Wonkette Gets Straw Poll Right
By Chase on Aug 8, 2007 in Ames Straw Poll, Fred Thompson, Iowa Caucuses, Media, Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, Rhetoric, Ron Paul, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, Tommy Thompson
Most media types don’t get the Ames Straw Poll in the least. They describe it as an election, as a test of candidate strength, as a predictor of how the Iowa Caucuses would turn out if they were held today, etc. Almost every detail you have heard about it on cable news is probably wrong. Wonkette, on the other hand, is steady at the helm:
Look, Wonkette readers: you’re going to hear a lot about this so-called “Iowa straw poll” in the next few days. We would just like to point out something very important about it: it’s a huge big lie, a pack of lies, lies upon lies! No, really: a lie.
[...]
The money all goes to the Iowa GOP. In fact, the straw poll is really an elaborate fundraiser for the state party. Its real purpose is to buy office supplies for Iowa Republicans, not to breathe life into Tommy fucking Thompson’s campaign.
Almost nobody pays their own money to participate in the Iowa straw poll. Their favored candidates pay for them. This makes the results completely meaningless.
[...]
Despite an atmosphere that is cross between a county fair and the last corrupt days of the Roman Republic, the results of the straw poll will be treated as meaningful by thousands of political reporters who know better. Did Sam Brownback manage to bribe more people than Mike Huckabee and come in a distant second to Mitt Romney? OH MY GOD INSTANT CREDIBILITY! Did Rudy Giuliani decide to skip this ghastly parody of the democratic process because, against all appearances, he still holds on to a shred of dignity? HOLY COW HIS CAMPAIGN’S IN TROUBLE!
Chase Martyn observes and analyzes politics from Des Moines, IA, capital of 2008's first caucus state. He is also Managing Editor of the 
No one has one the Iowa caucuses without finishing either first or second in the Iowa Straw Poll. That is why it gets so much attention from the MSM. The motivation of the electorate and the organization of the candidates simulate the Iowa caucus process better than standard public opinion polls do. Calling it a “lie” is an extreme exaggeration if not a lie in and of itself. Besides, August is a slow news month for the MSM so it’s a great time to hold the event. And why wouldn’t the Iowa GOP want to make a lot of money off of it even if it does come at the expense of GOP candidates.
robert | Aug 9, 2007 | Reply