I want a candidate to wait at an Iowa bus stop and talk to people there

[Recursion]

Promoting from another thread.

Des Moines, Iowa, has 26 local bus routes.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has 13 local bus routes.

Iowa City, Iowa, has 3 local bus routes.

Ames, Iowa, has 14 local bus routes.

Sioux City, Iowa has 10 local bus routes.

When was the last time you saw a Presidential candidate freezing his or her ass off at a bus stop in an Iowa city with commuters, rather than chatting with retirees in a diner somewhere? Real people ride these buses to get to work every day. Why can't we hold our candidates to talking with the much more numerous working-class people riding these buses, rather than whoever has the leisure to eat at a diner on a weekday morning?

[Demsrule86]

1. Really? It seems pointless to me.

[Recursion]

2. Wait, *that* seems pointless?

All of our candidates are about to spend a month making media appearances in diners with whatever rando people have the time and money to sit down for breakfast, but talking to actual working people as they are waiting for a bus to get to work seems "pointless"?

[ChubbyStar]

11. I think that is a SUPERB idea

Call it the BUS STOP TOUR, without a BUS. Get out and talk to working people who actually take the bus to work, or to shop, or to the doctors. What a dynamic way to connect to people. So fucking brilliant, thank you!

[Recursion]

14. Right? I'll write Andrew about it

Honestly I think he might like that

[ChubbyStar]

16. Please do

It is brilliant and I think Andrew will get it fully! Good luck. Thanks again for making me believe people still have wonderful ideas.

[Demsrule86]

24. Both my husband and I work and neither of us takes a bus...I just don't see what that would prove.

[cwydro]

30. You are aware that some people DO take a bus, right?

Just because you and your husband don’t means nothing.

I’ve never had to take a bus either, but I think this is a great idea.

[ChubbyStar]

19. Connecting with real people who ride the bus is pointless?

THAT statement says a ton about you. Please proceed.

[Demsrule86]

25. Plenty of ways to connect other than riding a bus just seems kind of pointless to me.

[ChubbyStar]

34. Of course it does

Please proceed. Thanks!

[Demsrule86]

36. Snark but no discernible point...I don't see the need to 'proceed'.

[rurallib]

3. Read your other thread - which I thought was a load of hooey

I am guessing you have the impression that in small town Iowa all we do is hang out at the local diner in the morning because we either don't have jobs or have jobs that we don't have to attend to.

I will reiterate what many said - not everyone in Iowa or any other place for that matter have jobs that fit into the 8 to 5 traditional hours. There are 2nd shift and 3rd shift workers. There are retirees. There are folks whose job have a lot of discretion as to how it is done, such as sales, financial planning, insurance.

Also note that over the years going to diners in small towns has been a staple of the news industry in all states including Pennsylvania, North Carolina etc. and etc.

The cities you note there are among the larger cities in Iowa. I guess your implication of "getting on a bus" is that the people getting on the bus are actually productive humans as opposed to those hanging around the diners. Believe it or not there are diners and cafes in those cities also where you can find lots of folks getting breakfast.

Of course you won't find people getting on busses in Iowa's small towns because there aren't busses.

All that to say, I get it. You don't like Iowa and you are trying to make us look like a bunch of lazy bastards who hang out at the diner all morning having someone wait on us.

Your complaint is not with the people of Iowa, but with the media who choose the places they want to do stories from. Also we are not the people who set up the primary system.

Having been on many a trip with candidates for lesser offices, when you go into a town and you want to shake hands you go to where there will be people. Want to guess where that is in a small town? In many small towns in Iowa that have seen their downtowns shuttered by the appearance of a Walmart in town, diners and the Walmart are about the only places folks gather any more.

Sorry, this just set me off. Oh and candidates do go to bus stops and factory doors at shift change, but the media doesn't cover that.

[Recursion]

4. Oh, did that set you off?

How do you think the 90% or so of the rest of us feel when we hear about this tiny fragment of the country being "real America"?

you don't like Iowa

Really? That is what you took from that?

Iowa, and particularly a small-town fragment of Iowan society, is incredibly privileged by our electoral process, and when I kvetch about that your take-away is "you don't like Iowa"?

No, sorry, you can do better.

[Peacetrain]

9. rurallib is right.. try this..

every area of the county has its own rhythm.. you are not going to do a Iowa State Fair event in NYC.. It would be nuts. We are not all farmers, retirees or anything else. Diners in Iowa, are like Coffee Shops in Seattle.. It is where EVERYONE gathers.. going to work, coming from work, etc.

[rurallib]

21. The people of Iowa did not set up the rules for the primary system

Frankly I don't like it myself. Yet I will be involved because they are here.

Sounds to me like your complaint is with the media and how they choose to tell the story of the first in the nation action.

As for the bus stops in some Iowa cities versus diners:
Probably about 10 or 15 Iowa cities have bus service. People waiting for buses are generally not going to be waiting a long time. They will get to the stop as quickly before the bus arrives and get off and go to their destination quickly. My house used to be on the bus line. We never stood out in the weather when we could wait in our house or in a store down town.

For some reason the media decided years ago that small towns = real Americans. It is American myth, but that is what the media sells. When you go to a small town there are basically 3 things that keep small towns alive:
1) schools - I have seen many small towns lose their schools and then die
2) post office
3) some local diner or coffee shop.

Well if you have decided you are going to do a story in a small town, where would you go for a story? Guess you could also go to the local implement dealer but a lot of those are closed also.

Write the damn DNC and tell them to change the system.
Write the networks and tell them to go to the bus stops or just stop doing the "mythological" America and go into the cities in Iowa where over half the population now lives.

Not sure what you mean by I can do better. I am just tired of people stomping on us with two feet thinking that we are to blame. As far as the "you don't like Iowa" comment I sure get the feeling that your impression of Iowans is pretty low. That seems to be a general impression on the board.

[MineralMan]

8. My wife's mother grew up in a tiny town in South Dakota.

Baltic, SD, to be exact. Last year, we drove there to place some of her mother's ashes at her grandparents' gravesite just outside of Baltic. We had been there before, and had stopped at the Baltic Cafe, one of those small town diners. It had closed, but in the same building was another diner-type cafe, the Someday Cafe. So, we stopped in there before going to the little church cemetery and had breakfast. The place was jammed with people. There was no available table, but an older couple said, "Come join us at our table, if you like." So we did.

Who was in that cafe? Well, just about everyone. The fire chief was in there, with several of his volunteer firefighters. There were farmers in the cafe, too, along with other people of pretty much all age groups. The couple whose table we joined asked us what on Earth we were doing in Baltic and having breakfast there. So, my wife explained our reason for coming to town. Well, the couple said that they remembered my wife's mother and family and knew where their farm had been. They called over to another person in the diner and that person came over. He was the grandson of the people who had the farm next to that farm. Pretty soon, we had met about half the people in the diner, all of whom had some connection or family relationship with my wife's parents or their siblings.

Anyhow, we spend a couple of hours there, and met a lot of people who lived in Baltic, SD. The older couple we had breakfast with even went with us to the cemetery, where we buried some of my wife's mother's ashes, with the help of the Church janitor, who had a shovel and helped us as well.

So, small town diners are not just places where old retired people hang out. They are the heart of small towns in the Midwest. If you want to meet the people in such a town, there is no better place to do so.

I think someone has mischaracterised those diners, frankly.

[Recursion]

10. Can we talk about bus stops, also?

Because bus stops are also a very very good place to meet people. Would you care to speculate why candidates focus on diners and not bus stops?

[MineralMan]

17. Sure. Metro bus stops are places where people are very briefly.

They get on the bus or off the bus, going to or coming from somewhere. Most of them don't have a lot of time to stand around and chat, frankly. If a candidate went there, he or she might be able to talk to a couple of people before the bus moved on. The people at the bus stop are either coming or going. Most know when the bus gets to that stop and show up just in time to catch it.

So, there is no group of people who have the time to chat with a politician, most of the time. I live right near a metro bus stop in St. Paul, MN. People show up just before their bus, get on and go. If someone is getting off the bus, they're going back to where they live, almost all the time.

The point is that they're there for a specific reason and they're going somewhere, so they don't have time to chat, generally. I don't know if you ride a metro bus regularly. I don't, but I have in the past, and I was always going somewhere and would not have waited for the next bus to talk to a politician. If I was coming home, the same thing would be the case. At most bus stops, only two or three people get on or off the bus, as a rule.

People aren't at the bus stop to chat and they have somewhere to go, probably on a schedule.

Those diners aren't just full of retired people at all. Working people eat at diners, too. I don't know if you have been in many small town or urban diners or cafes, but they have a clientele that represents their community. People eat breakfast or lunch at the diner or cafe, often on a daily basis. Others stop in for just a cup of coffee. The food is inexpensive and there's always someone you know there to chat with. It's a great place to catch people who have time to talk with you.

[Recursion]

18. You're missing that most people wait 20-30 minutes for a bus

Seems like a perfect time to talk to voters.

[Bettie]

22. When I rode a bus regularly, especially when weather was crappy

I made sure I got there right before it was due and waited, five minutes, ten if the bus was late. I saw the same group of people daily give or take a few and no one arrived half an hour before the bus was due.

[MineralMan]

23. Not in St. Paul, MN they don't.

I never see a crowd of people at any bus stop. They know when the bus comes. Half the time, they're running for it. There isn't anyone waiting 20-30 minutes where I live. If they wait that long, two buses will have already stopped and left. We have good metro bus service and the buses get to the stops on time. People arrive at the bus stop just before it arrives. They know when to show up.

The only bus stops with lots of people around are in the business district when people are coming home from work. Then there might be 15 people waiting for the bus. At all other stops, its one, two, or three people getting on or off. And, as I said, they're all going somewhere now. They'll be late to work if they miss their bus or late getting home.

[cwydro]

31. Pretty obvious you've never ridden a bus regularly.

I never have done it in this country that often, but I’ve used them a lot in other countries.

Very easy to learn when the bus is coming and show up right before. Not a lot of time for talking.

[Recursion]

32. ROTFLMAO

Yeah... I have never ridden a bus regularly. That is what is happening here.

[cwydro]

33. Ookay. Whatever dude.

A lot of people are telling you that you’re a bit out of touch on this, but you don’t want to hear it.

I did say in one post that it wasn’t a bad idea. Sheesh, sensitive much?

[Recursion]

35. And I'm telling the people who can't even see people waiting for a bus

That they are out of touch. The difference is that I'm right.

[Demsrule86]

26. Iowa is a fine place...almost moved there some years ago would have been pleased to live there...

Nice affordable houses and good schools...some don't like the Mid West.

[MineralMan]

5. That's a pretty good idea, although the diner things are OK, too.

Both groups are likely voters, I'd think. A diner is more convenient for the media folks, though. I'm not sure any of them would show up for a bus stop meet and great. The press likes its comfort, you know.

[nsd]

6. Is that actually true of Iowa?

Do a lot of voters take the bus to work? I realize that Iowa is not just farmland, but the bus? Outside of big metro areas (not counting suburbs) that don't have a subway, where is the bus the standard mode of transportation?

I don't know the answer to this question, but I have a feeling that you don't know either.

Candidates just go wherever the people are, whether it's buses or diners or whatever.

[Recursion]

7. Enough people use the bus that those lines continue

And in every single metro area the pattern is that the bus is how the poorer half of the working class gets to work.

[Peacetrain]

13. Have not seen Andrew Yang at any bus stop in Iowa City.. sooooooo

He basically made his home here.

[Recursion]

15. Believe me I'm not any happier with Yang on this than with the rest of the bunch

I just think it's incredibly disappointing

[rurallib]

29. no, most people drive their private cars

I have to admit I do not know about Des Moines. Iowa City and probably Ames have a lot of students using the busses because of lack of parking in the congested campus area.
But for folks who work in offices spread around in most of our cities filks drive to and from work.

[Skya Rhen]

12. Too open and unsecure for safety reasons - especially for high-profile candidates.

[brooklynite]

20. Candidates do neighborhood walks all the time...

As for bus stops, the window of time to talk to a voter is pretty limited.

https://www.live5news.com/2019/10/09/sen-elizabeth-warren-visits-charleston-neighborhood-discuss-environmental-justice/

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. I never thought people paid attention to those diner articles, whether or not candidates were there,

but I see I was wrong!

[jberryhill]

28. Yeah, I'll bet you do...

[samnsara]

37. i have always been puzzled about why Iowa is so important...

[Demsrule86]

38. Iowa like any state only matters if voters think it matters...and while the first state is exciting.

I think Iowa won't have a big effect this year...nor will New Hampshire.