Opinions, Politics

The Iowa caucus shows everything wrong with the Democratic Party

Ineffectual, bloated by bureaucracy, corrupt.

The Democratic Party is accused of being all these things and more, and come the night of the Iowa Caucus disaster, they proved its critics right in grand fashion, making them look like fools, and giving Donald Trump his best week in years.

What should be one of the easiest things for a political party to do, vote and count said votes, was such an unmitigated disaster.

The comically ineffectual app used to tabulate the data was developed by the ominously-named “Shadow inc.” which is run by ex-Clinton staffers and bankrolled by Buttigieg’s campaign.

Add to that comical coin flips to decide delegates that are too close to call, and the whole affair has a degree of sleaze.

The primary feels like the ramblings of a far-right conspiracy theorist decrying the “deep state” and the “shadow government.” Hell, the company even has “shadow” in its name. Who thought that was a good idea? 

This is especially embarrassing given the importance of Iowa in the primary.

The winner of the Iowa caucus has gone on to clinch the Democratic nomination for the last five years. It has reached this mythic status where who wins and who loses dramatically impacts who receives support from the party.

The Democrats have already been accused of playing favorites for establishment centrists in its primaries, a lot of the progressive wing is still bitter over Hillary’s primary win in 2016, and 2020 feels like that but worse.

This is on the heels of impeachment proceedings where Democrats failed to even secure witnesses and a primary that has seen the progressive and corporate wings of the party cannibalizing each other.

Time and time again, Democrats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it’s one of the most recognizable elements of the party. Hillary Clinton’s woefully inadequate campaign and the continuous, brutal, infighting are fundamental failures.

Have they learned nothing? It certainly feels that way. Defeating Trump would be a slam dunk for a cohesive, cooperative political party. 

Losing 2020 would be devastating to Democrats, but they are all but handing that election to Trump on a silver platter. The president recently hit an all-time high approval rating almost breaking 50%.

That being said, given Joe Biden’s anemic performance in the primary, placing a distant fourth just above Amy Klobuchar, and 2016’s historically flawed polls, my faith in them ranks just between astrology and the Farmers’ Almanac in terms of reliability.

In order for Democrats to stand a chance in 2020, the whole party needs to rally behind whoever is nominated. Party members will need to compromise on policy, swallow their pride and unite to vote for the lesser of two evils.

They’re screwed.

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