Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Ames Straw Poll-Breaking News-Eight confirmed in....

........ and three confirmed out. As of 5:00 p.m. CST today, Sam Brownback, John Cox, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Tommy Thompson have affirmed their respective committments to the Iowa Straw Poll on August 11.

Jim Gilmore, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain are confirmed out.
News on Fred Thompson, and possibly others, is pending. Stay tuned.

Great day for Republicans in Iowa.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rudy and McCain...Quite frankly..no excuse for their campaigns not being at Straw Poll. Its an insult to Republican activists in Iowa and the Republican Party of Iowa.

It is unfortunate to see leading Iowa Republican activists not stepping up to the plate and telling the candidates that they're working for that IOWA MATTERS.

Anonymous said...

In case you missed it below - and I'm still voting for Rudy at the caucus!!!!

From the Quad City Times:
Straw man.
Straw dog.
Straw poll.
All are as phony and flimsy as the three little pigs’ straw house. Thanks to some clear thinking by Republican presidential contenders Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, the Iowa Straw Poll hopefully will collapse as well.

The departure of these two GOP frontrunners from the Republican party pre-caucus event on the Iowa State University campus Aug. 11 spares Iowans and the rest of the nation from a meaningless, expensive fundraiser. Though it is pitched as some kind of measure of candidate viability, the straw poll is just a blatant cash grab by the Iowa Republican Party. Candidates are charged for table space at the event site, with the prime spots going to those who pony up the most cash the quickest. Each “vote” costs $25, and campaigns spend lavishly buying ballots and busing in participants from all over the nation.

The last contested Iowa GOP straw poll was in 1999 when candidates George W. Bush and Steve Forbes each spent more than $1 million on prime space and bringing in battalions of out-of-state supporters.

Democrats also make blatant cash grabs from their caucus contenders. But those are channeled into individual campaigns and at party events all over the state. The Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Des Moines typically draws the entire Democrat field during the caucus campaign and mobilizes Iowa supporters. But it doesn’t serve to narrow the field.

The withdrawal of McCain and Giuliani from the GOP straw poll renders the phony contest results meaningless and reveals how flimsy the whole event actually is.

Suppose these two national frontrunners tank in the Iowa caucuses because they ignored the straw poll. That would confirm that viability depends not so much on message, organization and the sentiment of caucus voters, but on the willingness to fork over cash to the state party to participate in this one-day event.

Suppose McCain and Giuliani prevail in the caucuses without showing up at the straw poll. Then those who did expend millions to buy a straw poll finish will learn the true value of this staged event.

Either way, the straw poll crumbles with not even a huff or a puff. Forget the straw poll. Let the candidates earn, not buy, the support of Iowans.

Cedar Waxwing said...

Rudy anon, Its no coincidence that the top two at the past Straw Polls have receieved 70% of the votes on Caucus Night..

Its also no coincidence that the Straw Poll has helped to narrow the field as well..

Lamar Alexander ended his campaign shortly after a poor Straw Poll effort.. Liddy Dole did the same thing a couple weeks after her poor showing.

The anon Rudy staffer here doesn't get the whole point of the Straw Poll..THIS is about organization...which you are struggling to build in this state.

Organization takes time and money to build..which Giuliani's campaign HASN'T done in Iowa. He's only visted this state 6 times since November 06.

Good lord, there are 2nd tier Democrat candidates who have visted Iowa more than that!

Rudy had better realize that if he's going to win Iowa..he needs to come here..he needs to actually CAMPAIGN here..talk to people..hold the town halls..hold the events..go to the coffee shops..

If there's "clear thinking" going on here..why haven't any of the other Republican candidates pulled out of the Straw Poll?(except also ran Jim Gilmore)

Seems like the only clouded thinking here is in the Giuliani and McCain camps. When they realized that they don't have strong organizations built in Iowa, yet, they realized that if they went into Straw Poll as is..they would lose handily and their campaigns would be dead in the water.

Obviously, McCain's campaign is bleeding from a million cuts from the immigration bill debacle that he continues to defend....and he wonders why he can't raise any money.

So..basically..McCain and Giuliani's pullout of Iowa proves two things.. 1. They have very weak organizations in Iowa..and 2. They dont respect Iowans very much.

Anonymous said...

Hey Cedar, if you want candidates to sign off on the "Fair Tax", you may want to tone done the rhetoric against them. I'm certain your client would not approve.

Anonymous said...

Ron Paul 2008. The only decent candidate of the bunch.

Anonymous said...

Does the money raised at the straw poll go back to the winner? No? Sounds like RPI is just trying to screw these campaigns for a dime. Isn't pimping/prostitution against the law?

noneed4thneed said...

Why doesn't Romney just back out and the top 3 finishers in the straw poll among the rest get to stay in the race and the rest have to drop out?

Anonymous said...

Frankly, this is a good thing. I'd much rather see a debate and news about Ron Paul and the others with-out Rudy McRomney.

Tracy

Anonymous said...

I think this Mr. Ron Paul guy should drop out because he has no support and is not a credible candidate for the republican party. Now if only he had once appeared in the Perry Chief bi-weekly newspaper, now that would be saying something.

Anonymous said...

Go Ron Paul! Go Ron Paul! God Bless Ron Paul!

Ron Paul in CNN debate on June 5, 2007!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwJKGfAWQUo

"In the time of universal deceit, telling the truth
is a revolutionary act" GEORGE ORWELL

Anonymous said...

ok, my taxdollars had better not have funded the internet access these Ron Paul bloggers are using in the mental ward....

Anonymous said...

I paid over $50,000 in taxes last year. So, no you didn't pay for this one atleast.

I am a ron paul supporter. He will be the 1st candidate to win the straw poll without spending millions of dollars to buy votes.

And maybe you should ask the Perry Chief bi-weekly newspaper why they haven't mentioned ron paul.

Anonymous said...

Ron Paul is the most conservative Republican candidate. Don't be fooled by smooth-talking, big-government candidates who will continue to spend billions more on an unconstitutional war in Iraq. 500 Billion dollars have already been spent, and the "war" will go on for another decade if we don't bring our troops home now.

www.RonPaul2008.com

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