# Iowa Caucuses **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326 "2012-01-04T02:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/21 "2012-01-04T04:02:47Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Now they’re only 13 votes apart, and they’ve opened up real daylight over Paul, who’s 3,700 votes back. Newt’s and Perry’s percentages of the vote are basically unchanged from earlier, and Bachmann’s gone down a hair. I’ve heard that Santorum goes down a hair as well. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/22 "2012-01-04T04:03:00Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Romney is coming right up on Santorum’s ass 😃 Now if only someone on Fox could be made to read that off their teleprompter. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/23 "2012-01-04T04:04:36Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Jesus H. Fucking Christ on a broken Segway. Thank you for that. I think I’m in love. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/24 "2012-01-04T04:09:47Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Wow. The people of Iowa really are that out of touch. _Santorum???_ > > Jesus H. Fucking Christ on a broken Segway. Just what are those people thinking? > > According to the CNN page, 68% of the people voting are over 45. I guess Iowa Republicans had to try every chocolate in the box. (To quote Jon Stewart) ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/25 "2012-01-04T04:14:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Are the Lizard People doing yet another write-in campaign?! To be fair Buddy Roemer is one of the 3 neurotypicals in the race, the other 2 being Huntsman (also \<1%) and the chameleon Mitt Romney. Current listing from google: ```auto Results for Iowa Republican Caucus (U.S. Presidential Primary) Jan 03, 2012 (89% of precincts reporting) Mitt Romney 27,101 24.7% Rick Santorum 26,976 24.6% Ron Paul 23,155 21.1% Newt Gingrich 14,576 13.3% Rick Perry 11,279 10.3% Michele Bachmann 5,576 5.1% Jon Huntsman 645 0.6% Herman Cain 54 0% Buddy Roemer 45 0% No Preference 111 0.1% Other 105 0.1% ``` > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Romney is one hell of a weak candidate, but I don’t see how anyone else makes a race of this now. I dunno, as more candidates drop out, the 75% not-Mitt vote gets divided among fewer candidates. Here’s a scenario: Santorum takes Iowa. Mitt takes NH. Gingrich takes S. Carolina – then Florida. He’s #1 in the polls in both. At that point the establishment panics, because they _really_ don’t want Newt to win. Perry could then win solemn plaudits and comparisons with Saint Reagan – native intelligence isn’t everything after all and Reagan also dabbled in dog-whistle race-baiting. The upshot is that the race doesn’t settle down to 2 candidates and the process ends with none receiving a majority of delegates. Then it’s off to the convention! The only problem here is that Romney would probably perform well in a smoke-filled room, so perhaps his nomination is pre-ordained, notwithstanding his transparent phoniness. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/26 "2012-01-04T04:16:13Z")
Emmet County has corrected the reported 35% for “Other”. Bachman got only 7.2% in Black Hawk County, where she was born and lived for 13 years. I can’t view the results tonight as anything but a victory for Romney, even if Santorum eventually wins by a few votes. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/27 "2012-01-04T04:18:58Z")
Who are these people voting for Cain and Roemer? I thought Cain dropped out and was Roemer ever even running? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/28 "2012-01-04T04:21:31Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I’ve heard that Santorum goes down a hair as well. Oh man I hope Romney at least picks Santorum for his running mate, if for no other reason than lines like this. I just don’t \*want \*these jokes to stop! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/29 "2012-01-04T04:23:18Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I thought Cain dropped out and was Roemer ever even running? Roemer was and is running, but has gained so little traction that he hasn’t even been included as an option in polling. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/30 "2012-01-04T04:28:59Z")
Buddy Roemer: [http://www.buddyroemer.com/posts/time-to-take-back-our-government](http://www.buddyroemer.com/posts/time-to-take-back-our-government) He’s not accepting donations above $100. He’s a vanity candidate. Then again, so is Ron Paul 2012. Correction: Buddy was actually listed in the link referenced by BrainGlutton, so my response was poorly applied. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/31 "2012-01-04T04:34:15Z")
Oh man, that statement sounds like it’s coming from a political version of Mom from Futurama. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/32 "2012-01-04T04:42:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yup. Regardless of who actually wins, this makes the Iowa caucus seem a lot less relevant. Santorum’s not winning even if he gets the delegates tonight, and that’d be another strike on Iowa’s mixed track record. I hope this is the primary outcome of the caucus. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/33 "2012-01-04T04:52:09Z")
I agree this is basically a win for Romney. At worst, it looks like he’ll come in a very close second place, and especially with all the expectation-gaming, his people can easily spin that as “Shucks, that was better than we were hoping for!” Unless Mitt gets caught on an accidentally live microphone delivering some obscenity-laden rant about how he’s always hated those stuck-up fucking New Hampshirites, he’ll win there too. Which could give him significant momentum in South Carolina and later for those Republican primary voters who are mostly concerned about picking a candidate who can beat Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/34 "2012-01-04T04:54:30Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The only problem here is that Romney would probably perform well in a smoke-filled room, so perhaps his nomination is pre-ordained, notwithstanding his transparent phoniness. That would probably result in a massive electoral revolt from the Tea Party. I gotta say though that it saddening and disappointing to see that reactionary Santorum (along with Bachmann the LCD of the GOP candidates) being neck and neck with Romney… ☹ Not to mention Huntsman **got less than one percent** :(☹ This is though one of the closest elections in modern times ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/35 "2012-01-04T04:56:43Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Wow. The people of Iowa really are that out of touch. _Santorum???_ Not the _people_ of Iowa – the _Republicans_ of Iowa. Huckabee was the pick in 2008, remember. I haven’t studied up on these guys, but from what I’ve been exposed to over the past few months, here’s my take on the caucus results: Bachmann was too nuts even for Iowa, plus she’s a woman. Iowa’s never had a female governor, or a female in the Senate or Congress. Huntsman spent no time here. Gingrich and Perry were hurt by the negative PAC ads. I saw one anti-Romney ad (a gazillion times, but only one ad). None for the other candidates. The racism in Paul’s newsletters got some play nationally – not locally – and let’s face it, Iowa Republicans aren’t gonna get excited about that. His consistency got a lot of positive attention. His ad was effective. Santorum traveled to all 99 counties and the local media kept reminding us of that. He peaked at a good time. He probably surprised the front-runners, or maybe they just didn’t have the time or money to go after him. There’s been nothing negative about Santorum in the local media. He’s younger than Ron Paul and doesn’t have the baggage of Romney or Gingrich. I’ve heard a few people say Ron Paul’s too old. He’d be 80 at the end of his first term. I think if he was younger, he’d have done even better. Some people around here have kept their Ron Paul banners and signs up since 2008. Just my uninformed man-on-the-street opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/36 "2012-01-04T04:59:54Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Not the _people_ of Iowa – the _Republicans_ of Iowa. Huckabee was the pick in 2008, remember. Huckabee isn’t really comparable to Santorum. Huckabee isn’t viciously partisan and moderate on quite a few issues, he’s Evangelical but more in the tradition of Ned Flanders than Pat Robertson. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/37 "2012-01-04T05:02:07Z")
I’ve lived in Chicagoland longer than I was a Minnesotan, and for me Politics is the favorite spectator sport. I was sad that there was a chance that politics would become boring tonight. Thank God, it doesn’t seem so. Really: If we have two candidates that NPR has almost two years to make interesting, what happens to my CD collection? One, two, BORING. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/38 "2012-01-04T05:12:02Z")
Mother of Buddha, preserve us. Santorum is squeaking out a win, and Gingrich is declaring that he’ll now be working for Santorum because he’s ticked at Romney. Santorum? _Santorum_? I live in PA. The only thing our current Senators have to recommend them is that they’re not Santorum, and even that’s a reach. How in hell is this even _happening_? How can you reconcile a state that’s approved gay marriage with this support for one of the most vocal, yea, virulent, anti-gay-marriage candidates out there? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/39 "2012-01-04T05:15:36Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Not to mention Huntsman **got less than one percent** :(☹ Given that Huntsman basically didn’t even run in Iowa, anything above 0% for him is probably more than he expected or deserved. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326/40 "2012-01-04T05:17:34Z")
Santorum and Romney still neck-and-neck, last I heard – is the Iowa Caucus winner-take-all? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iowa-caucuses/608326.md?page=3)