DUers do you resent Iowans for the power they possess?

[NightWatcher]

Why does this little state wield so much power? and is it fair?

I personally would like to have all the candidates kiss my ass some too, but by the time we vote, it is already over for the nom.

Kiss my ass, no really. Please kiss my ass too.

[PVnRT]

1. Gotta agree with that sentiment

My state's presidential primary is an afterthought.

[salin]

2. an afterthought? Heck its not even a going through the motions

thought. May. geez.

[glowing]

3. hmmm... mine's a non-thought... stupid Flori-duh.

[LakeSamish706]

4. I don't really understand this either... It should be a state like California...

with 55 electoral votes that is the deciding state.

[Wwagsthedog]

5. Yes

[Happyhippychick]

6. No. They live in Iowa, let them have a little glory and power. They are

the heartland.

The East Coast, DC, California...they are always in the news. I'm happy for them.

[sk8rrobert2]

7. Well living in Iowa

the T.V. coverage every 4 years gets really hectic expecially the week leading up to the Caucus but I have seen more Iowans asking tough questions than what most of the Associated Press does which I think influences Iowa as such a key state but that could just be my biased opinion.

[Justyce]

8. Yes, I think everyone should vote the same day. Is Iowa an exact

represenation of where the rest of the country stands? Doubtful, so not fair that their opinions should be more important than the rest of the country's. Dean had already dropped out of the last election before I even got to vote for him.

[FSogol]

9. Why? After today, no one will care about them. n/t

[Zorra]

10. No, I don't resent Iowans, it's not their fault. The process is stupid

and it needs to be fixed.

[knitter4democracy]

24. That's what I was thinking, too.

I agree. :)

[blondeatlast]

32. Zactly. nt.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

11. I like the idea of candidates being vetted "up close and personal"

by ordinary people. That gives candidates with less money a chance, while a one-day national primary would force those candidates out. This is a strong consideration for me.

However, Iowa is by far not a microcosm of our country. I think we need to alternate which few states go first, and then have a national primary day for the rest of the states. Perhaps the country could be divided up into five or six regions, and one state from each region gets chosen to be one of the early primary states.

[dmallind]

12. resent? No. Consider it silly? Yes. NT

llj

[sinkingfeeling]

13. No, I don't resent Iowans. I resent the system that takes a rural, primarily white , state

that has about 250,000 people show up to caucus, and allows that tiny number of people decide which candidates get to continue their campaigns. In 2004, I don't Kerry ever step foot in my state. We'd all like to get to 'see' and 'hear' each candidate before we voted in a primary. Why does the 'honor' of going first get rotated to a different state every cycle?

[Liberal In Texas]

26. The population of Iowa is about 3 million...but still...n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

29. Yeah, and 2.75 million of them won't be caucusing tonight. There were only 124,000

Democrats who attended a caucus in 2004.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/02/america/NA-POL-US-Caucuses-By-the-Numbers.php

[Liberal In Texas]

33. Oh yeah, the people that show up are such a small number.

Probably because the process takes a couple of hours.

What a stupid system to decide for the rest of the country.

[wtmusic]

14. Iowans rock

but Iowans who support Dodd rock harder :headbang:

[DS1]

15. I don't even have a TV, but I'm not jealous of living with nothing but campaign ads on TV

at least 50% of them by people I can't stand.

[shadowknows69]

16. Not as long as they use it wisely

As Uncle Ben Parker would say: "With great power comes great responsibility"

[slackmaster]

17. Naw, I love Iowans

Both of my parents were born there.

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Probably Too Much Influence, but. . .

. . .it doesn't really bother me. What i find funny is number of times CSPAN has someone from the Quad City paper on air. Half the readership of that paper doesn't even live in Iowa. They live next door in Illinois!
The Professor

[Stinky The Clown]

19. Its not about Iowans

Its about a fucked up primary system. I'd like to see the national parties have more control. Why two overwhelmingly white, demographically unrepresentative states get to be the king makers is beyond me.

I really want to see a rotating primary system whereby, say, 13 states go in the first, say, three weeks, but that those states are a demographic mirror of the nation at large.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. I think it's great

As long as the politicians are touring Iowa and New Hampshire, they're not tieing up traffic in my state.

And, we get to look at the politicians, even the ones that aren't wading in pools of money.

[supernova]

21. Somewhat, which is why I think we should rotate

the caucuses/primaries among regions every campaign cycle.

One year the NE would have their super Tuesday first. They next election it would be the SE super tuesday first, the next the West, and so on

That way everybody shares the responsibility of being first and all the candidates have to campaign in the entire country.

[ladjf]

22. It's not a matter of resentment. It's just a poor system for selecting

the nominees.

[elizfeelinggreat]

28. I agree

we need a better method

[Strawman]

23. Yes

I've never felt less effectual than this primary season. It's bullshit and it needs to change. I'd like to see two or three groups of primaries each a month apart where states rotate to the early and later groups.

[redqueen]

25. No. I dislike the system though. (nt)

[Guaranteed]

27. Naw. Cuz the other 3 1/2 years out of the cycle, I live in California. nt

[edbermac]

30. No; it's all the media hype that I resent.

Hillary or Obama could win Iowa and then get their ass kicked in the next primary. This is just like the first game of the NFL football season; you still have 15 more games to go. The only effect Iowa will have is on the fringe candidates like Fred Thompson.

[in_cog_ni_to]

31. ....it's so WHITE and yes, Iowa and NH wield too much power in our elections.

Black persons, percent, 2006 (a) 2.5%

White persons, percent, 2006 (a) 94.6%

American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2006 (a) 0.4%

Asian persons, percent, 2006 (a) 1.6%

Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2006 (b) 3.8%

Population, 2006 estimate 2,982,085

[RB TexLa]

34. There have been various versions of White Primaries in the past

hopefully this one will be torn down soon.