The last two nominating contests have led me to believe that Iowa should be stripped of its initial status.
The Iowa voters have now, twice, seriously injured the leading conservative candidates (respectively, Fred Thompson in 2008 and Newt Gingrich in 2012) because they apparently prefer big-government, fiscally liberal Republicans who are the most intensely passionate on social issues.
The result is getting into intra-conservative battles between the most passionate single-sphere social conservatives against the Constitutional Conservatives who are conservative on all spheres and think they are all important. Then because I as a Constitutional Conservative want Fred over tax-hiking Huckabee or Newt over union-kissing Santorum, I get flak from Single Sphere SoCons because I’m supposed to rally around what would best be described as a partial-conservative “with Iowa momentum” when there’s a perfectly good Constitutional conservative to support!? And then *I* get blamed for “splitting the vote” because their weak big-government guy goes down in flames against the RINO and I wouldn’t budge from Newt!?
I want the CONSERVATIVE guy, not the most RELIGIOUS guy. If they’re the same, great! If not, pick the damn CONSERVATIVE!
A deep red Southern state deserves to go first. Then we can choose someone ALL conservatives can support.
No more Iowa first. Rally for it, shake the RNC to its foundation until it loses its status. They’re giving the GOP-E a pathway to fracture us to our core so they can sleaze and buy their way to a hollow victory. No more.
Mike Huckabee was leading going into the Iowa Caucus in 2008. Fred Thompson was never really a viable candidate, though he placed third with about 2/10ths of 1% above McCain if I recall. I agree with you though that Iowa rarely seems to be a bellwether of the actual candidate.