The Iowa Caucus, first of the Republican tests to see who will win that party’s nomination, was held last night. This quaint political exercise, with meetings featuring citizens making speeches, is held in schools, community centers and even people’s homes. Generally deemed irrelevant, the Iowa Caucus revels in the importance of being the first primary in the country (though technically it’s not a primary; it’s a more participatory form of election, called a caucus).
The 2012 primary cycle is a purely Republican affair. It’s a process designed to choose Obama’s opponent in the forthcoming Mercury retrograde 2012 election. That’s important because Obama is considered weak, being blamed for a bad economy and for not having managed to reduce this country’s high unemployment rate. This mix of factors lends a certain underlying tension to these primaries since anyone who emerges as the Republican frontrunner could very well be the next president. And guess who came up on the shovel? The seemingly least likely candidate of all — Rick Santorum, former governor of, and senator from, Pennsylvania.
The entire Republican field this year is a motley crew — a parade of charlatans, bible thumpers and wannabes who can hardly be considered ‘presidential timber’ but who may reflect the positions of Iowa Republican caucus voters. The New York Times reported Tuesday that 58% of caucus participants were evangelical Christians, while Current TV’s Politically Direct mentioned that 87% were over 30 years of age. The caucus itself is a beautiful example of on the ground politics. If all politics were done on this level, our nation would be saved. Say what you want about the candidates themselves, the caucus participants were well-informed and passionate about the political process.
As everyone knows by now, the winners of the Iowa Caucus are Mitt ‘Mr. Moderate’ Romney (by a barely-there eight vote margin), Rick Santorum. Eight votes — divided over the whole state, with about 100,000 votes cast — is a tie. However, Romney (the technical winner) spent 18 times more money than Santorum did; for his part, Santorum spent a year visiting every county in Iowa, earning the respect of voters. Then (in a respectable 3rd place showing) came Ron Paul. But the surprise of the night was the undeniably strong showing of Rick Santorum who, until this past week, was running behind Michele Bachmann with 7% poll numbers. Who is this guy, really?