Drake and the Caucuses: Ring Side Seats

So given all of that, why spend all this time on the debate? There are several reasons. Obviously, we at Drake have a great opportunity to see students work with ABC and attend the debate. And this is an Iowa debate. And Iowa is the land of corn and presidential candidates. We can have a legitimate debate about the role of Iowa in the process (that may come later), but the fact is that Iowa has a unique role in vetting the candidates. Sometimes that happens at small town diners and around kitchen tables (until you see it, this sounds trite, but it's absolutely true and it's unlike any democratic process I've ever seen). But it also happens in debates and forums where Iowa activists gather to see the candidates side by side. This debate comes just 3 weeks before Iowans caucus, and appears to be the second to last debate in the Hawkeye state. That means it can have real consequences. Not that there haven't been a number of great debates among this field. But Iowans can be fickle, and despite the conventional wisdom that social conservatives will dominate the caucus, this one's up for grabs. The social conservative narrative is easy, but let's remember that social conservative voters did not succeed in nominating one of their own in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary, nor did they succeed in getting their choices put on the ticket for Lieutenant Governor. In other words, in a statewide Republican vote, the social conservatives didn't win in 2010. So why does the story of social conservative domination survive? The 2010 Iowa judicial retention vote certainly has a role to play. But that was about one specific issue -- gay marriage -- and a lot of money from out-of-state groups. The 2008 Huckabee victory plays its own role. But Huckabee was not just a social conservative. His campaign was ideally suited to Iowa -- folksy and authentic. Seriously -- the only food to be found at his straw poll booth was watermelon from Arkansas! In order to really understand the role of the debate on December 10, you need to understand the caucus itself. Voters don't just go to the polls on a designated day and spend a few minutes voting. They meet with their neighbors in a small venue at a specific time on a designated day. And in the Republican caucus, the winner takes all. That means babysitters and early dinners and traveling down snowy and/or icy dirt roads in the rural hills of Iowa. To put it simply, this requires real commitment. That means campaigns need to create committed voters -- which requires real live on-the-ground organization. You can't win this thing by appealing to one segment of the party or running advertisements or spending a lot of money. You need to really put in some elbow grease. The most recent

poll about three weeks ago found that fully 59% of Iowans likely to participate in the Republican caucus could be persuaded to vote for a candidate other than their current favorite. That means that Iowans are still waiting to see more of and hear more from the candidates. The December 10 debate will let them do just that. Over the next few weeks, I'll share the inside scoop as Drake prepares to host the debate. You'll also be hearing from Drake students who will share their thoughts on the debate, the political landscape in general and more specifically the candidates.