2012 Iowa Caucus Live Thread

Iowa GOP ^ | 1.3.12 | Free Vulcan

[Free Vulcan]

Live thread to cover today's GOP caucus. News, predictions, opinions, totals, and the like.

Will be heading out about 4 pm or so to get our site ready and do a final review with the precinct chairs. I expect it to be bigger than 2008 with very heavy turnout and we are preparing for that.

We are also ready for disruptions. They simply won't be tolerated. The state party sent us a memo saying if there's any trouble call the cops immediately. Anyone trying to cause problems is going to get a rude awakening.

My predictions of the outcome are a narrow field with about a 10 point spread for the top five with Bachmann far behind in single digits:

Santorum - 24 Romney - 22 Paul - 20 Perry - 17 Gingrich - 14 Bachmann - 4 The Rest - 1

Think things are still in flux and many won't decide till right to the wire, so I'm not terribly confident of any predictions.

[Windflier]

What kind of republican votes for Romney? If Obama switched to the republican party, these morons would vote for him because he has an R by his name.

[Theodore R.]

I guess we will have to wait until all the counting is over. One poster says Romney leads; another says he is third. Sorry for the misunderstanding

[RitaOK]

Romney fading? My heart sings over a little good news!!

[Palladin]

the Kraut says Romney is “flatlining.”

[bvw]

Sort of stretching the definition of an election “blowout”, but the meaning is clear.

[caww]

College kids were liberal then, they’re liberal now......Some fashion themselves libertarians but most are simply liberal and the social liberal in the race is Paul.... which is why he does well in the college towns in Iowa...... Not 1 in 20 college kids will ever lace on a combat boot and absent a draft could give two shits about the rest of us who did or those who will.

Re-post ...tells it like it is with the youth vote.

[Theoria]

Thanks for the ringside reporting!

[jwalsh07]

Money is an issue for Santorum, he needs to find primaries he can win to gain momentum. South Carolina will be telling. Made for Santorum, especially if Bachmann and Perry withdraw.

[idkfa]

West Des Moines 315 (west edge of Polk Co) from memory:
Romney 111
Paul 43
Santorum 38
Gingrich 33
Perry 11
Huntsman 8
Bachman 4

[bd476]

RitaOK wrote: "Whadaya mean, the dems are out organizing the Republicans?"

That's something best answered by the GOP precinct captain who was quoted by the Cox Radio reporter Jamie Dupree.

[publana]

I called FOXNEWS and left a message at 1-888-369-4762 telling them what I think of their Rovian pimping of Romney and that I am finally done with them. I also twittered @FOXNEWS what I think of them. You might like to let them know what you think of them as well.

[BagCamAddict]

Woman reading stats at one of the caucuses, relative to 2008 election:

Murder rate in counties with population over 100,000 voting for Obama: 13.2

Murder rate in counties with population over 100,000 voting for McCain: 2.1

Several other interesting stats of similar disparity.

[Rational Thought]

Simple. Most believed he wasn’t a serious player....until tonight.

[WilliamHouston]

(1) The military should be used to “defend” America. It has no other legitimate purpose.

(2) As things stand today, the military is used to defend South Korea, Lithuania, Greece, France, and Japan, but not to protect the American Southwest from an invasion of millions of illegal aliens.

(3) The border of South Korea is secure. America’s border? Don’t even go there.

(4) Why do we need a gazillion overseas military bases? Why do we need an “Africa Command”?

(5) What’s the use of a military that is used for every conceivable purpose - from neocon democracy crusades for women’s rights in the Middle East to “duty to protect” liberal interventions in Somalia, Haiti, and Libya - but to defend the states of the Union from invasion?

(6) How do you justify spending enormous amounts of money on foreign interventions when Muslim terrorists are allowed to waltz into America through our front door and establish colonies in our cities?

(7) What is being accomplished by spending enormous amounts of resources on foreign wars when Muslim terrorists are allowed to immigrate here legally? What is the use of subjecting American natives to the TSA system because it would be “racial profiling” to use reasonable criteria?

[bigbob]

Perry won’t be dropping out, he’s got the money to stay in. Bachmann will bag it by tomorrow night.

[pollywog]

I’m praying now that we will all get behind one conservative and drop the rest.
NOT RON PAUL, NOT ROMNEY...

[katiedidit1]

Hookers for Paultard

[InterceptPoint]

I know one thing — FOX News is in the tank for Romney. Their coverage is nauseating.
+++++++++++++++++++

Yup, that sounds like Faux News. I used to watch them back in the good old days before they joined the MSM campaign to nominate Romney in order to insure an Obama victory in November.

[LibsRJerks]

This is great ...anything to take the wind out of Willard’s sails is all right with me.

Perhaps, at a later date, Santorum can suck up all of Newt/Perry and Marg Thatcher’s votes and put himself over the top.

I just hope he’s ready for that.

[Palladin]

Newtie is toast—can’t even make the top three in Iowa...