Iowa Straw Poll Is Canceled for This Cycle

[blogslut]

Source: NYT

The Iowa straw poll, a Republican party tradition for nearly forty years, is dead for the 2016 presidential cycle, party officials said Friday.

The move was made as candidates in one of the largest presidential fields in modern Republican history showed diminishing interest in participating in the August event.

“I’ve said since December that we would only hold a straw poll if the candidates wanted one, and this year that is just not the case,” Jeff Kaufmann, the Republican Party chairman in Iowa, said in a statement emailed shortly after a special meeting of the party’s state central committee.

The vote to end the event was unanimous.

“This step, while extremely distasteful for those of us who love the Straw Poll, is necessary to strengthen our first-in-the-nation status and ensure our future nominee has the best chance possible to take back the White House in 2016,” said Mr. Kaufmann...

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/12/iowa-straw-poll-is-canceled-for-this-cycle/

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wow

[truthisfreedom]

1. They're all too scared to find out

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. I might agree, what of what do you

Contend they were afraid?

I suspect that a falling turnout, anger from some alleged front runners, (jebster) and an unwillingness to put themselves through such a waste of time all contributed.

[Dont call me Shirley]

2. Jeb said no straw poll, he doesn't want voters to actually know how unpopular he is.

[onehandle]

3. Sounds like the party is unhappy with the Krazy Klown Kar...

...and pulled the plug to save face.

LOL! 2016 is going to be sweet!

[hedgehog]

5. IIRC, the straw poll was pretty much a sham -

anyone with a ticket oculd vote, and candidates could hand out as many tickets to their supporters as they had money to buy
.

[brooklynite]

9. Of COURSE it was a sham...

...but it was an entertaining sham. Food, entertainment, hoopla. What more do you want on a summer weekend.

[MADem]

24. Romney spent MILLIONS...bussed people in, and STILL lost!!! nt

[merrily]

30. Yet, he got the nomination. The straw poll was a joke.

[MADem]

33. That was kinda my point.

He's rich, he buys what he wants!

He didn't have enough scratch to buy the people, fortunately.

[merrily]

34. Maybe not the people who vote in the Iowa straw poll. He had enough scratch

to get the Massachusetts State House and the Republican Presidential nomination, though.

Thank heaven for bartenders with modern phones, though. And Jimmy Carter's grandson.

[MADem]

36. He also had a weak opponent with less money in an historically sexist state.

He bought the corner office on Beacon Hill, but he didn't buy the whole State House. The legislature routinely handed him his ass.

He would have lost if he'd run for a second term.

[merrily]

39. I am not at all sure about the second term, but I agree about the legislature.

[DCBob]

6. They are worried Rand or some other kook other than Jebby would win it.

They are really trying hard to stop the crazies.

[LynneSin]

8. Wasn't Michelle Bachmann a previous winner

just saying

[EL34x4]

11. Pat Robertson won in '87 (EOM)

[riversedge]

14. yes......

............The Iowa Straw Poll — which historically has required candidates to make large investments to have a place in the straw poll, held in Ames for years — has had dwindling impact since 2012. That year, Michele Bachmann, then a Minnesota congresswoman, won the poll, but finished at the back of the pack in the caucuses.

[merrily]

31. Didn't Bachman win it once?

It was not exactly a great predictor.

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Were the GOP clowns in the car afraid that Iowa Republicans would choose no-of-the-above

or maybe they would prefer Bernie Sanders?

[olddots]

10. I won't gloat for a few years

Although it would bring me great joy to see the conservatoids progress past their 12th. Century
comfort zone .

[yallerdawg]

12. Straw polls and caucuses reflect the positions of party 'activists'...

who tend to reject traditional party views, are perpetually disgruntled, hate the status quo, and end up creating a false populist view of extreme candidates and positions.

Since candidates like Ron and Rand Paul, and teabaggers like M. Bachmann would get the votes, there was no credibility left.

It's about time they ended it.

[MADem]

35. This is a really good and succinct analysis.

Right on the money!

[Demeter]

13. "I've closed my eyes and You can't see me!"

so childish. So much for tradition.

Yes, I'll bet they were afraid of the results shutting down their money train too early. If there were a consensus, then all the pet millionaires would climb aboard and the race to Hell would be on.

[riversedge]

15. drats---Walkr lucked out again...

...The move to cancel the summer rite will also come as a relief to Gov Scott Walker of Wisconsin. He is leading in early Iowa polls and had avoided taking a position on whether to compete at the straw poll, not wanting to offend party activists but also concerned about the prospect of jeopardizing his standing by playing aggressively and losing.

[kenfrequed]

19. True.

He has managed again to not have eaten too much shoe leather by saying the usual republican drek. Meanwhile, the media are still giving him a massive pass rather than simply asking: "Hey, what has Scott Walker actually done for his home state of Wisconsin?"

He really is the perfect Koch brother candidate.

[DFW]

16. They're all terrified of the probable winner:

i.e. NONE OF THE ABOVE

[yellowcanine]

17. I like all of the mealy mouthed excuses. Truth is it was a joke.

And finally they got the joke.

[kenfrequed]

18. Fox news party wants it this way

Two things on this.

1) They have some numbers right now that include the ten candidates that the Fox-news party wants on stage. Putting a straw poll in a tiny state where it is easy to swing the results with even a small budget is something they don't want.

2) The fox news-party doesn't want Rand Paul upsetting their narrative. Granted, I despise Rand Paul, but he does annoy enough of the party that they don't want him bringing up issues that would work against their preferred candidates.

[Historic NY]

20. What they couldn't find enough straw for the clown train...

[Jester Messiah]

21. Pathetic cowards. [nt]

[47of74]

22. I saw a Jindal commercial last night

Hopefully they'll go away for a few months.

[MADem]

23. It is a pointless and expensive exercise.

It doesn't pick the winner.

It provides some national press, but that's mostly pictures of idiots stuffing corn dogs in their pie holes.

It's time--and money-- taken away from contests that count.

Frankly, that whole pander-rama "first in the nation" exercise could be easily dispensed with. It's phony and insincere, even with good candidates. Too much attention on a place with too few electoral votes.

About the only thing it has going for it IS the material generated that is used to mock enemies.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

25. Clown car ran out of gas?

[SunSeeker]

26. LOL. Michele Bachmann broke the Iowa straw poll.

It was the beginning of the end when Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll in 2011.


Plus, I imagine they didn't want any more pictures of GOP candidates eating Iowa fair food...

[MADem]

37. Nailed it in two sentences! nt

[Eleanors38]

27. who wants to vote in a room of right-wing barking spiders? nt

[BumRushDaShow]

28. They always used this as part of a 2 year media blitz...

with event after event that gave them free adoring press and lots of $$$ from suckers.

[lark]

29. They don't want Jebbie to look bad.

His poll #'s there suck, so Repugs say to Iowa, you no longer count, you aren't going for our golden boy, no soup for you!!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

32. They know who would win....

[alboe]

38. I've been reading for weeks that some of the top GOP candidates weren't going to participate

They were all too scared of what it would look like if they had a poor showing.