The Iowa caucuses are a make-or-break moment for GOP contenders—even though the caucuses themselves are warped by corporate money, governed by undemocratic rules, and don’t even produce a single delegate to the Republican National Convention.
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Tomorrow’s caucus and next week’s New Hampshire primary give incredible influence to a handful of voters who expect contenders to suck up to their small, overwhelmingly white states.
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Everything up to this point, while presented as The Campaign, was actually a long, voter-less preseason consisting primarily of candidates, politicos, donors and reporters talking amongst themselves. The caucus has turned Iowa into a media sensation, yet reporters keep missing some keys to the caucus.
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Iowa has seen half a dozen candidates temporarily surge in the polls. The very latest is Rick Santorum, who takes an “I love you, now change” approach to the Constitution.
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Whereas Newt Gingrich, who was surging, is now crashing—sending anti-Mitt Romney voters hunting for a new savior.
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Shockingly, Santorum and Romney are now neck-and-neck with libertarian Ron Paul—who has turned out to be not as liberal as some pundits claim.
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Whichever contenders survive Iowa will head to New Hampshire—where Jon Huntsman will make his last stand in his own bid for the nomination in that state’s primary on January 10.
For more on the Iowa Caucuses and the upcoming primaries, check out The Nation‘s blogs.
—Josh Eidelson
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