BIDEN CAMPAIGN SAYS IOWA IS NOT A MUST WIN STATE

[Hassin Bin Sober]

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/03/joe-biden-iowa-super-tuesday-1479854


Biden campaign says Iowa is not a must-win state

Joe Biden’s campaign on Tuesday said Iowa is not a must-win state on the former vice president’s path to the Democratic presidential nomination and signaled that the campaign is already “ramping up” its Super Tuesday efforts.

“Do I think we have to win Iowa? No,” a senior adviser told campaign reporters Tuesday in a background briefing. The adviser said Iowa, which holds the first nominating contest in the nation, will be “critical.”

“We think we’re going to win. We think it’s going to be a dogfight. … But we think there are several candidates in this field, there’s probably three or four, that are going to go awhile.”

Specifically, Biden’s campaign mentioned Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

[TwilightZone]

1. He would be correct.

There's more to the process than Iowa. Super Tuesday will be quite important, particularly with the changes for 2020.

This is also about the fourth time this has been posted in the past few hours. Perhaps you could comment on one of the others instead of posting your own.

in ALL CAPS!!!

[emmaverybo]

17. Agree with your comment about this post. Quadruplicated on purpose. MT

[George II]

3. I stand by what Steven King (R-IA) says!

[TomCADem]

7. Not Just Steve King. Bernie Has Targeted Immigrants With Sen. Chuck Grassley (R)

Remember when Jeff Sessions was criticized for scapegoating immigrants in his remarks criticizing DACA:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-sessions-delivers-remarks-daca

In other words, the executive branch, through DACA, deliberately sought to achieve what the legislative branch specifically refused to authorize on multiple occasions. Such an open-ended circumvention of immigration laws was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch.

The effect of this unilateral executive amnesty, among other things, contributed to a surge of unaccompanied minors on the southern border that yielded terrible humanitarian consequences. It also denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same jobs to go to illegal aliens.

Well, you have to wonder how is that different from the views of Bernie Sanders and right wing Iowa conservative Chuck Grassley who also blamed immigrants lost jobs and lower wages:

https://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/bernie-sanders-and-immigration-its-complicated-119190

Back then, the Vermont independent warned that the immigration bill — a product from then-Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — would drive down wages for lower-income workers, an argument that’s been used by hard-liner reform opponents. He paired with conservative Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on a restrictive immigration amendment. And Sanders backed provisions characterized as poison pills to unravel the bill, while voting to block the final measure in June 2007.

Sanders’ history on immigration that year is complicated. But his overall record has come under renewed attention after criticism that the senator was being too quiet on the issue during his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

You have to keep in mind that Steve King has cruised to victory in Iowa for years by preaching hate, and you have both Steve King and Chuck Grassley seeing eye to eye with Bernie on immigration.

To me this is the downside of Iowa going first. It encourages Democratic candidates to cater to views that are very conservative if not racist, particularly on the subject of immigration. It is no accident that Bernie has been pushing the same "open borders" boogie man as Trump during this campaign even though no candidate supports open borders.

[George II]

4. OH NOS, ALL CAPS!! IT MUST BE TRUE!!!!!!

Bwahahahahaha!!!



PS - I guess fourth time is a charm...

[LonePirate]

5. Talk about lowering expectations.

It is very, very difficult to win the nomination without winning IA or NH. If he is throwing in the towel in IA, that makes NH pretty much a must win state for him against NH neighbors Sanders and Warren.

[TwilightZone]

8. "We think we're going to win."

That doesn't sound like throwing in the towel, frankly. Context is important.

[highplainsdem]

9. Try reading the 3rd paragraph of the excerpt quoted in the OP. They think they're going to win.

But the polling we've seen so far indicates it will be close. The same is true for NH.

They're not "throwing in the towel." If you'd try reading the full article, it makes it clear they know this primary race won't be won in the first states.

[LonePirate]

10. Try reading the first paragraph. People do not say those things if they are confident they will win.

If the campaign is saying those things publicly, then internally they are worried.

[highplainsdem]

11. Are any of the other campaigns claiming they're sure they'll win Iowa?

The polls wouldn't back up any such claim.

[TwilightZone]

14. There's zero basis for that assertion.

I think you're reading too much into the statement and ignoring its context. You're not the only one, however.

[brush]

12. Nah, things have changed with California now on Super Tuesday. And before that is South Carolina.

Many more delegates up for grabs on those two dates and Biden will clean up. Iowa and NH aren't that important anymore as Biden doesn't need to win them to get funding as he has enough to get through to the primaries with many more delegates. He'll pick up delegates in both and move on to SC and Super Tuesday where there are demographics more representative of the national party constituency than mostly white Iowa and New Hampshire. The African American and other POC voters will come out for him.

[Joe941]

6. Quit yelling.

[SergeStorms]

13. It isn't.

So what's the story here? Are you saying Iowa's caucus outweighs California's primary for some reason? Iowa is more a popularity contest than anything else, and assigning it undue gravity is preposterous. It's long past-time to mix the primary order up and stop making like Iowa is the crown jewel in the tiara. Sorry, Iowans. Just my opinion.

[myohmy2]

15. oh boy...

"...Iowa is not a must-win state..."

“Do I think we have to win Iowa? No,”

...lowering expectations?

...not a good sign...

[Lordquinton]

16. Well if they're saying it it HAS to be true

I notice the reflexive attack on Bernie is present. He wasn't even a part of the topic, except as a Democratic contender. I can only imagine what would happen if someone posted something like that about Biden.

[floppyboo]

18. There'd be a million billion posts, but he would still be at 14% here. Some people!

[Gothmog]

19. I agree with Nate

Link to tweet

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