ever mention ... ;-)
Quote:Funny ... what do Iowans call Wisconsonites?
Cheeseheads.
Quote:What do you call someone from Illinois - an Illinoiser?
Illinoians (or Illini)
Quote:What does someone from Ohio call himself? Or, do they just prefer not to ever mention ... ;-)
We call them Buckeyes...if we are forced to mention it.
If I was Iowanese, I'd vote for Edwards. I wanna see that upset; 1. Kerry the Bay Stater, 2. Edwards the North Carolinian, 3. Dean the Vermon
BTW, I found this...
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855542.html
People from Connecticut are called Connecticuters. I thought they were called Connecticotians (rhymes with executions).
Indiananians?
Michiganites?
Floridese?
New Mexicans?
The mind boggles ... ;-)
ok, ok, i checked the link. So its really Michiganites and New Mexicans, huh? That sounds funny.
The ones that got me, though, were Nutmegger (Connecticuter), Hoosier (Indianian), and Utahn (how d'ya pronounce that?).
I mean - Hoosier? <uncomprehending>
What about people from DC? Are they called the same as their distant brethren on the West Coast, or something special, like ... DCs, or something?
Not that I aim to kidnap the thread ...
okay.....why is everything based on 1 state's opinions? Just because it's the first one to have a presidential event of sorts? I might be dummying it down, but that's pretty much what I've gathered from all the 'iowa caucus info' pages.... Now, I can understand how that says a candidate is probably going to do in iowa...but.....iowa isn't representative of the entire union, am i right? Like that comedian w/ the political debate show in HBO says "iowa is not the boss of me"
but swimpy - must be some kind of exciting to go huh? Have you gone before?
onyxelle, You're right. Iowa is not the boss of you anymore than other states with primaries are. It's the first so it gets a lot of attention. Some candiates will drop out if they do not finish well here. The idea is to narrow the field.
Nimh, I always called people from Michigan Michiganders.
Swimpy wrote: As I understand it, no person who did not finish in the top three in the Iowa Caucuses has ever been elected president.
Yep, but 3 out the 6 last times, no winner of the Iowa caucauses (republican or democrat) has won the presidency.
1980: Carter & Bush (Winner: Reagan)
1988: Gephardt & Dole (Winner: Bush)
1992: Harkin and Bush (Winner: Clinton)
Swimpy
Swimpy, is there any way for people to vote who must work during the caucus hours and can't get to the location to vote? When I think of all the people who are on duty from 6:30 to prox 9 pm: police, fire, EMTs, hospital, retail, etc. Without an absentee ballot, a lot of people are disenfranchised including those too sick to go out on a cold night.
In New Mexico, the caucus system has just been instituted this year. But it includes absentee ballots, which I used. I may try to attend the nearest caucus just to see what goes on.
BBB
fbaezer, You are correct, sir.
BBB, I don't think so. This is an event that requires attendance.
Caucuses start in about 2 hours. I'll give you a report after I get home. Should be around 9ish my time.
C-Span, right now, is televising a caucus live.
Switch over and watch what retail democracy looks like.
Surprising results so far! (To me.)
Kerry 37%
Edwards 34%
Dean 18%
Gephardt 11%
Only 20% reporting at this time.
Interesting!
