It's Our Circus Sideshow (& It's Just short of a Year Away!)

The other day I was looking at a few of the blogs I regularly read. 1 of the blogs had a post titled Tommy goes to Iowa. It was a short blurb about Gov. Tommy Thompson throwing his hat into the ring as a Republican hopeful for president & his plans to make weekly visits to Iowa. I then followed the link to a full article to see what else he had to say about Iowa. (Thompson will only find nostalgia in presidential bid by James Wigderson) Here are some of the lines from the article & my comments on his comments:

"Iowa is the home of the infamous Iowa Caucuses, the first delegate-awarding contest in the race for the Republican nomination for president."

Infamous??? The dictionary defines infamous as having a very bad reputation, notorious, scandalous, outrageous. I DISAGREE!!!!! I know that there out there in other states that look down on Iowa. They think we are hicks, we are dumb farmers & esp some of the so-called liberals, that because we are mostly white that we don't accurately reflect America. WRONG!!!!! Iowans aren't dummies. We are smart, informed & we do reflect (lately more the Republicans than the Democrats) what America is. Esp those traditional values of faith & family that have so often become dirty words to many of the same people who look down on Iowa. We are just as much Americans as those of you who live on the Left Coast or the Big Apple. To those of you who look down at us I say: "GET OVER IT!"

& we take our responsibilities seriously. We take a good long hard look at the candidates. In most states the campaign is run on a wholesale level. In Iowa it is retail, down & dirty, you have to meet the people individually & in small groups. Over the years I have talked to several candidates 1 on 1. Sometimes it has been just a quick question or 2. Other times, like when Dan Quayle was in DBQ in 1996, I am able to sit down & have a more in depth conversation with the candidate. We look at the candidates like we look at the fruit & veggies we buy at a Farmer's Market. We look for the good & the bad to be sure we get the best.

OK! we haven't always chosen the eventual winner like we did with Carter in 1976 or Bush in 2000. But, sometimes we have brought the eventual winner to the attention of others by how well he unexpectedly did in the Iowa Caucuses. & we have helped cull the runts from the litter many a year for both parties.

"Because both major parties’ nominations will be wide open, next year Iowans will be wondering why the circus sideshow is in town in the middle of winter."

We in Iowa know it is a Circus Sideshow. But, it's OUR Circus Sideshow. &, just like before the Circus arrives in town, there are the advance men that go from town to town to promote the coming show. Actually the advance men (& women) have already begun their rounds in Iowa. In 2006 I already was able to meet 4 of the potential Republican choices, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Mitt Romney, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, & Sen. Sam Brownback. I have 2 friends who are working for Gov Romney. & I expect more visits by these & other candidates & their reps in the weeks & months ahead, esp as we approach the August Straw Poll & the the Caucuses on 14 Jan 2008. I can't wait to see what kind of cartoons Duffy comes up with in the Des Moines Register about their visits.

"Is Iowa ready for Tommy Thompson, presidential candidate?"

BRING HIM ON! Iowans are a sturdy lot. What I said earlier should be evidence enough that we can handle any candidate. We survived John Dean's infamous (in this cased deservedly so) scream. We survived 8 yrs of Tom Vilsack campaigning for president while posing as governor. We can survive Thompson.

"When Thompson left health and human services, he bragged to the staff at the National Institutes of Health, 'We doubled the budget. You didn’t know whether or not a nondoctor, a nonscientist, the governor of a rural state like Wisconsin would be very supportive of you.'

Implying, of course, that rural states are not pro-science. That will play well in Iowa."

Actually, in this case I don't think Thompson was implying that rural states are not pro-science. Iowa State University is evidence enough of that. I think he was making a dig at those same attitudes that I was talking about early, the snobbish looking down at us in the Heartland. & if he was putting us down, we'll figure it out quickly & send him packing.

14 January 2006 is just short of 12 months away. Iowa is ready to play the role we have proudly played in years past. Let the fun begin. Bring on the candidates, bring on the media, we welcome you.