Arkansas Blog: Heart of Whiteness ...

... Or a few reasons why Iowa is dumb.

The Huckabong Express, a rare breed of 2003 Ford Escape manned by yours truly, pulled into Des Moines this evening after an apocalyptic 350-mile drive from Chicago. Ratio of cars-driving to cars-stuck-in-a-roadside-gunkpit was abnormally low, with a couple of bad wrecks. The Express survived a couple of scares itself, once after it hit a snarl of ice and once after its captain got bold with a gas-mileage estimation. (Traveler's note: Feed the automobile at the DeKalb Oasis on I-88, before you hit the desolate stretch of road that leads to Dixon, IL, Boyhood Home of Ronald Reagan. Secondary note: Avoid at all costs the Skyway Oasis on I-90 just before Chicago, reputed to be the home of the nastiest McDonald's on the face of the planet.)

When I wasn’t rubbernecking I had plenty of time to mull over the political circus that is the Iowa caucuses.

It’s been noted quite a bit recently that the caucuses are an undemocratic way to pick presidential candidates. One reason: the state is not at all racially representative of the U.S. 2.3 percent of Iowans are black, compared to 12.4 percent nationally; 3.7 percent Hispanic versus 14.4 percent; and 1.4 percent Asian against 4.3 percent. And there’s also the state’s tiny population: Iowa has about 2.3 million people of voting age -- one percent of the entire voting age population in the United States. Add that turnout for both parties on Thursday, based on the 2004 Democratic numbers, can be expected to run about 240,000, and you’ve got .11 percent of the nation’s eligible voters dictating who will continue to run for the nomination.

The horror. We the media play our role in this shitstorm too, of course. As faithful members of the profession, the Express and I will do our part over the next few days as we bring you all the Huckabee news that’s fit to spit.

More pictures of snow (not the Obama kind) after the jump.

The Huckabong Express:

Whiteout:

Comments

I cannot properly express how truly jealous I am of the Arkansas folks braving the tribulations of northern travel in order to follow the campaign trail in such godforsaken places as Iowa and New Hampshire. Oh the joys there must be in outfitting at LL Bean and setting out with extra batteries and a trusty lap top to observe and comment on the lunacy which is our elective process!

To view the circus close up! To see everything that comes before and after the slick short sound bite that appears on our evening news. The downside must be the legions of creeps, political groupies, zealots liking common sense or a life of their own, who glom onto the likes of a Huckabee. No doubt the glassy eyes of a future Mark David Chapman are everywhere in Iowa tonight. Beware!

The great thing about stomping around Iowa this week is that history shows Iowa is not important. In fact, more winners have come from those who placed 2nd. So covering Iowa is covering a snowy circus without consequences. Party hardy! There is no down side. The assassins of 2008 will skip Iowa and New Hampshire, but watch out for warmer months.

Oh yes.....blog on intrepid AT bloggers! I'd give my left ________ (fill in the blank) to be marching along side of you. Just remember to practice duck and cover in your motel rooms at night....it might come in handy in the future.

Posted by: Deathbyinches | January 2, 2008 12:14 AM

We Yankees take those ice patches and white-outs in stride. I made weekly trips between Grinnell and DeKalb a long time ago. I knew that if I slipped off the road, my car would gently bounce off one of the many eighteen-wheelers that filled the ditches. But the Chicago Skyway?! I made a wrong turn out of Gary (coming from New York), and ended up there--did a U-turn in the median to avoid it.

Posted by: Doc | January 2, 2008 12:22 AM

you've got .11 percent of the nation's eligible voters dictating who will continue to run for the nomination.<<

Not really, just the desperadoes or the unknowns driven by little extremist groups, as the well-knowns thumb their noses at the Caucus circus which can send a Robertson's and Buchanan's hopes into high drive. Rudy is mining the big states so is Poppa Fred. There's actually 3 real elections before Fattened Tues of Feb 5.

Hillary, the exception, has the bucks and staff to work them all.

Posted by: eLwood | January 2, 2008 05:59 AM

>>you've got .11 percent of the nation's eligible voters dictating who will continue to run for the nomination.<<

As long as we continue to select our candidates in the same manner as the goobers on "American Idol" or the Miss America pageant, we'll continue to get exactly what we ask for.

Iowa is a pretty nice and decent place, save for the few weeks every now and then when the politicians come to town. Too bad the caucuses can coincide with RAGBRAI...

Posted by: Up The Road | January 2, 2008 07:28 AM

I'm a Democrat, and I resent the hell out of the way my party crushed fellow Democrats in states such as Michigan that tried to hold primaries to counterbalance the insane Iowa "caucuses." Yet we lack the nads to bitch-slap Iowa into holding a real primary election instead of these quaint-but-brainless "caucuses," which are inflated by media attention into events that can affect who becomes our next president.

Why not have a nationwide Democratic primary in which all of us vote on the same day?

Posted by: Earl Swagger | January 2, 2008 08:05 AM

How about the fact voters may actually switch party, instantly, at the caucus in order to throw the other parties results?

Posted by: Eureka Springs, AR | January 2, 2008 10:34 AM

Arkansas Blog

Heart of Whiteness ...

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