Rantz: Democrats and Socialists broke the Iowa caucus

Democrats and Socialists broke the Iowa caucus Tuesday night. To be fair, it’s the most exciting caucus we’ve ever seen.

As of late Tuesday, the Iowa Democratic party wasn’t confident in its reporting. The Iowa caucus system is in disarray. Candidates have been deeply hurt by the nonsense unfolding. But not all of them. Here are some quick takeaways.

The Good

Former Vice President Joe Biden didn’t win the Iowa caucus, but now he can move on with limited damage. The election was his to lose. A two-term vice president attached to a remarkably popular president should win in Iowa. But he didn’t. He did, however, get to give a pre-victory speech while his lawyers question the accuracy of the results. The narrative of losing in Iowa would have been the big story. He gets to avoid that.

I believe tonight's Iowa caucus results, combined with the ongoing impeachment efforts, mean that @TheRock is now president.

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 4, 2020

The Bad

Pete Buttigieg needed to win big in Iowa. Some early reports suggested he would have a good showing. But his pre-victory speech was too late. He got limited coverage. He was hurt the most in all of this.

A big showing in Iowa would have completely changed the media narrative and Buttigieg would have gone into New Hampshire with some momentum. That was necessary ahead of South Carolina, where he will get trounced.

Pete Buttigieg is putting up some impressive numbers, including in some smaller/less urban counties. His supporters ought to be cautiously optimistic.

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) February 4, 2020

The Ugly

It’s important to have early states help decide the direction of elections rather than big states like California or New York where you need a lot of money to get notice. Iowa and New Hampshire? You just need a good ground game and a great message. But the caucus system is confusing and time consuming. It’s unnecessary. Just create a caucus system and revel in the importance your state still holds.

Iowa. pic.twitter.com/FqklgPL1jr

— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 4, 2020

Beyond that, if Bernie Sanders doesn’t come in first, the Iowa caucus controversy will get real ugly, real fast. Bernie supporters are already suspicious of the DNC meddling in the campaign. They’re right to be. The campaign was hurt by DNC shenanigans in 2016. This is the only reason they need to blow up the system.

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