The Watering Hole: January 4 — Iowa caucus results (updated)

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UPDATE:  Not so fast, Santorum!  *sound of squealing brakes*

Mitt Romney:  24.5% 24.6%, Romney wins by 8 votes

Rick Santorum:  24.5%

Ron Paul:  21.5% 21.4%

Newt Gingrich:  13.3%

Rick Perry:  10.3%

Michele Bachmann:  5.0%

Jon Huntsman:  0.6%

Herman Cain:  0% (58 votes)

Buddy Roemer:  0% (48 votes)

No Preference:  0.1%

Other:  0.1%

(via TPM)

Santorum squeaks out a slight win by 18 votes, acts like he’s won the nomination goes home thinking he’s won Iowa, will still declare victory no matter what; Romney diverts attention from the millions he spent to come in 2nd to Santorum by attacking Obama *yawn*, squeaks out a win to the tune of 8 votes (about the same as he did in 2008, the millions of $$ are definitely stinging), and does this bit of weirdness:

…Ron Paul feels somehow vindicated; Gingrich whines; Rick Perry returns to Texas for a nice nap before he gets out of this mess; and Michele Bachmann refuses to accept God’s answer to her prayers.

Overall, no real surprises.  President Obama was the big winner of the evening, as expected.

This is our daily open thread — Discuss!!

177 thoughts on “The Watering Hole: January 4 — Iowa caucus results (updated)”

  1. I was hoping to stay up awhile, and follow the results, but my body had other plans. I fell asleep about eight o’clock. I also missed a great Sugar Bowl game that went into overtime. Now I’m up too early.

    So, four years and many million dollars later, the same people voted for Romney again? And now the last presidential loser is endorsing the next presidential loser?

    Since all the GOP caucuses/primaries until April are awarding delegates proportionally, ‘winning’ by 8 votes is statistically a tie.

    After what Gingrich said about Romney, and it sounds like there is much more to come, if Romney is the nominee, he’s going to be more bloodied than Obama was by the Hillary campaign.

    The late crew on MSNBC, with Chris Hayes, Melissa Harris-Perry, Sam Seder, Michelle Goldberg and the guy from National Review, were more fun to watch than the first stringers were earlier. Hayes is making the point that Romney’s best demographic is Iowans making over $100k a year…

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    • I, obviously, couldn’t watch any of it, but one thing seems to be clear. If the label, “the same people voted for Romney again” sticks to him and I expect it will, he is in much deeper trouble than he cares to think. Now that Perry is all but out of the race his donors will bet their money not on Romney, and just because they haven’t done so before. They seem to distrust Romney so much, that they preferred Cain, Perry, Anybody to him. He still has a lot of money to campaign, but if the feeling persists that he maxed out on his base, Santorum may see an unexpected windfall before the S.C. and Florida primaries. Especially if he exceeds expectations in New Hampshire.

      Popcorn anyone?

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      • If Santorum gets money which he didn’t have before the Iowa caucuses, he could be a challenge to Romney in religious South Carolina. Winning by 8 votes after spending millions is a disgrace. It shows that it will take more than money for Romney to win the hearts of Independents and moderates. His biggest problem is he doesn’t stand for anything. At least with Santorum, you know his position on issues and policies. Same with Gingrich and Paul.

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          • And he’s not a Good Ol Boy. He’s a slick Yankee. He is, of course, racist to the core so that might add to his appeal. Primarily (heh) though, he has zero feet on the ground anywhere outside Iowa. Even the Iowa crew is so incompetent they couldn’t get him on tv for a victory speech during prime time.

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  2. It was a real cliff hanger, so to speak. Santorum wore out several pairs of shoes canvasing the Iowa for one whole year. Romney spent millions and only won by 8 votes. It was a fascinating contest. Romney has given Obama plenty of material to use against him in the general election, such as, “corporations are people”. Bachmann and Perry should save themselves from further embarrassment by withdrawing from the race.

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  3. hmmmm…8 vote win – no recount – no charges of voter fraud.

    Santorum barely misses a come-from-behind victory, and Gingrich is in the rear of the front four.

    Perry has another ‘oops’ moment.

    Bachmann is still on her mission from God.

    Romney’s theme song should be “Can’t buy me love.”

    Did I miss anything?

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  5. I think Romney has invoked the mean guy in Newt. Newt will attack Romney just to bring Romney down now. That’s just the kind of guy he is.

    Bring your popcorn.

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  7. Listened to NPR news going in – they had time to get quotes from the Romney, Sanitation, Gingrich, Perry, Bachmnan’s cma mgr and they talked about how Huntsman skipped the state altogether and was planning to be in NH today.

    The words ‘Ron Paul’ were not mentioned, once , that I noticed…..

    ….. they really just hate him – the bias is so obvious, blatant and pervasive. They’ll tell you what they think you should hear, all of them.

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  9. The definition of tone-deaf: The entire country thinks your husband is gay, and the cute little anecdote you choose to pull out about him is that, while you were all campaigning, he was buying accessories for your dog.

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  10. My take on Iowa, where the tall corn grows:

    The way I read it, the combo of Neutered, pRick, and Batshit got 28.6% and came in first in a genuine walk-away! Meanwhile, the Roman (Catholic) SickRant Orum lost to Mitt the MOR[m]ON by 8 votes and therefore came in third. He’s obviously finished as is Raul Pon(zie) the libertarian schemer.

    So the Iowa clown car crashed and all the clowns are dead. Next up, their imagined resurrection and rebirth — “Easter” comes early this year, before Lent even, in a New Hampshire miracle rivaling that of the American Revolution (which started there).

    I shall flush the toilet twice this morning in honor of the shit that happened in Iowa last night!

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  11. Andy Borowitz summarizes the Iowa caucuses:

    Romney Jubilant After Finishing in Dead Heat with Walking Joke in Sweater Vest
    Mitt: ‘The Eight People Have Spoken’

    DES MOINES (The Borowitz Report) � Former Massachusetts Goovernor Mitt Romney was overjoyed today after finishing the Iowa caucuses in a virtual tie with a walking joke who wears sweater vests.

    “The eight people have spoken!” exclaimed Mr. Romney, who was joined by supporters celebrating his .0006% margin of victory.

    The former Massachusetts governor put the best face on his razor-thin lead, telling supporters, “Say what you will, but eight votes is still six more than Rick Perry can count.”

    Historians noted that the last time so few people decided a Presidential race they were all on the Supreme Court.

    As for the other candidates, runner-up Rick Santorum said that he had received a phone call from President Obama: “He stopped laughing just long enough to say congratulations.”

    And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich addressed speculation about whether he would leave the race: “Not unless it gets cancer.”

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  13. Here’s a nice little tidbit of information…
    BuzzFeed breaks down how much each candidate spent per vote, showing Perry got a raw deal spending $480 per vote, while Romney spent $156, Paul spent $104, and second-place finisher Santorum got a bargain at $24 per vote.
    Santorum probably spend his $24 per vote on motel rooms, cheap food, and new shoes.

    Reply ↓

    • Now, all Sanctorump has to do is go door to door in 49 more states, and claim his prize! A free visit to his podiatrist!

      Reply ↓

      • Ricky surged because there were no debates in the final three weeks before Iowa. Santorum is possibly the whiniest, least appealing debate candidate I’ve ever seen in my life, and I figure he lost a few thousand votes every time he went on the air. So the calendar helped him a lot.

        Unfortunately, there’s a debate coming up this Saturday, which should be perfectly positioned to allow the voters of New Hampshire to remind themselves that they really don’t want to see this guy on their TV for the next four years. That’s bad luck for Santorum, but them’s the breaks.

        Reply ↓

    • Okay – I read this and watched the video. Frankly, I prefer to bring in the New Year eating pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. It’s more pleasing to the senses than the smell of burnt black powder.

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  18. Dave Weigel asks:

    “Four years ago, a depressed GOP went to the precinct caucuses, very well aware that Democrats had all the energy. The total GOP vote: 119,188. This year, Republicans should be psyched about the chance to uproot Barack Obama. There will be something above 122,000 total votes. An improvement, right? Well… in 2008, 86 percent of the people who chose the GOP caucuses were Republicans. This year, 75 percent of the electorate was Republican, with the rest of the vote coming from independents and Democrats. What the hell happened?”

    The GOP field utterly blows, Dave.

    Reply ↓

    • People may start to realize it was Republican policies which brought on the mess. And Obama did a fine job in many respects, which they will not admit, not even grudgingly, but they are still not happy about going back to the GOP ways. The Tea Party movement has peaked long ago, the same old, same old has no appeal and people want to go on with their lives and hope for some kind of proper government. There is not one candidate who has anything to offer to them.

      Maybe even the same has happened to the Republicans after the 2010 elections what has happened to Obama after his election. The base was fired up and wanted change and the daily circus in Washington quickly saw to it that change wouldn’t come. Disappointment.

      I dare say Congress has ruined it for Obama when the Democrats didn’t stand up for his policies when they still had the majority. And Congress ruined it for the Republicans because they didn’t have any real policies to work with in the first place and obstructionism isn’t a policy.

      Obama may still come out on top, because the pendulum swings more or less in his direction now and there is no relief in sight for the Republicans. But watch out for a brokered convention. This is not over yet for 11 months.

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  21. As much as I enjoy the fact that Batscat got knocked out in her “home state” I wish she had lasted longer. True, she makes my beloved Minnesota look bad but every day she continued her mad idea that she could be president reduced the chances of her retaining her seat. Sigh…

    Considering the fact that the 6th District has elected her three times I’m afraid that the fact that she abandoned her job and was proven, over and over, to be a bald-faced liar will cost her the House seat. On the other hand, she did provide a lot of ammunition for her opponent and might even draw a primary challenge if she doesn’t return her attention to her District and her job in Washington. A lot of her old supporters are unhappy that she abandoned her job for a ego trip.

    Reply ↓

    • I always wondered…. she has said that her hubby told her to become a tax lawyer. Did he tell her to run for Congress? and did he tell her to run for President?

      Reply ↓

  25. GOP furious about Obama’s recess appointment of Richard Cordray as top consumer watch dog.

    “Although the Senate is not in recess, President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people by ‘recess’ appointing Richard Cordray as director of the new CFPB,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an official statement. “This recess appointment represents a sharp departure from a long-standing precedent that has limited the President to recess appointments only when the Senate is in a recess of 10 days or longer. Breaking from this precedent lands this appointee in uncertain legal territory, threatens the confirmation process and fundamentally endangers the Congress’s role in providing a check on the excesses of the executive branch.”

    The President has some nerve appointing someone to head an agency set up to protect the AMERICAN PEOPLE. Damn Obama and his excessive use of executive power!

    Dog whistling Mitch is upset about a violation of ‘long standing precedent,’ is he? What about the ‘long standing precedent’ of letting the President appoint who he likes to his cabinet? What about the ‘long standing precedent’ of not filibustering every single bill that lands in the Senate, resulting in a broken Congress?

    Fuck you and your evil minions, Mitch.

    Reply ↓

    • “The confirmation process”? Does he mean the one where the Pugs refuse to confirm anyone? Or the one that has them blocking a thoroughly-qualified candidate because they want to gut the Congressionally-approved agency designed to protect “the American people”?

      Wah.

      Reply ↓

    • Can someone show me where in the Constitution it limits the president appointing people to offices only after the Senate is out of session for 10 days or more? How is this appointment illegal? McConnell is pissing in the wind and I hope the wind is blowing in his face.

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    • To be fair, The Democrats did the same thing to G W Bush to make sure that he couldn’t make recess appointments. But in my opinion, The Republicans are just abusing the procedure.

      Reply ↓

      • Agreed.

        The difference being that GWB was trying to appoint truly destructive people, while Obama’s nominees (once they get an actual up or down vote) are so inoffensive that they are approved with 90+ votes in the Senate. There’s no point to that sort of obstruction.

        Reply ↓

  28. O.K. I’m almost done procrastinating. Just about everyone is mentioning the fact that Mittens has maintained about 20%-25% support while the rest of the field has divided the anti-Mittens faction. But? They aren’t pulling the trigger and making the obvious statement that only 20%-25% of the GOP has any interest in ever compromising on anything. Since I don’t have to worry about losing a media job I can go farther and say that only 20%-25% of the GOP has even the slightest shred of sanity.

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    • I read last night on TPM that Mittens managed to get something like 6 fewer votes in Iowa yesterday than he got in 2008.

      All that time and money, and it really meant nothing. Whatever! 😆

      Reply ↓

      • Here’s a comment about it found today, but it doesn’t contain the actual numbers:

        “Despite Mitt Romney’s $14 million bet to win the Iowa Caucuses by promising to eviscerate Medicare and implement a divisive immigration policy, he could do no better than limp to a pathetic finish that didn’t even beat his 2008 results,” Obama super PAC PrioritiesUSA’s Bill Burton said in a statement. “But even worse for Romney, should he become the nominee, he now owns a long-term problem with Hispanic and senior voters that will he will not soon live down.”

        If Romney gets the nomination, I’ll be amazed.

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  29. EV! Now that you’re here, I wonder if you can give some input on this statement by Grampy McSame:

    John McCain says because of Obama, “we are believed around the world to be weak” and “in decline.”

    Reply ↓

    • Yes, many believe the US is in decline. But McCain is barking up the wrong tree. The fact that so many Americans are living close to or below the poverty line, the deplorable infrastructure, the eyesores of cheapest China crap that covers so much of the landscape, the Walmarts, McD’s which cover your country like flaking Make-up in a worn out whore’s face. That is considered decline. The failing educational system. Hey, we used to admire the US! “Scientists in America have found out”. This sentence equaled the papal infallibility doctrine. That’s decline. This is not Obama’s fault. It happened long before him. Obama is viewed as a moderately conservative politician. Very decisive in foreign policy matters, a bit too much free markets oriented economically. Basically as the last adult in the Washington Circus, which had become very clear when the debt ceiling crisis was at its worst. He and his wife are role models. A great family, good values. In short, give himto us, we’d still appreciate someone like him. Not in the messianic way that some have seen him, but in a much more mature way.

      Ok this a litle rambling I had to place a couple of calls while writing. In short: McCain doesn’t know shit.

      Reply ↓

  31. The Dumb Historian:

    Gingrich: “I think Jefferson and George Washington would strongly discourage you from growing marijuana, and their tactics to stop you would be more violent than they would be today.”

    Shouldn’t a college professor of history know that Washington and Jefferson grew hemp on their plantations. Tell me again, Newton, how constitutional professor Obama doesn’t know the constitution.

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  32. Ed Schultz is on fire today. 😀

    Apparently some dumb liberals think that because Ed did a good analysis of Santorum’s campaign, he’s jumped ship and is now supporting man on dog. WTF is up with that?

    Yeesh.

    Reply ↓

    • He’s a loser. He’s a looooser,
      And he’s not what he appears to be…

      with abject apologies to the Beatles, and John’s entity!

      Reply ↓

  37. This in from the New Hampshire Repugs:

    “All members of the general court proposing bills and resolutions addressing individual rights or liberties shall include a direct quote from the Magna Carta which sets forth the article from which the individual right or liberty is derived,” is the bill’s one sentence.

    I knew they were reactionaries but I thought they wanted to take us back to the 19th Century, not the 13th. Sounds like drunken frat boys to me.

    Oh, and psst, it’s “Magna Carta” not “the Magna Carta.”

    Reply ↓

  38. Since Santorum has managed to find special place in American slang I wonder what it mean when someone says…’oh crap, I done been romneyed.’

    Reply ↓

  39. Something for frugal. I had to groan over your Nick Dixon character name but someone topped you. Reading a novel by one of my favorite authors I see he has named a major character Dick Puller. That one will be hard to top.

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  40. The Republicans are going to have something else to blame the President for now. With the recess appointments Congress won’t be able to reconvene until they clean up all the turtle shit.

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  41. Ummm,. the repiglets are really in trouble.
    Here’s the latest Obama approval poll data from pollingreport.com
    Poll / approve / diss / diff / date
    CNN/ORC 49 / 48 / 1 12/16-18/11
    ABC/Washington Post 49 / 47 / 2 12/15-18/11
    CBS / 47 / 44 / 3 12/14-18/11
    AP-GfK * / 44 / 54 / – 10 12/8-12/11
    Ipsos/Reuters * / 47 / 48 / – 1 12/8-12/11
    NBC/Wall St. Journal / 46 / 48 / – 2 12/7-11/11
    Pew / 46 / 43 / 3 12/7-11/11
    CBS / 44 / 46 / – 2 12/5-7/11
    Fox RV / 44 / 51 / – 7 12/5-7/11

    Do I sees me a trend here??

    Reply ↓

  42. I’m kinda liking the way the President is handling things. In racing terms, we are at the clubhouse turn. The R’s have been flaying and screeching for 3 years and haven’t produced a single thing other than obstruction. They have shit themselves so badly they can only field a handful of extremist idiot to challenge the President. With the recess appointments he has Turtleboy wetting himself in public. Their ponies are all huffing and puffing into the home stretch and the President is just hitting his stride. This election season should be very interesting.

    Reply ↓

    • During all the Repug obstructionism, Obama has been criticized for not being a strong enough leader. Even people who acknowledge the obstructionism have maintained that it’s still the President’s fault, and that he’s weak. I think we’ve moved into an entirely new period and that he’s got nothing to lose by kicking ass. Congress is thoroughly reviled by pretty much everyone, so he gets points for beating on them. He gets points from the Left for finally stepping up and ending the “bipartisan” efforts, and he gets points for fulfilling more promises in regard to consumer protection, etc. I’m beginning to have a little more optimism.

      Reply ↓

        • Obama is really smart. I’m beginning to think that he played a game on the Repubs and they fell right into his trap and now he has them right where he wants them. He is a long term thinker and a strategist. Obama would have made a great general.

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  48. Oh thanks’s Gummitch. My daughter got accepted to the Music Conservatory program at Roosevelt University Chicago College of the Performing Art for vocal performance and they gave her a $10K scholarship. It’s a lot more than that so I’m going to have to get loans and other aid though. And a second job I guess. She’s very happy.

    Reply ↓

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