Redstate

By haystack Posted in 2008 — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

The FredHeads are going on a little road trip to Iowa this weekend in a Pied Piper sorta way. As NPR tells us Fred will be on the sidelines. "His name will appear on the straw poll ballot, but there is no indication that his campaign – or whatever it's called – is doing anything to affect the Ames result."

The FredHeads, however, are taking things into their own hands (as it were) and will be trying to draw a little more attention to the Thompson possibilities:

[T]here is, indeed, a FredHead "Strike Force" heading to Ames, Iowa this week for the Iowa Straw Poll. The Texas group will be rolling through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri on the way to Iowa. Along the way, the group will be stopping off to meet fellow FredHeads and hopefully generate a little positive coverage from local news media.

If you live in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri or Iowa, keep a sharp eye out for the FREDHEAD EXPRESS.
[...]
Once in Iowa, we'll be meeting up with Jeff Mitchell, founder of DraftFredThompson.com. The game plan is to spread the word for Fred in Ames. We've already been "softening up" Fred's opponents with some talk radio coverage via some of the biggest stations in Iowa. The team will have an uphill battle against the forces of Romney et al, but a real FredHead never runs away from a challenge!

As these things go, the straw poll doesn't necessarily play a major role in the "real" action of the primaries. That said, however, there is every reason to expect our Lefty Liberal Media houses to make as much hay as they can about the winners and the losers. That Rudy and McCain aren't playing in the Ames sandbox, much ado has already been made about nothing.

That Romney has been accused of "handing out" ballots and/or money to acquire said ballots, has gotten only a smidgeon of media play. That it costs money to cast a ballot in this event has been fairly well buried several paragraphs IN to any news coverage.

Consider THIS, from the DesMoines Register:

With a $35 ticket, any Iowan who will be 18 on Election Day 2008 can cast a vote for a Republican presidential candidate. (You don't even have to be a registered Republican, but you do have to show a government-issued photo ID, or student photo ID from an Iowa school, to prove your Iowa-ness.)

Now, I'm not going to pick on Romney-campaigns with money and field operatives have been at this game for a very long time. Consider the disdain for the Straw poll from the 1999 campaign: [ps-consider the source as you read this]

Even by the decadent standards of American politics, the August 14 straw poll in Iowa marked a new low. Rival candidates for the Republican presidential nomination clashed in a vote-buying contest, lavishing enormous sums to bribe a few thousand party loyalists and hangers-on, while the media collaborated by inflating the significance of the contest and treating it with utmost seriousness.

Wherever you come down on the straw poll, remember that you have to PAY to vote, the primary purpose is to shore up State-level supporters, and the National media will pretend this is a significant event (even though the number of participants number barely in the tens of thousands).

If we crazy FredHeads, with no official campaign backing, and no money (because there is no official campaign) to "make available" for those who might otherwise NOT be able to participate, get Fred!™ to come in at say second place, you will see first-hand the successes grassroots crazies can enjoy...with a little help from their friends.

The beauty of this first FredHead outing is there is no down side. He is not officially announced. He has his name on the ballot at no expense. He has supporters willing to jump in to the backs of a pick up truck, an old beat up camper, or whatever wheels they can muster, and take a run for the cause.

THAT is grassroots, friends. If he wins...well...watch out! Wait for the media to downplay the importance of the Iowa Straw poll...