Surrender
Those running the Iowa Democratic Party announced a further surrender this past weekend in their fight with the DNC to remain first-in-the-nation for presidential selection.
Sure, they’ll hold their caucus on January 15, ahead of anyone else…but will have a form of “mail-in ballot” and not release the results until March 7…seven weeks later. That’s to abide by the national party schedule that drops Iowa far down the list, punishment for not selecting Joe Biden in 2020. Not only does that open them up to claims of tampering…but who will care about results seven weeks later? Granted, now that RFK Jr. is running as an independent because he was driven out by DNC rules, there’s likely not a race in 2024…but the precedent is important for when it might make a difference.
What a disservice to Iowa Democrats, and to Iowans generally. Note that I make a difference between those running the party, and regular Iowa voters who declare themselves to be Democrats.
Those running the party have cow-towed to the national folks who were bent on destroying Iowa’s unique event for years, leading to a debacle in tabulation in 2020…the result of bowing down to national demands regarding tabulation apps and other things.
And they’ve done it again now…by noting that they’ve been assured by the national folks that the schedule for 2028 will be open, and Iowa will be able to bid to regain its first-in-the-nation slot. And it seems they actually believe that, which is truly sad.
If you’ve already lost the prize, then hold your caucus when and how you want. What are they going to do, not seat your delegates at the national convention? They threatened that before, back in 1984–the move to deny Iowa any power dates back that long—and they folded when then-party chair Dave Nagle of Waterloo called their bluff.
Iowa was one of the few “red wave” states last November, and the so-called leadership of Iowa Democrats are doing nothing to change that going forward. Standing up for themselves to their arrogant and power-hungry national party would be a good first step.
