Iowa II (updated)

January 4th, 2008

98% of the vote is in and Obama won the Iowa race with the help of first-time caucus goers — he got 38% of the vote. John Edwards came in second with 30%, and Hil just behind with 29 and change; I don’t know how much weight that last 2% has, and I supposed the 2nd and 3rd placers could switch out by morning, but not likely. Populism and change win the day. All three are pledging enthusiasm as they go on to New Hamshire, just five days away.

Huckabee made his celebratory speech and was downright populist … talking about “not a ruling class, but a ’serving’ class.” He’s very slick, and an interesting man — but he would not have won so handily without the Christocrats. He only got a marginal secular vote, in the teens — he won’t have the evangelicals in the Northeast.

Still — the theme of all this has been, very obviously, change. We not only want it, we demand it. Now we have to determine who will actually GIVE it to us. It will get pretty rowdy from here on.

Chris Dodd is throwing in the towel — I really like him, he championed the Constitution better than any of the others. He’ll continue to do so from his Senate seat, I’m sure. I wish I could give him a hug; he’s a really good guy.

Dennis didn’t even make the charts. Hug to him too.

CNN reports that about 220,000 Dems voted, and 118,000 Pubs — evidently a big turnout for both.

Update: Joe Biden has also dropped out.

Jude

As Predicted, Populism Is On the Rise - Who’s Laughing Now?
David Sirota, Credo Action
1/3/08

Back in August, I wrote an article for the Huffington Post entitled “An Economic Populist Is Rising In the GOP Presidential Primary.” In that article, I predicted that Republican Mike Huckabee would rise and potentially win the Iowa caucuses based on his relentless focus on economic inequality and class-based populism. I chided the media and Democrats for ignoring him, and when I wrote this article, I was laughed at by many reporters, pundits and readers alike.

In November, I wrote a nationally syndicated column for Creators Syndicate entitled “The Huey Longs of Iowa” about both Huckabee and John Edwards. I once again noted that these two underdog candidates were competing in the Iowa caucus despite being outspent precisely because both men were running as bare-knuckled economic populists. As the only nationally syndicated columnist to write something like this, I was largely dismissed and laughed off by national political reporters, pundits and many readers, with most telling me the Iowa race was between only Romney and Giuliani on the Republican side, and only Clinton and Obama on the Democratic side (You can read both articles attached below).

Now the results are in: Huckabee has resoundingly won the Iowa caucuses, John Edwards is in a dogfight with Barack Obama, who has over the last month adopted much of Edwards’ populist rhetoric. That Edwards is even in this race at all, and that Huckabee won is a success for both candidates considering they were grossly outspent by candidates being funded by huge corporate interests. More importantly, these results (regardless of who ends up winning what is effectively a tie in the Democratic race) resoundingly support precisely what I wrote way back when the Punditburo in Washington was still berating economic populism, and downplaying the very real class-based anger that is roiling America.

In the last week, a few columnists have scurried to point out what I pointed out a long time ago about both Huckabee and Edwards - as if it is some sort of new revelation that the country is ready for a truly populist economic politics. However, watching CNN, it is clear national political reporters will continue to ignore economic populism’s central role in American politics. When it comes to Huckabee, all the talk is about religious conservatism, even as conservative publications like the Weekly Standard have very recently acknowledged that Huckabee’s economic message is what has propelled him to victory.

Similarly, when it comes to Edwards miraculously being in the middle of the race despite being outspent, all the talk is about the horserace. It is as if the Washington media and political Establishment will do anything to pretend that the public’s anger at corporate greed and economic inequality simply does not exist.

They don’t want to admit this anger exists because it fundamentally indicts the corrupt system that has allowed such economic oppression to flourish - a corrupt system brought on by the hostile takeover of our government by big money interests that I described in my first book. But, as they say, the numbers do not lie. They are there for all to see - and they prove what I and many progressives have been saying for years.

To read the Huffington Post article about Huckabee from back in August, go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/dems-beware-an-economic-_b_60370.html

To read the nationally syndicated Creators column about Huckabee and Edwards from back in November, go to:
http://www.creators.com/opinion/david-sirota/the-path-to-a-national-popular-vote.html

“So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.”
~ Molly Ivins, 1944 - 2007

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Entry Filed under: Political Waves