Iowa Caucuses Results

By Brent Haney

Last Monday, February 3, marked the beginning of the rush to determine who will be the Democratic party nominee for President of the United States. Make no mistake, whomever takes the mantle will take part in a slug fest for the ages in the fight to unseat President Trump. The President, not one to mince words regarding his political foes, is sure to be up to the challenge. Fresh off his acquittal of two impeachment charges, Trump seems primed for the challenge. The Democrats look lost in the mire. What's more, Monday's Iowa caucus was a quagmire of confusion resulting from problems tallying the votes. Worse, the disaster could have been prevented by simply relying on the tried and true method of counting paper ballots. Instead, the Democratic National Committee decided to go high tech by hiring a firm to tally results via an app. The company, Shadow Inc. (how's that for irony) was started by a couple of former campaign advisors for erstwhile Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The image of Secretary Clinton's menacing laugh as the party she once led scrambles to deal with the chaos, a la Austin Power's nemesis Dr. Evil, is a comedy perhaps only Shakespeare could have imagined.

Senator and candidate, Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, called the caucuses an embarrassment and mistake on CNN. Meanwhile, the media says the Democrats are worried about low voter turnout in Iowa because it is a possible sign of a lack of enthusiasm for the candidates. The New York Times reported that the committee will not correct errors in the final tally, and that has upset the candidates. The political media magazine, The Hill, said this about the caucuses: "After months of tireless preparation and millions upon millions of dollars poured into organizing and advertisements, the Democratic Party still found a way to shake voters' confidence in its already convoluted process. They introduced an app, funded by dark money and with ties to both the Buttigieg and Biden campaigns, to help report the caucus results. None of the precinct chairs had received any training on the usage of this app before caucus day. The app itself was reportedly hurried into use despite design flaws and was published on the very day it was tasked with tabulating the nation's voting decisions."

Up next is the New Hampshire primary, the second test for the candidates. It will take place on Tuesday. Senator Sanders and South Bend, Indiana mayor, Pete Buttigieg, appear to be running neck and neck for first and second place. Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren, is polling in third place at the moment. South Carolina will come next after New Hampshire and former Vice President Joe Biden is hopeful that he will get a major boost in that state, which appears at the moment to be staunchly in his favor. Warren predicts that it will take some time before front runner status is solidified for any candidate. However, she stands a lot to lose in New Hampshire if she performs poorly as many experts see voters peeling off support for her and switching to Sanders if she cannot make a strong showing on Sunday.

Finally, Joe Biden is the other candidate who needs some positive support from New Hampshire. His verbal gaffes on the debate stage continue to hamper his image and critics have portrayed him negatively as both out of touch and out of step. Even he predicted last week that he may take a gut punch in New Hampshire. If things go poorly for Biden, he may get a TKO from that and a vicious left hook from voters who may see him as incapable of taking on Trump in the ring.