2016 Election Starts Now: Hog Wild
Jul. 1st, 2015 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23The 2016 Presidential Race is on, and at least on the Republican side, anyone you thought might run has decided to run. Sure, Romney bowed out, and we haven't heard anything out of Palin, but yeah, otherwise, they're in.
I haven't spent a lot of time on election '16, somewhat because of time constraints but also because of lack of real news or motion.
I do feel incumbent to mention Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride.
I have spent a lot of time here talking about Ernst, who comes off as an adrenaline version of Palin, taking the guns and leather jacket meme to logical and illogical extremes. It's the kind of' Merica F--k Yeah meme, that say you were head of a White Supremacist group that Dylann Roof would want to be part of, you might want to give her thousands of dollars to run her campaign. (Ernst and Steve King have since distanced themselves from Mr Sasse)
There have been plenty of fundraisers and will be many more, but Ernst's Roast and Ride is going to be one of the Top 5. It did occur before the landscape got crowded with the addition of Jeb, Donald, and Christie, but they aren't the types of candidates that would be appreciated at a place like this anyway.
A landmark fundraiser in Iowa had always been Harkin's Steak Fry- a key moment to fundraise as presented by longtime Democrat Senator Tom Harkin (and sadly, not a steak fry, but a catered meal).
Whereas Ernst promised the candidates would ride 38 miles on their bike and then roast a pig.
Some big names came and here is what you need to know (I was hoping to get some of this info out before the Ride, but know that it's happened, my sources will include pre- and post- coverage)
-Marco Rubio doesn't ride bikes. "I need a sidecar", he joked.
-Rick Perry does ride, and he did with Navy Seals in tow. So, here's the payoff you were waiting for
-Ernst gave each candidate 8 minutes to speak and a 10x10 tent
-Oh, and it should probably be mentioned, no candidate has spent more time in Iowa than Perry, and he is ranked 8th in popularity on a good day. Oh well, those Perry on a bike photos are totally worth it.
-Besides Perry and Rubio, guests were Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Scott Walker
-Huckabee and Carson also rode 'hogs', though they preferred blazers to Perry's all-black biker gear. Fiorina made her arrival on a John Deere
-The event was enough of a success, it will probably be back, but things look bad for the Ames Straw Poll (last won by Michele Bachmann if that tells you anything) with Huckabee and Graham dismissing it vocally.
-Walker is the front runner and this was the first event where that has been the case. Walker might have otherwise skipped an event like this, but he can't afford to. At this point, it sounds like everything is civil, but at some point, everyone is going to come gunning at him
-If you are looking for a storyline thus far (and there have been a handful of these 'big' moments already) it seems to be Fiorina. She got good buzz at the Iowan GOP's Lincoln Dinner. I see a lot of social media buzz on Carson, and I suspect Trump may try to go for similar minds who are looking for either a "Washington Outsider" or a "Established Corporate Leader". Still, it sounds like Fiorina might win converts with her oratory. All I have read sounds like she is targeting Hillary, but don't count out conventional wisdom. If Fiorina is indeed dazzling audiences, at some point that should translate to the polls.
-No big news, I suppose (Those Perry biker photos tho) but pointless controversy. The two major colleges in Iowa sent their mascots. Iowa's Herky the Hawk showed up, which led to "We didn't know this was a partisian fundraiser. We thought this was just a thing" apologies.
Herky, the school wants everyone to know is non-partisian. Cy the (Iowa State) Cardinal similarly was popular (the event took place near the Ames school) and did not appear to engage in any untoward behavior.
I can't say I have a problem with it, and the media spent attention on the outrage that probably did not exist in the first place. It's hard to argue that an event where more than 1500 people attended and made national event, that some
could be a bad thing.
I haven't spent a lot of time on election '16, somewhat because of time constraints but also because of lack of real news or motion.
I do feel incumbent to mention Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride.
I have spent a lot of time here talking about Ernst, who comes off as an adrenaline version of Palin, taking the guns and leather jacket meme to logical and illogical extremes. It's the kind of' Merica F--k Yeah meme, that say you were head of a White Supremacist group that Dylann Roof would want to be part of, you might want to give her thousands of dollars to run her campaign. (Ernst and Steve King have since distanced themselves from Mr Sasse)
There have been plenty of fundraisers and will be many more, but Ernst's Roast and Ride is going to be one of the Top 5. It did occur before the landscape got crowded with the addition of Jeb, Donald, and Christie, but they aren't the types of candidates that would be appreciated at a place like this anyway.
A landmark fundraiser in Iowa had always been Harkin's Steak Fry- a key moment to fundraise as presented by longtime Democrat Senator Tom Harkin (and sadly, not a steak fry, but a catered meal).
Whereas Ernst promised the candidates would ride 38 miles on their bike and then roast a pig.
Some big names came and here is what you need to know (I was hoping to get some of this info out before the Ride, but know that it's happened, my sources will include pre- and post- coverage)
-Marco Rubio doesn't ride bikes. "I need a sidecar", he joked.
-Rick Perry does ride, and he did with Navy Seals in tow. So, here's the payoff you were waiting for
-Ernst gave each candidate 8 minutes to speak and a 10x10 tent
-Oh, and it should probably be mentioned, no candidate has spent more time in Iowa than Perry, and he is ranked 8th in popularity on a good day. Oh well, those Perry on a bike photos are totally worth it.
-Besides Perry and Rubio, guests were Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Scott Walker
-Huckabee and Carson also rode 'hogs', though they preferred blazers to Perry's all-black biker gear. Fiorina made her arrival on a John Deere
-The event was enough of a success, it will probably be back, but things look bad for the Ames Straw Poll (last won by Michele Bachmann if that tells you anything) with Huckabee and Graham dismissing it vocally.
-Walker is the front runner and this was the first event where that has been the case. Walker might have otherwise skipped an event like this, but he can't afford to. At this point, it sounds like everything is civil, but at some point, everyone is going to come gunning at him
-If you are looking for a storyline thus far (and there have been a handful of these 'big' moments already) it seems to be Fiorina. She got good buzz at the Iowan GOP's Lincoln Dinner. I see a lot of social media buzz on Carson, and I suspect Trump may try to go for similar minds who are looking for either a "Washington Outsider" or a "Established Corporate Leader". Still, it sounds like Fiorina might win converts with her oratory. All I have read sounds like she is targeting Hillary, but don't count out conventional wisdom. If Fiorina is indeed dazzling audiences, at some point that should translate to the polls.
-No big news, I suppose (Those Perry biker photos tho) but pointless controversy. The two major colleges in Iowa sent their mascots. Iowa's Herky the Hawk showed up, which led to "We didn't know this was a partisian fundraiser. We thought this was just a thing" apologies.
Herky, the school wants everyone to know is non-partisian. Cy the (Iowa State) Cardinal similarly was popular (the event took place near the Ames school) and did not appear to engage in any untoward behavior.
I can't say I have a problem with it, and the media spent attention on the outrage that probably did not exist in the first place. It's hard to argue that an event where more than 1500 people attended and made national event, that some
