And Bachmann wins the Iowa straw poll - yikes!

[GenerationCedarchip]

Are there really that many people who don't see the crazy?

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... straw-poll

Edited to add: And the following is just rumor, but apparently there are those among Cap Hill staffers who theorize Pawlenty will soon throw his supporters to Perry so that Perry can then knock out Bachmann and cinch a nomination. THat sounds just credible enough....

[doggie]

sometimes all they see in a christian that has traditional values. they tend to forget about the real person behind it like bush.

[gilora]

Democrats must be salivating at the idea of Bachmann running for president on the Republican ticket. It's a guaranteed re-election for Obama. Plus the ads on both sides would be really fun to watch.

Edited because I can't spell.

[Buzzard]

I'm not surprised. She had quite a bit of money and brought in people on her own tickets. This is going to come down to Romney and Perry.

What scares me is that Paul is a close second...

[GenerationCedarchip]

I'm not surprised. She had quite a bit of money and brought in people on her own tickets. This is going to come down to Romney and Perry.

What scares me is that Paul is a close second...

The thing about Paul is that he seems to mainly appeal to the climate of certain states, though, and it's usually those with a decent chunk of libertarian-leaning Republicans rather than traditional conservatives or country-club, big business types. I've never lived in Iowa, but I've been told that parts of it has something of that mentality. Any Iowans here?

[BlackHawk]

Let's take a look at previous straw poll winners to compare here...

H.W Bush won the first one, in 79, but Reagan became the nominee

in 87 Pat Robertson won, but H.W because the nominee

in 95 Bob Dole tied with Phil Gramm, and Dole got the nominee

in 99 W got it and won both the primaries and the presidency

In 97 Romney won the but McCain became the nominee

So out of 5 polls only 2 (or 1 if you don't count a tie) predicted the actual Presidential Nominee for the republican party. I'll take those odds anyday. :D

[Buzzard]

I am most definitely a libertarian and Paul scares the bejezus out of me. Iran isnt a threat? His views of the 10th amendment... Ugh...

The poll is just a poll. I really enjoyed watching the debate on thursday, though.

[notsocommon]

Democrats must be salivating at the idea of Bachmann running for president on the Republican ticket. It's a guaranteed re-election for Obama. Plus the ads on both sides would be really fun to watch.

Edited because I can't spell.

Just think of what Stewart and Colbert can do with her!

[Jencendiary]

More evidence that God loves President Obama.

[Rachel333]

I do think Obama would win against Bachmann, but I'm still scared. Also disturbed that she's getting as much support as she is.

I also didn't realize that Pat Robertson ran for president. Now there's a scary thought.

[Stickers]

Great! I'd love for her or Sarah to be the Republican nom. Oh, Obama would destroy them in the debates! It would be SO MUCH FUN to watch.

[Not That Kind of Dr]

Native Iowan here, although I've never voted there because I registered where I went to college. Ultra-conservative Republican candidates often do well in IA, not so much because the state as a whole is that politically (and religiously and socially) conservative but because it has a caucus rather than primary system. Participating in a caucus takes much more time and energy than voting in a primary, so on either side of the political spectrum, you tend to get the diehards having their say. Granted, this was the state fair straw poll and not a caucus, but I think that the same principle applies.

[Mompom]

I was there. I voted for Paul. He has a lot of supporters from all across the spectrum. He picks up a lot of "outside" votes. Pawlenty had Sonic Flood playing for him. That was when I knew I couldn't support him! The over the top, "I'm wanting Christian supporters" just kind of bugged me. I'm a Christian, but I want to keep the government out of my religion.

[Not That Kind of Dr]

Mompom: Grant Wood!

[Jencendiary]

So, please explain to me how you can support Ron Paul and be any kind of a progressive at all. I don't get it - he's the same old right wing, in a fancy new hat.

[demgirl]

I think the bigger issue is supporting Ron Paul, while at the same time believing that church and state should be separate entities. He does not agree with that at all if you look at his very public statements.

[Petunia117]

I'm an Iowan.

The state is interesting because there are very rural, very conservative parts that like the Bible-thumpers (like Bob Vander Plaats, for those who heard about the recent marriage pledge. Something fun to google if you're unfamiliar. It's crazy.) but places like Des Moines are quite liberal, and are really the only reason the state often goes to the Dems. But the conservatives around those more metropolitan places are pretty libertarian. There's a lot of Ron Paul support around Des Moines- much more than a straight-up traditional Conservative. Gay marriage is legal here, and there are a lot of Republicans that aren't bothered by it. It just isn't an issue. They'd roll their eyes at Bachmann's whole "pray the gay away" stance. But the other parts of the state are very rural and have a completely different mind set.

It reminds me a lot of Colorado- Colorado Springs is uber-conservative and Boulder is uber-liberal. It's two different worlds, despite being so close together.

[Mompom]

I'm from Des Moines, support gay marriage, and today I voted for Ron Paul. I like him better than all the Republican candidates because he wants to end the wars, immediately. I voted more to "send a message" that I didn't like any other candidates really. I'm dissatisfied with everything available. I'd vote for Bill Clinton today if I could. Or JFK. But really, my true self, is very anarchist. I believe heavily in self-ownership. I don't agree with all of Ron Paul's stances. Not at all.

[finleeport]

If she does win the election I'm moving to Europe, to England or France, at least religion is dying out in Europe and almost everyone is either secular, skeptic or atheist. Especially England, it has the most non-religious people there

[Jencendiary]

Ol' Crazy Eyes doesn't have a shot to win the presidency. Right now, the republican front runners are a guy who threatened to secede Texas from the union, a guy who would reduce the Federal Government to tin cans & string, and this woman. The Democrats had better not fuck this windfall up.

[Austin]

Perry's the only one I'm worried about.

Let's face it, President Obama has lost a lot of support. I will definitely support him, but I'm worried that independents have drifted away b/c it's a lot easier to blame the president than to think about why things have happened. No candidate can win without the independents.

[LynnKaboom]

Honestly, this is the first presidential election I'll be old enough to vote in, and at this point, I honestly don't know if I'm going to vote it in it at all. Austin's right about the independents. I'm a libertarian and none of the candidates really appeal to me... even the supposedly libertarian Ron Paul kind of sucks at being libertarian.

[amie]

..........

[Rachel333]

I'm not completely thrilled with Obama, but pretty much all the Republican candidates horrify me, so there's no way I'm not voting. This will be my first time to vote for president, too.

It really scares me that so many of the Republican candidates are so extreme. I think Jon Huntsman might not be terrible, but he's got no chance at the nomination. I used to think I might be okay with Romney, but he seems to be getting more and more conservative.

[Guest Anonymous]

Honestly, this is the first presidential election I'll be old enough to vote in, and at this point, I honestly don't know if I'm going to vote it in it at all. Austin's right about the independents. I'm a libertarian and none of the candidates really appeal to me... even the supposedly libertarian Ron Paul kind of sucks at being libertarian.

Unfortunately it oftens feels more like I'm voting against someone I find particularly odious, rather than for someone I feel happy to vote for.