The Iowa caucuses are five days away. What's going on?
You've heard of Professor Schaff's Political Yard Sign Test. Ron Paul supporters will soon be trumpeting the Iowa Pizza Ranch Test: you know you're a contender in Iowa when your supporters won't fit in the local Pizza Ranch:
"We can't do a lot of the venues that the other candidates can," Paul's Iowa co-chairman David Fischer said Thursday. "The Pizza Ranches are out."
Paul held eight town hall meetings this week in eastern Iowa, each drawing crowds ranging from between 150 in Manchester to 800 in Bettendorf. None of the events were booked at any of the state's 71 Pizza Ranch restaurants—sites which routinely play host to other GOP candidates.
"The crowds have just been incredible," Fischer said. "There's a lot of undecided voters who are curious about Ron Paul coming to these events" [Mary Stegmeir, "Ron Paul Passes Pizza Ranch Test," Des Moines Register, 2011.12.23].
Meanwhile, Senator John Thune and two former Senate colleagues addressed dozens at the Family Table Restaurant in Le Mars on the merits of Mitt Romney. However, Romney has ticked back ahead of Paul in the Real Clear Politics Iowa aggregate poll average.
Several pastors pray that Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann will merge their campaigns to unite the theocracy vote. Santorum, who is enjoying a well-timed surge as Gingrich plummets, says no thank you. Why would Santorum merge with Bachmann, when her Iowa campaign chief is merging with Ron Paul?
We can only hope that part of Gingrich's collapse comes from voters recognizing that Gingrich's threat to ignore Supreme Court rulings and arrest judges who disagree with him imperils the rule of law and Constitutional checks and balances. Straggling Rick Perry must not think so: he's copying Gingrich's Nixonian playbook, claiming that his executive whim takes precedence over Supreme Court opinion. This anti-judiciary position provides cover for President Obama to ignore the Roberts court if it overturns ObamaCare in 2012 (don't bet on it!).
If it keeps going this way I'd prefer Romney because the others ar a little out there.
Yours is the betting man's wisdom, Mike. The nice folks playing at Intrade are overwhelmingly putting their money on Romney, saying he has a 73.7% chance of winning the GOP nomination. Next highest: Paul, 7.7%, then Newt at 6.5%. I'm inclined to believe that by the time February rolls around, we'll be wondering how we thought anybody could beat Romney for the nomination.
According to the LA Times, Pizza Ranch is the campaign stop of choice for Iowa conservatives. From the article found here http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/26/nation/la-na-pizza-ranch-20111227
"Conservatives like Pizza Ranch because it's a Christian-oriented restaurant whose mission is "to glorify God by positively impacting the world we live in" and whose charity blog, PizzaRanchServes, often discusses passages from the Bible.
"We call it Christian Pizza because it is a chain that's also a ministry, which does good works in a faith-centered way," said Steffen Schmidt, an Iowa State University professor."
Later in the article, "Even food has become politicized," said Schmidt, the Iowa State professor.
When asked whether a Democratic candidate had been at any of his three Pizza Ranch franchises, John Mohr wrinkled his forehead and looked at his manager, Natalie.
"No, I don't think we've ever had a Democrat here," he said, as voters crammed into a room with stars and belt buckles on the walls to prepare for a visit from Bachmann"
I like Pizza Ranch's chicken, but find the pizza lousy. I wonder how Howie, Sibby et al rate that opinion.
A long time ago, I thought of a religious pizza branding concept that went:
"Cheeses Crust. Pizza to Die and Come Back For."
I think someone has since actually done something similar.
Pizza Ranch makes sense for conservatives...from wikipedia - "Pizza Ranch is a Christian based company. This can be seen on their mission/vision posters in their restaurants and on their website. The Pizza Ranch vision is "To glorify God by positively impacting the world we live in."
Pizza Ranch founder, Lawrence Vander Esch, seems to be kind of an icky person though. Good thing the conservatives can look past that.
Ron Paul must be catching on. I have a good Democrat friend who is switching to Republican for one day so he can declare for Paul on caucus day.
If it worked out that Romney, Paul, Trump and Obama were all on the Presidential ballot next year, that would be a classic set of debates.
"seems to be kind of an icky person"
I thought the left did not judge, right Bill?
So Jana, are you one of the pantheistic monist who believe there is no sin?
Didn't Lawrence do jail time for having sex with teen boy employees? That's Christian pizza? But no democrats are welcome.
Charlie, is your friend a true Paul believer, or is that Dem just doing a little Operation Chaos?
and don't google Santorium. well go ahead
Steve there are creepy people on all sides. But it bugs me when people run around claiming to be a Christian while breaking their marriage vows having sex with teenage boys. It's been my experience that the more someone has to tell me how Christian they are the more likely they are to do something unethical.
He was a Clinton Democrat 4 years ago. So was I. Main premise is his agreement with Paul on the defense and war issues. He plans to turn Democrat again the day after. His goal is to have candidates present serious views on serious issues.
I can respect that. But if your friend wants serious discussion of serious issues, what happens when Paul turns from war and defense to the gold standard? What's better: Paul talking serious issues half the time and absolute nutty stuff the other half, or Romney ducking issues with bromides 100% of the time?
Most of the Republican candidates shoot themself in the foot this year. Romney has been for health care, and sending jobs overseas in the past so will be like shooting ducks on the pond in November. Paul is to liberarian to fit as a Republican once they get to know him. They are just curious about him now but will get to know him. Sanorum would be real attractive to the Republican right but not so much in a general election. Maybe the Christian right will realize that God wants Obama back in.
Those Iowa campaigns sure make the GOP candidates look like a bunch of clowns in a funhouse mirror. PBS interviewed "evangelical" Republican operatives. That ought to scare the religious crap out of any rational observer. The choices seem to be for candidates who were for issues before they were against them, against issues before they were for them, or consistently wrong.
Ok, junkies (Bill F.):
Modifying my tack: Ron Paul leaves the GOP race after South Carolina and enters as an Independent offsetting the votes Gary Johnson running as a Libertarian would take from President Obama.
Huh?
Better yet: Paul enters as a Libertarian and chooses Johnson as his running mate?
In depth analysis of who is voting for whom in Iowa:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/01/headed-for-a-photo-finish-in-iowa.html
Katrina vanden Heuvel on WAMU's Diane Rehm Show:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-01-02/national-issues-outlook-2012
Ron Paul nixes run outside GOP: @DanaBashCNN
Paul about Santorum: "too liberal."
"Four years ago today, candidate Obama told Iowans he'd reform health care and end the Iraq war." @BarackObama
@AboriginalPress AboriginalNewsGroup
Election 2012-Season of the Fascist: Witnessing the Ron Paul Campaign Humanise the Face of White Supremacist Politics | ow.ly/8hoDy