Iowa Caucus Guy’s Presidential Election Blog

Celebrities have always been a part of politics. I am grateful that I have got to see musicians and actors in person that I otherwise might not have seen. But I know that for me, I’m never going to vote for someone because a celebrity told me. Ok, maybe Lynda Carter. I know people don’t care what celebrities think, because Conservatives post it all the time on social media. It is usually posted on a timeline between shares of “Watch James Woods own this interviewer” and “The shocking thing Rob Schneider just revealed”. Indeed, it’s often hard to see where celebrity endorsements end and quotes added to a picture begin. For many years, Sam Elliott’s picture has been used as the poster boy of no-nonsense no-BS plain speaking. I wonder how many people who have posted quotes attributed to Sam really know he’s riding with Biden  (or if you want to be specific like Snopes, he didn't publicl endorse, but he did lend his voice for a Biden campaign ad ). Some of the most surprising Celebrity

This certainly feels like the most contentious election of my lifetime but things seemingly have always been worse (1960s. 1860s). This being an election where campaigning largely takes place online- there should be some mention of that aspect. In which case, I have mentioned the Lincoln Project before but it bears repeating. The group of former Republican operatives headed by George Conway have heckled Trump at every turn. While the Democrats took down all of their negative online ads when the President was diagnosed with COVID, the Lincoln Project took to calling him “Covita”. Clearly they also have an ad of Bo, Sunny, Barney, Millie, Buddy, Rex, Grits, Liberty, Checkers and other bipartisan canines over the last several decades while noting Trump claims “not to be a dog person”. (Trump is the first President since James Polk in 1849 without a Presidential pet.) In Iowa, this has the feel of a close race. There’s a conventional wisdom in the polls that it’s a dead heat with a lean to

  Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by a result of 51-41 (Yes, Independents and Third Party candidates were popular in 2016- getting anywhere between 4-10% in every county in the state).  Iowa was not going to be a battleground state. While some former solid red states like Texas might be in play, Iowa surely was so firmly red that both parties could mark it off their list.  But that does not appear to be the case, and it’s probably why Mike Pence has been to the state five times in ten months, and this week, Donald Trump made a post-Covid stop.  The big news was the sign (not that far away from Iowa Democratic Party headquarters if we’re being honest) referencing the rally as The Trump Covid Superspreader Event.  Was it?    Well, I know people who went and to take it a step further, a high risk person.     I will definitely have an answer.  The truth is it kind of touched me. Although I would rank my support for Trump last (note: remember to talk up ranked choice voting), ther

 With the recent Vice Presidential debate, as well as the President's COVID diagnosis, I thought it worthwhile to revisit a book that came out around this time last year called Piety and Power .  Tom LoBianco has followed Mike Pence as long as any journalist on the planet.  He is about as much of an expert on Pence as one will find. Since Pence did not appear much in Michael Wolff's treatment of Jarvanka and Bannon in Fire and Fury, one may wonder his role.  This book does much in providing that insight, and more importantly, the VP's background. The title is well selected.  Pence's religious conviction is a real thing.  Some of the things we saw this week in the debate are apparent from this reading of Pence.  He does have charisma and plays the role of politician quite well. On the other hand, he has a great deal of ambition, and it would seem his ultimate goal is the White House.  My reading of this is that he has sometimes chosen inaction as a way to be acceptable b