Street report from Iowa

Street report from Iowa
-- 1/31/04
by Steven Fitzpatrick Smith

Iowa was the scene of the world’s attention for the start of the Democratic candidates push for the White House began. Comprehension of this process was difficult not only from the massive amounts of coverage, but also from a first hand view at the spectacle of democracy.

Saint Louis had its presence known in the neighbor to the north with a leading candidate making noise. However, many omens foretold the fate of the Gephardt campaign in the days prior to the caucus. Associating with winners is always a great way to bring momentum to the campaign trail. Then there is the Gephardt strategy, employed by the genius minds of yesterday of the Gephardt campaign. How does one pick up to steam toward victory? By holding a “Rockin’ to Victory” rally in Davenport the Saturday prior to the Caucus with an idol sure to cataleptically rouse the hearts and minds of the masses. The ship was clearly headed towards the path of yesterday once the word got out that the rally superstar was fellow yesterday’s loser Michael Bolton. "Dick Gephardt is exactly Michael Bolton's type of guy," noted the on the pulse campaign manager Steve Murphy.

Not to stop at such dizzying depths, the shirtless body paint crew of “Geb-Hart!” screamers needed one more high character infusion to make sure the fix was in. The Caucus eve excitement included none other than the class act Chuck Berry in his performance of innocuous classics such as My Ding-a-ling at yet another rally at a downtown Des Moines Hotel full of a mixed bag of South Saint Louis yesteryear including the insiders. The sirens rang as dozens of the fully bedecked Teamster 18 wheeled tractor trailers circled the downtown hotel blowing their air horns well into the late evening further endearing the Iowa voters of his wholesome campaign.

The signs of the public engagement for the upcoming political process were slim on the surface. While there was a clear presence of media in the state, everyday life was very much underway. Relatively few billboards had been bought out, and there were fewer yard signs than in a typical Saint Louis Aldermanic election. Apathy seemed to be in the air when only a few dozen students showed up at the beginning of a Joan Jett and Janeane Garofalo appearance and performance on a Saturday afternoon. The larger events seemed to have just as many people bussed in from out of state as were local people. On the shell it appeared that this was going to be a snooze for the endgame. However, it was the hype that just warped the conventional assessment of social engagement in the caucus.

The actual caucus itself was the most telling of any indication of November. The house, literally, was packed for the caucus in Richard and Linda Wise’s home in Winterset, a rural community outside of Des Moines. The set resembled more of a neighborhood meeting set in a home around the holidays with coffee, tea and a whole slew of sugar laden treats with a handful of bored kids running around while all the adults talked. The Christmas theme was plainly still in effect with traditional decorations and rather creepy 18 inch tall animatronic Santa and Miss Claus that were constantly in motion during the caucus. To clash the incoming voters about ten members of the media crashed this party with reporters coming in from the BBC, Germany, Minneapolis, entry pollsters from a conglomerate of media outlets and even a reporter from the local small town newspaper. The voters didn’t seem to mind the media circus in the home. They seemed to be proud of their role in the democratic process and for the most part were forthcoming about their thoughts.

Perhaps the most ominous sign of the evening was the observer sent by the Gephardt camp. The young man, clearly one of the youngest in the room, had fallen asleep on the couch awaiting the start of the caucus. This in of itself created a scene with the swarm of media squaring their cameras on this spectacle of a spectacle.

The last caucus had only attracted seven voters, while this time out it had brought in 55 voters. These were not the wound up first timers as seen volunteering in many of the various campaign HQs, instead it was the older Iowan. Married couples. Empty nesters. Only a handful of the people were under the age of 40. Not quite NASCAR Dads, not quite Soccer Moms, nor were they strictly bored seniors. The crowd was hardly a grouping of progressive Americans, but far more the idealist realists of Middle America who feel their stake in this country is at risk. The caucus started spirited, but by no means as rancorous as the campaigns. The issues were squarely discussed with an efficient and friendly exchange for each group to attain viability and elect the delegates. Not exactly the cleanest form of democracy, but definitely a style that provokes deliberation and dialogue.

The results, polls, campaigns and races will debated, analyzed and discussed to death, but the most intriguing fact is that the electorate has evidently been energized at the core, a very important characteristic for the Democrats collective campaign for the Executive branch.

-- 1/31/04