It’s our series leading up to the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut primaries – and about 20 others on “Super Duper Tuesday”, February 5th. It’s peer-to-peer democracy, as we all help each other figure out who to vote for in the Democratic and Republican votes.
Andrea Bernstein, WNYC's Political Director and
Clarence Page, columnist for the Chicago Tribune talk about the start of the political year and the Iowa caucus.
Ron Paul wasn't included in the "caucus" because it was only considering the Democratic candidates, like tonight's caucus in Iowa. Mike Gravel has been excised from most of the commercial media's coverage, stifling the debate. I'm surprised and disappointed public radio and the Brian Lehrer Show would adopt the same tactic.
I was kind of troubled by the women in DesMoines who used to run the Rep party. Her # 1 concern is legislating morality. She admits she knew nothing about foreign policy, and obviously doesn't care. Yet, that is the thing that is really hitting our nation now and will bring our economy down.
I agree. We don't elect the candidate with the most experience, or if we do, it's incidental. People vote based on who they think will protect their interests and if their needs in that area are minimal or satisfied by all the candidates, they latch onto the one they like the most.
Bush got elected in '00 because people liked him (since both candidates were pretty much saying the same things with some slight variations). And he got re-elected in '04 by convincing people that they were in great peril and he was the only one (of the two) that could protect them. Each election exemplifies what compels the average person to vote a certain way.
Huckabee?????? Are people really seriously considering him??? Have people completely lost hold of their senses or have I entered into an episode of the Twilight Zone??? what the...?????
What does this all say about the media's impact? Most people don't even know that people are being excluded from the on-air caucus, in addition to what these candidates are about...
i agree..the idea of "experience" is vague and can be interpreted many ways..what is "experience"..it's not like Obama has no experience. and if he were to win...he would not be the first elected with less experience..it's a silly argument to me. The Presidency isn't like fixing a car anyway
and I'm not convinced about the argument for Hillary's experience
anyway...I forget who's show it was Brian or Leonard but they had some guest on the other day who explained that we don't really elect on the candidate with the "most experience" anyway
And if anything, the only thing this "caucus" and all its media coverage are proving is how stupid and narrow-minded the average voter is and the complete lack of critical thinking shown by the average American mind these days.
biden's vote for the bankrupcy bill came as no surprise, but i was a bit disappointed in how he handled it. his vote in favor of condoliza rice's nomination for sec of state was handled with more finesse.
Well, the question that should really be asked is: Why do we still share a national government with a state that is so different culturally, ethnically and ideologically? Every four years, these (more than geographically) disparate parts of the country batter each other for control of the central governmeent, and what for? Would it not be better to agree to disagree and go our separate ways?
Why are we still giving so much importance to the vote of people from states that can't be farther away from what The United States is all about today? Half the citizens in this country are not white but we are still "looking at" some of the whitest states as "barometers"????
For crying out loud, hearing to interviews of Iowa voters, the reasons why these people are supporting certain candidates could not be farther away of what I think.
Any candidate that thinks that whatever Iowa or NH voters have to say reflects in any way or shape what the United States is all about today are only helping keep the stereotype of a white United States alive to the detriment of the rest of non-white, non-middle class America. Time to stop!.
The BBC stated in the show preceding Brian's that 10% of those eligible to vote/participate in the caucus actually do. So again I don't understand why a few rural white people really matter.
And wow, some of these Iowans that were on the show sound like morons. I mean abortion trumps foreign policy? And that women was a chairperson of her local republican club.
I like Huckabee a lot. However, that said, I'd sooner vote for the reanimated corpse of Warren Harding before I'd vote for him.
And I agree that those political connections are absolutely essential to get anything done. I mean, Abe Lincoln got a lot done with few political connections in Washington, but barring a civil war, I don't see a Washington outsider getting anything done in his first term.
These caucuses tell us exactly NOTHING about the way the large body of Americans in the center might vote in November. This whole process is a bunch of self-congratulatory idiocy.
Ugh, another pro-lifer who doesn't care about a quality world to live in...just pumping out more babies to live in it. That's her basis for voting. Great.
My point is if someone is choosing a candidate and the 1st thing they mention is they have no experience so they have no allegiances...its politics people, u better have ties to something...we need more than rhetoric from candidates...
brian, except for jimmy carter in '76, none of the democratic candidates that ever won the iowa caucus actually went on to become president. many didn't even manage to get the party's nomination. doesn't that tell you that what happens tonight sort of doesn't really matter?
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Comments [29]
Ron Paul is a racist. Don't believe the hype!
Go to:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1835179/posts
Ron Paul wasn't included in the "caucus" because it was only considering the Democratic candidates, like tonight's caucus in Iowa. Mike Gravel has been excised from most of the commercial media's coverage, stifling the debate. I'm surprised and disappointed public radio and the Brian Lehrer Show would adopt the same tactic.
I was kind of troubled by the women in DesMoines who used to run the Rep party. Her # 1 concern is legislating morality. She admits she knew nothing about foreign policy, and obviously doesn't care. Yet, that is the thing that is really hitting our nation now and will bring our economy down.
I agree. We don't elect the candidate with the most experience, or if we do, it's incidental. People vote based on who they think will protect their interests and if their needs in that area are minimal or satisfied by all the candidates, they latch onto the one they like the most.
Bush got elected in '00 because people liked him (since both candidates were pretty much saying the same things with some slight variations). And he got re-elected in '04 by convincing people that they were in great peril and he was the only one (of the two) that could protect them. Each election exemplifies what compels the average person to vote a certain way.
Huckabee?????? Are people really seriously considering him??? Have people completely lost hold of their senses or have I entered into an episode of the Twilight Zone??? what the...?????
1 hour into the show and no Ron Paul talk?...his organization in NYC is huge!
What does this all say about the media's impact? Most people don't even know that people are being excluded from the on-air caucus, in addition to what these candidates are about...
1st Choice: Richardson - good tax policy and good Iraq War stance.
#2: Obama... good tax policy.. OK war stance.
Ugh I agree so much emphasis on Iowa...
i agree..the idea of "experience" is vague and can be interpreted many ways..what is "experience"..it's not like Obama has no experience. and if he were to win...he would not be the first elected with less experience..it's a silly argument to me. The Presidency isn't like fixing a car anyway
and I'm not convinced about the argument for Hillary's experience
anyway...I forget who's show it was Brian or Leonard but they had some guest on the other day who explained that we don't really elect on the candidate with the "most experience" anyway
And if anything, the only thing this "caucus" and all its media coverage are proving is how stupid and narrow-minded the average voter is and the complete lack of critical thinking shown by the average American mind these days.
biden's vote for the bankrupcy bill came as no surprise, but i was a bit disappointed in how he handled it. his vote in favor of condoliza rice's nomination for sec of state was handled with more finesse.
i thought that huckabee caucus-er was very revealing.
a one issue pro life voter....interesting.
she admitted with NO shame that she does not know enough about foreign policy to even be able to vote on the issue.
For all Brian's claims of being open source, Mike Gravel and his supporters sure have been excluded from today's on-air "caucus".
My God...Talk about Ron Paul!
Well, the question that should really be asked is: Why do we still share a national government with a state that is so different culturally, ethnically and ideologically? Every four years, these (more than geographically) disparate parts of the country batter each other for control of the central governmeent, and what for? Would it not be better to agree to disagree and go our separate ways?
Why are we still giving so much importance to the vote of people from states that can't be farther away from what The United States is all about today? Half the citizens in this country are not white but we are still "looking at" some of the whitest states as "barometers"????
For crying out loud, hearing to interviews of Iowa voters, the reasons why these people are supporting certain candidates could not be farther away of what I think.
Any candidate that thinks that whatever Iowa or NH voters have to say reflects in any way or shape what the United States is all about today are only helping keep the stereotype of a white United States alive to the detriment of the rest of non-white, non-middle class America. Time to stop!.
Ya Iowa shouldn't really matter in the grand scheme of things...theres more people on my block in Brooklyn than in Iowa...
The BBC stated in the show preceding Brian's that 10% of those eligible to vote/participate in the caucus actually do. So again I don't understand why a few rural white people really matter.
And wow, some of these Iowans that were on the show sound like morons. I mean abortion trumps foreign policy? And that women was a chairperson of her local republican club.
Warren G Harding?
I like Huckabee a lot. However, that said, I'd sooner vote for the reanimated corpse of Warren Harding before I'd vote for him.
And I agree that those political connections are absolutely essential to get anything done. I mean, Abe Lincoln got a lot done with few political connections in Washington, but barring a civil war, I don't see a Washington outsider getting anything done in his first term.
These caucuses tell us exactly NOTHING about the way the large body of Americans in the center might vote in November. This whole process is a bunch of self-congratulatory idiocy.
Ugh, another pro-lifer who doesn't care about a quality world to live in...just pumping out more babies to live in it. That's her basis for voting. Great.
My point is if someone is choosing a candidate and the 1st thing they mention is they have no experience so they have no allegiances...its politics people, u better have ties to something...we need more than rhetoric from candidates...
Re Huckabee: I would not mind a kind, optimistic, joke-telling president for a change. Free entertainment + governing = not a bad deal!
That is pretty abstract concept and vague: experience. What do you mean by experience?
What is your definition of experience?
Didn't experience help certain individuals make the wrong choice of sending troops to Iraq?
Didn't experience get democrats killed in the 1994 elections when they lost both the house and senate after two years of a Democratic president?
Didn't experience get us mired in the wars in Vietnam?
brian, except for jimmy carter in '76, none of the democratic candidates that ever won the iowa caucus actually went on to become president. many didn't even manage to get the party's nomination. doesn't that tell you that what happens tonight sort of doesn't really matter?
Hey lets vote for the guy with the least experience!...sheeesh...when u want your car fixed who do u go to? someone with experience...
OBAMA DID NOTIN FACT VOTE FOR THE TERRIBLE BANKRUPTCY BILL. HERE IS THE ROLL CALL. THAT IS A CALUMNY THAT IS BEING PASSED AROUND:
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Jeffords (I-VT), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (D-CT), Nay
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Nay
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
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