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My wife is a Deaner. This is her story posted over at SmirkingChimp.com where I also hang out. (I use the same handle there.)
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Well gang, I just got back from Iowa this afternoon (orange cap in hand, dontcha know...).
As folks have already said, yes, we Deaners were a little sad last night, but we still continue to work hard for our man. I have not attacked others' choices, and am definitely an ABB gal, so any of you insisting that we're brainwashed and won't transfer our vote, or some other such nonsense, kindly go do the unmentionable to yourself. It's unkind and unnecessary. I will vote for whoever I need to to get Dubya out of office. But Howard's my guy until he drops out. It's that simple.
We were already a bit bummed walking into the Val-Air Ballroom in Des Moines last night, having seen that 26 of the precincts had already reported, and our guy was lagging. The results got worse.
I got myself a Coke and socialized with all the new friends (and seasoned travel partners) I had made. The music cheered me up, and then Tom Harkin got up to speak. Since I couldn't attend the JJ Dinner or the Harkin Steak Fry, and had remained behind the scenes at the rally in Ames (to let others get a chance at meeting the guv), I had not heard him speak before.
But when he finished, I had tears in my eyes. And when Dr. Dean got up, it was obvious that the man could barely speak-- his voice was just about gone. With both of them ebulliently clasping hands and giving each other high fives, we felt as if we WERE at a victory party, and everyone's spirits began to lift once more. They gave us the little streamer sticks to wave, as well as American flags, and we started chanting, and then "You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet" by BTO loudly filled the room. We went nuts. Someone I heard said that we were amazingly loud. They couldn't believe that we had lost Iowa and were that excited. And of course Dean made the point that if you'd told any of us last year that we'd make 3rd place in Iowa, we'd have thought that was GREAT!
Everyone knows we're going to work just as hard in New Hampshire and everywhere else as we did in Iowa.
For those theorizing on our loss of momentum this time, I can tell you part of it from watching up close.
It wasn't bullying from our viewpoint--although it might have seemed that way to Iowans. The admin staff just wanted to make sure that no one was missed, and that no dedicated supporters missed their caucuses due to illness, babysitting problems, lack of ride-- whatever.
Our organization lost some coherency due to repetitive strikes at voters through multiple block walks and multiple calls, and multiple mailings. Some of us encountered voters who were downright hostile because they'd been hit a few minutes by a call and you were at their door. People began showing real derision for we Perfect Storm people, and it showed.
I think we need to make sure that our efforts in New Hampshire remain coherent and effective instead of repetitious outreach. We cannot afford to alienate any more voters.
Going to Iowa, canvassing in below zero temps, YMCA camp, driving long distances between towns, and snarking at each other on a 16-18 hour busride was just the character-building experience I needed. I felt so lucky to be able to participate in it.
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Dean was hoarse. This is what the mainstream media is not telling anyone. That's why his 'yell' came out like gargled glass.
If you wish to continue doing the media's dirty work, go right ahead.
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