Iowa Caucus 2008

An Early look at the 2012 Caucuses | The Iowa Republican

I have been putting off writing about the 2012 Republican presidential campaign for some time now. Even though I got my start in Iowa politics back in 1999 with Steve Forbes’ presidential campaign and have continued to make my living in Iowa politics since then, I have to admit that all the presidential chatter starts way too early in Iowa.

If I had my way, we would focus making sure Governor Culver is the first incumbent Governor to lose re-election since 1962. I also wouldn’t mind letting people know that there is a government program out there that allows you to trade in your clunker of a congressman for fresh new leadership. The best part of that program is that it doesn’t cost you a dime and could actually end up saving thousands of tax dollars, but like many things in life, things don’t always go my way.

Last week, Des Moines Cityview published a feature story on the Republican contenders for the 2012 Iowa Caucuses. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to speculate on the 2012 caucuses, but I found it interesting that Cityview had Douglas Burns write a Republican horserace article.

Mr. Burns is a fourth-generation Iowa journalist. He’s written for The Ames Tribune, IowaIndependent.com (an online news site that is funded by the same homosexual activist that targeted former State Rep. Danny Carroll), and his family’s newspaper, The Carroll Daily Time Herald.Burns also worked for Democrat Pat Danner of Congress, but what really makes me question his ability to write an article on the goal of Republican caucus is the 2012 book he wrote about Congressman Steve King on "King Kong Krazy ".

Here is how Burns describes his book, "King Kong Krazy."

Can someone with this view really talk about the qualifications of candidates in the Republican caucus in Iowa? The base of the Republican Party is full of people watching the king of the Congress one of the few champions left conservatism. So it’s likely that since Burns thinks King is a “freak show,” he probably thinks that the majority of people who vote in the caucuses are as well.

With all of that said, the following is how I stack up the potential field of presidential candidates as we begin to look at the 2012 Iowa Caucuses. Before we begin, let me say that lists like these will change dramatically. If I had done this list in March or April of this year, Mark Sanford and John Ensign would have been included. Now, due to their own self-destructive behavior, they are not even a blip on the 2012 radar.

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