Ross: Iowa caucus proves to be messier than ever
Feb 4, 2020, 7:21 AM
Caucus-goers in Iowa. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Iowa caucus process is as much about math as it is about politics. There’s no discussion of issues – you just gather at your candidate’s table. You take a head count, and if you don’t get at least 15 percent of the caucus goers, your candidate’s not viable.
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At that point, like vultures picking at a carcass, voters whose candidates survived the first round try to pick you off.
And that’s when the pleading begins. At a precinct in Polk County, as CSPAN eavesdropped, Biden supporters did what they could.
“You don’t have to switch to a second preference; you can stick with the same one,” one implored.
But soon the Biden table was deserted. Meanwhile, at the Klobuchar table in a West Des Moines precinct, the Minnesota Senator just barely sneaked through with enough votes to hang around. And by the end at that precinct, there were four survivors: Amy Klobuchar with 57 votes, Pete Buttigieg 73, Elizabeth Warren 76, Bernie Sanders 99.
At the Andrew Yang table, they unloaded the leftovers.
“Anybody who came for Yang, feel free to take all the merch you want,” a supporter instructed.
Pretty cruel – and not just for the losers.
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I mean, everybody there is an involved Democrat — there are signs all over the room reading Boot-Edge-Edge, and even then, we heard one vote tallier mispronounce “Buttigieg.”
“Mayor Pete Booteridge, 73 [votes],” they exclaimed.
Oh well. There’s plenty of time for the party to figure out who’s running.
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