Straw Poll writeup
first off - sorry to miss you Danny. We were just too busy herding angry cats to catch up. Mitt Romney had people coming in all day on luxury bus's and we were converting as many as we could. This is the first year I didn't even make it into the coliseum or the other candidates tents. I did eat in the Fair Tax tent though and took my kids on the rides but otherwise it was all work.
If you recall, the media initially predicted 50,000 votes cast, then downgraded it to 35,000 votes. I predicted 16,000 votes would be cast.
The reality is that about 14,000 votes were cast - the least amount in recent straw poll history. I also predicted a top 3 finish but that false bravado is purely campaign bluster and wishful thinking.
The big winner: Huckabee. The media will try to claim Mitt as the winner, but when you have to spent $2,000+ per vote, that isn't a win.
the biggest loser: It's a tie. The republican party is a big loser. This is just another sign of the coming bloodbath the chicken hawks will be bringing to the GOP. The other big loser of course is Tommy Thompson - who has dropped out. Duncan Hunter is a big loser as well, but he is also a stubborn loser. I imagine he is gunning for a cabinet position so he won't drop out for a while. Of course Cox is also a loser but we all knew who would finish last.
DW will have to speak for himself on Brownback. Coming in 3rd is fine. The problem is he bought more tickets then Huck, he provided free transportation - Huck didn't, and spent far more time in the state. Plus he is from a neighboring state. That Brownback and Huckabee are both vying for the same religious right vote - it appears Huckabee took an early lead in that race.
Paul's day was a mixed bag. 5th place and just shy of 10% of the vote is good - but it could of been much much better. We woke up to news that Mrs Paul was sent to the hospital that morning and Dr. Paul may not show up at alll. That is quite demoralizing to find out at 7:00 am. And although he did show up - it wasn't until noon. We also found that a large number of Iowan's that came to support Dr. Paul refused to vote. they would march and chant - but refused to participate in a GOP fundraiser. For those that don't know - it costs $35 to vote and the money goes for election efforts for the GOP. So our day was spent trying to herd the angry cats who currently despise the GOP into a voters booth. The propoganda stunt that copied the Iraq election by inking your thumb certainly didn't help us either. Our primary goal was to finish 5th or higher and to beat Tancredo - so we met one goal and failed in another.
I enjoyed all the out of state support for Dr. Paul very much however. Many of you remember the comraderie we all felt as American's following 9/11. As it turned out, that rejuvinated national spirit was short live as it was motivated by anger, not love. The Ron Paul revolution is completely different. We might not of owned the voting boot, but we owned the area outside the coliseum.
anyway - as a first timer to the Straw Poll I'm interested in what you thought of the event DW.
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