Save the Iowa Straw Poll – Evangelicals to the Rescue

This man hates fun.

Despite the efforts of Governor Terry “Killjoy” Branstad to scrap the Iowa Straw Poll this great event will not go quietly.  A group of conservative Evangelical christians announced they would be willing to hold a straw poll as part of their annual meeting, which also takes place in Ames during August, if the Iowa GOP decides to end the event.

If the Iowa GOP did ditch the Ames Straw Poll would it lose much of its luster?

That is an open question.  But I am guessing having the official approval of the Iowa GOP does give it a credibility other groups really cannot match.  If the event were only sponsored by social conservatives it would give some candidates an excuse not to compete or could prompt other groups to hold competing straw polls on the same day to weaken the event’s importance.

However, if the candidates still turned out and the media showed up you can be it would still have some importance.

Will they still show up like this?

Remember the event is not binding or mandatory.  What it does is take the temperature of the race about five months before the actual Iowa Caucuses.  For example, in 1999 we saw that Elizabeth Dole really didn’t have much of a campaign after she finished third behind Bush and Forbes.  Of course surprising showings by underfunded candidates like Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum foretold of their eventual victories.

Besides probably hating fun in all of its forms, there is an alternative and more nefarious reason that establishment-types like Branstad want to kill the event.

They know it is tilled toward the more grassroots-social conservative activists and reminds them just how much power they really have at the upcoming caucuses and in the party in general.  That is why poor showings in it have killed the campaigns of people like Tim Pawlenty, Elizabeth Dole, and Lamar Alexander (1999) and Tommy Thompson.

Of course if they couldn’t get enough people to show up to Ames for a one day how could they really expect to win the Iowa Caucuses?

Despite all of the recent bluster, hopefully sensible heads will prevail and the Iowa GOP will continue to hold the Straw Poll.   If you agree please call them at 515-282-8105 and tell them to Save the Straw Poll.