Iowa!

Atonement based confessional prior to first post of 2012 - I must confess that I taunted the gods of illness with my post on the plague…so that shit came back ‘round to remind me that it earned that reputation for misery, pain, and anguish.  My voice is still not quite human sounding…but I now have a proper respect for the plague and the gods of illness.

Wince.

Moving forward!

Happy freakin’ New Year, y’all!!

I hope everyone is fired up and ready to take on the world in 2012…

…because I sure as shit am.

Shall we?

On Iowa...otherwise known as that darling state above Missouri (wink)...

I visited Iowa several years ago…a long drive through to the northern part of the state that took me through several cities and lots and lots…and lots and lots…and lots and lots of farm-based territory.  I was with a native Iowan and we stopped to visit her friends along the way to her hometown.

Let me tell y’all, the Iowans I met take their politics seriously.

I was impressed with the political conversations I had, be it with a city dweller or a farmer or an angry misunderstood skateboarding suburban youth – these folks paid attention and understood the unique roll they play in American politics.

Pause…consider…continue.

Plus the good people of Iowa introduced me to fried Twinkies and for that alone they will always own a place in my heart.

Cough.

The caucuses are about turnout and, no matter what the pundits say today, that shit matters.

And the choir asked… “Why, Shark-Fu? Why does it matter?!?”

And a bitch replied… “I’m glad y’all asked!”

Turnout is a reflection of how organized a campaign is.  Contrary to popular belief, Facebook and Twitter are not the tools through which voters are driven to the polls…or activists to an events…or volunteers to a phonebank.

Catch that knee!

I’m an online organizer and it would serve me well to perpetuate that myth, but tis bullshit and I’m bound by the rules of bitchitude to call it such.

Online tools enhance and extend the turnout portion of a campaign…but they aren’t the be all end all nor are they the most effective tool.

People turn out people…and, in a state with an older population like Iowa, people on the phones and at the doors turn out people.

When someone wins a caucus in Iowa it demonstrates a somewhat mature organization at the earliest stage of the campaign season.

That’s it.

Yep…that’s all.

It doesn’t mean they have earned the nomination.

It just means that a bunch of other folks who failed to perform have earned a lot of scrutiny and analysis that will likely show them lacking a proper campaign and thus unworthy of donations.

Mmmhmm, donations...those adorable political dollars that are also why Iowa really matters.

I like to think of Iowa as being the political version of when a single person logs on to an internet dating site and sets up preferences…with Iowa being the first narrowing of the field…

…and New Hampshire and South Carolina being a set of disappointing coffee dates at Starbucks.

Toodles till post-Caucus, y’all!