The Iowa Caucus

In a few weeks everyone will be focused on the state of Iowa when they hold their presidential caucus. It gets so much attention because it’s the first actual voting for a presidential nominee.

Frankly, I think it gets too much attention. Iowa is a wonderful state. I was born there and have many happy memories of time spent there. But it is not all that representative of the country as a whole. A caucus makes it more unrepresentative. Instead of simply voting, you have to spend several hours listening to speeches. As a result, relatively few people show up. The Republican caucus is dominated by the religious right. The last two winners were Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. In 2012,  Mitt Romney got 61 million votes in the general election. In the Iowa caucus, Rick Santorum got 29 thousand. I think we are paying way too much attention to those 29 thousand people.

Soon the caucus will be over and Iowans can get on with their lives. Then the craziness starts up again.