Iowa Caucus Roundup

The following piece is published on Iowa Independent as well as OffTheBus.

Last week kicked off with a bang when Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama clashed in Iowans' mailboxes. Clinton, who has been criticized by all of her Democratic opponents for her vote in favor of a senate resolution classifying Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, sent out a mailing to defend her vote last weekend. Tuesday, Obama mailed his response, a less wordy postcard proclaiming, "While other Democrats voted for for [sic] the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment, Barack Obama opposed another Bush foreign policy fiasco."

It was also rumored that Clinton would receive the endorsement of AFSCME, which is a significant force in the Iowa Caucuses.

Later in the week, former Sen. John Edwards completed his visits to all of Iowa's 99 counties -- a feat he had also accomplished leading up to the 2004 Iowa Caucuses. Edwards is the first candidate to have reached this milestone this year, and he noted that "Not only have I visited all 99 counties, I've been taking questions from Iowans in all 99 counties." This after releasing his Hunting and Fishing Bill of Rights and Responsibilities on Wednesday.

In other Democratic news, we now know the date of the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. Democrats will hold their precinct meetings on January 3, the same day as the Republicans. Although the new date will change the dynamics of the caucuses somewhat, Iowa will likely remain the most influential primary state in the Democratic nominating contest.

The Republican primary calendar also made news last week, when the Republican National Committee voted to sanction New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan, and Wyoming for hosting binding primary contests before February 5. (Iowa and Nevada, whose Republican caucuses are not binding on delegate selection, will not receive penalties.)

Thursday evening, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. John McCain were the only two candidates to appear at an AARP-sponsored forum on health care (the rest of the Republican candidates declined invitations to attend). Rep. Ron Paul spent the end of the week campaigning in Iowa, including a stop in Ames.

Although former Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Tom Tancredo also spent time around Iowa during the week, much of the buzz surrounded Huckabee, whose band played a show at the famous Surf Ballroom, the venue where Buddy Holly played his last concert before his plane went down in Iowa, Friday night.

Saturday, most of the Republican field attended the Iowa GOP's annual Ronald Reagan dinner in Des Moines. Iowa Independent's Jay Wagner reported that "Fred Thompson may have gotten more laughs during his speech, but surging Mike Huckabee received the only genuine standing ovation of the night." Tancredo, Huckabee, Paul, former Sen. Fred Thompson, Rep. Duncan Hunter, John Cox, and Romney's wife Ann spoke at the dinner, while Romney himself, Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain campaigned outside the state.