WING-DING-DING, We Have Ourselves a Winner

Hillary Clinton at the Iowa Democratic Hall of Fame Dinner in July, 2015. (photo by Oskaloosa News)

Hillary Clinton at the Iowa Democratic Hall of Fame Dinner in July, 2015. (photo by Oskaloosa News)

by Bob Leonard

An expected 1500 people turned out this evening for the 2015 Iowa Wing Ding Democratic fundraiser. The record breaking crowd showed up anxious, excited, and divided about the 2016 Caucus. Approaching the venue from afar, you could begin to hear the faint chants of pumped-up volunteers battling to voice their candidate louder than the other campaigns. The sidewalk was packed, as lines for entry into the iconic Surf Ballroom wrapped down and around both sides of the block. Getting closer to the venue you could begin to make out the cheers: “I believe in Hillary! I believe in Hilary!” “O’Malley! O’Malley! O’Malley!” To much surprise, there appeared to not be much support for Virginian Senator Bernie Sanders, whose has been bringing record breaking crowds along the west coast.

Once inside, plate of chicken wings in hand, a quick glance around the room indicated that it was quickly approaching ‘standing room only’ status. The ballroom was filled of a particularly aged generation. Those of youth in attendance were either campaign volunteers still outside yelling, media personnel, or accompanying mom and dad. As a college student, this lack of direct involvement was unsettling as well as a possible explanation for the lack of vibrant support for Bernie Sanders.

Eventually, the candidates began to speak. After listening to a number of U.S. House Representative Candidates representing the northern district of the state, the crowd was introduced to three candidate that are important to south eastern Iowa. Those three candidate were Tom Fiegen, Bob Krause, and Rob Hogg, all of whom are running for the United States Senate. Speaking first was Tom Fiegen, a former state senator who placed third in the 2010 Senate primary. He stated that the first thing he would do as a United States Senator would be to stop hunger and support a Farm Bill that feeds hungry kids. He dedicated most of his remaining time to promising to fight for cleaner water by citing studies of high nitrate levels of Iowa water to reports discussing nitrates ability to cause cancer. The state needs a senator with a platform that does not ignore but expands beyond agriculture. It will be important to watch over the course of the next few months to see if Tom Fiegen can apply a broader platform.

Taking the podium next was Bob Krause, former State Representative and runner-up in the 2010 Senate primary. Much like Fiegen, Krause appears to be a one trick pony. He dedicated a majority of his speaking time to discussing veteran issues. While important, it was not considered a major issue for voters in 2010 and most likely will not be different in 2016. Having failed to win his last two elections, Krause continues to carry the same platform, which is one that does not resonate with voters.

Rob Hogg, is a current State Senator representing the Cedar Rapids area. He emphasized the fact that he has not formerly declared his candidacy but is still simply ‘exploring’ a run for the U.S. Senate. His broader platform emphasized issues that drew large applause from the audience, such as equal pay and a better government for a better future. He drew analogies for the underdog victories of David Loebsack and Tom Vilsack to show that defeating a long term incumbent is possible. Out of all three U.S. Senate Candidate, Rob Hogg seemed the most in-touch with voters and I fully expect for him to formerly declare his intent to run.

Following the several rounds of sub-par or average political rhetoric, it was time for the main event. You could barely hear the announcer over the chanting as Hillary Clinton was called to the stage. The former Secretary of State came well prepared and fired up the over-flowing ballroom of progressive voters. She was quick to use witty lines to capture the audience. In discussing her email scandal she said “You may have seen that I recently launched a Snapchat account. I love it. Those messages disappear all by themselves.” Furthermore, she noted that the policies of the majority of the Republican nominees were no different than the beliefs of Donald Trump and went to the extent to call the “Trumps without the pizazz and hair.” She brought attention to lack of discussion during the Republican primary debate on issues such as minimum wage and the environment. Clinton received loud applause for her disgust in the “shaming and blaming of women” and the audience eventually grew wild with cheers and excitement when she drew attention to the importance of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. In a more serious tone, Hillary discussed the importance of overturning Citizens United and shared her personal connection that Citizens United was initially about her. Hillary Clinton delivered a solid performance and that was recognized by the audience.

Senator Bernie Sanders was also introduced with the crowd chanting his name. However, as he continued to speak, it was obvious that he captured less energy than Hillary. He drew attention to the fact that his campaign is being funded entirely by small donors. He stated that the average contribution was $31.20. He continued with his traditional rhetoric about creating a revolution that challenges the establishment. Additionally, he emphasized that “Healthcare is a right, not a privilege” and the need for a “Medicare for all, single-payer system.” The loudest moment of his speech came he said he opposed war in Iraq. It appeared that he learned from his mistakes as he spent a portion of his time addressing police brutality and his plans to demilitarize the police and abolish minimum sentencing. Having seen Bernie speak before, I was disappointed in his presentation tonight.

Due to poor planning on part of the Wing-Ding Committee, members of the audience and a few media personnel began to leave as former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley took the stage. He approached the stage with chants of his name like the prior two candidates but his was of less importance. It was easy to see that those chanting O’Malley’s name were the exact same volunteers outside and that the audience was simply applauding. He spoke to the fact that one of the differences between him and the other candidate was that he has 15 years of executive experience. To be frank, that was the only thing different between him and the other candidates. There were parts of his speech that sounded almost too similar to Bernie Sanders. O’Malley is a good speaker but when speaking third in a group of people with very similar beliefs, he needs to add some originality.

By the time former Rhode Island Governor, Lincoln Chafee, got on the podium, about half the crowd had made an exit. Sad to say, they did not miss much. Chafee noted that he was the only candidate to have been a mayor, governor, and United States Senator. His poor rhetoric and inability to keep the remaining crowd’s attention made for a dismal performance. Fortunately, he kept his speech shorter than the others. Lincoln Chafee will not be the President of the United States but do not rule him out from Vice-President or Cabinet contention.

The Wing-Ding was a night full of progressive political enthusiast, potential nominees, and good food. In a field of many candidates for many positions, tonight saw two winners. Rob Hogg, who will surely lose the general election if he winds up getting the nomination and Hillary Clinton, who was well-polished, well-spoken, and well received.

 

Posted by on Aug 16 2015. Filed under Editorial, Local News, National News, Politics, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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