Iowa Caucus Yard Signs: The Dog That Isn't Barking

DES MOINES -- According to the GOP's publicly available election schedule, there is a presidential caucus here on Tuesday. You wouldn't know it from looking around.

In 2008, the state of Iowa was carpet bombed with yard signs celebrating one candidate or another, as both parties played out contests between contenders with passionate grassroots support. That backing bloomed into yard signs, said Jennie Balcom, on "every other yard."

Balcom and her husband, Mark Glowacki, both 54, say they haven't seen such a dearth of yard signs in years. On the four-mile ride to the Drake Diner Monday morning, they counted a total of three, all for Ron Paul. In other parts of the state, they say, they've gone long stretches without seeing a single sign.

Political observers warn that counting yard signs is generally a bad way to predict who will win a contest. But an overall absence of signs, however, may be telling. Glowacki and Balcom are Democrats, but Republicans have noticed the absence, too.

"It's weird," says Tri Nguyen, a 45-year-old cab driver who's leaning toward backing Ron Paul and will be caucusing tomorrow night. There's no sign in his yard, he says, though in 2008 he had one up celebrating John McCain. He's not passionate about any of the candidates, he says, and is mostly supporting Paul because his wife is.

"I'm still thinking about who I'm going to go for," he says, explaining the absence of a placard in his yard. The most recent Des Moines Register Iowa poll found that 41 percent of likely voters were still undecided.

But Nguyen says that, upon reflection, there is a striking lack of propaganda around town. "It's usually a lot, but not this time. There's not that much this year."

Gowacki says that his block on the west side of Des Moines is highly politically active and largely Republican, but there isn't a single sign.

"The yard sign is a great way to gauge how strong support is," says Glowacki. "If I believe in you, I'm going to say it."

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Comments

[Robinson007]

07:53 AM on 01/03/2012

We progressives had better wake up! Romney may not have fired much enthusiasm in Iowa among right-wing evangelicals, but he will among the general electorate. Mark my words. If you listen to his speeches, he's striking an incredibly powerful, emotional, uplifting Reaganesque content and cadence--and it's one that will reverberate strongly with the voters. While I disagree with most of what he says (some of it is outrageous and should be roundly condemned--e.g., his implication that Obama is godless and un-American), his language about optimism, merit, a better day, and restoring jobs and American greatness is exactly the type of pap that resonates deeply.

Obama and his team will raise important questions on policy, promote their record of "accomplishment", etc. but will come off snarky, policy-wonkish, and smug (just watch Obama on 60 Minutes) and that doesn't go over well.

When he picks Marco Rubio as his VP candidate, the Dems--and the country-- will be in big trouble. No matter how much one dislikes Obama's selling out and corporate backing, he'd make much, much better Supreme Court picks--if he or Gore had been president instead of Bush (who put Roberts and Alito in there), there never would have been a Citizens United corporate victory.

[henrypapillon]

02:31 AM on 01/03/2012

Maybe they're too ashamed to admit that they actually have to vote for one of these turkeys.

[Adam Sadler]

10:58 PM on 01/02/2012

This is a BRILLIANT video that gave me chills on the difference between Romney and Ron Paul. ...IOWA, please watch!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hvuru-Slls

[john rajah]

10:25 PM on 01/02/2012

Will the Kleptocracy reveal this Tuesday who they will have elected in 2012?

[Artu Di-tu]

07:30 PM on 01/02/2012

The GOP-TP is for all intents and purposes...not relevant.

[onlythetruthcounts]

07:19 PM on 01/02/2012

Remember "rural Iowa" is redundant. Rural ppl tend to be working folks who vote GOP just for the anti-abortion and pseudo-Christianity.

[Artu Di-tu]

07:28 PM on 01/02/2012

Not because of the great "white sheet" sales?

[jsgaetano]

06:20 PM on 01/02/2012

Conservative ideology: the dog that doesn't hunt.

[edgarcaycedoc]

06:13 PM on 01/02/2012

Or, as one of the few Democrats in this very red state (in 2008 President Obama did not carry a SINGLE county) you could simply put out campaign signs for President Obama. But you'd have to have a huge supply of Obama signs, as the Gold Over People party folks come by and steal them each night. I'm so glad I live in a "democracy."

[jsgaetano]

06:20 PM on 01/02/2012

You should have put your Obama sign next to a sign reading "tresspassers will be shot".

[KIMBER]

06:08 PM on 01/02/2012

If I were to vote Republican, which is a pretty impossible scenario to ponder in the first place, I would be completely aghast right now. Not one of these clowns is worth a moments consideration as a serious contender for President. This isn't even about differing political philosophies, this is about a completely ridiculous slate of people who have nothing to recommend them. The only ones who even say anything that sounds like sense are Paul and Huntsman, but outside of being the only vocal anti-war candidate and wanting to legalize weed, Paul is even crazier than the rest on everything else, and Huntsman? Do people even know he's running? The politics of this country have become a crying shame and a national embarrassment.

[oldgeek1]

06:00 PM on 01/02/2012

A irrelevant process in a state that has zero national relevance.

[KIMBER]

06:11 PM on 01/02/2012

Yes, why are we tolerating a situation where a handful of states get to wag the whole dog electorially speaking? Why should the rest of us get to choose from candidates pre-screened for us by Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina? Time to do away with this mess. We should have one primary day where the whole country votes, and it should be 6 months before the national election. This thing is getting stupider and stupider every election.

[herewegoagain2]

05:58 PM on 01/02/2012

The media frenzy makes it look like Iowa is the state where people have not yet climbed out of the trees and learned to walk upright. Please remember, the caucus will be attended by only 5% of the Iowa population. This does not represent the entire state of Iowa in any way. Most of the rest of the 95% of Iowans are hiding so as not to be associated with these extremists.

What is missing is Democracy.

[PrairieGayCompanion]

05:52 PM on 01/02/2012

What's missing? Snow. A low turnout on a snowless winter's day will be quite telling.

[herewegoagain2]

06:11 PM on 01/02/2012

I was disappointed to find your handcuffs are for crime solving. I thought you were advertising something else you were good at.

[PrairieGayCompanion]

06:45 PM on 01/02/2012

Don't be disappointed. I'm good at that too.

[Telemachus Sneezed]

05:40 PM on 01/02/2012

"The most recent Des Moines Register Iowa poll found that 41 percent of likely voters were still undecided."

Indicating a massive shortage of clothespins needed for caucus attendees' noses.

[jsgaetano]

06:22 PM on 01/02/2012

They're waiting for Zombie Reagan to announce his candidacy.

[rchwel]

05:39 PM on 01/02/2012

Wow a cab driver voting for the wealthy, I bet he doesn't have health insurance either.

[john rajah]

10:26 PM on 01/02/2012

He probably is a Rush Limbaugh listener

[oxygen]

05:37 PM on 01/02/2012

BECK - ROMNEY 2012

[KIMBER]

06:14 PM on 01/02/2012

In that case, December 21, 2012 couldn't get here fast enough.