From the Iowa Republican:
“The Ames Straw Poll has always faced a long list of detractors from outside the state of Iowa. More recently, political operatives and pundits within the state say the event needs a retooling, primarily to help preserve the Iowa Caucus. Governor Terry Branstad is more blunt. He believes the Ames Straw Poll should be discontinued altogether.
“I think the straw poll has outlived its usefulness,” Branstad told the Wall Street Journal. “It has been a great fundraiser for the party but I think its days are over.”
His remarks drew a swift rebuke from Republican Party of Iowa Chairman A.J. Spiker, who the Journal described as being “peeved” over Branstad’s comments.
“Governor Branstad is wrong, and this is not a decision he will make anyway,” Spiker said. “It is a decision the party and the candidates will make.”
Actually, it ‘s probably not a decision Spiker will make either. He would have to be reelected twice as RPI chairman to be involved in the decision-making process in 2015, when the next Ames Straw Poll would be held.
“Frankly, now our time is better spent redesigning our organization, recruiting and training candidates and raising money for 2014, which is the actual responsibility of the current State Central Committee, rather than waste a lot of time pontificating over what a future SCC or chairman may or may not decide to do with an event that, if held, won’t happen for another three years,” SCC member Wes Enos told TheIowaRepublican.
Enos was also a staffer for Michele Bachmann, who won the 2011 Straw Poll. That victory was the highlight of Bachmann’s campaign. She quickly sunk back into single digits in the polls, finished sixth in the Iowa Caucus and ended her campaign the next day. Bachmann’s quick fade is part of the reason Branstad believes the quadrennial festival will end.
“You saw what happened the last time,” Branstad said. “I don’t think candidates will spend the time or money to participate in a straw poll if they don’t see any real benefit coming out of it.”.....................................
http://theiowarepublican.com/2012/branstad-calls-for-end-to-ames-straw-poll-spiker-disagrees/
This is interesting nuts and bolts stuff. It has people of various stripes in Iowa - who had supported various candidates in the last two elections or occupy various positions within the state - attacking one another over the straw poll’s future.
The larger picture is more important, though. The fact is that across the board there is simmering-to-boiling dissatisfaction with the process, which is to say, roiling from having lost to Obama and having lost several senate races that should have been won.
As flawed as the process is, IF the GOP had WON the White House and done even fairly well in senate races, you wouldn’t be seeing this roiling.
This is what election losers do.
But when you actually read the whole article you see where issues are behind some of the sour grapes and struggles. Sure Bachmann won the straw poll only to crash and burn and Paul won second though never having a chance to be nominated. But look at what a Romney operative said about Romney and the Iowa caucuses - forget the straw poll which Romney passed on. That Romney had to be tough as nails against illegal immigration to be competitive in early Iowa because of that state’s GOP politics, only to have it hurt him in the general election.
Like the straw poll controversy, the caucus sour grapes and this time on an actual issue, are all because the GOP lost. Winners don’t do this, even when they have valid complaints.
The Democrats have become a monolithic machine. They really don’t care that they are a party of Leftist extremists who manage to be that while cloaking that just enough to fool enough people into hating/fearing Republicans. That’s just fine with them. They have no qualms, no concience, no serious public disagreements. The LSM is fully on board to help them fool the public.
Meanwhile you have conservatives saying they will never vote Republican again because of their dissatisfaction with everything, especially Boehner and his House Machine, not just the candidacy of Mitt Romney.
Just as the steamroller Democrats gear up for four more years of destroying America, their opposition is fracturing and scattering.
Somebody, please find me a silver lining in this dark cloud...