That Summer Feeling
My Election 2020 blog has been dormant for almost six months.
Nothing wrong with that. It's still very early. John Delaney is the only announced major candidate and he ran articles earlier this year (which have resumed only recently) and has visited all 99 counties of Iowa, but that's about it for Iowa action.
I know there are other stories to cover, but I also know that when I go chasing random takes, that is when I have fallen for fake news. It is also when I am straying from what makes my take unique. So you won't see me writing about the election possibilities of Oprah Winfrey, The Rock, Mark Zuckerburg, or Mark Cuban. Nor, though I am tempted, to talk about action novelist Brad Thor or "Smack That" singer Akon who have made comments that they want to seriously run for President.
Still, the news is minimal, but I will attempt to cover the Summer 2018 news to date. I don't see Bernie Sanders as a serious entrant in 2020, but until that is verified, we should still take him seriously. Sanders played a role in the 2018 Iowa primaries. I temper any "Sanders influence has fell off the charts" news by the fact that he backed some candidates who had hard roads ahead of them. He supported Pete D'Allesandro in a primary for Iowa's 3rd District, a Republican held seat that looks has potential for upset. D'Allesandro finished third with 15%. D'Allesandro is a community activist, but could not compete with those who might have had similar Liberal credentials and better name. recognition He also backed Cathy Glasson for Governor, who finished a seemingly quixotic second place (55%-20%) to Millionaire Fred Hubbell. Iowa has a Republican in the Capitol as well, but again, it looks like a possible upset for the Dems.
Jason Kander looked like he might be a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for 2020. He founded an organization called Let America Vote. He spoke at the Iowa Democratic state convention, and most tellingly, he hired Des Moines Register writer Jason Noble to be his communication director. There's few people that know caucus better than Noble. Kander reads like a Presidential candidate- popular in a Red State (Missouri- He was Secretary of State and almost unseated Roy Blunt in the US Senate - Kander 46% Blunt 49% in a state Trump handily won). He is a combat veteran and has been considered a rising force in the party. That said, Kander has fallen off the radar (at least this cycle), when he announced in late June that he was running for Mayor of Kansas City.
I leave you with a final story that I find particularly illuminating. There was one county in America that was a landslide for Trump in 2016 that had went overwhelmingly for Obama in 2012- the Northern Iowan county of Howard. National pundits were quick to find blame in why Hillary didn't win- Russian bots, Jill Stein, etc- but one would think that she would be wise enough to realize "It's the economy, stupid." Howard County should be a lesson for those who study such things. Hillary carried it in 2008 (caucus), Obama afterwards, and then Sanders in 2016 (with Trump). These are the working class people who indeed want to "clean the swamp". These are the people who see Hillary as "the Swamp". Indeed, Hillary's message to Howard County in the election was about Trump's image. Trump talked economy. Don't jump to that conclusion either, as the 538 article goes deeper. This was not a town where double-digit unemployment was the norm or that it was a county where business failure was leading to drug culture. Indeed, the economy was good, just stagnant. Not a place where no one has insurance, but a place where people have steady jobs, but their benefit costs steadily go up, taking more and more of paychecks. Not a place that was laying off workers, but a place where no one is hiring, and those with jobs have to pick up the slack. For those interested in being in the White House, these will be the issues that you need to speak to.
Nothing wrong with that. It's still very early. John Delaney is the only announced major candidate and he ran articles earlier this year (which have resumed only recently) and has visited all 99 counties of Iowa, but that's about it for Iowa action.
I know there are other stories to cover, but I also know that when I go chasing random takes, that is when I have fallen for fake news. It is also when I am straying from what makes my take unique. So you won't see me writing about the election possibilities of Oprah Winfrey, The Rock, Mark Zuckerburg, or Mark Cuban. Nor, though I am tempted, to talk about action novelist Brad Thor or "Smack That" singer Akon who have made comments that they want to seriously run for President.
Still, the news is minimal, but I will attempt to cover the Summer 2018 news to date. I don't see Bernie Sanders as a serious entrant in 2020, but until that is verified, we should still take him seriously. Sanders played a role in the 2018 Iowa primaries. I temper any "Sanders influence has fell off the charts" news by the fact that he backed some candidates who had hard roads ahead of them. He supported Pete D'Allesandro in a primary for Iowa's 3rd District, a Republican held seat that looks has potential for upset. D'Allesandro finished third with 15%. D'Allesandro is a community activist, but could not compete with those who might have had similar Liberal credentials and better name. recognition He also backed Cathy Glasson for Governor, who finished a seemingly quixotic second place (55%-20%) to Millionaire Fred Hubbell. Iowa has a Republican in the Capitol as well, but again, it looks like a possible upset for the Dems.
Jason Kander looked like he might be a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for 2020. He founded an organization called Let America Vote. He spoke at the Iowa Democratic state convention, and most tellingly, he hired Des Moines Register writer Jason Noble to be his communication director. There's few people that know caucus better than Noble. Kander reads like a Presidential candidate- popular in a Red State (Missouri- He was Secretary of State and almost unseated Roy Blunt in the US Senate - Kander 46% Blunt 49% in a state Trump handily won). He is a combat veteran and has been considered a rising force in the party. That said, Kander has fallen off the radar (at least this cycle), when he announced in late June that he was running for Mayor of Kansas City.
I leave you with a final story that I find particularly illuminating. There was one county in America that was a landslide for Trump in 2016 that had went overwhelmingly for Obama in 2012- the Northern Iowan county of Howard. National pundits were quick to find blame in why Hillary didn't win- Russian bots, Jill Stein, etc- but one would think that she would be wise enough to realize "It's the economy, stupid." Howard County should be a lesson for those who study such things. Hillary carried it in 2008 (caucus), Obama afterwards, and then Sanders in 2016 (with Trump). These are the working class people who indeed want to "clean the swamp". These are the people who see Hillary as "the Swamp". Indeed, Hillary's message to Howard County in the election was about Trump's image. Trump talked economy. Don't jump to that conclusion either, as the 538 article goes deeper. This was not a town where double-digit unemployment was the norm or that it was a county where business failure was leading to drug culture. Indeed, the economy was good, just stagnant. Not a place where no one has insurance, but a place where people have steady jobs, but their benefit costs steadily go up, taking more and more of paychecks. Not a place that was laying off workers, but a place where no one is hiring, and those with jobs have to pick up the slack. For those interested in being in the White House, these will be the issues that you need to speak to.
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