GOP Iowa Straw Poll

[SanJoaquinSooner]

The first step in moderating the influence of the right wing in the Republican nominating process: get rid of the noxioius Iowa straw poll. It gives too much credibility to the lunatic fringe and forces candidates into ridiculous positions to appease the fringe, not the base.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/22/iowa-straw-poll_n_2175429.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

[rock on sooner]

The straw poll has been nothing but a state GOP fundraiser for a long
time. The city of Ames and ISU make a great deal of money, as well.
It DOES, however, help weed out a few nutjobs. The caucus usually
gets most of the rest, but that didn't happen this year.

[Mississippi Sooner]

I remember back, in either the late 80s or early 90s, when Pat Robertson won one of those early Iowa straw polls and the buzz it created. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to politics at that time, but that's the first time I remember when the evangelical side of the GOP got really fired up about a candidate.

[rock on sooner]

I remember back, in either the late 80s or early 90s, when Pat Robertson won one of those early Iowa straw polls and the buzz it created. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to politics at that time, but that's the first time I remember when the evangelical side of the GOP got really fired up about a candidate.

And the evangelicals are heavily courted to this day because of that. This
past election took some steam out of that arm of the party because their
signature effort was to oust another supreme court justice (Wiggins) who
sat on the court that made same sex marriage legal. Wiggins was retained.

[Ton Loc]

Pat Robertson won once. That is reason enough to get rid of it.

[JohnnyMack]

There's been some small but interesting pushback from the right wing fringe element in the last week in that Grover Norquist seems to be losing his footing a bit.

[FaninAma]

I stopped reading at "lunatic fringe". Without this so-called "lunatic fringe" the GOP has no chance of ever capturing Congress of the office of the Presidency. And before you reply would you be so kind as to give us your definition of the lunatic fringe.