The corn is as high
as Trump's crimes
and misdemeanors.
7
Gail,
Rhode Island has made contributions beyond a closed up Gorham silver plant. They include:
Birthplace of the US navy.
Beginning of religious freedom.
Initiation of the textile industry
A radio listening post that saved the Queen Mary and 10,000 lives in WW2.
and lots more.
4
Iowa, the best argument for a national general primary election. Why does such a sparsely populated state get to have so much influence over who is nominated. By the time we have our primary in densely populated New Jersey, the nominee has been practically decided upon already. Doesn't seem fair.
8
I am now living in Rhode Island, that persnickety state, so let's get some things straight:
1. We're not "squished" over here. Why not? Simple. Small in area as we are, our population size doesn't amount to much either.
2. We don't make silver here. At least, not anymore. There's a fantastic exhibit though at the RI School of Design Museum on Gorham silver, if you're interested.
Although I am "Unaffiliated", this state is as reliably blue in voting for president as any in the Union, so this is a terrific place for a first in the nation Democratic Presidential primary. Problem: the weather ain't that much better than what you now get in - dare I say it? - New Hampshire.
Thanks, Gail, nice try!
6
In the accompanying photo, is that a cow pie or Trump fur?
4
Joe fast asleep would be a big upgrade over Dopey Don
11
Any candidate who doesn't show up at the elevator in Colo, Iowa to check the pulse of the heart of the Heartland isn't trying.....
6
In Rhode Island they would have to eat stuffies and drink Dell’s lemonade, which is probably better for you than corn dogs and fried butter. The state is so small the press corps would have to work from Massachusetts, but at least you can get there on Acela, so there’s that.
4
Ah, the Heartland, that inexhaustible font of down home common sense, salt of the earth wisdom, homespun virtue and undying patriotism. Like the farmer I just heard interviewed on TV who is taking it up the wazoo from Trump's tariffs. "I'm sure there will be a benefit to this down the road, he's a businessman and he negotiating". Right, he's a "businessman", so astute that he led the nation in losing other people's money at those tiny-margin businesses, Manhattan real estate and casinos. He's giving YOU the business, Farmer Man, and you deserve it. Why do these people get to play such a disproportionate role in choosing our leaders?
18
Iowa doesn't look like the rest of the nation. Would be better to have primary in state with demographics that reflect the real USA.
The election of Steve King to Congress is a good example of my suggestion.
11
Until recently I was a political fan. I have since come to hating it. We are forced to real meaningless articles about people who will never get to be a president but that's not the worst part. The worst part is how long this takes.
Why not do what England does and limit the amount of time for campaigning to six weeks. There is nothing they can say that cannot reach all the people in six weeks. Then we don't have to listen to endless nonsense about how good they are. Most of them are not. The outcome for me and I am sure thousands of others is to just avoid any campaign speeches or programs. I can get the gist of their blabber by hearing one speech. Let's limit the time they have to make their case so I can limit my anger at everyone's waste of time. And it is not necessary to travel to or even try to travel to all state. TV does a good job of delivering messages.
But I must say, dear Gail, I never miss an article by you. They are wonderful. I wonder if the candidates could borrow your sense of humor to relief us.
8
The real comedy here is the spectacle of an allegedly "democratic" nation where only 15% of votes cast in a presidential election actually count. Which incidentally is the proportion of the East German population who were members of the SED (communist) party - the only voters who mattered there. That's because my vote here in Texas, or anyone living in California or New York, in the primary or general election has zero impact on the results. And the lack of a presidential campaign anywhere but the "swing" states only fuels polarization.
9
Actually, rotating first in the nation primaries is a cool idea, but it would take 200 years to get to each state, so it would not make much difference in the long run.
Really, the only reason it matters is because of fund-raising. Were we to get money out of the primary process (NO ads, only news coverage), we might find out what voters really want. As it stands now, it’s just a name recognition game.
And of course, that would require even-handed coverage of all candidates. Otherwise, whoever makes the biggest stir may become the nominee. Like, even a reality tv show host...
2
@Lawyermom, I’m in California. I propose doing it alphabetically ;-)
2
I don’t pay attention to the hoopla in Iowa. I remember hearing an interview with an Iowan mom, where she admitted that her teenaged son loved to mess with the many pollsters who constantly phoned their home. He got a kick out of giving “wrong” and inconsistent answers.
It’s just a big big circus without the elephants (thank goodness for that).
Which brings up that corn thing. How about, “The corn is as high as a pie on the fly”? Aimed right at you, candidates. We’re ready.
5
I’m all for another state taking up first caucus status. Just as long as it is not New York. As a long-term resident of Iowa, I attended multiple caucus events, fielded 100’s of phone calls, cleaned out my mailbox daily, permanently unplugged my TV, and disconnected the doorbell. Pre-robocall era, I desperately told callers, I was keeping track of phone solicitations. I said the campaign that called me the least had my vote.
Politicking in Iowa has no endpoint. It is permanent and daily. World without end. In a search for peace and quiet, I have moved to New York. It has been lovely. Around here, TV advertising is used to sell cars and furniture. I find it charming. What I don’t find charming is the wish to have another state, especially New York, given first in the nation caucus status. Here’s my advice, Gail. Be careful what you wish for.
The presidential candidates are tripping over each other in Iowa. In the meantime, the Democrats chances of retaking the Senate in 2020 are looking dim (just google it) because the best candidates to take seats are choosing not to run for the more mundane offices when the siren song of the presidency beckons. If most of these candidates really cared about making a positive impact on the country instead of maximizing their own personal glory, they'd be running senate campaigns.
11
When I think of existentialism, I generally think of Jean-Paul Sartre. Which brings an excellent campaign slogan to mind:
"Trump 2020: No Exit From Nausea"
9
Our way of selecting presidential candidates is the product of a succession of attention grabs, continually modified by candidate and party attempts to game the system. It is free enterprise in action. Most of our pundits pretend that what arises from this periodic scrum makes sense as a way to come up with candidates, even after what it gave us in 2016.
This is an existential election for me, at any rate. If we don’t get this clown caravan out of the White House soon, my head is going to explode. Sometimes, I wonder if that is the secret GOP long-term strategy: drive all progressives into having a stroke or a heart attack. It’s hard to explain the hourly outrages against fundamental decency and our constitutional system otherwise.
8
That headline! Now I have this stuck in my head:
The corn is high, but I'm hangin' on.
I wanna be your number one.
I'm not the kinda girl that gives up just like that,
Oh no, oh no.
3
Gail; I love reading your column. I think you are hilarious!
2
Gail, this country needs to get serious about plastic fork pollution.
3
Point remains that Iowa (and Nebraska for that matter) is too white and too rural (i.e., too racist) to have this kind of clout in Presidential politics. First primary, both Democrat and Republican, should be the three largest states by population. Let California, New York and Texas have the first say. Then we can really see how many closet and open racists make it through the wringer, and how racist America really is.
4
NYTimes picks tally in favor of letting Ms. Collins' do written standup about treasonous conduct, through excursions into Kool-Aid and plastic forks, with but one (Ms. McNamara) of note, gravitas may I say and thoughtfulness.
Just my opinion, obviously.
But whatever is the criteria, or point? Moderating for civility? Giving opinion writers freedom of expression?
Encouraging Ms. Collins to make light of an existential threat and treasonous conduct requires like treatment of Trump apologists here and at Fox and indeed everywhere.
Are you sure you want that?
I don't.
"Existential means, well, about existence". One can't help but admire that. You might also say, "Essence, well, means about essence." Which comes first? Who cares. One might be the other, or vice versa.
To take a different tack, in Sartre's life, being French and born at a certain time, he encountered two world wars. The first as a teenager and nearly subjected to gas attacks, and the second as an intellectual surviving the third reich in Paris, which was resisting the Nazis who were polite while starving the population.
We are masters of our Fate, that is the essence of being free. But we are born into a world, where le jeux sont fait, the bets are down. Gas attacks and Nazis for Sartre, Trumpian politics and climate change for us. There is even a politeness in red state culture masking an acceptance of a harrowing time, an acceptance of what is, rather than what can or should be.
Those younger than 30 in the U.S. should not accept that going to college means a staggering debt burden any more than accepting that a polluted world from burning fossil fuels is the norm. The dire consequences of anthropogenic warming were known 25 years ago, but a red state mentality, in this case a docile population manipulated by fossil fuel oligarchs, has brought us to today where nothing is being done about it. This endures through corruption at the highest levels of government and all to please and financed by the fossil fuel industry. Hong Kong people have the right idea.
3
Ummm Iowa not happening however it is a shame that Iowa, NH and SC inform how we will elect candidates. Another example of how broken our system is.
3
I'm surprised the candidates aren't campaigning in boats to reach flooded areas in Iowa, but it may happen.
5
Maintaining ethanol as a means of keeping fossil-fuel cars running is absolutely the wrong policy as concerns the transition to a fossil-fuel free America. I add, since I am in Vermont, so too is extending the natural gas pipeline system.
On whatever time scale is possible, the percentage of cars powered electrically must increase, the faster the better. In parallel, the percentage of buildings heated and cooled by non-fossil-fuel means must increase.
Partial model from Sweden, highly successful in my city, Linköping, about the same size as Burlington where I write this.
Food and human waste are converted to biogas that runs city buses and many vehicles, even intercity buses. The food-waste biogas is produced at the world's most advanced plant for handling solid waste, Gärstad. Solid waste is incinerated to heat the ENTIRE city, and food waste arriving in green bags with that solid waste is optically routed to the bio
5
@Larry Lundgren clicked on submit by mistake - here is the ending
routed to the bio-gas conversion system. Human waste arriving at the city sewage treatment system is also converted to bio gas.
The times had an article about this system, published only in the International Edition, an article whose author failed to realize that the main function of the plant she visited is to heat the city, not to generate electricity. But in West Palm Beach FL, a solid-waste incinerator designed by the same company that designed the Linköping system, Babcock & Wilcox Denmark produces electricity.
Only-Never inSweden.blogspot.com
2
@Larry Lundgren - as concerns West Palm Beach, the new system was added because there was no more space for landfills. In Sweden, landfills are forbidden by law. In contrast with that, Burlington VT ships its waste to the Northern Kingdom, burning plenty of fossil fuel to do so, generating methane at its landfill, and failing to use a renewable energy fuel (percentage depends on composition) that is free.
2
Don vs Joe preview is already a blockbuster bust, suggesting a kind of race that voters sit out. Both evoking times long past, which weren’t really so good for those who voted Trump in, or Millennials who haven’t voted or lived in their grandpa’s America.
2
Hi Gail, I love your work! But... as a Rhode Islander I gotta let you know that silverware was AGES ago. Our big economic driver now is mental health treatment. We are statistically the most depressed and anxious state in the union. As a mental health professional, I get it, sadly.
6
How about the DNC rotating the honor of which state goes first? West Virginia..Trumpland that it sadly is..could sure use some attention
3
The also-rans should start dropping out soon -- when they aren't registering as even a blip in the polls. (Are you listening, Bill de Blasio?)
I will not start paying much attention until the field has narrowed considerably. Meanwhile, what a dumb system we have, where Iowans, New Hampshirites, and the other early primary states get inundated with candidates, like it or not, and the later primary states get...crickets.
4
'The corn is as high as an Donald Trump's tie' well, the swamp is even deeper fed by his every vial utterance, and we are drowning in it.
8
Since nearly 70% of Nebraskans live in Lincoln or Omaha, you really wouldn't have to bother with the other 91 counties. But, if you really wanted to check out Kool-Aid days you might also be able to attend the Big Foot festival which is likewise held in Hastings, birthplace of prodigal son Tom Osborne...
28
Well said.
1
Yeah, what a wonderful system. The minority ruling the majority. The small but loud and angry states who vote first get real face time with the candidates. And they sometimes get to pick the most ludicrous creature as president.
While the people in populous states can just go away and shut up. That seems fair.
The electoral college is a great leveler. It brings the whole country down to the level of a rural few, who are mad as hell for some reason, and aren't going to put up anymore with their farm subsidies and other governmental bribes for not planting things and voting GOP.
They're just so tired of the rest of us not listening to them, talking down to them, disrespecting them, blah blah blah that they will dish up a witless lunatic who trash talks and puts us in our place.
The rest of us get paper towels in a flood and are told to brush our forest floors to prevent wildfires like those Finns. And to shut up about climate change because there's no such thing.
That's democracy for you.
18
Couldn’t have summed it up better:).
5
You have no idea how many Iowans would love this to move to another state once in awhile. I used to think, "Oh, Cool," when I saw a crowd. Now with 20 candidates, I think, "Damn, how can I avoid that?" This caucus buildup is interminable and watching candidates beam over Pork-on-a-Stick at the fair each summer is ridiculous even to many of us.
4
The Republicans in the US Senate are the real traitors ;
Allowing the US President to obstruct justice; and ruin our
rule of law.
Let's now concentrate on the GOP in the Senate as well as the
GOP in the House of Representatives who support Donald Trump and who are obstructing justice.; those who are not
defending their oaths of office that is to uphold the US Constitution and who only care about keeping their seats in
the Senate or the House of Representatives....these Trump
supporters are the real criminals...
So...be a real journalist Gail Collins...and do some muckraking. ...ASAP....because the Fourth Estate knows that
this is the really hard work that they must do......dig up the
swamp rats...Go Do this Gail Collins and maybe you will get
a Pulitzer for doing some really hard work...Muckraking
is needed ASAP.
4
It is hard to find amusement in anything "existential." This country is sliding into an end game if the voters do not wake up to this threat imposed by the idiot in charge. He is Crazy King George, Nero, Pol pot, Hitler and all the other mad men of the past. He is making policies on a whim, listening to him speak is like going through a maze and he has convinced his whole administration to deny there is anything wrong. It is all doublespeak all the time by the whole bunch of LIARS.
6
I think Joe ought to embrace the "Sleepy Joe" moniker and get a writer to do a song called "The Sleepy Joe Blues"!
Well I woke up this morning
And had the Sleep Joe blues
I was so sleepy, I barely saw today's news
That Trump wants some foreign intel
To make those commie socialists loose!
Take if from there folks!
3
Donald is weak, morally.
He is very weak.
Morally, he is not strong.
He is weak, Donald, very weak.
Morally weak Donald is.
Very morally weak.
Donald the weak one.
Morally.
5
Ethanol is dope... in so many ways.
Ah yes, Iowa, the state that keeps electing Steve King, the White Nationalist, to Congress.
5
We are ALL tired...of Trump.
3
"Insomee-Donnie" (:
1
I've got one thing to say to you Gail.
Covfefe!
2
The president's penchant for nick names is the hallmark of a pathetic insecure man. That they are repeated, seemingly endlessly, in the press is the hallmark of journalism pandering to the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately, Collins' use in this column demeans Biden more than it mocks potus. She has played right into his hand.
2
Good title.
1
Whoa! Rhode Island? Let's start with a real island state, not a fake island, the first in the nation in Hawaii. I'm sure reporters from the Times would be lining up at their editor's desks in droves to cover that. And Congress could promote ethanol made from pineapples.
2
Giant Pander spotted in Iowa! This corn-fed creature is unfortunately not rare.
3
Mob Boss Don vs Sleepy Joe. Easy. Save the country.
2
Go RHODE ISLAND !
2
Sorry, but Nebraska is nothing like Iowa. You can be in Dubuque or Council Bluffs and not know the difference, except for which side the river is on. Travel from Omaha to Scottsbluff and you’ll think you’re in a different country. Nebraska has cattle. Iowa has pigs. Nebraska has Ben Sasse. Iowa has Chuck Grassley. Nebraska has Chimney Rock. Iowa has corn silos. I rest my case.
3
Funny, but on a more serious thought can people vote and then take a picture of who they voted for off their ballot and then send that to whatever affiliated party they belong to. I’m thinking ahead encase something smelly goes on
2
Welcome to our quadrennial insanity!
2
I am sorry, what's the point you're trying to make here Gail?! Btw, I learned something; that ethanol is mixed with gas but I don't really get your attempts at being funny.
1
The correct OKLAHOMA reference title would have been “The corn is as high as the President’s tie... and it looks like he might be a big Russian spyyyyyyyyyyy.”
196
@Matt AWESOME!
16
"Corn obsessions aside, the people of Iowa are extremely conscientious about their being-first responsibilities. But don’t you think other states should get a chance?"
I honestly believe a primary in say Iceland would be more relevant - based on intelligence - for choosing an american candidate than Iowa .
(or than South Carolina)
4
Perhaps we could simply resist the absurd media frenzy about how the Iowa primary decides who the "front runner" is. I think it's safe to say that the great majority of the country doesn't want to keep increasing the ethanol content of our gasoline because the corn farmers in Iowa want the federal government to hand them a guaranteed market for the corn they otherwise can't sell.
How about if we have a first primary for all the citizens who can't find decent housing, pay for medical care, or feed their children.
9
I wish the NYT would write more about the candidates running at the bottom of the race. There's a feedback loop - a candidate gets some attention, you give them some more, they poll higher, you keep covering them... we don't get to hear much about the others. Even if they don't have much of a shot at winning the nomination, it would probably be beneficial to hear their ideas. I heard Marianne Williamson interviewed at a late hour on NPR recently and I thought she had a lot of good things to say, but the Times rarely mentions her, and if so, only gives the fleeting Oprah line. It's a disservice to voters... the same phenomena that got our current dotard elected.
3
What better state than Iowa to begin? Iowa gets 37% of its electricity from wind power which leads the US. Every candidate should pose before an Iowa wind turbine and leave the Republicans to pose in front of the oil and gas rigs that they adore so much. Are American voters really going go follow the ignorant "drill baby drill" chanters or come to their senses and realize only the Democrats are making sense? For the US to have a good chance of a long future the coal-promoting occupant of the White House must be defeated.
2
@Bob
Iowa has two Republican Senators, four US Congressman (3) Democrat (1) Republican, a Republican Governor and a Republican house. Not exactly California is it.
Imagine they manage to be that green without any help Democratic Socialist, Green Party and billions of tax payers dollars.
And so it all gears up, 17 months of political frivolity, elaborate shenanigans, and $2 or $3 Billions spent to reach a point of mind bending utter exhaustion.
Obscene spectacle that as often as not produces stupendously regrettable outcomes and a media bonanza of galactic proportions.
This while most of the rest of the planet looks on utterly astonished.
5
I have a challenge for those 2 dozen Democratic presidential candidates. Come to Utah, hone your persuasive campaign skills, and see what you can do to up the Democratic Party brand in a state that votes about 80% Republican and 20% Democratic.
There is hope: A relatively high percentage of Utans register "unaffiliated" or Independent (2nd to GOP registration), so there is a opportunity here to convert some of these independents to the Democratic Party or at least vote for Democrats.
And get this: No red state has seen a sharper drop in support for Pres. Trump than Utah, which has a higher disapproval of Trump than approval.
Also, a lot of Utans are currently mad at our Republican state politicians. We Utahans voted for medical marijuana, ending gerrymandering, and expanding Medicaid, but our state legislators say these are "suggestions," and have yet to implement what we voted for. Plus, a Democrat beat the Republican candidate for Salt Lake's congressional district.
Did you know Beaver, Utah is the birthplace of Butch Cassidy, so there must be a rebellious streak in some Utahans who would be willing to vote for Democrats.
Besides, other than Salt Lake City and Park City's Sundance Festival, not many famous people come to Utah, and we will turn out for all kinds of "events" besides rodeos, music festivals, arts festivals, mountain climbing, etc.
Convince Utahans to vote Democratic and show you really are THE one to unite the country. I bet Beto would be up for it
3
No worries Gail. California is now an early voting state.
4
Maybe the real existential threat is the electoral college....
9
The consummate bully disguised as political humor.
Well yes, we should abolish plastic forks, so yes to Rhode Island. All this corn they grow in the midwest is GMO....let's address that and if they are going to grow corn grow real corn and remove all Roundup and Glyphosate from this country...just like most advanced nations.
6
By Feb 2021, this fool won't be the president anymore. In fairly short order, given his age, habits, and apparent mental health issues, he'll be dead. THEN, we can all breathe a huge sigh of relief, on a day of national celebration. Good riddance. May the day come sooner, not later. A world without Trump will be miles and miles better than it is now.
5
In my mind I know I'd even vote for the cult-lady from Hawaii or this Marianne Ms. Collins identifies as Iowa's newest condo resident … and while I pray for the 'demise' of howard Schultz, and my mind 'sings' in mimicry of Johnny Cash's delivery of the last line of "A Boy Named Sue" -- "ANYTHING BUT TRUMP."
(And I mean not just any ONE but any THING ... a toaster, a cancelled stamp, a blown out, four-speed, dual-quad, posi-traction 4-0-9)
6
We need to end this stupidity by going to a national primary day. One day when registered Democrats get to vote for our choice for presidential candidate and registered Republicans get to do the same for their candidate. Make it a closed voting primary. Independents get no voice since they've chosen to stand on the fence and can't commit themselves to one of the two major parties positions on the issues which really determines which party you belong in.
3
Thank you, Gail Collins, for observing the foolishness of present use of the word existentional.
Yep medum/media like The Times have turned misuse and over-use of the word existential into a usage crisis that makes its use an existential threat to the word.
For example, pick any of the multiple crises in the Middle East -- friction between the U.S. and Iraq, between Israel and Palestinians, the horrendous Saudi war in Yemen -- and you will find recent articles calling them or quoting someone as calling them "an existential threat".
They are not existential trheats. They are real threats.
Everyone not otehrwise quoting Kiergegard should stop using the word.
If a copy editor, I would strike a red line through it every time I found it in copy.
Writers and editors think it sounds great and makes them seem really smart. No, it makes them foolish -- and not existentially but actually.
2
We MUST VOTE, get everyone we know who is eligible to VOTE to VOTE! It’s time to
Save our planet
Medicare for All
And the end of the endless wars that are bankrupting our nation!
VOTE!
1
My fellow citizens, puh-leeze, let us as one united nation, ignore all polls! Ignore. All. Polls.
2
Coming in fourth is still better than coming in fifth. But I'd sure look around for something more interesting to do.
Unless... that's the problem.
1
The corn in many fields in Iowa has yet to be planted due to so much rain so hardly up to Donald Trump's tie at this point.
Besides polluting, making ethanol from corn wastes millions of gallons of water and it has been shown that the ground water is being depleted faster than it can recharge. 46% of the corn grown goes to ethanol production and more now that Trump has erased Obama's rule of no Ethanol in fuel in the Summer to protect from smog, air pollution etc.
6
I've gone to the dictionary over the years dozens of times but I still have suspicions about the word " existential" and what it allegedly means. I first met it in college as a philosophy that dates back to the 19th century having something to do with the universe's indifference to man and other head scratching premises.
How such an unpleasant sounding mouthful could substitute for " real" I don't understand. Is it unkind of me to remark that folks use it instead of a more standard and useful
word to elevate the seriousness of the moment however justified? I have never and will never utter the word.
1
Thanks, Gail.
Do I wish I were an Iowa voter? YES! I wish I still lived in Iowa. Instead I am living in the Washington, DC trying to stay positive about the state of the world and failing miserably. Am I having an existential moment? Thank God for Sleepy Joe. Maybe there's hope.
4
Selling corn is an apt metaphor. This column captures the absurdity of American primary politics, particularly caucuses, since the campaigning in Iowa involves skills completely irrelevant to a successful presidency. All the candidates are expected to have sweeping plans for fixing the nation's ills, though once in office, that is not what she will do.
Sometimes I miss the smoke-filled rooms of yore choosing the candidates. Why is it that people who don’t give a dime or time to a party get to choose the parties candidates?
Would Trump have been president if time-giving, money-giving Republican Party members had chosen their candidates?
2
The Iowa/New Hampshire axis of influence on the early race is just one of the 'everything that is wrong' with our system, as we like to call it.
Why Iowa/NH have this much influence is not good.
At the very least, these races should be on the same day, with at least two other states, big ones, perhaps one from the North and one from the South, would balance the whole affair and require a more thoughtful approach to the proceedings. I would say add Illinois and Florida along with IA and FL. Now that would make an interesting result.
2
Ms. Collins, I appreciate your attempt at humor today, but given the news of yesterday that trump thinks it's just swell for Russians (or any other country) to meddle in our elections, I'm fresh out of funny.
Also, considering that Iowa voted for trump, gave us Steve King, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, I'm not feeling any love for the Hawk Eye state - Children of the Corn would better suit.
19
News flash: our electoral process is broken.
It stinks to high heaven with the corrupting influence of big financial donors.
It is easy prey for regressive demagogues because much of our population lacks sufficient education to make intelligent choices; and driven by primitive superstition because we have allowed organized, heavily funded ‘fundamentalist’ religious institutions to take charge of politics and government policy. We are fast becoming the bible-thumping Baptist evangelical version of the Muslim state governments of the Middle East.
It is vulnerable to manipulative propaganda from malevolent adversaries of the United States - and we have a President who, in an attempt to save his own skin, is working around the clock to normalize that manipulation, and to convince millions that an election tainted by the putative ‘winning candidate’s’ encouragement and tacit approval of such manipulation is perfectly legitimate.
It is rife with gerrymandering and manipulation of the raw data provided by the census, in order to ensure that a political party supported by a minority of the population can grasp and retain majority power.
It is riddled with anachronisms like the Electoral College, disenfranchisement of citizens convicted of felonies, and a Senate in which the 600,000 residents of Wyoming can negate the will of 40 million Californians.
Millions of us are appalled, because our ballyhooed ‘representative government’ is anything but representative. It’s a circus.
5
Rhode Island? Coffee syrup. The politicians would get so buzzed, they'd all fly away...
1
Bad lyric. Should read: "The corn is as high as the elephant's lie ..."
But this probably wouldn't play in Oklahoma(!)
129
@Steve
The Hawkeye fight song is "...that's where the tall corn grows."
2
Democrats, let’s run our primary nationally, just like the World Cup. We have enough teams, er, candidates. Group debates of four, winners advance to head to head debates in the knockout round and we quickly winnow the field. We could even have a best two out of three finals. And we could turn that ethanol corn into popcorn! I want that franchise. Maybe we allow betting on the results in Nevada too.
4
Proud Nebraskan here. Kool-Aid was invented by a Mr. Perkins in Hastings; the Hastings College music department building is named after him. Perhaps more mainstream—and manly!—would be to point out that the ubiquitous “Vice Grips” plier tool is also a Nebraska invention. That’s a natural for the pols; almost writes its own campaign slogan: “Get a Grip with Vice-Pres Joe!”
83
@ david walker. Good try, but it is a vise grip, not vice. Amazingly common error, also misnaming the object for which it is named. However, our Brit friends generally think clamps are cramps and don’t know what a wrench is.
5
@David Walker In the UK, vice-grips are known as 'Mole Grips' after the manufacturer, Edward Mole. Is this of any help?
4
@David Walker
I just have to point out that they're "Vise" Grips.
5
Thinking back to Trump's debates with Hillary, I'm still amazed.
As he lumbered around the stage behind her doing everything possible to throw her off her stride I kept wishing Hillary would turn around and stare him down with a simple question-"do you have any idea how creepy you are"?
This man is an incredible, unrelenting, gutless bully. Naming him CREEPY DON seems like a simple way to sum up his personality and behaviors.
CREEPY DON also strikes me as the perfect comeback to his puerile attacks on Joe Biden.
6
@L. Spottswood
Call our President "Creepy Don" or whatever...
Not going to matter..
Our President will be reelected in 2020.
And all the Dems vying for a win in 2020 know it!
I am soooo ready for this clown show to be over. It's like sitting down to watch TV only to find reruns of your least favorite sit com is on every channel. The Trump Family Administration starring Don the Con... season three.
4
I sure wish I understood what Gail Collins was ever talking about. Wouldn’t it be great if she ever made an actual point?
1
I still can’t fathom why anybody cares about the generally uninformed/disinformed opinions of the denizens of a low-population agriwelfare state. Don’t their best and brightest all get up and out for better lives in blue states?
2
Ms. Collins, you trash Rhode Island at your own peril. It's the smallest state in size but it's a great place to live. It's very diverse, too. And where else can you eat a grinder or drink a cabinet?
3
Kool-Aid days? The republicans are still in the midst of their Kool-aid Days, just look at their Jim Jones in the Oval Office!
3
Much as Trump likes to smear Biden as off his game, it is Donald himself who has gotten stale, even with his nicknames. He doesn’t even try anymore! And anyway, we all know that the mocking names are Trump’s way of hiding his fear, as in Crooked Hillary, Leaking Comey, Lying Ted, etc...
1
Nice job Gail. It’s always good to smile.
3
If Joe Biden is "Sleepy," perhaps we should choose the name of another of the seven dwarfs for the president. How about Grumpy? Grumpy Trumpy?
7
If Rhode Island were first, they'd get to eat a lot of johnnycakes. But they'd struggle with the ongoing argument about which part of the state makes the better kind.
Trump and corn go well together.
Next he'll try to get Americans to switch to the old Russian wood-burning trucks so they can use the stalks too. Trashing the environment faster is a bonus.
@KJ. ...Please, it is not real corn so please identify it correctly as a GMO food like product that appears to be corn....but is not and is not allowed in the EU Latin America, Japan etc....a dangerous poison that also destroy our precious pollinators. It is NOT real corn. Just ask Mexico about that as they fight tooth & nail w/ Monsanto now Bayer from contaminating their agricultural heritage..
They are all old white people in Iowa; their caucuses are undemocratic; why do Democrat’s let this state go first?
3
Yay for abolishing plastic ware!
96
Come now, Ms Collins. The early morning tweet of the liar-in-chief have no misspelled words. They are "FAKE WORDS". The words spelled the way by the mere mortals are not the correct ways to spell them. The correct ways are the ways the "stable genius" spell them.
Come to think of it if the "stable genius" is so stable why is it one day Kim Jongun was going to get the "fire and fury the world has never seen" and the next day he fell in love with Kim? And if he is such a "genius" how come he guards his school grades and college transcript like the way he guards his net worth? "Stable genius" let's show the world your transcript and showed them you did not graduate at the bottom of your class like who did you say did.
Sad!
2
Iowa, shmiowa, our boy is going to win again. Don't forget, he's the smartest stable geneous since we shot Mr. Ed.
5
I am from Illinois, which is solidly blue and I like it. why would I want to be in a state where I have to watch political commercials endlessly for 18 months.
fun article, but it is one more that talks about the race as a sporting event instead of looking at issues and positions. Comment from Socrates has more content.
How can someone use the word “existential” and expect to be elected. Shades of George Will and Adlai Stevenson. That is deplorable.
3
@Rich Murphy. How many people even know what it means when we are now basically illiterate....speak simply like you would to children and maybe many Americans will grasp it.
Honestly, we Iowans revel at the press' whining about having to cover Iowa.
The politicians, meh.
1
The Democrats whine about the unfairness of the electoral college, they whine about Iowa, a flyover state, holding so much political power in their primary process and they whine about everything Trump. That's about all the Democrats know how to do these days, that and launch investigations about investigations they launched two years ago. What a disorganized and untenable mess.
4
The Iowa caucus is the most undemocratic feature of a notoriously undemocratic presidential electoral process.
1
NY, CA, and VA should be the first primary states
1
Good column. I like the part about the 2 percent being 12 voters.
As a NYC resident, if I thought that leaving a grocery risked the possibility of having to interact with Bill de Blasio, I'd order take-out.
1
Nobody presented Iowa with as much mirth as Mason City's Meredith Willson in The Music Man- that 'chip on the shoulder attitude. where we stand touching noes for a week at a time and never see eye to eye.'
This particular traveling salesman who rejiggered the American dream to include lying and cheating professed his loyalty to farmers by insuring more checks from taxpayers - something which would have the folks in American Gothic sharpening their pitchforks-
Who contributes to support all these candidates let alone president Quisling? Oh I forgot, let’s keep contributions secret less we know which corporations and self righteous groups own who. Money makes the world go round and washes everything clean at the same time. That’s amazing. No wonder the 1% keeps wanting more and more of it.
1
Take $ out of politics. Period. Revoke Citizens United. Get America working for the people.
7
Much as I enjoy these columns, something is missing. Gail, could you poll the Democrats on whether any of them has ever tied a dog to the roof of a car?
2
God! We are living in the dark ages!
2
NYC Mayor Bill, glad-handing in Iowa, isn't that special? — will he dig into his corndog with knife and fork? After all, it isn't like tending to the needs of our bustling metropolis is a full-time job...
3
@Brunella. ...made w/ GMO corn and factory farmed sick pigs....really?...not fit for human consumption, literally.
Time to make fun of Iowa? They must have all failed the big bully class?
1
This anti-Trumper is as corny as an Iowa field, absent common sense farmers.
1
Dear Gail,
Your relentless humor punches on the repugnant president are hilarious, appropriate, and calming for a people whose heads and hearts have ached for nearly 3 years.
However, given that Trump is not just deplorable, but also unethical, immoral, and corrupt, I'd like one of these days [soon] to be able to read a Gail Collins column that thrashes him with a tone of dead seriousness.
Trump's latest invitation to foreign assets to essentially employ any means available to get "dirt" on the Democratic presidential candidates deserves such a no-holds-barred condemnation.
Trump isn't funny. He's Vile.
8
@Ken
"....for a people whose heads and hearts have ached for nearly 3 years."
Well, you have no one to blame but yourselves for your heart ache.
You put your faith in Hillary and believed whatever you all said was "gospel".
And then you found out, she was a disaster and there were many in this country who did not subscribe to your rhetoric.
So now, all you can do it attack with no other rationale other than you are scarred from your own failings.
Sad.
1
@DB, the support of Hillary Clinton by literate, well-informed Americans had not just to do with her and her party's sane, inclusive policies, but also with the fact that she would have surrounded herself with a conscientious cabinet -- not with greedy, corrupt nutcases, as Trump has.
Regarding your comment that I must be "scarred from [my] own failings" -- nope, not nearly as much as Trump supporters are as a consequence of the daily failures of their good-old-boy leader.
Keep dreaming...
1
Big problem: Anyone out there in bobble head criminally insane Republican land bobbling no more Trump and running for the Republican nomination?
I thought not. Very sad.
1
I thought by the title you must be opining about the naming of a street ',Hidden figures way' in commemoration of the essential contribution to the space program by those ladies what's their names, to be forever hidden.
Given the comments, I guess the Dems don’t need Iowa?
Ms. Collins, Don’t get me wrong here, I am a big fan. But....may I suggest that all these candidates forget Iowa.....and head to the drug ravaged community located in Minford, Ohio. (Ref...NYTimes article “Inside the Elementary School Where Drug Addiction Sets the Curriculum” by Dan Levin. June 12).
It's really disruptive here. They are considering putting stoplights in to controls the candidate traffic.
64
@lkatz
Hmmm, stoplights to control politicians. What a great idea! A few of those strategically placed in DC would help a lot. Like one outside Trump's bedroom door so he won't come out until, say midnight when we're all asleep and don't care about his twits, er tweets. Or at McConnell's door so if he won't let the Senate vote then the Senate can make him stay in his room, er Office until they pass some legislation.
16
Candidates don't even run television ads down here in Oklahoma. Why bother since Oklahoma will reflexively vote red. We should change our handle from the Sooner state to the Why Bother state.
105
@Boris and Natasha
No quarrels here, but if our Democratic Party leadership here in OK had any imagination there are enough contestants this time that they could propose a football game at Owen Field between two teams of contestants, randomly selected, with the winning team eligible for a quick post-game debate( they should be exhausted enough to ensure that it is quick). Who knows, we may attract a few Republicans to listen to someone else than Rush Limbaugh for once.
Of course, it assumes that we have a Democratic Party here. Do we?
10
@Boris and Natasha
You are one Henry from turning purple.
6
@Boris and Natasha
The Sooner Oklahomans Bother to to discover Elizabeth Warren is from Oklahoma and a good candidate for president the better.
23
Fun article! We can use a little levity now and then. I am looking forward to the Dem debates. I like more than one candidate for various reasons. They are all certainly better choices that what currently inhabits the White House. How great would it be to get a human being in the office of President instead of the cutout TV creature that’s in there now.
2
I'm very supportive of Elizabeth Warren and her plans. If she wins the primary I'll happily vote for her.
Right now, my vote is for Pete Buttigieg because of his thoughtful, very intelligent demeanor, and his "plan" for repairing the foundations of our government/country. All the wonderful plans in the world won't work if our foundation is crumbling.
And all the plans in the world won't materialize unless the Democrats take back the dysfunctional Senate.
The bizarre aspect of the primary system is that the states with a minimal number of voters and heavily Republican at that, are the biggest deal for being first with Dems rather than the states that are heavily Dem. Really seems like a huge waste of resources and time for the candidates and the Dem party.
3
Fun read Gail. If Kentucky were the first state to vote the candidate could be selected by a horse race with each candidate mounted on a thoroughbred. First one across the finish line gets to face off against Trump in the general. Not a great idea with such a crowded field however. Could be like the Derby this year, where each democratic primary candidate tried to push the other jockeys onto the track to be run over by the other candidates and their horses. Could be fun to watch anyway.
1
Thank you, Gail Collins. In existential times like these, humor is the best tonic. Although you should have picked Oklahoma as an example, where you could have flown with the Rogers and Hammerstein lyrics.
2
I live in Rhode Island. Believe me when I tell you we couldn't fit the consequences of being first into our little space. They'd have to promise to stay off the beaches and I-95. That leaves the landfill.
9
The election is over a year away and there have been articles talking about it since the last election. So by the time the election does get here a lot of people will be so tired of politics that they "forget" to vote.
And no, I didn't read this whole article.
Sorry Iowa, sorry corn-growers, and espe4cially sorry to car-owners. Ethanol as additive in petrol is a con job. Sure it might be a few cents cheaper - but it rots an IC engine, slow and sure.
It's a bit like asbestos/mesathelioma for cars. - a nasty way to dwindle and die. Any make-good repair costs (often not even feasible) can be way more than you'll ever save at the pump. In short, fatal false economy.
10
@ilma2045
You would be believable if you showed some links that would prove you allegations.
@ilma2045. Fatal false economy? You bet. That's what our Congress does best.
1
Amen. Just got a small generator fixed due to ethanol. Also a weed whacker and saw. No saving there.
2
I find it difficult to understand why there are 20 candidates running in the Dem primary. Unless one thinks that presidential elections are like "selling soap" and are supposed elitcit "feelings" for candidates based on "I like him" or "I dont like her", not based on previous experience in running a government. Or, perhaps, that "experience does not matter" or "one needs to shake things up in Washington" or he/she "tells it like iy is". Its deja vu all over again.
4
I think you mean as long as Trump's vest.
3
We should have a law banning plastic forks! Great idea, Gail!
90
But will it play in Ottumwa?
1
Anyone who has been vice president for 8 years oughta be sleepy
4
'Benedict Donald' continues to bring the 'blackest' days to the History of our Country! I can only wish him a 'nice long walk on a very short pier'!
12
Just corny fluff served up in today´s column. Where´s the beef? I can´t even smile. Why should Iowa be first out the gate. I don´t get it. Those folks are Fox brainwashed. And, please, just say that he is choosing to do his usual schoolyard name calling. Please don´t repeat the names. This week Trump committed at least 2 more impeachable offenses in public comments. Let´s hear about the things that are deystroying our democracy like butter melting in a hot skillet.
8
I am over Iowa being the first. What about California? Large and diverse population, large agricultural community, and there's that big ocean to look at.
I wonder if trump would change his tune if faced with a bunch of non-Iowans.
9
Amy Klobuchar polling yes with 12 people is one of the funniest observations you've made Ms. Collins. This is too much fun.
4
Gail, now do a column about what Oregon voters feel like as the west gets ignored right up to Election Day.
I fully expect that the primary season will be pretty much over before I cast my vote, and have no doubt that, like the last Presidential election, I will cast my vote after the winner has been acknowledged.
Iowa and New Hampshire are fine states, heck I was born in the second, but the process elevates some states and minimizes the needs of others, sort of like the Electoral College does.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
250
@Hugh Massengill : Same thing here in MO. We have virtually no say what-so-ever in the primaries. That needs to be changed.
56
@Hugh Massengill
California has moved our primary up to super Tuesday for exactly that reason. We've been nothing but the ATM of Americana politics for decades. Now my vote might actually have an impact on which candidate gets the nomination.
Honestly, given the 24 hr news cycle, live broadcast and accessibility to information via the internet our primary system is looking kind of dated. This extended hoopla and completely obscene expenditure of funds has to stop.
We could get the election cycle down to one year instead of the perpetual motion machine we have now.
Campaigns should not begin until the first of the year.
All states primary the first of May with nominating conventions a month later.
General election in November AND THEN WE ALL GO BACK TO ACTUALLY LEGISLATING AND GOVERNING FOR FOUR YEARS.
That last bit is really key here.
35
@Hugh Massengill
But at least you have Representatives and Senators in Congress, unlike the 700,000 residents of Washington DC who are taxed without representation.
22
All this is slightly reminscent of David Foster Wallace! The fair-like atmosphere when all the corn growers and writers from U of Iowa's fine writing center gather in homes and halls to discuss the matter of Biden plus 18 other candidates in their opposition to Trumpf. Best takeaway from your article, Gail, is for candidates to avoid using the word "existential." Reminds me of my later mother when told I was taking a class on existentialism: What for?
4
I would guess – and very likely correctly – that everyone who is against Mr. T. has a nickname for him, and I don't pity the fool. Mine is the Orange Tyrant. If we all follow the advice of Bill Maher and all say the same thing to sway public opinion, I encourage everybody to pick up that nickname. Our country was founded on the principles that would forever banish tyranny, and what this tyrant has tapped into is to take advantage of all those who do not know their history so he and his ilk will condemn all of them not to repeat it.
4
I kinda like the nickname Benedict Donald, or Donald Dotard .
1
Iowa is indeed a fitting first choice to whittle down the presidential playing field.It has its share of challenges with drug overdoses, immigration raids, polluting industry, nutty politicians, tariff effects. It remains relevant as a big juicy slice of apple pie.
40
At last: an amusing column from Gail, with no vitriol. If she keeps it up, she could help make America united again.
3
The corn may as high as the Trumpian tie,
Like a "dog on the roof" was a Collins-made lie.
Over and over, she wrote it, ad nauseum.
Many of us readers held hope for ad pauseum.
But, no, she goes on while we sadly sigh, "Oh my!"
2
@Lake. woebegoner No lie. Romney really did strap the dog, in his crate, to the roof of their car.
2
Well at least so far we have been spared the nauseating sight of Biden and Trump chowing down on fried sticks of butter at the Iowa State Fair...
4
Canadians continue to be mystified about what goes on in your country which sells itself as the richest, the freest, the best, blessed by God and all that rubbish. If your founders who are treated as almost Godlike had opted to choose a parliamentary government rather than your present system which even most of your citizens believe does not work for the "common man" you would not find yourselves in election fervour ever two years. Aren't your citizens aware of the fact that you elect a president for a four year term two of which are almost entirely devoted to being re-elected. And in those two years, the president of course flies around your country telling people why he or she should be re-elected all the while doing it for free thanks to the American taxpayer.
As to the other very important opinion piece today about the outrageous cost of insulin compared to EVERY other country don't get me started.
9
First off, it is RIDICULOUS that the US even consciences campaigning for an election so far in advance. It just means more money has to be raised, with most of that going for idiotic or plainly dishonest TV ads. Second is that 2020 is not just another presidential election--the fate of this once-great, currently nightmarish nation is truly at stake. So please take your anodyne political barbs elsewhere. What you should write about is how America MUST elect a Democrat in the face of, yes, the monstrous existential threat that is Trumps.
5
Yikes. Remind me to never run for President.
2
Love you, Gail Collins, but I'm pretty sure the only place in the US where silverware is made is upstate NY, not NJ.
1
"Do you wish you were an Iowa voter? Imagine how exciting life would be right now." Very funny, Gail! One of the best things about being in NYC is NOT to have to face this onslaught! Trump is so despised here that I doubt he'll ever really live at Trump Tower again and good riddance to bad rubbish! As to "exciting life" in Iowa? Haha, watching the dew burn off the corn stalks each morning when the sun comes up?
2
"Do you wish you were an Iowa voter? Imagine how exciting life would be right now." Very funny, Gail! One of the best things about being in NYC is NOT to have to face this onslaught! Trump is so despised here that I doubt he'll ever really live at Trump Tower again and good riddance to bad rubbish! As to "exciting life" in Iowa? Haha, watching the dew burn off the corn stalks each morning when the sun comes up?
I'm all for Nebraska and the Kool-Aid Festival, if you throw some Kesey/Merry Pranksters in! Lost in the fun house, we truly are!
2
“Do you wish you were an Iowa voter? Imagine how exciting life would be right now.”
That’s the ticket. Move to Iowa for the primaries and Florida for the general. Make your vote count! Isn’t the constitution wonderful?
3
But will Trumps tie be knee high by the Fourth of July.
The panderer in chief is clinging, with small fingers, to the robes of justice.
2
I can’t laugh. I’m so sickened by the blocking of congress by trump and the horrible spiral of our country.
5
I have never understood why a bunch of farmers in Iowa or a bunch of yankees in New Hampshire get first dibs on who eventually becomes a Presidential candidate. How about every state's primary happening on the same day? How about doing away with primaries altogether and letting the candidates argue it out at the national conventions? Better yet, kill the Electoral College. Even a 'Crooked Hillary' couldn't have created this disgusting circus we're all living in now.
5
Maybe in the next year and a half we can all learn a lot about what existential means, at least as much as we have since life began on earth. See the problem with that word now, Joe?
2
Joe is a moderate Republican. His record has proved this over and over.
Joe was one of 18 allegedly-Democratic Senators to cross the aisle and vote with Republicans on NAFTA and on free trade with China, a decision which killed 10 million mainly-Democrat middle-class jobs across heartland America. So big Wall Street investors benefited? Why would Joe do this? Because he is a supporter of Reaganite trickle-down economics and a supporter of damaging our middle-class.
Joe also crossed the aisle to support the Republican position on the bankruptcy bill, which took away the right of those filing bankruptcy to hold-on to their houses, and also took away the right of college loan debtors to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy. On the other hand, Joe has fervently supported corporate bankruptcy protections.
Joe has been opposed to abortion rights and early in his career was known as a racist too. Remember that Joe was an ardent supporter of the Clinton Crime Bill, in-fact Joe wanted to enact a Federal death penalty for 47 felonies, and even today is firmly-opposed to marijuana legalization or even legal medical marijuana too. Joe is also opposed to Medicare for all or socialized medicine too.
Is that what we Democrats want for President today, a moderate Republican who will work hard to crush the economic security of the average American while stomping on minorities, pot smokers, and minor criminals?
No thanks
Lifelong 42-year liberal Democrat voter
4
@Mark Richardson. Thanks for saying this....I will never vote for Joe Biden...no way. He is from the past and does not represent modern Democratic Party values. Nope, no way no how. We deserve a strong leader not another post Clinton GOP-lite.
"Pandering is so cool when you're the one being pandered to." It is the drug that sustains Donald Trump through all his trials. (Wish I meant "trials" literally.)
4
May I propose a “family feud” style approach to the debates. Divvy up the a and b squad candidates and go at it. Naturally, a coin toss for the 0% Iowa apathy candidate, Hizzoner de Blasio.
The audience will find it enjoyable and a heck of a lot more interesting than 19 five minute talkathons.
Dodge ball another option.
2
Everyone needs a decent night's sleep. Not 3 or 4 hours followed by Mickey D breakfast and fries and Tweets up the yingyang, Gail. Re "Sleepy Joe -- he's a dummie" (DJT 6/19) -- maybe nasty name-calling is what happens when a president doesn't get enough sleep? Just askin'. Just speakin' existentially. We have seen what is happening to our reality TV star president and it's not nice. Not good.
Why, oh why, oh why-oh is Iowa the "being first" place for Democratic candidates to rock corn dogs and other stuff?
Number One in the pander states stakes? One of Iowa's candidates has social media circulated a viral petition for impeaching Donald Trump.
Wooing Iowans, Interesting facts, Gail, re panders in the Hawkeye state, but maybe a few of the other 49 states should join the "being first" ranks? Who knew the Official State Soft Drink of Nebraska is (Kool-Aid)! Room to squeeze in Melania Trump's "Be Best" initiative?
Maybe Florida, America's amazing peninsula above the warming Caribbean Sea could be the "first"? First state to lose their seafront condos, buildings, and playgrounds, schools, hospitals, houses, shacks to climate warming, existential flooding, and hurricanes?
3
The election circus just started a few weeks ago and has already become significantly annoying. This article is not changing that a bit.
Kool-Aid Days? Who knew? I can't help remembering an old Molly Ivins column about truth in license plate mottoes. She thought Iowa's should read "More exciting than Nebraska."
5
What does it say about 35% of the electorate that Trump's kindergarten-like nicknaming "has worked well"? These are adults, at least in body, thrilling in a grown man and US President ascribing pejorative nicknames to anyone who dares criticize or oppose him! That is really sickening and sad to me. Still, while don't find Biden to be sleepy, listening to him does put me to sleep. His monotone, head down, erring and uming...just no life to his speaking at all, and that's when he's on his own. Put him next to the shrieking, throat rattling, arms flailing, red-faced Trump, and Biden is going to come off as exceedingly weak, frail, and the nail in the coffin for short-attention-spanned Americans who still, as adults, love nasty nicknames, boring. I find Biden to be completely uninspiring, and I'm a die-hard, very worried "Must get Trump out now"-er. Also, Biden's (usual) finger-in-the-wind thing has grown very old for me. He lost me when he subverted Anita Hill, not only because of what he did to her, but because he contributed to the McConnell cynical plan to stack the SC with extreme right-wing judges, re: Thomas. I don't see any core values in Trump, and that flaccid spine is going to look terrible next to Trump's confidence that he can even shoot someone and get away with it. Dems are making a huge mistake with Biden, IMO.
2
At a time when the MSM is doing serious reflection if they are aiding and abetting Trump by repeating his stupid and sometimes vile nicknames of people, including news anchors who have vowed not to repeat on air these Trump nicknames, along comes Gail Collins and helping do Trump's dirty work for him right on the op-ed page of the newspaper of record for this country.
And, please, no silly liberal snark about how it's meant to be sarcasm or how it is NBD or how it is automatically newsworthy because the president does it.
It is bad enough Trump has dragged the legacy media down to the infotainment level. Is it really necessary to amplify and promote his campaign rally lines too?
1
In Israel campaigning lasts 3 months prior to the election and it's considered interminable. In the US campaigning never ends. There's too much money involved. And it starts in Iowa where candidates fiercely jockey for the votes of pig farmers. Iowa caucus night is the worst. Reporters gin up fake enthusiasm for a grossly corrupt and unrepresentative process with plastic smiles plastered to their faces and breathless reports about "democracy in action" in Council Bluffs it some other backwater. At the end of the day this idiocy produces questionable candidates and our nation suffers because of it.
3
Dear Gail as always thank you. However, I truly believe that the ALL Primaries should be on One day.Then everyone is 1st. Or at least by Region. Think of all the money saved. At 73 I am sick of Iowa and Caucuses.
5
Re: Re corn, also soy beans, hogs, state fairs and cotton candy etc.
"agriculture accounts for less than 5 percent of Iowa’s GDP. Finance, insurance and real estate account for almost 25 percent of Iowa’s GDP, manufacturing is 18 percent,"
From The Gazette, published in Cedar Rapids.
Reading through the comments, I didn't see a single one from a current Iowan. So before you diss our state, why don't you come and visit (that includes you, Gail). Spend a week or two. Visit the small towns and medium cities. Hang out with the farmers in the cafes. Visit the high schools. Eat at the most popular restaurants. Talk to the small businesspeople. Explore our research universities and the biotech industries. Experience "Iowa Nice". Try to understand what makes Iowa tick. You might find that Iowa deserves to be the first testing ground for serious presidential candidates (not that we always "get it right".)
2
I have visited several times. Sorry your state does not represent USA.
I like the idea of candidates having to go to Nebraska to literally drink the Kool-Aid.
156
Any Democrat is better than Trump. I am pessimistic about the next election due to the electoral college. Once again my state will vote for Trump and silence all evidence. You would think the farm states would hate Trump but Fox is winning the culture war.
9
Time for direct democracy. Let's all vote on one day using our computers that have been scanned for viruses and protected from hacking.
3
Ah-hem, Gail, I'm actually very interested in candidates who are "passionate about mass transportation". And not faking it.
I'm sure there are some out there.
3
Never was a fan of satire without a point, or at least an expressed point. I would have gotten more out of this column had it denounced our absurd penchant for persistent campaigning that tests our patience, our ears besieged with promises a competitive nature sharpened. We're forever in campaign mode while Congress sludges on with feckless, partisan, gridlock. Campaigns are big business so the media won't do anything to reform the system. Good satire should always provoke thought about a means to correct that being satirized.
3
About that TV slogan, "Vote Tuesday. This time it's existential." Well, you know, it really could be, vis-a-vis American democracy.
4
I just check out the Last Supper carved out of butter! what she didn't say is that the thing is practically life-sized! assumed it was some small table top butter wonder but no... seems that all her sculptures are life-sized! she has access to huge supply of butter!! As an artist myself I can appreciate such access to the art supplies one needs. But I think my comment has gone off course.
Maybe that's because the world I'm living in now seems more insane than it ever has in my 66 years of life. And I'm not hearing that much from the Dems that sounds like a solution (s).
2
@Robert Terrell Depends on what national news channel you watch. "Nightly News with Lester Holt" on NBC is currently running an on-going "What is your Big Idea?" segment. Each Democratic candidate is asked what their one big distinguishing idea is, and they have to answer. This breaks their messages down to simple sound-bites that even a toddler can understand. If NBC interviews one candidate a night, they may be done before the debates. (We have way too many candidates.)
1
Really? You didn’t know about the life-sized butter sculptures? When was the last time you went to the TEXAS State Fair?
I don’t know that we have them every year but I recall some impressive life-sized butter sculptures over the years.
1
Simple solution: Make primaries an across-the-country one-day event.
p.s. Eliminate the electoral college.
12
Next time you want to chant “USA! USA! USA!”, just remember: we still use the English system of measurement when the English don’t even still use it. Three small population states ( Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina) winnow our candidates down to a manageable size. Because of an arcane system of counting votes developed in the 18th Century partly to protect slave states’ representation in government, the candidate who had three million fewer votes is in office.
But, we have baseball, chocolate chip cookies and ice, so we got that going for us.
179
@Jim A. The Electoral College protected slave states but it also protected farm states with smaller populations from big city population states that were fast industrializing and becoming the bankers of the nation with all the economic power that entailed. This is probably best exemplified by the on-going fight between Hamilton and others over federal banking arrangements for the fast growing economy.
6
@B. Rothman
And it no longer protects farm states.
7
"You probably know that the government allows gasoline to be mixed with some kind of biofuel like corn. That can cut down on prices..."
Nope.
5
Super article - loved it - a learning moment as well - how to use the new 'it' word.... now I know why I follow Gail Collins - I smiled and giggled as I read it - doesn't happen often these days. Thank you Gail!!
2
People complain that small population states like Wyoming have disproportionate politicql power compared to California or Texas but what about Iowa? It will send a number of potemtial candidates packing lomg before they ever show up anywhere else.
1
When I am elected President, I will enact a Constitutional amendment that, should any elected official, at any level of the government, assign a nickname to anyone, that person will immediately forfeit their office. Since the Constitution was written "in order to form a more perfect union," this amendment fits. Because this type of name-calling bullying is ripping us apart.
And by the way, whatever happened to Melania's anti-bullying campaign? In fact, whatever happened to Melania?
5
The longer they remain in Iowa annoying those good people, the longer they are not swarming all over NH annoying the heck out of us.
We've already seen a few of them, but they will be like locusts in a fresh field of corn soon.
However, I'm not sure how often the man with the strange hair will come, as overall, NH is becoming more diverse and is a state where education is important. He needs a base of people who are fact-adverse and more bigoted.
5
A larger state would be more Democratic to start our national election-say Florida, Texas, or California.
1
@Steven-no thanks! We here in Cali are besieged by the folks from other states all the time. We also have a long line of campaigners, coming into our very county to have their soirées and top dollar dinners for long enough.
Democrats are doing two things to try and win the Presidency in 2020-
1.) Continue attacking Trump and even going as far as trying impeachment even though it wouldn’t pass the Senate
2) Promise free and spend - free healthcare- free college - free pre-K - cancel student loans - keep increasing our deficit and debt
Trump’s not going anywhere - he’s self destructed a dozen times and walks without even a tarnish....you would think the Democrats might figure it out - they haven’t.
It’s all up to Joe Biden - nice guy, but status quo - he’s been inside the Beltway his entire career and will keep DC on its collision course with financial bankruptcy.
Spend, spend, spend. Our children will wake up one day to colossal debt -$25-$30 trillion, a trillion of interest expense a year and $50 trillion in unfunded liabilities - buried in debt.
No one in this country gets it - all they talk about isn’t low unemployment and free - so short sighted....but it gets votes from Americans who haven’t a clue.
Nice piece and in some ways an existential one.
1
We’d do better scrapping primaries and going back to smoke -filled rooms. No way Trump would ever have got the nomination under that system.
5
Two metaphors: Name that degradation!!
The Trump audience "comes for the transgression". It's entertainment along with the corruption. Now if we all minded corruption, that would be a thing!
Twitter can be like responding to bathroom graffiti.
2
@Susan Anderson
Lady Gaga recently referred to social media as "the toilet of the Internet." She's so right . . .
2
Long ago humor went out of this presidency. And watching the Dems stumble along telling themselves any of their group can win in 20 is not just depressing, it’s delusional.
1
Maybe we should require that the first primary state should be one that has legalized marijuana. People may need help getting throught 21st century elections...
4
Silverware no longer manufactured in Rhode Island.
1
Please don't knock Nebraska. It is the home of Arbor Day, what can be considered an early environmental program, if you tweak history a bit.
"J. Sterling Morton (1832-1902) and his wife Caroline Joy French moved in 1854 from Michigan to the newly formed Nebraska Territory, a land devoid of trees. He endeavored to encourage tree-planting to improve the environment and beautify the landscape to attract settlers to the area, which became a state in 1867. He carried out his work through a succession of literary, agricultural, and political positions and activities, initially as editor of Nebraska City News."
(https://www.mortonarb.org/visit-explore/about-arboretum/mission-and-history/arbor-day-history)
2
And while corn-for-fuel gets government subsidies to blend it into the government subsidized fossil fuel, we all pay Iowanians to choose our candidates.
I’d love to see a candidate thumb his nose at white, ultra religious square-state fools and then go on to win the nomination. It would restore my faith in the system.
4
Iowa is overblown every presidential election cycle because the media likes it that way. Much cheaper and easier to send a horde of reporters to cover one state than fly them all over the country.
Enjoy the illusion of democracy while it lasts. Putin and Trump have already rigged the election.
4
Freud and the other Jewish medical doctors and psychologists who were among the forerunners of psychoanalysis employed many arcane terms, often of Latin origin, to describe maladies and disorders similar to those currently being exhibited by President Trump.
Terms like looney tunes, non compos mentis, crazy as a hoot owl, out of his gourd, bonkers, brainsick, gaga and insane in his membrane all spring to mind.
Gradually all of these terms have come to be replaced by a single term -- this one of Yiddish derivation -- which Jewish psychiatrists and psychologists and their mothers have found extremely useful for purposes of diagnosis and case management.
That word is meshuggah.
Let’s begin calling Trump by that name today. It will accurately identify him as a man for whom no ready cure is available.
3
@A. Stanton, oh vey, it’s come to this.
1
Iowa is just indication of how truly undemocratic this country is, how a minority rules a majority.
6
Ethanol is a sore subject in our house. In a particularly defiant stage of our marriage, my husband, unbeknownst to me, purchased, in two trades, $50K worth of hard-earned ethanol stock from the number one producer. This, after already losing $12K in prior trades investing in the same company. I learned of the $50K trades at the kitchen table one evening, after the fact, when he told our son-in-law. I told him to sell it, but it was too late. I believe, they may have filed bankruptcy the very next day and were working on reopening under a different name. How is this? And the one I’m most mad at — the broker. He didn’t know the financial shape they were in because of the corn contracts? I don’t know how this all works, but those who do - you’re crooks!
5
Never invest in a product or business that you dont fully understand.
1
Our whole election process is a disservice to America as many places and states don't matter so their people are never heard. As a New Yorker this is about me, nobody seems to care what I think about anything and I never see or hear from any national candidate except on the news. Just for the record I don't like corn or gas cars, I would love to get a good electric one, I am against farm subsidies and am pro choice however no one cares!!
6
@Thomas Renner. No one cares because they know I will vote for whatever DEM runs against Trump although Amy is my preference and that I will never vote GOP no matter what.
1
Why settle for one when you can have two. For 2020 it would be tough to beat the team of Liz Warren and Mayor Pete, especially since the GOP will be running the team of Trump-Putin.
7
It’s time for the media to stop focusing on an incompetent, and narcissistic liar and instead focus on those who seem fit for the presidency. Because Donald Trump is great media copy, the media has become obsessed with him, and at first this is not difficult to understand, because the man has been flagrant in his disregard of everything most Americans hold sacred. And someone who soils the presidency should not go unnoticed.
But now It is time for the media to stop being so hoodwinked ; they’re starting to look very foolish and extremely gullible by spending all of their time talking about this man. By now they should focus on the solution and not on the problem.
3
Like opposite street parking the first primaries ought to roam from state to state or even region to region every four years. What if candidates had to travel and pander to Arizona! this year. Then Delaware in 2024! On to Minnesota first in 2028! Boy howdy, the electorate finally get a say in nose to nose politics.
3
Actually, another fun but impossible idea. Why not choose the first state alphabetically. After all, who goes to Alaska? Guess it won't be popular in Wyoming...
2
With Trump's trade war on China, maybe we'll get soy oil supplements in our gasoline next.
3
Iowa must be enjoying a 'high' right now; first is first, however pure luck is playing a role there. And pandering by politicians seeking Iowan's faithful support must be viewed with sobriety, given no one wants to pimp a healthy crowd. Let the best ideas win, and charisma lead the way. This, fully knowing there is a long and arduous stretch ahead.
1
It is not about low taxes and small government that animate the American voter. It is the little things down deep in our souls that that the politicians touch that touch a nerve and provoke a reflex. When Reagan went to Philadelphia Mississippi he gave America permission to respond to its most self destructive instincts.
This morning when Joe Biden gave the best speech of his life in Radar O'Reilly's Ottumwa I saw a life sign in America's lifeless corpse. I thought America might again the shining Beacon on the Hill.
As the day continued I realized how terrible Biden's timing was and that 40 years of greed and selfishness will not be overcome by memories of what America tried to be 55 years ago. Goodness doesn't win when fair is foul and foul is fair.
Trump is simply an ugly carbuncle on an America whose insides have been destroyed by the cancer of neoliberalism.
Turns our America's salvation was a Federal Government of the people, by the people and for the people and they were the only ones that could help. Jesus must be truly embarrassed by those that most loudly evoke his name. Greed and selfishness are not virtues.
2
It's ridiculous, isn't it? And an example of just how broken our politics is in this country. Focusing and worrying about how Iowa votes (sorry Iowa). It's the equivalent of the dog obsessing over how the very tip of his tail might be moving.
John~
American Net'Zen
2
Riduculing politicians for pandering is like blaming the clerks at a store for saying 'have a nice day.' Most of the pander comes from what we want them to say. And if they don't address every one of the hot-button issues, the media will tear them apart. The only one who gets a free pass from the media is Trumpy. In many ways he's the pied piper to the media. They follow him and his ideas every where.
"What about Nebraska? It’s like Iowa in many ways, but at least there’d be a change of scene. Right now all the candidates are prepping to go to the Iowa State Fair, where they will marvel at exhibits — who can ever forget the Last Supper carved out of butter? But if the first vote shifted to Nebraska, we’d get to watch the pols trying to look excited at a festival called Kool-Aid Days, celebrating the invention of Kool-Aid, which happens to be the official state soft drink."
No one writes like Gail Collins... Priceless
1
When I read the headline the first thought that popped into my head was Trump's supporters and corn children.
1
“If Rhode Island was the first state to vote, I bet in no time at all we’d have a law abolishing plastic forks.”
As Corporations, special interest lobbies, and other gazillionaires continue to gobble up an ever greater share of American wealth, pushing income inequality to unsustainable levels, they’d better start pushing their “bought and paid for” GOP legislators to sponsor a bill “banning pitchforks.”
4
I've stopped reading about and watching TV coverage of campaign events. I can't stand Trump and I'm tired of watching the host of Democratic candidates embarrass themselves as they try desperately to "stand out from the crowd." When the Dem field narrows down to two or three I may regain some interest but two years of campaigning is simply too exhausting and, with a reality show president spewing out a daily dose of lies and bile, just too much of an assault on one's psyche. I'm all for a one-month campaign, a cap on political spending, mandatory voting and while we're about it, term limits that end congressional gridlock and force the Senate and the House to stop fund-raising and get back to the business of government.
10
I haven't really read Marianne Williamson, but I sort of knew who she was when--hearing her interviewed on PBS NewsHour-- my husband asked, "Who is she, now?" "Some kind of writer. Self help books, I think." I am now entering my elder phase and my brain is like a disorganized closet. I have clothes and I have knowledge. The problem is figuring out where anything is.
But I have the Google, so now I know more. I know everything except what in heaven's name makes her think--in this extremely well-qualified field--she has something to offer that makes her presidential material. This is not an insult. I am sure she is very bright, very thoughtful, and very accomplished.
But President? Who is she, now?
2
Iowans still support Trump even after he ruined their soybean sales. He creates a problem, then uses my tax dollars to solve the problem and expects to be called a genius. Iowans fall for it. Sad.
11
"In 2020 there’ll probably be TV ads: “Vote Tuesday. This time it’s existential.”"
I don't find that funny, because it's true.
192
It’s good to read a piece with a little levity now and then, even in the midst of a gravely serious election.
1
Perhaps the first primary/caucus should be in Ohio (or West Virginia). The pandering pols could hold forth about the benefits of opioids.
But I guess wherever it is the pols will be claiming they have the answer to how our pain can be alleviated. Opioids, corn—all the same thing. They’re not trying to persuade us—they’re trying to get us addicted.
1
Why do these candidates even bother with Iowa at all? Trump won 52% of the vote there in 2016. Iowa is not going to vote for any of these Democrats. It's a waste of time and money for them to set foot in the state.
4
Actually, a law abolishing plastic forks is a good idea!
7
As always, a highly entertaining column.
But to be fair, with regard to Nebraska's appealing qualities, Kool-Aid (or what was eventually marketed as Kool-Aid) was invented in Hastings, NE. So the choice of state soft drink is not an arbitrary, sugar-fueled one. (And a more exciting, if not necessarily more healthy, Nebraska is the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich).
3
Using ethanol as fuel is akin to burning topsoil for fuel. Not a wise long term choice.
5
So many corn dogs. So little time.
64
@Rahn
Yep. Too bad both corn and corn dogs are indigestible.
3
The absurdity of Iowa having such power in the selection of presidential candidates is...well, undemocratic. Not to mention corny.
Imagine you are a family buying a house in 2020. You, your partner, your 10 year old daughter and your 6 year old son are excited about the move. You want to have a big backyard. Your partner wants a convenient location. Your daughter wants a bedroom with a big walk in closet. Your son wants a tree outside his bedroom with a treehouse, You have dozens of prospects none of which meets all of your family's desires. You logically decide to eliminate all properties but a few that make a great first impression.
Now the fun part. To whittle down the field you put your son in charge of picking his top two properties, from which the rest of the family may choose the final new home.
What's wrong with this picture?!
5
Entertaining, Gail, but the poll we're really interested in is that internal one done by Tony Fabrizio for 'Individual-1'/No Collusion 45* in 17 key states, which shows that Clear & Present Danger 45* is way, way underwater in those states.
It's hard to put much stock in 'national polls' showing Biden leading, when what matters is 'state polls' and whether Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio have seen the light - will those states go Dem for POTUS in 2020, continuing the 2018 trend which saw 40 House GOP'ers in swing districts thrown out of their jobs or retiring, instead of daring to face their constituents after those pols had voted with the White House for 2 years ?
Inquiring minds want to know.
284
@R. Law
Ohio does not matter that much. hopefully the Democrats will realize that Texas and Florida do not matter, either.
Other than the 3 you mentioned, ME 2nd, NE 2nd, Arizona, Montana and, yes, Iowa might be the best chances to flip Electoral College votes and will be a far cheaper to saturate with advertising and visits than Texas, Florida and Ohio...especially since Iowa will be sick of Democrats visiting anyway.
16
@Alan - Ohio has voted for the winning POTUS each time since 1864, so it matters that the Dem candidate can carry Ohio, as well as the other 3 subject states.
Texas matters enough - and GOP'ers are so panicked - that GOP'er donors have announced a drive to register 1 million additional GOP'er voters here by 2020.
38
@R. Law
Have to agree with Alan here. Ohio will be an easy state for Trump. Hillary's campaign recognized this in 2016: I think by late September (or maybe it was early October), it had given up on winning Ohio and put resources elsewhere. Trump basically fought Hillary to a draw in Mahoning County (Youngstown), which is incredible because that's typically a place where Democrats run up the score, even when they lose the state.
Further evidence that I think Democrats should not invest a lot in OH in 2020: the Democrats failed to pick up a single House seat in the 2018 midterms in OH. Granted, the state is gerrymandered, but other Rust Belt states are also badly gerrymandered, and Democrats picked up seats in those states. Ohio also elected a Republican governor in the midterms.
I don't like to say it, but the state of Ohio has become more conservative since the start of the 2000s.
(Also, for what it's worth: OH has mostly but not always voted for the winning POTUS since the 1800s. Notable exceptions: 1960, 1944, 1892, 1884)
13
And let us not forget my home state of New Jersey and our most excellent tomatoes!. I should know, as I grow 110 tomato plants each summer. After all, even if you dont enjoy tomatoes - you could at least have something non-damaging to throw at bad political candidates.
7
Ok, Gail, love your columns, but please don't make fun of RI. We are SO lucky to be small and only have four electoral votes which means no presidential candidates come to our beautiful state plus we get no ads or robo-calls. I consider that a big plus during this long, drawn out election season. Gosh, I really wish we could vote tomorrow and get this thing over with.
410
@Liz K Gosh. It sounds like perhaps people who live in RI somehow know how to get themselves educated on the candidates w/o their needing them to visit the state. Maybe pass that info. along to Ohio and Wisconsin, which by all accounts, gave us Trump because their feelings were hurt by Hillary not going to those states. I'm with you. I could care less if they come to Massachusetts, even prefer they not do so since, 1) it treats havoc where they are; 2) I'm perfectly capable of turning my TV on, reading a newspaper, etc., to get myself informed about the candidates.
29
@Virginia
Sure you can read. What you forget is that Massachusetts is a leader in education, the midwest, not so much.
8
@Liz K, but I'll bet you do get ads if you get Boston stations. Here where I live, we had to suffer through a lot of New Hampshire ads a couple of elections ago, because Boston stations reach up there and it was a contentious race.
3
All this assumes that we will still have a constitutional democracy in 2020.
The stakes have never been higher. And this scrambling really does look silly. Democratic "hopefuls" or one might say, "wanna be's" should take a hard look at themselves, and ask if they have a realistic chance of winning, and if the answer is no, nobly withdraw and support candidates who do. For starters, Bill Deblasio could opt to spend more time with his family and resume regular workouts at his gym. Marianne Williams could go back to spiritual advising. And John Delaney could go back to doing whatever it is John Delaney does.
7
Sadly, the middle states elect Presidents by virtue of the Electoral College. The popular vote no longer counts nor does the fact the coastal popular vote states bear the brunt of the national tax burden. This needs to change.
921
@White Rabbit. With barely a mention in the press, the treasury two days ago purposely squashed all attempts by blue states to work around the trump cap on SALT deductions. More blue state money going to subsidize red state ignorance. I believe this has been referred to in the past as "taxation without representation".
86
@White Rabbit
Vote for Pete. He wants to get rid of the electoral college and count the popular vote.
Since one of the things the electoral college was meant to do was keep a buffoon like Trump from office and they failed miserably, I say ax them.
We can count individual votes. We don't need them. And no one person's vote should count more than another. That's what this country is about.
74
@White Rabbit
Unfortunately, those same middle states would have to approve any amendment that eliminated the electoral college in favor of an election by popular vote count. Since they benefit from the current arrangement, they're highly unlikely to do so.
28
Same fiasco every four years: Why does Iowa deserve to have this outsized clout? The answer is that it doesn’t. Why does Iowa get to whittle down the field? Can’t we reform the system so that, say, five states get to be first simultaneously—one east, west, north, south and midwest? Has anybody stepped back and looked at just how anti-democratic this “Iowa as Kingmaker” thing is?
11
@Jack Sonville
I think we only need to go one state east, Illinois. It has rural and urban voters. Industry and agriculture. It is more populous than Iowa and more diverse. It was part of the union, however the lower tip reaches the old confederacy. It would be a perfect microcosm of the US and would still allow one state for the candidates to focus on which would allow outliers a chance to run without the cost and organization for a national campaign right out of the gate.
3
Wouldn't it be nice if these candidates would talk to these corn farmers about planting hemp instead. A much more useful plant.
10
Fun to read something lighthearted this morning even though the topic - the beginning of the 2020 presidential election - is anything but lighthearted. With so much at stake in the next election, it's going to be hard to watch candidates square dance on a stage with their spouse, eat fried sticks of butter (anyone remember Michelle Bachman?), or even kiss babies and shake Grandma's hand at these statewide events.
Last night's news about the current president saying it would be just fine to accept help in the form of information from foreign sources (such as Norway) felt like the last straw for me. I wonder how long it will take today - or this week, month, or year - for any Republicans to come forward and say this is just patently wrong.
13
@furnmtz Well-said. Thank you!
1
Poor Iowa. They could use some relief. Let's imagine a national caucus day. The candidates would need to crisscross the entire country, stop at every state fair. It might even spur the development of high-speed rail. At least all that candidate hot air would be put to some good use.
8
Biden and Trump were barely prepared for the 20th century.
If it ends up being a choice between these two, we may as well just hand over the keys to China.
4
You already did!!
1
The reference to ethanol as an air pollution problem being foisted upon the country solely for selfish political gains in corn growing states is far too simplistic.
Ethanol is an oxygenate. Gasoline uses oxygenates to burn cleaner. Without it, more carbon monoxide and soot are released into the air. The most common oxygenate is MTBE, which is a known carcinogen.
There are legitimate questions about ethanol. The increase to 15% ethanol from 10% will lead to more evaporation, which can have greenhouse gas consequences. And there are debates about the amount of energy used to grow and ferment the corn used in ethanol, vs the amount of energy that ethanol actually contributes to an engine.
The point is, there are also serious downsides to NOT using ethanol in terms of air pollution, climate change, public health, cost of gasoline and the farming economy. It is a far more complex issue, and closer call, than simply suggesting it is a pure political handout.
11
A great idea Gail.
I have always wondered why the media presents New Hampshire and Iowa as wielding such inordinate political influence.
10
Iowa has had a fraught relationship with ethanol. When I was growing up there, the only ethanol available was the kind found in bottles, which were available only from state-owned liquor stores where you got in line at a counter that ran the full width of the store to separate you from the shelves with display bottles of the different brands of hooch available for purchase that day. You had to have a liquor control booklet (available at the store) in order to purchase any products. While you stood in line at the counter, you filled out a form that listed the boozes on the display wall, making check marks by the ones you wanted and writing down the number of bottles of each. This, you handed to one of the clerks who disappeared through a door to fill your request. Returning with your refreshments, he then took your state-issued liquor booklet and wrote down in it the name of the booze and the unique number on the official Iowa liquor stamp that had been affixed to said bottle. It was against the law to remove this stamp. It was how the law could trace the purchaser should the bottle be found in the hands of a minor. You paid for your order and went on your merry way.
And you think Iowa's primary system is weird.
12
@Glen. When I was growing up in Ohio in the 1950s, they had a similar system, even down to the counter separating the customer from his purchase.
Thanks for the memories.
3
It is all exhausting and the primary season is insanely long. Caucuses, as well as irrelevant states "first", need to be replaced with a one day holiday for all primaries, then election day. Vote BLUE because our lives and Nation depend on it.
23
Considering what the electorate is going through, it is a monumental waste of good ethanol to mix it into gasoline.
Perhaps automobile fuel usage could be recalibrated into units of miles per martini.
9
How about this, Gail:
1. Establish a national voting holiday
2. Make voting mandatory, forcing candidates to focus on swing voters in the middle
3. Fine those who fail to vote
4. Provide each actual voter with a uniquely numbered receipt after voting
5. Use the fines to fund a state or national lottery, drawing from those receipts
30
@Jim I support # 1. But you can't make voting mandatory or fine people who don't vote.
4
@Jim
I favor mandatory voting providing "none of the above" is listed among the candidates.
1
Iowa is irrelevant. The whole process is too long, and way too expensive. Who pays for Trumps "rallies?
In the runup to the 2016 election, John Oliver quipped, "there will be children born on election day of parents who haven't even met yet".
Let's set some time limits (like Canada) and think of all the money wasted -- that could be used for something more beneficial.
48
Given the number of contenders on the Democratic side this time around, why should any one state always go first in the primary to choose the candidate? Would we not be better served with a series of national primaries where everyone votes on the same day? It could be like the "March Madness" of the NCAA playoffs which would choose an eventual candidate as the winners from each round advance. This would be far more equitable and since these primaries would be national, no one state, or group (Super Tuesday) would have an advantage, nor would the candidate be chosen without the consent of the whole country, rather than more often than not, the first on the line.
11
In my perfect world campaigning for any political seat would be no longer than 3 months before the election. I am already tired of it all, and it is still over a year away! Also there should be a limit on what each candidate can spend and absolutely NO corporation or PAC monies involved. This certainly sounds better than what we are having to tolerate today.
65
Concerning moving the first primary to Nebraska, if you're a candidate and you really and truly want the Nebraska vote, attend the first home game of the University of Nebraska football season. These candidates should know that Memorial Stadium becomes the 3rd largest city in Nebraska on game day. But, candidates, DO NOT use the word existential if you're allowed to speak to those deep red big red fans.
6
@dave Or the Hawkeye or Cyclone home openers..along with a plane flying over promising free cheese curds and pop.
The Nebraska vote is unimportant. It always leans R except for the 1 lone Electoral vote that North Omaha keeps hostage.
The reason Council Bluffs is important is because it does draw in the Nebraska media market. More of these D politicians should head to Council Bluffs, but I think they've done their homework and concluded the way to win is sticking to Des Moines proper and Iowa City/Ames..while promising the moon to farmers and those selling their souls to the wind gods.
Even Warren Buffett says he wouldn't put up those idiotic windmills across Iowa if not for the fact us taxpayers send him a huge honking check every time he puts up another 100 windmills.
It's getting to be pretty ugly..Iowa.
A great place to be FROM.
@dave It will matter only if they win.
Joe Biden is NOT going to be the Democratic nominee.
Who WILL be the nominee is yet to be determined, and I as well, am not sure who will break through. Much of it is determined by the press (not Iowa), and right now their shiny new toy is the knife fight going on between Biden and the President.
The country (especially Democrats) want so much more.
The country (and world) are moving decisively towards a Progressive cohesion, because frankly it is out of necessity. The disparity between rich and poor has never been more fraught. The consensus that climate change is the existential threat is far more real than the current President. (although he runs a close second)
Retread corporate center right policies are not going to get it done. The radical right has pulled the political spectrum so ridiculously to the extreme right, that the center is just republican lite. (of which Biden is firmly entrenched)
We just need to do better and we will.
38
@FunkyIrishman
What I find so very unfortunate is that the Democratic primary race is not going to be about who is the best candidate and has the best platform. It will be based on which candidate is most likely to be electable. I’m all for Elizabeth Warren, but I’m afraid Joe Biden is more electable. Sad.
1
As an Iowa voter, I’m unfazed by the sarcasm. And I could care less about corn or ethanol. But I do take my responsibility as a voter seriously and always have.
You can and have done much better work.
9
I'm guessing candidates pander to Iowans mainly out of tradition and it's probably cheap to campaign there. Other than that, what does Iowa offer? It isn't a particularly diverse state (90% white), it takes billions in federally subsidized farm aid (farmers love Trump who love to give them handouts), and in exchange they elect to Congress Steve King?
45
@MissyR There is nothing more American these days than taking a government handout, so despite not being very diverse, all of those billions in farm subsidies make Iowa farmers typical Americans.
1
Gail, I love and admire your work, but Iowa is a caucus state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_caucuses.
Actually, a far better state for an early caucus/primary than either Iowa and New Hampshire is Delaware. It's small, about the same population, and much, much more demographically representative. Not only that, but it's close enough that D.C. politicians could run AND do their real jobs at the same time.
25
@Mystic001: Speaking of Delaware, Biden would take the primary vote in a landslide. Which is not indicative of how he'd do in the rest of the country.
@Mystic001 note to self: Next time, read the WHOLE article before spouting off. My apologies.
1
@Mystic001: And what are their real jobs but raising money for their re-election????
Corn ethanol was never going to be more than a bridge to a cellulose ethanol economy that never emerged. It is now worse than useless, it is an outright waste justified as a means to reduce winter pollution in obsolete cars.
27
Silverwear? Not for a while, Gail. The ruins of the old Gorham factory complex was finally razed in 1998, but we're still dealing the with the pollution in the adjoining pond. My neighorhood is full of fine Victorian houses and mansions built by Gorham owners and executives. But I digress...Rhode island would be the perfect choice for the first primary because candidates would be able to talk to every one of the highly opinionated, sometimes not so highly-informed, but always quirky residents of the state in about two weeks. And the food! Well anyone who denigrates RI food just hasn't been here in a while. Let's do it! I'd love to have a voice for a change.
22
@HumplePi your are right on - Matunuck Oyster Bar, best raw bar in America!!!
It is such a carnival - everyone in their version of power suit, the hokey lines, the mistaken rhetoric about beating Trump (this Trump country), does anyone really have a message? And yes, a few candidates should know where their food comes from - California. Soybeans, corn, wheat, and alfalfa are all exports - to places such as China. Lamenting loss of manufacturing- it’s companies vying for profits and the people wanting cheap goods. I buy American - a little more expensive but I buy less. I do confess to a Japanese hybrid - but then they are manufactured here.
5
Butter sculptures are great!
The GREAT New York State Fair, which probably no one from NYC ever attends, always has a great butter sculpture and my only complaint is that you can't butter your free potato with it. But then, the potatoes haven't been free for years now. Sadly, the lines are still just as long. I blame the tax cuts and corporate greed and Albany. Not the politicians in Albany, just the city itself. I just know they're involved in potato pricing somehow.
Also, when you're there, BE SURE to check out the chainsaw sculptures. They're more exciting in creation, obviously, BUT a little less subtle than the butter in final form. Still, I don't think I've ever seen a bear butter sculpture, so that's one point in favor of the lumberjack artistes, because Bears are better than butter sculptures if you think about it. They also do eagles as I recall.
7
@mjw
New York has a state fair? I spent most of my life in New York City and never heard of a New York State Fair. (For that matter I might say the same thing about New York State.) Perhaps it is time for cities of a certain size to become "states" and states where grizzlies outnumber people to go back to being territories.
Ethanol is a corporate give-away to Iowa. Ethanol is "upside down" on Return on Energy Invested. In simple terms. it takes more energy to grow / harvest the corn and then distill the corn into ethanol than is created by this process. Every gallon of ethanol-blended fuel is a waste of energy.
48
@GTM The energy budget for ethanol is net negative. This is the correct argument against ethanol.
Gail, being a city person, got it wrong. She implies that ethanol is simply a filler added to gasoline in order to give farmers a piece of the pie. But ethanol is oxygen rich and serves to make gasoline burn cleaner. If ethanol were not added, another additive, this one derived from crude, will be added instead.
5
@GTM: It is literally an inert ingredient in gasoline for direct-injected cars.
1
As a Rhode Islander I can attest to the following. We are not all squished together. Many of us live in rural towns with no squishing required. And the silverware industry which along with jewelry manufacturing was a major contributor to our economy has all but left the state. Moved to countries with lower pay and few worker protections. If RI were first, candidates would need to eat a lot of wieners and coffee milk and attend the obligatory Water Fire. But like many states in the nation, manufacturing has all but left The Biggest Little. Perhaps the candidates could talk about that. Or healthcare. Or income inequality. Or other issues that impact every Rhode Islander. But sadly, as a solid blue, tiny state, the candidates don’t visit. Ever. Oh well. More wieners and coffee milk for me.
29
@Deb thank you, RI, for coffee milk...
@Deb you need to go to Matunuck's
Iowa has about 3 million people, significantly less than NYC, the majority of whom identify as "Christian." Less than 1% identify as non-Christian. They are also more than 90% White The State demographics clearly are vastly different from States in which the majority of Americans live. Why do we pay so much attention to the vote of such an incredible minority?
137
@Disillusioned Well, because we’re so doggone “incredible,” of course! Seriously, I’m cool with the entire floating freak show floating somewhere else. And dumping the even more unrepresentative “caucuses” in our unrepresentative state for an honest democratic (small “d”) primary election. Unfortunately, like the environmentally unfriendly ethanol boondoggle, the first-in-the-nation caucuses are a big cash cow for our state. And we’re all about cows here in Iowa.
11
@Disillusioned When candidates show up in Iowa, they get articles written about them in the NY Times and coverage on the news networks. Anything for free publicity.
2
@Dennis Smith:
Thanks, Dennis Smith, for the first comment I've seen out of Iowa that isn't grumpy or defensive about the caucuses.
I'm not from Iowa, but I lived there for three years a while ago, and I participated in the 2000 caucus. For what it's worth, I came away impressed by the process and how it seemed to raise the level of information and understanding among the state's voters.
And, uh, I thought it was all pigs, not cows in the Hawkeye State.
4
Iowa offers some entertaining political theater. It's good to see a Democrat with a sense of humor. Iowans seem to take to good jabs and clever retorts. Lincoln, TR, FDR and JFK excelled with ridicule, fun at their opponent's expense and could be pretty good street fighters when circumstance required.
3
Ms. Collins noted that "[n]icknames have worked very well for Trump." Perhaps, although Trump comes across as childish when he uses them. I sincerely hope that Democrats can unite in referring to Donald Trump using the title he has clearly earned -- a title that goes to the heart of who he really is. He deserves to be called Dean Emeritus of Trump University.
25
@Hideo Gump
That’s it! DETU! Not quite as catchy as JFK or FDR, but somehow, in a way one cannot fully comprehend, it fairly screams in shorthand the essence of the man.
1
Fill 'er up America on: land use dominating, soil degrading, insect Armageddon making, 2,4-D and Banvel herbicide polluting, Gulf dead zone creating, confined hog feeding and stench emitting, and monoculture perpetuating, industrial corn ethanol.
While Democrats and Republicans, patriots all, tell us corn and corn ethanol are good for the environment. This is the kind of bipartisanship that is crossing red lines while waving the green flag.
If people only knew where their food and fuel come from. Despite how Monsanto and all their political backers try to play it, it ain't 'Eco-Modern'.
47
@vole: 10% ethanol in gasoline is a complete waste because it cuts fuel economy by 10%.
10
@Steve Bolger
And consider too that the liquid combustibles only drive vehicles with an efficiency of about 15%. So, consider what this government mandate, forcing your " good choice" to burn ethanol is doing. Your investment in Monsanto, ADM, John Deere, Conagra, etc., via each fuel up, is much appreciated. Little of your money is kept on the farm. And a lot of your capital is going right down the river to be joined with other investors' capital at the Gulf.
3
@vole The Times should run your comment on its front page.
2
During these times, we may need some humor, but this fell short for me. Sorry Gail, I think I will watch Stephen Cobert or Seth Meyers and see if I can work up a laugh.
11
The fact that Joe Biden gets enough sleep sounds very healthy to me, and common sensical. Too bad Trump didn't sleep round the clock. He has wrought more danger to this country in his awake state than any President we had.
However sleepy or not, Joe is not of the times anymore. The American voter needs more than what Biden has to offer.I hope it ends up being Warren and Buttigieg . We have experience and substance with Warren and youth and substance with Buttigieg.
All of this said, Iowa is not a bad place to start. It gives all Candidates a chance to meet real people, not donors from large States. You go to large States to raise donations and small States to interact with people on the ground.
As far as subsidies go, I am not in favor of subsidizing Agri business, or any business for that matter. If this is supposed to be a country who believes in Capitalism, the true tenent of Capitalism is that if one company fails, another will always spring up to take its place. Think of what happened in the Financial Industry both in the Great Depression and the Great Recession. We bailed them out in 2008 instead of helping regular people save their homes, and it has put us in more jeopardy . The only thing that saved more people from losing their homes was the agency that Elizabeth Warren, during Obama's Administration, created the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. She is the one, along with Bernie Sanders, who cares for ordinary people.
We need sensible candidates
41
It's nearly impossible to find any humor now in anything Trump or the GOP do when Trump just invoked Executive Privilege to hide their criminal conspiracy to take over the country via the census.
Justice Ginsburg just stated 5 right-wing Justices, authoritarian GOP yes-men, will reverse a lower court decision and uphold the Trump/GOP Census in Department of Commerce v. New York despite it just having been proven central to a Trump/GOP criminal conspiracy to gerrymander the entire country.
It will arguably be the most damaging SCOTUS decision since the Civil War. It will disenfranchise over 15 million people in the US entirely legally, and the states they live in, of the fundamental right of proportional representation and guarantee that Trump and the GOP can't lose.
It's especially hard to laugh as the GOP is now a true right-wing Authoritarian Party controlling the Senate, the Judiciary, and the Executive. Trump's the figurehead, Mitch McConnell's the true leader.
For people alive at the time, 1974 was likely a pretty good year to laugh. Democrats controlled both the House and Senate (with 56 seats), and 2 of the Republican appointees to the Supreme Court were liberal lions, William J. Brennan Jr. and Harry Blackmun. In US v. Nixon the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Nixon. If the case was held today Nixon would win 5-4.
Finally, the big loser in Des Moines Register poll was Sanders, who fell like a rock. Warren took off like a rocket. Biden barely budged.
57
An existential threat - why do I keep picturing Sartre, de Beauvoir, and Camus in camo?
How about Wisconsin for the first primary? There could be endless discussions about cheese.
Ethanol and Iowa corn may be on it's way out as a political tool.
Around here these days more and more gas stations are offering ethanol-free gas.
Yup, it's expensive but many are learning that it's cheaper to use that have the ethanol destroy a $400 chain saw or eat their favorite lawnmower.
Actually, many are now using electric, battery-powered lawnmowers. How the power is produced to recharge them is a problem for another day.
9
@Fred Have you ever driven across Iowa?- there are lots of windmills, same with Texas and a lot of other western states where the winds blow. Even Republicans won't let the stain of renewable energy production get in the way of government tax credits.
4
@Terry
Yes, I have. Nebraska has a fair number. Same for Colorado. Kansas has them border to border.
Have you ever investigated who owns those windmills and who is getting those nice credits?
You might be surprised.
One quibble, Gail - ethanol in gasoline is better for the environment than burning gasoline without it. Unless you meant something else about it being bad for the environment. And I for one was sorry I wished for NY to be relevant in primary season, the extra attention and vitriol here in 2016 was not fun. I don't envy Iowans anymore at all.
7
@Catherine You would think so, but alas, no. According to a study by Yale University, the 15% ethanol blend reduces gas mileage by 5-6 MPG, which means more gas is burned, it is still polluting, it results in growing more corn which itself is not an environmentally friendly crop as it requires the use of pesticides and herbicides, it results in higher corn prices which stresses family budgets, and auto manufacturers and mechanics say the ethanol ruins car engines and results in shorter life for certain engine components which itself results in greater energy use to manufacture them and pollution to dispose of them. In short, its a great deal for farmers, but a bad deal for the rest of us.
35
If we can have an election nationwide on one day, we can have a primary nationwide on one day. We are not traveling in coaches these days. In fact, personal appearances may be outmoded within 20 years.
27
@CitizenTM Indeed. At the state level, geographic districting for state legislators could also be eliminated (which would also eliminate gerrrymandering).
15
Enjoyably wry, as usual, but the concluding point is real. Why does a single state (or two, if you include NH) have so much say in nominating candidates?
It is time for the national committees to get serious about a rotating system of some kind. If states don't go along, their votes are not counted and they have to do a re-vote on their designated dates.
I'm from California. It is not remotely like Iowa demographically or politically, but a whole lot more people end up being affected by the nomination for population reasons alone. Don't we have an equal claim to choosing candidates at the beginning as a handful of counties in a single central agricultural state?
38
@Michael
This is the same point in favor of abolishing the Electoral College. We're told the EC forces candidates to focus on all 50 states, yet we're also told time after time that only 5-6 states make a difference.
They can't have it both ways.
Frankly, I'm increasingly in favor of the approach other countries make in requiring that all compaigns last only 6 weeks. I'd be willing to double it to 12 (i.e. 3 months) because of the unique position the President has in our government system (the Prime Minister in other countries is still a simple representative of his/her local area and is picked by vote internally within that nation's parliament) and the size of the U.S.
7
Rhode Island would have clam bakes in which many pols would have to discover new affinities for bivalves and assorted other sea food they may have never eaten. Also red chowder. Not New England white chowder or Manhattan’s red. Rhode Island is a culinary oasis.
8
N. B., Rhode Island chowder (“Rodailin chowda”) is clear and not red.
Now we are down to sleep as the defining characteristic of our current president and the wannabe president in 2020 ? Being somewhat sleepy myself and feeling sleepy on long drives and seminars, I would not want a sleepy driver driving a car of which I am a passenger. I will never buy a driverless car either and so being awake and alert during waking hours and then some around early hours of the day would be a quality I would consider as an asset especially for a person in their 70s. In the 25 months that Trump has been president, I have never seen images of Trump dosing off in public. He is a live wire and full of energy. Much more energetic than a person half his age or less. In addition his courage is not dutch courage as he is a teetotaler.
So if Gail Collins wants to make a big deal of fewer hours that Trump sleeps in contrast to sleepy Joe. Trump will win by a landslide. You snooze too much, you lose Joe.
3
You missed the point. Misspelled tweets are a sign of poor quality thinking and lack of sleep. Just because we haven’t seen Trump dozing off, it doesn’t mean that he is thinking clearly. In fact, the available evidence suggests that he is not thinking rationally and he is not disciplined. I’m not a Joe Biden fan so I’m going to ignore the comparison. After all, there are other and better Democratic candidates running.
42
@Michael Graca from Mass. A president does not need to be too much of a thinker. That is generally done by the advisers, cabinet members speech writers and counsel. I also suggest that every person will benefit from optimal sleep. Is too little sleep or too much sleep optimal? I have no idea I cannot be the judge of that, that is an individual's choice. I would think twice before blaming Trump's typos on his perceived lack of adequate sleep or insomnia as Gail calls it. Without a quick spell checking all of us would be misspelling more often than we think. Like it or not , Biden has emerged as the front runner of the democratic party and the entitled nominee of the establishment just like Hillary was. He cannot escape the lime light or the fire. There is no where to hide and sleep in the public for him.
2
@Girish Kotwal you also missed him falling asleep during the Queen’s speech at the State dinner.
1
New Jersey has a primary on June 6. By that time, the primary is over. If a politician other than the presumptive nominee received 100 percent of New Jersey votes, it still wouldn't make a difference.
Who decided that Iowa should be the primary regent, while New Jersey is just a lowly scullery maid?
38
@O-- I agree 100%. The system is broken and needs fixing
2
@O Steve King......
Good timing. Day before yesterday I looked up the meaning of existential. The context in which I had just read it did not seem right to me. Turns out it was off … but maybe not, since the meaning was mushy. Great, so now Biden has demoted existential to a mush word, and in a town, Ottumwa, in which I'd spent chunks of time as a kid devouring the best ice cream in America. Ottumwa ice cream truly was existential.
Today I read this. I laughed out loud. I now haven't the faintest idea what existential means.
14
Pure gasoline delivers about 10% better fuel economy in my cars than fuel that is 10% ethanol, so I consider ethanol an inert ingredient in gasoline.
25
We sell high-tech weaponry to Saudi Arabia, establish a huge air base in Qatar, root around for influence in Venezuela, all because they have oil.
Ethanol replaces some of the petroleum in your gas tank. We don't fight wars over ethanol. We don't spend $trillions for boots on the ground in unforgiving places in order to protect access to ethanol. Iowa is also a leader in production of power by wind turbine. We don't fight wars over access to wind.
Next time you see a Middle East war veteran, who might be missing an arm or a leg, thank him or her for the 4 cents you think you saved on your last fill-up. Tell him or her it was well worth their sacrifice.
27
@Cornstalk Bob
As much as I like the idea of putting corn ethanol into my car, the unfortunate truth is that the production of the burn value of one gallon of fuel in ethanol costs more than one gallon of fuel.
Also, the appropriation of a lot of fertile ground for the production of ethanol has raised prices for many foods.
49
@Cornstalk Bob
And your point is? Without ethanol we'd have more wars over oil, is that it?
There's no need to be defensive about ethanol, Gail wasn't demeaning it's usage. She was just making the legitimate observation that our ethanol policy is of much more immediate importance to you than to those in the big cities.
Affordable housing and mass transportation are also important issues for many of our fellow Americans, but I wouldn't expect you to be worrying about how long your commute to the fields are.
33
@Cornstalk Bob maybe we should be using that wind energy to generate electricity to power vehicles that don't require oil or ethanol? then no boots required to fight for oil, and no pollution to boot!
We voters used to look to small population states like Iowa and NH so individual voters could interact with candidates one on one. In fact these states demanded such attention. Political candidates for national offices these days seem too overwhelming to have one on one conversations with ordinary people. As long as election season seems to voters, to campaigns, there isn't enough time to do more than touch hands and say some meaningless phrase which tries to pass for real contact with a voter.
Some of the candidates this election season seem as if they could moderate their energy and lower their volume to speak with one person (not a well-known journalist or late night host) but most do not. Speaking with Sen Warren (who I admire for her detailed proposals and high energy in motivating crowds to action) must feel as if one is in a wind tunnel with sparks all around. She is joined, of course, by Beto O'Rouke, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Joe Biden when he is fully in attack mode.
After four years of Trump, do we want a president who thrills crowds or one who stuns crowds with her/his gravitas? Isn't it time to stop the Trump-like campaign circuses?
The Democratic candidate debates seem as if they will be over crowded, superficial and in the end. less than helpful to voters. Too many egos (including the questioners) too little time and very little opportunity to show contrasts between candidates. These "cattle calls" almost make me long for back rooms of power.
19
Ms. Collins' style is to lead off with some humor and then make some point, big or small. Here her point is small. Iowa or Nebraska. In the scheme of things, this is as trivial as it gets.
Ms. Collins also tells us that there's a lot of nonsense in the campaign. But she ignores the fact that the main way we pick our candidates is through money. Any alternative to money is something different. Ms. Collins' humor and her arguments all miss this point. Testing candidates by means other than how well funded they are is a very good thing.
12
@michjas: I emphatically disagree. Please read the following opinion piece, published yesterday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/opinion/iowa-caucuses.html?searchResultPosition=1
1
The point is that in the vast scheme of things the little white state of Iowa is trivial.
2
1. Make the election season two months long.
2. Have all the state primaries 30 days before the election.
3. Make that day a national holiday.
4. Election day becomes a national holiday, too.
303
@ACounter
5. Allow everyone to vote in every election. (That will have a centering effect vs. the endpoints effect we currently have.)
24
@ACounter Change primaries to a ranked-choice system. With ranked choice, Trump would never have won the nomination. (Fun fact: he didn't win a majority in ANY primary. He just hung on longer than the rest, and when it was down to three, he got more votes than either of the other two.)
9
@ACounter You limit the election season to two months and you'll find candidates' faces on Starbucks cups, novelty toilet paper and Whole Foods bags.
2
Enough pampering Iowans. Let some other state has its day in the sun. Or draw a lottery of five smallest states by population and let them take turns. Except this election because the Iowans may be on a rebound after breakup with Trump ever since he got into the tariff wars hurting the corn and soybean growers in Iowa. Trump must be credited to giving Iowans a hill of beans.
27
"...[ethanol] can cut down on prices, but it can have a significant downside when it comes to the environment, particularly air pollution in the summer."
Ethanol was originally mandated during the W Bush Administration in the Renewable Fuels Standard, to support energy independence. But fracking eliminated that justification. Ethanol was also supposed to be good for the environment but that never panned out either.
If ethanol could cut down on prices, it wouldn't require a mandate. It is more expensive because of transportation costs. And every year, the price of gasoline spikes because of the "changeover".
So call it what it is, another harmful subsidy for agribusiness that degrades farmland. If not for the Iowa Caucuses, the ethanol mandate would have been repealed years ago.
151
@Look Ahead Totally agree. I'm appalled that Democratic candidates are too cowardly to say that ethanol will kill us all. Maybe Iowa could go back to having real farmers who grow food for people not cars and confinement feeding.
1
@Look Ahead Your post contains some misinformation. See this NPR source about why the mandate doesn't exactly matter. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/10/466010209/the-shocking-truth-about-americas-ethanol-law-it-doesnt-matter-for-now
Further, how is fracking better for the environment? At least when the corn grows it absorbs CO2 produced by gas-burning vehicles.
I'd also like to see some support for your claim about a "harmful subsidy for agribusiness that degrades farmland." What exactly do you mean?
Finally, gas with ethanol in it is cheaper than gasoline without ethanol (yes, perhaps because of subsidies, which I do not necessarily agree with), and transportation costs vary greatly depending on how far you need to transport it.
2
@Look Ahead Ethanol, a partially-oxygenated hydrocarbon, helps clean up exhaust emissions during the winter on ancient cars with carburetors or open-loop fuel injection by leaning out the rich fuel-air ratios needed to start and run an engine when it is cold. However, it has been over 30 years since the last carburbeted car or light truck was sold, and the engine management computer running all modern fuel-injected engines dynamically set the fuel-air ratio on the fly based on feedback from an exhaust gas oxygen sensor. In this situation, blending alcohol or ether into gasoline has no effect on exhaust emissions. Furthermore, someone--taxpayers!--pay for the subsidies required to make ethanol price-competitive, so there is still a cost. In addition, devoting large amounts of cropland to growing corn for ethanol has an opportunity cost, given that the land could be used to grow food crops or other crops than have advantages over corn and has an effect on crop prices. And when you consider that the benefits of ethanol production mandated by the government (the way they do it in command socialistic economies) accrue to the few (and cost the many), particularly large commercial and corporate farming operations, ethanol is a bad deal, one more poor outcome from a broken political system that is less and less democratic and more and more a handmaid of rich special interests.
3
Spoken like a true New Yorker. Although I don't see the point in this meandering editorial.
9
@Groups Averse
It's not an editorial--it's a humorous opinion column.
3
@Groups Averse ~
For accuracy, it is an op-ed, not an editorial. There is a difference.
4
@Groups Averse
Uh, might I respectfully suggest that you might be a teensy bit too close to the rows to see the tassels?
OF COURSE you like the system as it is, I would too, if I still lived in Waterloo.
3
The Iowa caucus is enough to give the Corn God an allergy. The importance of the state however, can't be overlooked. Feed for cattle & fuel for burger eating commuters must be realized by politicians as of paramount importance, global warming be damned. Jay Inslee would risk a coronary campaigning here.
The people want bread, let them eat popcorn.
10
I really think the states to vote first should change every year. Why should Iowa get all the clout and then be forgotten.. Can't Missouri get a little attention ahem.. I mean good attention?
20
@Dave don't hold anything in missouri. it is as GOP corrupt as you can get.
1
I saw this episode on Veep! My in-laws are Iowans. Iowan's used to be salt of the earth honestly good people who cared about their fellow humans. The subsidizing of corn and farm bailouts has turned them into selfish me firsters.
43
@Dee
Most Iowans are still good honest hard-working people. Investigate Iowa in more detail. There are many immigrant rich communities. People here help each other. Corporate farming has taken over, for many reasons. Smaller single family farms have been disappearing dramatically since the 1970s. One has to understand all the various farm issues to understand "price supports/programs" and who really benefits from them. Over-production and stiff competition also factors into farm prices. Out of state investors in meat production and processing also want to make profits. Farming isn't simple any more and it's very risky for the medium to small farmers due to many issues including credit, seed prices, equipment and fuel prices, weather, and now tariffs.
From 1995 - 2017, Iowa farmers have received $30.8 in federal farm subsidies, the 2nd biggest farmer welfare queen state after Texas, which was the #1 farmer welfare queen state.
Corn Subsidies $19,171,377,551
Soybean Subsidies $5,117,743,566
Conservation Reserve Program $5,034,910,128
Disaster Payments $793,821,843
Livestock Subsidies $208,032,152
Dairy Program Subsidies $182,541,452
Env. Quality Incentive Program $126,629,110
Wetlands Reserve Program $46,909,919
Wheat Subsidies $34,219,981
Oat Subsidies $21,216,201
https://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=19000&progcode=total&yr=mtotal
Perhaps all candidates can ask Iowan citizens if they're enjoying their welfare state and if they'd like more, less, or the same amount of socialism they've been getting.
Enquiring welfare queen minds want to know.
1031
@Socrates
Don't forget that most of this money comes from blue states which contribute the lion's share of federal revenues.
325
@Socrates
All the farmers need to do is construct a statue of Trump Tower in butter and the subsidies will flow like corn oil in a tragically trumpian administration.
59
@Socrates yeah, but they say they “don’t like taking the money”see that’s the difference.
78
His hair is truly strange.
I've asked several women I know if it inspires them to run their fingers through it.
They reply with unpleasant sounds.
He is odd in several ways; not a fellow you'd want your daughter to date, or your mother.
I want to see the mirror before which he engages in his beauty routine.
26
@John Briggs . . .and could he possibly have consulted that mirror before setting off for Buckingham Palace in that comedy version of white tie???
4
A column on Iowa voters and no mention, Gail, of its most famous/infamous politician, the Honorable Steve King? You had a great potential story line, how Trump wouldn’t let King hitch a ride on Air Force One for his campaign visit to Iowa. Didn’t the Fake President once fully embrace that there were “good people” on the “other side”, carrying the tiki torches while chanting white power slogans? Such a fair weather buddy!
32
The only reason to woo Iowa voters is because they're the first up in this horse race. Other than that they're a flippity flop bunch who voted for Trump after voting for Obama because somehow Obama didn't walk on water enough or perform enough miracles to hold their loyalty.
Let's see, I think I sense an end to ethanol welfare checks on the horizon and those farmers better hope that Mexicans will buy a lot of soy beans now that the Chinese markets are kaput. Iowa owes the rest of the country an apology.
84
As high as trump's tie ? About knee high , you say ? That man needs a tailor !
8
Hi @paul, I don't think a tailor is what many think trump needs most although his taste in tie length seems mostly in bad taste and/or driven by his need to hide his enlarging figure. Perhaps an intervention would be more helpful to all of us.
16
@paul How about as high as the front of the tux he wore in London?
He reminded me of the Three Stooges all rolled into one.
2
The thing I like the MOST about the fact that there are 20 or so Democrats running in this election is the fact that 20 people explaining positive Democratic policy goals is a great political strategy.
As opposed to one person running across the country with an over sized ego, a long red tie, kissing babies, pandering to who ever shows up at the fair, performing a cheap comedy act to hide his inability to govern, making false promises to add to his record of 10,000+ lies, calling the opposition stupid childish names, and running on a record of divisiveness, cruelty, hatred, racism, and fear.
Come on Election day. Lets be done with the current occupant and restore faith, trust, and hope to our government.
59
@Lalo
I agree. The world and the US face many daunting challenges. Let's get lots of ideas and possible approaches into the discussion.
While Trump is bragging about how gung-ho for ethanol he is, perhaps he could add a few words about his Trump Tariffs, and maybe he can talk to some soybean and hog farmers along with Iowa's corn growers.
Any Iowan who votes for Trump hasn't been paying attention for the last few years, and probably really should just stay home on caucus night.
28
@Jim Brokaw According to what I have seen on most of the TV news programs, farmers across the nation are willing to fall on their ploughs for Trump because they believe he is doing the right thing with his tariffs on China. Of course, Trump is softening the blow with federal dollars to compensate the farmers for their losses. I wonder how long their support will last if the China market doesn't come back and federal funds dry up.
24
@JTBence
“Many foreign business people and politicians have underestimated the determination of Chinese people to support the government in a trade war,” said Mu, vice chairman of Yihai Kerry, owned by Singapore-based Wilmar International.
Cutting the soy ration for hogs from the typical 20 percent to 12 percent would equate to a demand reduction of up to 27 million tonnes of soybeans per year – an amount equal to 82 percent of Chinese soy imports from the United States last year. Chinese farmers could cut soymeal rations by nearly half without harming hogs’ growth, experts and academics said.
The standard 20 percent ration dates to a recipe promoted by U.S. soybean industry advocates in the 1980s as they entered what was then a newly opened market for foreign investment.
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trade-china-soymeal-insight/inside-chinas-strategy-in-the-soybean-trade-war-idUSKCN1OQ0D2
This is not a democracy when you depend on Iowa to start things off. And then then you go to New Hampshire? What? The worst people in the United States get to start up our nomination process? Why?
12
@dave beemon You're from Boston and you're saying New Hampshire has the worst people in the United States? What?!
Sorry Iowa. Too early to matter.
6
The people I know from Iowa are fine people, but this nonsense has to stop. Klobuchar's numbers show what a joke polls in small state really mean: nothing.
12
Iowa, making Kansas seem diverse and exciting.
Seriously.
27
@Phyliss Dalmatian
We have a friend who farms in Iowa. Lots of great qualities, but the most stubborn person on the planet. The kind of guy who will spend twenty minutes straightening a nail he bent when he's got boxes of them handy. He's a Republican and will stick with Trump come hell or high water.
Maybe they're all like that.
2
Actually, it's not okay. If you paid attention to what happened today alone, you would know Joe is right.
It's time to pay attention to real issues, leave the snark behind, and defeat the current man in office.
21
@If it feels wrong, it probably is - The big thing is to get the vote out on the day. If everyone who voted took one new voter you could nearly double the vote ( allowing for a few deaths since 2006) Helping people register and feel comfortable with turning up to the right place, on the right day, with the correct identification etc.
For all the words spoken the vote is what counts.
13
Up to now, an awful awful is a super thick milkshake.
If trump visits, that thinking might change.
6
Should we call these Democratic gunslingers out west “The Magnificent 23?” If ever gathered in a single corral, would be fun to ask 22 of them in turn one question: “Since you lacked the chutzpah to primary challenge the inept and inert Democratic nominee of 2016, why should primary voters today think you have the moxie to take on Trump?” The guy from Vermont would get a pass.
7
@William Colgan Two of them were too young to run in 2016. Should they get passes, too?
1
@William Colgan
Tell me about the chutzpah and moxie of all the Republican gunslingers who are mounting a primary challenge to the inept and unqualified Republican in 2019.
Oh and by the way let's not forget that the Democratic nominee in 2016 actually did win the election by 3 million votes, but had it stolen from her by our pathetic electoral college system. So explain to me how that makes her "inept and inert?
2
@John Binkleyi. “Inept” because she focused on North Carolina and Florida — in 2012 Obama lost in North Carolina and won Florida by 1%. Thought she could do better than Obama? All the while ignoring the upper Midwest. As for inert, see NY Times front page story early September 2016. Headline was “Where is Hillary Clinton.” Turns out she did almost no public campaigning for five weeks after the Dem convention — stayed in her comfort zones in the Hamptons and California, raising big dollars at private fund raisers. Yes, inept and inert apply to that wretched campaign.
I could not, for the life of me, find a reason to visit Iowa, Nebraska or any other corn growing State until I heard the sound corn makes while growing: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/science/plant-sounds-brooklyn-botanic-garden.html?
Fascinating! now I just have to get bored enough with my life to get on a plane, go to Iowa (after the Primary season and all that flooding they seem to have back there) sit out at a country motel some place quiet and listen to corn growing. It might teach me a thing or two...I don't know what but it might be useful.
7
@Gary Valan Alas, I'm afraid you're in for a disappointment.
Can the coastal elites please stop with the condescending derisive comments about Iowa? So it’s not California... thank God!
@LKD As someone who grew up in Ohio and Michigan, can I just say that I think this sense of grievance in Middle America against "coastal elites" is a meme generated by right wing media? Living here on the left coast, people don't sit around thinking bad thoughts about the middle of the country, no-one uses the term "fly over country". most of the (gentle) jokes I hear about the Mid -west if from people who came from those places. In fact, many people here originate from middle America, visit family and friends there regularly, and have a much more accurate view of life there than the other way around.
1
Our mechanic told us that ethanol is a scam; it produces less CO2, but MPG goes down, so more gas is burned.
Is there a special refrigerated room for the butter sculptures so they don’t melt? What is done with all that butter? This reminds me of a town in Italy that has an annual tomato fight, and a few metric tons of tomatoes are plastered all over the town, much like when my brother and his friends would have a tomato fight in the farmer’s field.
3
@Miriam Actually it is in Spain, they call it tomatina, I think. But the question about the butter is interesting. It does not get wasted hopefully. Butter prices surged last year and we were told it was due to an increasing Chinese demand.
4
@ves You're right about the tomatina. Tomatoes are imported from the Extremadura to Valencia for the annual event.
But you're wrong about increasing butter demand from China. Most Chinese are lactose intolerant.
2
Pundits try to predict politics. Many get paid millions for their opinion. Almost no one, except Michael Moore, said Trump would win. And the pundits are freaked out if they’re wrong. On National TV. Geaux Frogs!!
3
In fairness to Amy Klobuchar, her 2% with rounding could have been nearly 15 Iowans. Pretty good for someone who once drove all the way to Canada with a plastic comb tied to the roof of her car.
And pfft, Rhode Island, please. Being the last of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution disqualifies it immediately. It could be Delaware, the first state, and that would probably thin the Democratic herd down to one.
6
@Phillip
Colonies, but okay . . .
It's somewhere between comforting and confronting to know that politicians are the same all over the world.
Here in Victoria (Australia) you can tell it's an election year when suddenly there's talk of a train line being built to the airport in Melbourne. Then the election happens and the idea is shelved until about 3 months before the next election.
Classic huckster pollies.
13
@James Tapscott politicians are hucksters to the extent that voters fall for hucksterism. Try voting for the pol who is telling you the truth, even if it isn't what you want to hear.
"Tuesday Joe Biden was in Ottumwa..." Wow. Radar O'Riley (M.A.S.H.) was from Ottumwa. Radar could sense when things were coming. I wish Joe Biden had the same ability to sense the freight train heading his way. I respect his service to his country, his dedication to his family and all of the personal tragedies that he keeps making public. But the thing he COULD be remembered for is stepping aside at last and letting a new generation carry the torch.
32
@RDR
Anyone from the “new generation” is welcome to step up and try to win. If he or she can beat Biden more power to them. But don’t expect him to be a bulldozer parent and clear the way. This is politics, not middle school.
4
If Mr. Trump is said to be 'Existential' at least it can be claimed that he has something to do with 'existence', but Mr. Biden, in terms of his ideas and their relevance to life in America today, is virtually 'extinct'. The Democrats are so brimming with talent that they have over 20 candidates, why should they want one so old and out of touch with reality that he practically has to be wheeled out on stage like El Cid?
11
@Ronald B. Duke
Sounds like an echo of Trump's attacks on Biden to me.
3
I think you mean something else (also farm related) is as high as Trump's tie -- and soon it will over his comb-over.
10
I am finding it difficult to get really excited about any Democratic contender right now. What distinguishes them? The message is mostly the same, after all they are Democrats (with the exception of Bernie Sanders who is a Democrat of convenience). Trump distinguished himself in being the most vulgar, the most profane, the most ill-informed, and absolutely the worst candidate the Republicans have ever endorsed for president and he won the election.
He was unlike any candidate we have ever seen. He attracted the media like a magnet attracts iron filings, and he used it to his advantage. He may not have understood the "art of the deal" but he certainly did understand the art of the sideshow con. Trump is an entertainer and that is what he did. He is still doing it. He is like a terrible accident from which we cannot avert our eyes. We don't want to see it, but are compelled to look.
In order to counter this, whoever the Democratic candidate is has to have a passion for his or her message, and connect with an audience on a visceral level, without being the grotesque buffoon Trump is. The person I have seen do this is Elizabeth Warren. Joe Biden might be ahead in the polls, but I do not sense that he has the fire and passion of Warren. She is intelligent, sensible in her views and Trump is afraid of her.
Right now the Democratic candidates are like a garden in bad need of the weakest plants being weeded out. We need to nourish only the heartiest plants so they can stand out.
36
@Diana As much as I like Elizabeth, Hillary had the same qualifications as Elizabeth has.
And we know what happened to Hillary.
The men (and some women) in this country are just not ready for a woman president.
As trump with his limited vocabulary would say.
Sad.
4
"Insomniac Don" is quite serious. There is an association between insomnia and paranoia, and Don is clearly paranoid. The most common symptom is the sense that everyone is out to get you and EVERYBODY seems to be out to get Don in his mind. Think about that for just a moment you will quickly realize that almost everything he says and does on a daily basis is a direct reflection of that single symptom. So it is no surprise that he is also an insomniac.
18
While Trump has rightfully been disparaged for his narcissism, lying, lack of ethics and morals, lack of knowledge, lack of preparation, lack of business acumen, etc., let’s look at this another way. Trump is a US and international liability because he is fundamentally unlikeable. He doesn’t collaborate with anyone. Noone really likes working with him. Notwithstanding his ability to throw a little superficial charm or carrots around briefly before he wants to obtain something, people don’t usually stick by him for long if they can possibly avoid it. Even the skillful implementation of never ending damage control by die hard Republican operatives is going to break down sooner or later. The long touted loyal base is more of a PR and media created meme than reality. Likely, his so called “followers” simply can’t admit they made a rookie mistake that has spawned terrible consequences for them, us, and the US overall. And it’s taking its toll--just look at his face in any picture you see these days. He’s not going to be able to keep up his con game much longer.
28
I hope you’re right, but I suspect he’s not going anywhere until at least 2020, and he can do a lot more damage before then. Plus, we still have to get rid of sleazy Mitch and his Senate cabal. Let’s hope for overwhelming Democratic turnout.
2
@JF True - in fact Mitch and his cabal are the greater threat, in my book.
They don't go to Rhode Island, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico or anywhere that's not a toss up state. Mostly ... Elizabeth Warren seems to be traveling around a bit. It's because of the insane Electoral College. Get rid of it and they will go everywhere.
21
@Doctor Woo fortunately for elizabeth warren (and what is with her first married name?) there is almost nothing going on in the US Senate that keeps her from campaigning. great job, mitch.
The Dems deserve all the abuse they get. They claim they are progressive, forward looking. They talk about eliminating the electoral college. Yet they are incapable of taking a critical look at how they nominate their presidential candidate, chained to a vestige of centuries past. Why all the weight to Iowa and New Hampshire? Why not group heterogeneous states in a rotation system?
Practice what you preach, Dems.
5
@Joe
Dems didn't make those rules.
2
@Joe
You do realize the Republicans go through the same caucus process in Iowa as the Ds. Right?
2
Never been to Iowa. Don’t know anyone from Iowa. As far as I can tell from election coverage, they seem to like fairs, fried food and diners. Maybe the Iowa tourism bureau (I assume there is one) could encourage some other venues for voter-candidate interaction, just to fill out the picture. An office building. A museum. A college.
That way, it would seem more like real people in a real place. Because I know for sure if the first caucus was held in Hawaii, the nation would be inundated with images of the beach, sunsets, surfers, luaus and Diamond Head. Because that’s all we do out here.
Aloha!
7
@Alan
I don't think there is an Iowa tourism bureau. I live in Illinois. Here we get a lot of ads about tourism in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, and even Missouri, but I have never seen an ad for Iowa.
I've spent a far amount of time in Iowa (and I'm not even running for president) and trust me there is nothing except flat land growing corn and some soybeans and pigs.
1
The primary system is even worse than the Electoral College and the allocation of Senators among states in the damage it has done to our politics. "She wonders how it ever got this crazy..."
3
Another example of the moronic way in which we go about selecting the party nominee. How representative are the people of Iowa to the rest of the nation? How well do their concerns reflect the concerns of the rest of us? Why are they the first primary? It is past time to update the presidential selection process to the 21st century, perhaps with a half dozen regional primaries. Why must so much of what we do politically end up being material for late night comedians?
7
@Joseph Thomas
I'm all about divvying up the country that same way. Who needs 50 states? It sure doesn't reflect reality.
If a state is too cheap to actually hold a primary election, it shouldn't be allow so prominent a position in the Democratic primary. Don't reward undemocratic processes, which is exactly what a caucus is. Shoot the lock off your wallet Iowa and have a real primary, or drop to the end of the line.
8
There should be a national lottery to select the first state to go. Make it festive. Have dignitaries in formation on the steps of Congress behind a giant (basketballs instead of ping-pong balls) version of one of those bingo air popping machines. Just to spice things up a bit, throw in the unincorporated territories as well. Guam 2024.
4
If the dem candidate vs Trump cannot win we will have lost our democracy . Barr will do anything to keep Trump in power as he is even more powerful and if Trump loses Barr is a nobody. So Barr needs to get the names of all those Western agents there are in Russia pass on to Trump who will have a one on one with Putin. Trump will get Russian cyber help in 2020 and insure he wins and ends the sanctions with Ivanka getting a hotel in Moscow.
11
Very funny. And He Who Shall Not Be Named was mentioned, but not disproportionately. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
3
Democrats need to be measured while doing what they have to do to get elected.
A cornucopia of corn!
That said, the long-term answers are nuclear power plants and electric cars, with healthy doses of wind and solar added to the mix.
Voting Trump out is crucial. As are continuing investigations that lead to his impeachment. That's a key existential component, too.
It's always been up to us.
10
At least in Iowa Jay Inslee has been able to refer to the recent flooding in parts of Iowa in his speeches on climate change. Other than that I don't of any candidate who has been able to take advantage of anything specific to Iowa. I remember in one primary about the only issue the voters in Iowa cared about was the awful smell from pig farms. I guess that problem as been taken care of because nobody has been complaining about the pig farms this time around.
7
@Bob
When they find that their water sources are compromised by breached hog manure lagoons full of antibiotic resistant bacteria they will squeal like stuck pigs.
3
I don’t pay attention to the political calendar here in eastern Iowa. All I do is read Gayle’s column regularly and when I see one ribbing Iowa and the whole primary/caucus thing, I know a general election is afoot.
17
What you focus on increases, as does the influence of rather small humdrum place like Iowa, which is virtually all farm. If we had the first primary in say, yes, Rhode Island, at least tableware would have its day; or even Michigan where I live, where the roads are so bad that I rue the day I bought my little Prius, which despite its great gas mileage, pays for it with a ride so jarring that it makes driving very “un-fun.” We all know about Iowa, they’ve had their day, it’s time to switch focus.
11
"...being forced to interact with Bill de Blasio."
If Iowans want to get away from having to interact with deBlasio or Trump, two New Yorkers who are not exactly popular in New York, they are better off moving to NY. Trump doesn't show up much in NY anymore and the the odds of running to deBlasio in NY is not that good.
25
Iowa and the other early primary states should not have so much power. The most critical primaries are the ones in the purple battleground states that will ultimately determine the election - have the early primaries in Michigan, Wisconsin, PA, etc. The preferences of the voters in those states are what really matter.
Though even there, getting a majority of registered Democrats isn't a perfect indicator of success as it will be crucial in the general election to get the votes of independent and more moderate Republicans.
11
@NYC BD
Iowa went for Obama twice before going with Trump in ‘16. Iowa has 3 Democratic representatives plus Steve King. If that’s not purple I don’t know what is.
29
@NYC BD I you think about it, the logical extention of your argument is abolish the EC and decide the contest based on the popular vote.
8
@NYC BD It really is ridiculous that Iowa and New Hampshire have so much power. We need more states to primary early. That would spare Iowa of being invaded by all the candidates at once. Spread the misery around!
3
Elizabeth is looking better and better. Can you imagine a smart woman with experience, a moral compass, and a high standard of ethics taking on Trump? Watching a debate between those two would be Emmy deserving. Trump's orange make-up would run, and his rhetoric will become even more incoherent. The topper would be that it's a woman who will be wiping the floor with him. So deserved! Such poetic justice! However, one caution for whoever is our nominee, and truthfully I will take any of them. Today on ABC, Trump was interviewed. And yep, between the lines he has invited a foreign power to once again "help" him out with dirt on his future opponent. Now, he used Norway as an example, but we all know he meant Russia. His response to the requirement of notifying the FBI? To paraphrase, "Why would I do that?" And his FBI director is wrong, wrong, wrong to expect him to, say, have a moral compass. So we are in for a bumpy ride. But you know? If more Americans can grow a bit more of a conscience, a Democrat without a doubt will be our next POTUS. Think big, folks.
455
@Kathy Lollock Warren has zero chance of winning the party nomination.
If I were you, I'd stay home in 2020 as a protest vote against Biden and The Democrat Party ESTABLISHMENT.
It cost you the 2016 race and will cost you the 2020 race.
Better to embrace Howard Schultz..who..as a real outsider...with a tremendous track record of service oriented leadership..has a chance to beat the other outsider..DJT.
The Populism on the Left and Populism on the Right are not dissimilar.
If you connect the dots (they're pretty easy to see if you get rid of your TDS)...there's a lot the far left could accomplish by working with Trump instead of fighting him at every step.
Heck..look at what Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were able to do on criminal justice and prison reform..just by embracing the man and working out a solution vs. calling him names?
It's right there for the taking...you just have to drop your sword..and engage.
Just saying..if you continue to wage war...you end up losing..and you get nothing for the effort except heartburn and a raging rash from raising your arms in protest every 5 seconds.
1
@Kathy Lollock
I get what you say about Warren's ethics, experience, even her platform. I'm not sure she would come out well on a debate stage with Trump. (Which isn't that important to me, but seems to be to most Americans.) Why do I say that? I think back to her wide-eyed bewildered astonishment when McConnell interrupted her reading of a letter of objection to Jeff Sessions becoming Attorney General. "Nevertheless, she persisted." The Senate Republicans voted to silence her. I can just picture Trump making some crazy remark or lie that will throw her off balance. After all, doesn't he leave any intelligent person dumbfounded?
7
@Kathy Lollock To be fair, we all watched a smart woman with experience, a moral compass, and a high standard of ethics taking on Trump. Her name was Hillary Clinton.
Warren will probably fare better than Mrs. Clinton did due to less baggage and with Trump being an ongoing threat instead of just a pending one. I certainly hope so, for our country's sake.
9
Can you think of a better place to STALK voters than Iowa?
The state is surrounded by rivers so voters can't easily escape, when dem dems come rolling in. As reflected in the state flag the place was once, French. Corn relish can be so gourmet.
The University of Iowa is a very fine school, so candidates better not take Iowa's electorate for granted. They might be sharper than the grim reapers out for their support!
13
@Texan Yours is the CORNIEST comment on this column!
Nope, not feeling like I want to be pandered to. What I do want is for folks to stop pandering to Trump, who thinks and does what is 'right in his own eyes', which often isn't according to our laws, nor our values, nor in the interest of our country. We must insist that our leaders in government obey our laws or we don't have a democratic republic. The Republicans in Congress refuse to do their Constitutional oversight, and they are even okay with Trump continuing to ignore subpoenas, as Democrats are attempting to get to the truth of what happened with his campaign colluding with a foreign adversary. Then, he says he'd do it again, inviting foreign countries to interfere in our elections in 2020. Iowans, any choice you make of Democrats has to be better than Trump. Let them pander to you if you must, but don't allow them to pander to Trump. Pelosi was right in saying Trump is 'self-impeaching'. When will the Senate be ready to convict as the jury would (They are the jury in an impeachment trial), given this president's conduct? How can they continue to ignore his lack of defending, protecting and upholding our Constitution? - or our government sources over authoritarians and even the best interests of our country? Justice needs to be served. The day of reckoning will come.
53
I like the color of the president's hair, reminiscent of burnished corn. Mine has turned ashen over the last three years, and not gold from grief as Oscar Wilde's widow.
An elderly family friend at Versailles and I had a weather exchange earlier, and she asked after Monsieur Trump's welfare. Further, she felt that he did quite well on his visit to France and finds Mrs. Trump beautiful.
A shame that he looked like an enormous penguin, ready to explode out of his suit tails when dining with The Queen, I added, causing her to merrily tweet. He appears to be getting his way, with a little help from alien corn.
Now. The term “An existential threat to America”, brings Sartre to mind, and his play 'No Exit'. This populist Man for The People and his Administration use a lot of fancy words, e.g., cabal, cachet, carnage, etc. etc., which is a bit chi chi for a president who 'says it the way it is', evoking a roar of popular approval from his supporters.
Nebraska is the Heart of America, and when the phone rings here 'once in a blue moon' at the risk of sounding like a sad mop, it is inevitably from one of the finest steak companies in our country.
Having just finished dinner with a plastic fork, I am switching over to my sterling one. It is brighter, stronger, and true sterling like Joe Biden, who seldom loses his cool and is able to smile in the face of adversity.
Let us sweep away the cob webs and keep on trucking.
58
@Miss Ley
Biden calls Trump "an existential threat." Trump calls Biden "a loser." So there you have it. It's obvious why Trump wins. He's really good "mentally." He's clearly the brains of the operation.
@Miss LeyAhh, Miss Ley. What would we do without you? You brighten my morning.
1
This year Iowa may not be able to attract loads of candidates for lots and lots of time and enjoy the piles of money they spend. Super Tuesday is just a month after Iowa caucuses and the candidates will need to spend time and money in the very large states which are rich in delegates.Iowans better not take their sweet time meeting and greeting-this year there is a huge challenge facing candidates within weeks of Iowans making up their minds.They have to compete in big, diverse states such as California.
5
Must be a blast, living in a society of no greater need than advice like this. Still, it's not premature to suggest that Biden must continue to be the embarrassment he's always been, as the best antidote we have to the novelties of humiliation from the incumbent. I think we have seen, that if Americans should ever desire better representation in government than they get, the answer is not going to lie in securing, or even properly tabulating their voting. It's going to lie in the terminal discrediting of their Parties, and this seems more imminent, in any case.
2
In my dreams, because it will never, ever, happen - all primaries are held on the same day.
No state is more important than another. Candidates do their best for as long as they can, and we are ALL spare the incessant ads, speculation, and meaningless reports.
If election day is final, one day for all, why not primaries?
88
@c One reason for early primaries in small states was so that lesser known candidates could get started with less money. Not sure if it matters now that the whole thing starts a year before.
9
@c No state more important than another is not a good idea. It is why the country is in its current mess, with a minority of the population controlling the majority of the population because of an anachronistic government structure created when America was created by 13 separate nations.
1
Candidates pander to voters, whether in Iowa, Nebraska, Holon or Toulouse.
Candidates lie to voters, or stretch the truth to breaking point with promises never to be kept.
The fact though that Iowa has some kind of magical importance is absurd and makes a mockery of the process.
23
@Joshua Schwartz They do that only to the extent that is what voters demand of them - if voters won't vote for good candidates who tell them uncomfortable truths, or insist on voting for candidates who tell them pandering lies (Trump) the voters have no-one but themselves to blame.
Wouldn't it be great if the states rotated? So one year, Montana votes first, another year New York votes first, etc. It certainly would give other states a chance to set the line-up at the starting gate.
I'm glad CA is weighing in early.
And I hope the midwestern Republicans are starting to get it - climate change is real; climate change does exacerbate flooding: warmer temps lead to more water evaporating and thus, more rain. I also hope the Midwest recovers from this catastrophic flooding that Trump is doing nothing about, and it doesn't seem like Homeland Security, the EPA, or FEMA have a lot to say either.
Trump doesn't care about farmers, the working class, people with medical problems, the elderly, the young, or any of them. He doesn't care about anyone.
295
@Barbara
I got a better Idea, Barb. How about having ALL the states vote at the same time? AND, consistent voting laws enabling registered voters in ANY party vote for whomever they please??
9
@Barbara I disagree with your last statement "He doesn't car about anyone." He does. He care about himself and ONLY himself.
5
As a native of Iowa (Steve King's district no less), I think it's ridiculous that a small, unrepresentative state has become so important.
Even worse, we have a two-year election cycle that costs billions. A first in world history.
Democrats have to address the reasons that Iowa and so many other states turned red...and take our country back.
118
@bnyc
Not only "unrepresentative," but ready, willing and able to be pandered to first. Get off the farm dole Iowa. Pay your taxes like the rest of us. Not the south, of course, that gets way more back than they pay in.
15
Went to Iowa for the '88 primary campaign,
and I still don't know where it is,
but I do remember it was flat.
21
@Blue in Green
You’d remember Iowa - it isn’t so flat. You may have overshot and ended up in Nebraska.
7
@Blue in Green
I think you were in Illinois. Iowa has rolling hills.
7
@Blue in Green
Thanks for reminding me of Miles. You rescued me from a bitter moment.
1
Apologies to Iowa and I think Democrats there will know what I am referring to: while Iowa and New Hampshire come early as usual the giant California and some other big state will be heard much earlier this time.
Instead of waiting months for these larger states to weigh in, the changes in the calendar will certainly impact the ‘horserace’ so carefully watched in the media.
Iowa and New Hampshire will be forgotten earlier than usual and that could be true of leading candidates if they don’t pay greater attention to larger states.
28
Wouldn't it be so nice if we had, oh, I don't know, say four designated primary days each year, with one-fourth of the states voting on each one, and the particular states voting each day rotating over the decades?
Of course, I would ultimately love for there to be just ONE primary day--with early voting and vote by mail allowed--but I realize that's very much a bridge too far for all the local economies and power-brokers. But at least if that occurred it might be a "true" election as no Electoral College would be involved--and if no candidate reached, say, a 40 percent plurality, a run off could be held among the top two a few weeks later.
Caucuses shmawcuses.
153
@Glenn Ribotsky
I'd b for on primary day and make it a national holiday.
39
@Glenn Ribotsky. If I could recommend this a hundred times, I would. Just how much do we learn about how a candidate would govern by watching her/him eat an ear of corn or an ice cream sundae? How much do we glean from a five-minute presentation that includes a three-minute fluff warmup joke? And just how useful is a sound bite on ethanol when we don’t hear the more important issue of how this integrates into a comprehensive energy or agriculture or climate policy? Let’s just designate Sunday, June 14, 2020 (Flag Day!) National Primary Day, following a 3-month declaration period — no early entrants! —, party conventions in July, and the election on November 3. This would mean that voters would need to learn about candidates by statements, policies, proposals published during this 9-month period. This will require voters to exert more effort in the exercise of democracy, but isn’t that what we should expect? And if they don’t and decide by casting lots, or consulting astrologers or listening to Rush or Ann or Alex or Tucker or Sean, we haven’t lost anything that we had previously, except the interminable election campaign.
54
@Glenn Ribotsky - I like 'ranked choice' voting, too. Why not give somebody besides just -one- Republican and -one- Democrat a chance? I really like the 'top two' primaries in California, too. Trump won many of his Republican primaries with much less than majority of the votes, sometimes only 30%, but since the opposition was so split, he ended up the Republican nominee. With 'ranked choice', we might have ended up with Kasich or Rubio. OK, we might have ended up with Ted Cruz, too... but even the "Mr. Unlikeable" of the Senate would certainly be better at 'doing the job' of president than Trump.
19
Iowa is as irrelevant to how we nominate/elect a president as funnel cakes, cotton candy or any other icon in any other state in our country. What a sorry way to waste everyone's time and energy for a few months every 4 years. There's more suspense in figuring out where Punxsutawney Phil 's shadow will fall on Groundhog Day in Pa.
Perhaps he should run as a sentimental favorite.
Vote.
70
@Guido Malsh
What Iowa has to offer here is thousands of citizens, many well educated, who seriously listen to many candidate's speeches. They see them up close and personal. They listen for honesty, believability, energy, ideas, solutions, etc. You can't fake it very well when you have to answer probing honest questions. The candidate better give a sincere and good answer or it will show to all in the room. This is to winnow out the best candidate right now for the Democratic Party. We're doing a lot of work so that you don't have to. You can take a closer look at the top 6, and then compare those to what New Hampshire picks. This is a great feature of Democracy and in the past has pointed to small groups of the best candidates.
8
@M., Cochran The process of winnowing separates the wheat from the chaff, discarding the chaff. Hence, if you winnow out the best potential candidates you will be left with the worst nominee.
2
@Guido Malsh
Hey Guido Malsh in Cincinnati. Funnel cakes, cotton candy and other icons in other states are not irrelevant. What candidate in their right mind would run against any of those things? Cincinnati is a great city. I love the Over-the-Rhine! If Ohio were first it'd be Skyline Chili, Graeters Ice Cream or Izzy's. Yay! Ohio! C'mon y'all. Such a free for all originating out of a Midwestern state is exactly what our Founders imagined.
We have President Carter to thank for this Iowa madness. It was only when he won the presidency after finishing second to undecided in Iowa, that subsequent presidential candidates took the Iowa caucuses seriously. Before then, most US citizens did not even know what an Iowa caucus was.
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@James Ricciardi
Iowa has been first only since 1972, after reforms in the Democratic Party following the 1968 campaign. So 1976 when Jimmy Carter ran was the second time that the Iowa caucus came first.
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@James Ricciardi So true! It was always New Hampshire (a primary) that mattered, till Jimmy Carter. It's nonsensical that we throw all those eggs into the Iowa basket. Of course, NH is also due to be replaced as first in the nation primary. That honor should rotate among states geographically small enough to allow all comers to participate. As Gail says, RI should compete, as should Tennessee, maybe Alabama. Shoot! The smaller states are to the east of the Mississippi River; all those western states have lots of land (hard to campaign everywhere) and zero people. What to do?
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Polls don't mean very much, because in urban areas, most voters have to stand in line to vote. The passion for these Democratic candidates isn't there. I don't see African-Americans waiting hours in line to vote for Biden, Sanders, or Warren, like they did for Obama. There's just not a enough voting machines for them to win.
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Sorry, that’s nonsense. The passion that took back the house and gained in the senate is there, ready to win it all and this country back on track.
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@Mark You are dead wrong. Black voters are highly highly motivated to oust Trump. They are going to turnout tin massive numbers to vote Democratic.
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Hi Gail,
Thanks for trying to find some humor in the dumpster fire Trump presidency. I’m all for focusing on anything positive from the Democratic candidates rather than having to listen to Trump confirming that he would welcome a foreign governments insight on another candidate and under no circumstances should you call the FBI.
I’m leaning towards Elizabeth Warren because she’s the real deal. No hype, no sound bites. I’m ready for a competent candidate who doesn’t take pac money and is ready to move this democracy forward to the challenges facing middle America. Enough of the insanity.
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@PatMurphy77 -- "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,” Trump said.
Hmm... this appears to be nothing new for Trump - he is deeply experienced at sedition. Or is this treason - I get so mixed up where Trump is concerned. Every day, it's something new... or, really, something old, new again.
Not to be excessively paranoid-sounding, but, taking all Trump's actions in foreign policy, economic policy, attacking key traditions and institutions of our democracy and our government; Trump sure seems to be behaving like a Russian agent. Much of what he does every day seems to indirectly or overtly benefit Russia's interests... gee, I wonder why. Is it even possible, in the Age of Trump, to be 'too paranoid'?
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@PatMurphy77
"No hype?" "no sound bites?"
Elizabeth Warren "has a plan."
That's not a sound bite?
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@Mimi
Oh Mimi, I have a suggestion for those who are somehow stuck in a place where bumper-stickers carry the important messages of the day, and are what the candidate is all about.
Yes, and yes again, Elizabeth Warren has 'a plan',
she has many, detailed, written down economic policies that are designed to help all Americans who are being exploited by runaway financial entities who have no accountability.
She championed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to great success until Mick Mulvaney came along. She wants to protect our wealth of a nation from being stolen over and over again. Read up on her, you may become one of her supporters, who knows?
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If the winner in Iowa has won every Democratic nomination since 1992, I think this state has earned the right to enjoy this level of attention every 4 years. Joe Biden is not just leading in the Iowa polls. The dominant issue (character of the person who occupies the office) Biden has seized upon has resonated with the public at this time.
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@Jeffrey Freedman
"I think this state has earned the right to enjoy this level of attention every 4 years" just because the winner in Iowa has won every Dem nomination? Causality? Do they win the nomination because Iowa picked them? Or do the win the nomination because an inordinate amount of importance has been ascribed to the Iowa that picks them? I don't think so. And how successful has that "Iowa precognition" been in the general election in the last 20 years?
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@RDR I see the flaws with the caucus. I had read, coincidentally in the past day, Michelle Obama’s account in “Becoming” about her Iowa experience. I think that influenced my desire to say something good about it.
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Let's give Iowa and Iowans a break. How about running a 5-state "first primary" lottery. Five states, selected at random (OK 4 states plus Iowa) and the candidates have to campaignnin all of them, then only one week before, a drawing is held to determine the first five states to hold a primary/caucus.
A fair American system that might level the playing field and give our poor fellow citizens, the Iowans, a little break.
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Gail,
Keep up the good work. I live for your humor and satire, which sometimes seem like the only reasonable commentary on politics out there. But remember everyone: get out there and vote, vote, vote. That's how we will defeat "you know who" (I'm going to follow the new strategy for mass shooters and not say his name again until 2020 is past).
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@Rebecca Hogan
I haven't willingly said/written/invoked his name since 11/9/2016.
And I never will.
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@Rebecca Hogan Satire? You think her mocking Iowegians and Cornhuskers is satire?
I grew up in NE and lived in NYC.
I seriously got tired of so many people legitimately asking if I grew up on a farm (I didn't) or if Nebraska was next to California or Nevada...?
The nation is right. People who live in NYC haven't a clue what happens west of the Hudson River..and then those who happen to work for the NYT mock those who live west of the Hudson River to virtue signal to their readers that those deplorables who live west of the Hudson River aren't worth the time of day.
As of yesterday, the 2020 election dynamics have changed. A Quinnipiac poll was just released that showed "at least 6 Democratic hopefuls would defeat President Donald Trump" if the election were held today. Many of us have been so concerned with the rapid disintegration of our country, that we would take the safest choice as an opponent that would likely defeat Trump. Now we can take a deep breath and decide who we truly want as our next president. Yes it is still early, but it's looking like we can actually decide among several qualified candidates. We don't have to settle for the safest democratic candidate.
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@Big Mike
I have two questions / observations:
1) is this the same poll thing that showed Hillary Clinton would defeat Donald Trump? Careful with the polls
2) is the result based on popular vote or does it include the Electoral College factor? Careful with the Electoral College.
Note: I am a foreigner and I don't have dirt on anybody. But I certainly have dirt-low opinion on one candidate and how he impacts my life and the future of my kids.
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@Freedom Fry I agree that poll results need to be viewed with caution. This poll is no different. However, there seems to be a trend towards an open opportunity for democratic presidential candidates. There was a "perfect storm" of events that gave the 2016 election to Donald Trump. These events included (but are not limited to) missteps by the Democratic National Committee, James Comey's public statements casting suspicion on Hillary Clinton, and Russia's flooding of social media with false information. The result was a record turn-out of ultra-conservative voters while many potential democratic voters stayed home. Those stay-at-home voters will likely turn out in 2020.
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@Big Mike-Thank you for citing that poll. At this point, the not-six could do America a favor and stand down. Stop campaigning now and support the six leading in the polls. Their campaign vision and ideas can still be implemented in the Democratic Party platform and when a Democrat is back in the White House.
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Gail, I love your humor usually, but it is time that we stop repeating Trump’s malignant nicknames for his opponents. The more exposure these get, even in jest or in opposition, the more they sink in to the public consciousness and have their subliminal effect, which is just what Trump wants and why he does it. Just. Don’t.
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@Michele
Unfortunately, the "subliminal effect" will happen whether or not Ms. Collins repeats the phrases. Repeat them. Repeat them from the roof tops. Repeat them from the gutters. Repeat them from the halls, and kitchens throughout the land. Good people everywhere will recognize the schoolyard bully. And, together, they know what to do.
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@RDR
Well, "good people everywhere" didn't manage to recognize the schoolyard bully in 2016.
Why should we think they will recognize him now?
I agree with the need to stop repeating Individual-1's nasty nicknames for opponents.
He received BILLIONS of dollars worth of free publicity in the last presidential campaign, because the media were so titillated by his appalling behavior and wouldn't stop showcasing it.
DON'T DO IT AGAIN.
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@VB ~
Very Well stated---thank you!
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I could care less what Iowa voters do at their caucuses.They could be watching pornography for all I care.
I do care of an absurd amount of money spent on primaries that have no relation to what the majority of the country thinks due to voter apathy. Three months for primaries and campaigns before voting day; regional primaries on a rotating basis with maybe six regions and limited advertising and pac money by disclosed donors would put us on par with more civilized democracies.
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@LVG, but all that money goes to people working. That is, I consider the money helping unemployed journalists, copy editors, TV crews, rental car companies, printing companies, and on and on. It's good for the economy.
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Okay, the number of Democratic candidates is a bit overwhelming. But it is still refreshing to hear voices other than Trump’s, and encouraging to be reminded that there is a light at a end of this dark tunnel.
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@NIMIowa should have a corn on the cob festival. Sort of like a hot dog eating festival, but a lot healthier since we're not eating so much meat anymore. A lot of the speeches are corny anyway, as this comment probably is too. I bet big-bad-Don would be the hands down winner in the corn-eating contest. He would not have to eat the corn actually, since he resembles an ear of corn anyway, looks like and sounds like. Corny Don
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@David Horowitz David, how about Corn Dog Don Day?
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