February 4, 2020

"7:40 AM Sen. Durbin says it’s time for Iowa caucuses to end/7:35 AM Howard Dean says Iowa shouldn’t be first caucus anymore..."

I'm reading headlines at the Washington Post.

You see what they are doing? They're blaming Iowa. It's not the fault of the Democratic Party. It's Iowa's fault. After the citizens of Iowa put up with all that interaction with candidates swarming the state for the past year (and more) and after they showed up for this elaborate nighttime gathering in groups in gyms and showing support with their bodies, they are blamed for the screwup of the party!

The other blame-shifting I'm seeing is: The computers did it. There was an app and it somehow caused all the trouble. Reminiscent of Hillary's wipe-it-with-a-cloth computer problems. I really don't want to hear excuses that have to do with computers getting things wrong. This cannot have been a complicated app, and the backup was to use the phones, yet they want to blame the phone lines too! It's just not credible.

AND: There's also room to blame the Clintons: "Tech firm started by Clinton campaign veterans is linked to Iowa caucus reporting debacle" (LA Times):
An app created by a tech firm run by veterans of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign is taking heat for the unprecedented delay in reporting Democratic caucus results from Iowa. The firm behind the app reportedly is Shadow....

“When a light is shining, Shadows are a constant companion,” its website says....

255 comments:

1 – 200 of 255   Newer›   Newest»
Charlie said...

If Vladimir Putin had a sense of humor he's take credit for this.

BarrySanders20 said...

Iowa goes under the bus. No Malarkey!

By the way, there is a Pochahantes County, Iowa. I do hope Liz wins that one once the results are finally announced.

Gahrie said...

You see what they are doing? They're blaming Iowa. It's not the fault of the Democratic Party. It's Iowa's fault.

Those on the Left must never admit they're wrong about anything, because it will inevitably lead to the conclusion they are wrong on everything.

Clyde said...

The stock markets certainly seem to like the Iowa debacle, at least at the open.

mikee said...

Given the field of candidates available, were I the software designed to calculate results, I, too, might have chosen self destruction rather than report a Democrat "winner" last night.

Nonapod said...

There's all sorts of conspiracy theories flying around. But always remember Hanlon's razor “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”.

gilbar said...

meanwhile, amidst the destruction and corruption that IS the democrat party...
The Dow Jones is up over 400 points, as Wall Street breathes a sigh of relief!

BarrySanders20 said...

Gahrie said...
Those on the Left must never admit they're wrong about anything, because it will inevitably lead to the conclusion they are wrong on everything.

That's why the No Malarkey! bus/phrase is so perfect. Everyone else knows it is Nothing But Malarkey! And that's exactly what the the establishment wants which is why Biden is promoted as the moderate, safe choice.

henry said...

Iowa is a dog whistle for white power.

Dave Begley said...

Tom Perez claimed the app was fully tested. Heads must roll.

The best element of this is that the average person can see that the Democrat party is full of screwups and incompetents. A reverse halo effect is now infecting the candidates.

I'm beginning to think that Trump might win 40 states.

Birkel said...

The answer will be more centralized power and authority for the Politburo.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

This is what happens when you hire unemployed journalists to code your app.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The grand manipulation to keep the insider Democrat Oligarchs in power.

Iman said...

Who can it be effing up the works?
Look no further, it’s just some lefty jerks
Can't you see that it's late at night?
Wolf’s very tired, and they can’t get it right
All they wish is to be alone
C’mon, man... just throw Dem dogs a bone
Just watch that hour glass and sand
And these clowns, they want to run this land
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?

Skeptical Voter said...

It's not surprising that the Iowa caucuses seemed to be like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. There wasn't a straight shooter in the bunch of candidates on offer.

tim in vermont said...

In software, the fish really does rot from the head. Blaming the coders is most likely bullshit, unless you can find they falsified test results, I guess, but they shouldn’t be in a position to even do that.

tim in vermont said...

"Tom Perez claimed the app was fully tested.”

Such an obvious lie or he’s incompetent.

AllenS said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shouting Thomas said...

A commenter I won't name in another thread has already summarized the DNC's argument:

What can you expect? It's a bunch of dumb white yokels in flyover country.

This is totally unrepresentative of the smart, sophisticates on the coasts who are really running the show for the DNC.

Wince said...

The Democrats who spent months wooing Iowans did seem to leave the state abruptly without much fondness once its usefulness expired.

Maybe Iowa can "put some ice on it"?

bwebster said...

The use of an app (or website or whatever) was probably the immediate cause, but the deeper issue was whether they were prepared for real-time deployment. There was a similar disaster with the Romney campaign in 2012 with their ORCA website. They had this untested software with untrained thousands of volunteers nationwide to be used on Election Day to track voting turnout and focus get-out-the-vote efforts. I was one of the volunteers, but I'm also a expert in failed IT projects, so I wrote up a post-mortem outlining what happened on Election Day and what the likely causes were.

AllenS said...

Iowa Democrats don't seem to realize that they are at the epicenter of flyover country, and are detested on both coasts.

TreeJoe said...

The buck stops with someone....not us. Someone else.

Nothing represents a party running for leadership of the country like a colossal screw-up in a well planned event, a failure to communicate, a panic and disjointed response, and a lack of accountability or clear action and next steps.

Funny but Iowa still ran a republican primary just fine.

gilbar said...

the problems were Really, Quite Simple
People kept picking Bernie, instead of Jo Biden
So, they had to cancel the caucus

gilbar said...

what will be FUN; will be in a few hours, when they tell us that Jo Actually won :)
The Fix is IN!

Paul said...

Ann... it ain't credible or incredible... It's just the far left's way. They will NEVER blame their screwups on themselves and resign.

Oh, and I am a very long time computer programmer... yea there was a screwup.. I hear the top brass of the company that made the app were Hillary ex-campaign staffers!! What a gas!

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Who else would you blame other than Iowa? It is their caucus. This screw up is another nail in the coffin of the privileges that the small Midwestern states have retained, despite the decline in their overall contribution to the union. I had never watched the process until last night. It was a joke. What else is there to say? I don't view this as a good thing, but hard to deny what has happened here.

Kurt Bermuda said...

The app funny business let the DNC shave percentage points from Bernie. The caucus funny business of coin flips let them shave enough delegates from Bernie. This was not incompetence. This was a deliberate decision to slice into the margin of Bernie Sanders' expected victory as much as they thought they could get away with. The goal was to deprive Sanders from getting a landslide win announced in prime-time at the expense of the Biden candidacy imploding. It kept them from talking about a Biden implosion or collapse in prime time, too.

wendybar said...

It's the Hillary peoples fault..... https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2020/02/04/inexcusably-secretive-thread-about-shadow-inc-company-responsible-for-iowacaucuses-app-so-very-revealing/

Sebastian said...

"After the citizens of Iowa put up with all that interaction with candidates swarming the state for the past year"

They don't "put up" with it. They like it. They wallow in it. They do everything possible to keep it going. Nice, modest, humble midwesterners that they are.

Lewis Wetzel said...

The NY Times says that the caucus chairs were not trained in using the app, and so they used it incorrectly or bailed & went back to paper & pencil.

Danno said...

Libtards have that nickname for a reason.

Big Mike said...

Aunty Trump said...
"Tom Perez claimed the app was fully tested.”

Such an obvious lie or he’s incompetent.


@Aunty, embrace the power of “AND”

Iman said...

These Democrats are not very agile, unless they’ve failed fast and moved on!

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I'm told we now live in a monarchy. So why are we continuing on with all this caucus nonsense?

Michael K said...

The leveraged buyout of the Democrat Party is under way. By Bloomberg.

rhhardin said...

Periscope can't keep the stream from hanging for more than an average of ten minutes. Scott Adams hasn't mentioned that ongoing digital screwup yet today.

Iman said...

“I don't view this as a good thing”

He wins the “Understatement of teh Day” prize !!!

Big Mike said...

ARM wants to know who to blame, if not Iowa.

@ARM, who paid to have the software developed, tested, and deployed? Was it not the DNC?

John Althouse Cohen said...

This cannot have been a complicated app

I don't know how complex the app was, but the New York Times says the problem was the app hadn't been tested, and people weren't trained to use it. Apparently some of the party leaders hadn't even bothered to download the app! (That's not a New York Times link, so it won't reduce your monthly articles.)

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

#MayorCheat lol! Love seeing Democrats eat their own.

rhhardin said...

You can sign up for obamacare with the same app.

gilbar said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Who else would you blame other than Iowa? It is their caucus


How long was the delay on the Iowa (republican) caucus, ARM?
I mean, if it's Iowa's fault, then BOTH caucus should have been screwed; right?

How about?
It wasn't Iowans that were fuckups, it was DEMOCRATS that were fuckups?
See how that fits the facts Much better? (of Course you don't; you're a Democrat)

Iman said...

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: “The Democrats say they weren’t hacked, and they would never lie (insert eyeroll emoji), but it’s still worthwhile to contemplate a scenario in which they were — by Russia, at the request of Donald Trump. (No, Trumpers, I am not alleging that. It’s a hypothetical to illustrate a point. Try to keep up.) I guess that would be OK, right? I guess that would be less than ideal but not impeachable, right? Also, if any Democrat president pulled such a stunt it would be the worst thing in history.”

Patterico (115b1f) — 2/4/2020 @ 7:16 am

tim in vermont said...

This is the DNC out of Washington that fucked this up.

Yancey Ward said...

Hanlon's Razor really does suggest this is just an honest screwup, but here is the thing- if there is a paper trail, and that trail seems to be a tabulation page for each precinct, then it shouldn't take 13 hours to give us the results. My observations:

Buttuvwxyz had better be the winner when the results are announced- he literally declared victory last night, and if the final results don't show him winning, he is toast in New Hampshire. This is doubly true if, as has been reported, his campaign helped fund that app.

Sanders, especially if he ends up finishing 2nd, will go ballistic. It might not warranted to do so, but given the shenanigans, most people will be sympathetic to his cause in this case.

It doesn't look like anything can save Biden from a 4th place or 5th place finish. He needs to finish 2nd in New Hampshire. This isn't impossible or even improbable, but he can't afford to go to SC with two (or three- see NV) 3rd or worse finishes- consistent losers are often confirmed as such by SC.

Bob Boyd said...

It's hard to believe the app would be designed to manipulate results, but at this point would you put it past them?

Scott M said...

There's all sorts of conspiracy theories flying around. But always remember Hanlon's razor “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”.

I saw someone mention that Bloomberg now looks like a genius for skipping Iowa. I used the converse Hanlon's Razor in my response to that comment: "Never attribute to genius that which is adequately explained by blind luck."

rhhardin said...

Periscope recognizes that its stream hangs, and reloads the page automatically, which then always hangs in six seconds. The second reload though does keep you from doing the required fresh reload for those six seconds. So making it worse.

There's a lot of intermediate software that gets used, and not all of it works. Might account for why the dem app doesn't work.

tim in vermont said...

Now the Hillary branch of the DNC is using the fog of war to push an agenda to dump Iowa. I don’t care either way. Maybe I should make a bet on the outcome fo make it interesting.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

The Iowa Democratic Party has shadow-banned itself.

John henry said...

In Puerto Rico we have island wide elections every 4 years. Same day as the upper 50. We elect mayors, city councils, state legislators, governor, resident commish. Probably 1,000-1,500 positions overall.

Everybody has to vote in person, between 9AM and 1PM. with a pencil on a paper ballot. Everybody has to show ID, not just ID but a Voter ID card, illegal to use for any non-electoral purpose.

We typically get turnout of 80% or more, of over 18 population, not just registered voters. More than 3mm voters, each voting on 3 separate ballots (state, region, town)for 15-20 candidate.

And yet, by 8PM or earlier, that same night we have complete official results available on tv and web. Official in that they are announced by the State Electoral Commission as preliminary results.

These are not certified, that takes another week or two of double checking everything. Very seldom is there a change in results.

What is the matter with you people up there and your elections? If we can do it, hold honest elections with trusted timely results, why can't you? It is not that hard.

This Iowa thing is embarrassing.

John Henry

gilbar said...

Apparently some of the party leaders hadn't even bothered to download the app!

Any guess, as to the average age of a Iowa DEMOCRAT party leader?
Here's a hint.... My Bleeding heart liberal MOM is one

Iman said...

https://amzn.to/2RWJzXt

tim in vermont said...

If Bloomberg did bribe some people to pull this off, my respect for him goes way up.

Ficta said...

I keep seeing the company that developed the app described as "progressive". What in God's name does politics have to do with coding? No wonder they turned out to be incompetent.

Ice Nine said...

>>Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Who else would you blame other than Iowa? It is their caucus. This screw up is another nail in the coffin of the privileges that the small Midwestern states have retained, despite the decline in their overall contribution to the union.<<

Please do give us the details on their supposed "decline in their overall contribution to the union." Particularly, Iowa's.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

The caucus process itself was ungainly, a hold-over from another time. Choosing whether to retain this inherently chaotic process rather than adopt a more straightforward measure of voter preferences was the decision of the Iowans. The old ways are not always the best. A process that worked adequately when newspapers were the main conduit of information will not necessarily scale well when it is under the scrutiny of dozens if not hundreds of cable news reporters.


Nonapod said...

The military uses terms like FUBAR, SNAFU, and clusterfuck to describe situations like what's happening in Iowa. The popular culture uses terms like "dumpster fire" and "train wreck". These are all fair descriptions, but I think we need something more colorful. We need something that fully captures such an epic failure, something that encapsulates both the incompetence as well as the overbearing arrogance of the central planners of the DNC.

tim in vermont said...

"The Iowa Democratic Party has shadow-banned itself.”

Is Tom Perez head of the Iowa Democrat Party?

Anonymous said...

LOL Robby Mook did the quality assurance testing for the app. You can't make this shit up.

tim in vermont said...

“Tits up”

stevew said...

They are blaming something other than their own incompetence, kinda like what Hillary did (Electoral College system, Sexism, Racism). They will continue to eff up as long as they refuse to take responsibility for the results.

gilbar said...

What is the matter with you people up there and your elections? If we can do it,

Oh YEAH? IF Puerto Rico is SO COOL.... How come they don't have a Giant Radio Telescope?
Face FACTS The COOL Places ALL have Giant Radio Telescopes! So THERE!!!

oh, wait a minute...

Wa St Blogger said...

I don't understand how anyone could not know exactly what happened.

The app's fonts were too large and Pete Buttigeig's name scrolled off the bottom of the screen and could not be seen so none of the precinct sites could enter in their results.

Sebastian said...

Chris Matthews:

"The Democrats can’t even get a three car funeral organized or whatever you want to call it."

But hey, let's have them organize the health care and energy sectors.

"But also the viability of the Democratic Party. I really think it’s got a problem. Going forward — I saw the Bernie surge there. That’s about a third of the party, but it’s not the party."

Wait, I thought it was the GOP that was dying. Get back on script, Chris.

AZ Bob said...

When are they going to figure out that they can blame Trump and the Russians.

tim in vermont said...

ARM is doing yeoman work here trying to deflect the blame onto Iowa and off of the actual clusterfuckers, the DNC.

Yancey Ward said...

Now, if it wasn't just a screwup, then I repeat what I wrote last night- someone got caught trying to cheat the system, and right now the negotiations are on-going between the officials and the campaigns on how to deal with it.

ARM, the DNC is in control of this fiasco- and the fuck up isn't even at the precinct level- it was at the state tabulation level. You obviously know jack shit about primaries and caucuses. There is a reason the Republicans have their results but the Democrats don't, but you are too fucking stupid to understand it.

gilbar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lexington Green said...


Everybody is getting this wrong.

The idea that this outcome is "chaos" or a "snafu" is laughable.

The D machine created the tech setup in Iowa as an insurance policy.

If Bernie won, or won big, they had the option of trashing the election, voiding the result, and blaming others for the outcome, but most importantly, denying Bernie his victory.

They had their talking points ready this morning -- It's Iowa's fault!

Laughable.

Next up Trump and/or the Russians hacked the D system.

Original Mike said...

"What is the matter with you people up there and your elections? If we can do it, hold honest elections with trusted timely results, why can't you? It is not that hard."

Honest elections are racist, don't cha know?

Gahrie said...

What is the matter with you people up there and your elections? If we can do it, hold honest elections with trusted timely results, why can't you? It is not that hard.

The Democrats won't let us.

narayanan said...

I'm beginning to think that Trump might win 40 states.
____________________
which 10 will he not win - let us game how to flip them red

all 50 is Super Bowl of politics

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

The Republican caucus, with a single viable candidate, is not comparable to the Democratic caucus. The Republicans have had their own problems with the process in past elections. The problem is the process - it is antiquated and no longer viable.

John henry said...

Note that Biden came in 4th. This further validates my contentions that VPs should never run. It adds Biden to the list of examples why


According to the preliminary results published by the Sanders campaign, Bernie took first place with 29.66 percent, with former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg taking second with 24.59 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took third, with 21.24 percent. No other candidate received the 15 percent necessary for delegates. On the final count, former Vice President Joe Biden took 12.37 percent and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) took 11 percent.

Sanders campaign releases internal figures for "nearly 40%" of Iowa precincts. pic.twitter.com/wY60myfnXS
— Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) February 4, 2020


https://pjmedia.com/election/sanders-releases-internal-iowa-caucus-numbers-as-official-results-delayed/

John Henry

tim in vermont said...

David Slack@slack2thefuture
· 7h
Hi.

While I can’t yet prove it, I feel safe in saying that both #BernieWon and #MayorCheat are trending because Russian propaganda accounts are amplifying them.

Putin’s goal is to divide us. Instead, let’s stand together, elect Democrats, and sanction his ass out of office.


Blue checkmark. Althouse doesn’t have a blue checkmark. Nor does Mickey Kaus, who ran for Senate in California.

Yancey Ward said...

ARM, then you admit the Democrats fucked up last night, right? Not Iowa, right?

John henry said...

Blogger Nonapod said...

I think we need something more colorful. We need something that fully captures such an epic failure,

BOHICA?

John Henry

Darrell said...

In San Francisco, every candidate is given a designated neighborhood and they count the shit piles after the holes close on election night.

Temujin said...

Every time something does not go their way, they- en masse- start calling for the elimination of that thing. 9 Supreme Court Justices? End it. Too many conservatives. Pack the court with liberals. Electoral College. End it. Too many states don't vote Democrat. Iowa Caucus? End it. Who wants to give the Midwest that much attention anyway. (Right, Hillary?).

Amazing that these people are so quick to end things that have worked for everyone else. But Socialism, proven to destroy entire economies and cultures, and kill millions of people for over 100 years, that, that they want to keep trying because "it hasn't been done right yet".

Ann, I look at you like I look at some of my very intelligent friends who still vote Democrat. I look at you as a brilliant person and ask, How can you do that? What are you seeing that I'm missing? I know Republicans mostly suck as well. But my God...these Dems are painful to watch and listen to.

Iman said...

Blogger AZ Bob said...
“When are they going to figure out that they can blame Trump and the Russians.”

The pathologically puerile Patterico beat you to the punch, AZ Bob...

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

we're sticking to our theory from last nite
No voting/election results of any person/party/issue
will be deemed legitimate (unless it breaks their way)
They will crap up the process any way possible to render
voting obsolete, a waste of time, too corrupted to trust, etc

ProgLibDems want an installation, not a fair, open election

their various factions vying for the 'face' of the Party
Medusa? Janus??......Alfred E. Newman??

Yancey Ward said...

And note, in 2016, the problems were also all on the Democrats side in Iowa even though it was the Republican field that was massive. The common denominator is Democrats not Iowans.

Dave Begley said...

CA, WA, OR, NY, MA, RI, VT, CT, DE, IL, MD. That's 11 states that the Dems will never lose. That's why winning 40 would be so difficult.

Bob Boyd said...

ARM: The caucus is the problem because it doesn't work with the app.

John henry said...

Blogger Original Mike said...

Honest elections are racist, don't cha know?

Now you have me confused, Mike. I thought only "white" people could be racist.

People of color, such as Puerto Ricans, can NEVER be racist.

Except in holding honest elections? Is that what you are saying?

I still have not figured out why Puerto Ricans are people of color. It is so hard keeping up with all this stuff and following what the fascist line of the day is.

John Henry

Levi Starks said...

Whenever the loudest in the Democratic Party don’t get their way, they always mechanism by which it happened.
See : Electoral College.

Francisco D said...

Apparently some of the party leaders hadn't even bothered to download the app! (That's not a New York Times link, so it won't reduce your monthly articles.)

Thanks for the link, JAC.

I am not coding savvy, although I did take programming courses in the early 70's. LOL!

I wonder how the app could be so complicated since it is trying to accomplish a simple tabulation task. A slightly modernized version of Visicalc could have done the job. I wonder if this hiccup was intentional.

narayanan said...

Blogger Lewis Wetzel said...

The NY Times says that the caucus chairs were not trained in using the app, and so they used it incorrectly or bailed & went back to paper & pencil.
__________+++++++++++++++
If I read this correctly >>> DNC commissioned app was launched to avoid paper trail?!

Rick said...

This cannot have been a complicated app,

Everything is complicated when executed by incompetents.


Firm That Built Iowa Caucus App Is Full of Former Clinton Campaign Staffers


As others note compare this to the Obamacare rollouts. Then consider ...

The "moderate" left position is that Obamacare rollout is overly criticized (for partisan reasons) because it was fixed fairly quickly and therefore had limited effect. But the details show how dangerous this conclusion is particularly when combined with the goals of Democratic economic policy.

The Obamacare exchanges were fixed quickly because it was an emergency and governments waived the normal contractor rules to accept expert help. These were experts in programming rather than experts in winning government contracts. It was these people who made the exchanges workable, accomplishing in three months what government and its corrupt and incompetent lackeys could not in two plus years and an effectively unlimited budget.

Now consider what Sanders and Warren are leading Dems toward. They want to reorganize society so every business replicates the employment circumstances of government employees, particularly the job security and flat pay scale based on certification rather than performance, which inherently creates a culture of mediocrity. With these changes all businesses will approach the incompetence of government employees and government contractors. So the very people who saved Obamacare in the past will no longer be available meaning the Obamacare initial rollout will become normal performance not just for government but also for all businesses.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

one of the investors behind Shadow Inc is ACRONYM, a nonprofit organization

Rick said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
The caucus process itself was ungainly, a hold-over from another time.


Luckily we have the self-appointed DNC spokesman available to provide their official talking points.

Rick said...

Ficta said...
What in God's name does politics have to do with coding?


Dems value political loyalty above anything else.

Berkeley Weeded Out Job Applicants Who Didn't Propose Specific Plans To Advance Diversity

It's natural for the bulk of people to prefer a politically based system. Outperforming everyone else to make yourself a star is hard. Proving yourself the most reliable progressive is far easier. That's why systems based on political loyalty struggle so clearly and consistently.

JRoberts said...

Democrats (definition):

A large group of victims looking for a villain to punish.

It this case, Iowa is the villain.

How dare these people between I-5 and I-95 think they have any right to determine who our public servants should be!

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

isnt the Geffen/hollyweird crowd, plus Zuckerface, behind Buttsexsex?

Curious George said...

"Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
The Republican caucus, with a single viable candidate, is not comparable to the Democratic caucus. The Republicans have had their own problems with the process in past elections. The problem is the process - it is antiquated and no longer viable."

Interesting. Could you provide us with some examples?

gilbar said...

Well! this sounds more like a Feature, than a flaw!
describing the failure of the app, saying that the app got stuck on the very last step when reporting results, which was uploading a picture of the precinct's results.

The chair said they were finally able to upload and screenshotted what they uploaded. Then the app showed different numbers than what they had submitted as captured in their screenshot.


So, You'd enter 500 votes for Bernie; and it'd display 700 votes for Hillary?

Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

@Dave Begley, note that Reagan won all eleven of the states on your list. (Fritz Mondale had to campaign hard in the closing days just to hold his home state ). OTOH you left HI off your list, which is every bit as bad for the GOP as any of the ones you listed. But I note that if Bloomberg is the Democrat candidate then I can picture NY and MD falling to Trump.

WK said...

At least the people counting the votes were not covering their faces with bandanas.

Original Mike said...

John henry asked..."Except in holding honest elections? Is that what you are saying?"

I don't know, I'm just saying what people tell me.

Gahrie said it better re: honest elections: "The Democrats won't let us."

Bay Area Guy said...

"There's all sorts of conspiracy theories flying around."

I'm thinking more a confederacy of dunces....,

Drago said...

ARM: "The caucus process itself was ungainly, a hold-over from another time."

And yet never a post from ARM on this "obvious" "truth" in previous years until his dems utterly beclowned themselves in a way that was seen by the entire nation this year.

Something goes wrong for Dems? Change it NOW!!! And its the Russians fault, and stupid midwesterners who were unable to use the app while bitterly clinging to their Bibles and guns!!! The Macedonian hacker farms were also to blame!! And Misogyny!.....RACISTS!

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/us/politics/after-iowa-reliability-is-questioned-in-caucus-system.html

It is over for the Iowa caucus. Pack up the wagons and move on.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wince said...

Read Rick @9:50.

Then read it again.

Rick said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...Pack up the wagons and move on.

Just like the electoral college: anything that doesn't give the results Dems want is by their definition a failure to be discarded.

Tommy Duncan said...

It looks like the DNC is conceding Iowa to the Republicans. The DNC is taking the short view on this, which is fine with me.

Drago said...

ARM: "The Republican caucus, with a single viable candidate, is not comparable to the Democratic caucus. The Republicans have had their own problems with the process in past elections. The problem is the process - it is antiquated and no longer viable."

LOLOLOLOL

The same number of caucus sites for the republicans, who did have multiple candidates on the ballot.

I don't think the Code cares if a candidate is "viable" or not (and we know what the dems want to do with "non-viable" things....).

The Code only wants to GetName and GetValue.

Keep spinning ARM. By noon today you might have that homeless chap on your corner convinced this is all on Whitey from Iowa.

Original Mike said...

I don't get it. What failed was software (when has that ever happened before?). What's that got to do with the Iowa caucus system?

Shouting Thomas said...

The Dems' insistence on quotas and diversity over merit produces the inevitable unforeseen consequences.

Drago said...

ARM: "It is over for the Iowa caucus. Pack up the wagons and move on."

You dummy dems are free to do whatever you wish with your caucus. I would bet the Republicans have no intention of going with you.

Just schedule New York and California on the first primary day ARM. Then you dems will never ever have to worry about of those horrible terrible no-good midwesterners again.

Win-win....but not in the way that you think.....

Drago said...

Original Mike: "I don't get it. What failed was software (when has that ever happened before?). What's that got to do with the Iowa caucus system?"

Dems and LLR's just like attacking midwestern whites.

Period.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Why don't you read the link regarding Republican problems in Iowa rather than wallow in ignorance and stupidity? NTTAWWT.

wendybar said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Why don't you read the link regarding Republican problems in Iowa rather than wallow in ignorance and stupidity? NTTAWWT.
2/4/20, 10:15 AM

Because we can't read beyond the pay wall, and I refuse to support Progressive liars!!!

Drago said...

Meanwhile, in other democrat/LLR news (which is LIKE TOTALLY NOT the fault of any actual democrats, just midwest rubes):


"Bice: 'An unacceptable and upsetting environment': 2020 Democratic Host Committee under investigation"

"The two top officials overseeing Milwaukee's host committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention were sidelined Monday amid allegations of a toxic work culture."

This clearly has nothing to do with democrats.

Think of these events as an islamic fella shouting "allahu akbar" while slicing folks up with a machete......we will probably never know the root cause.

Yancey Ward said...

And yet, here we are this morning knowing the Republican results, which we knew last night, but not the Democrats. Interesting, isn't it?

tim in vermont said...

POTUS handing out popcorn.

https://twitter.com/RoscoeBDavis1/status/1224669469777199105

Drago said...

ARM: "Why don't you read the link regarding Republican problems in Iowa rather than wallow in ignorance and stupidity? NTTAWWT."

Republican results were in within a reasonable timeframe.

Dems were not.

Maybe dems are just not that bright.

That obamacare website thing is starting to make a lot more sense now, eh?

WK said...

Instead of declaring winners they should just hand out participation trophies......

Chuck said...

I understand your point, Althouse; but I think the real problem is with the notion of a “caucus” instead of a real election. And Iowa chose caucuses so as to jump the que and get ahead of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary election.

Going first has always been a raw political calculation. And Iowans have fought hard to keep their position, even though that position is fraught with the issues of caucuses.

I think that none of what we are seeing would have happened in a normal primary election.
And that is on Iowa for its choices in this matter.

Original Mike said...

In the end, it will turnout someones password was "password". And it will be Trump's fault.

Drago said...

So, lets just summarize the "salient" points made by ARM and the LLR's thus far this morning:

1) Iowa is a very terrible place full of dumb white people who cling to religion and guns and should only be allowed to vote when their vote no longer matters
2) Russians, at Trump's behest, are causing problems already so Trump should be impeached again
3) The Republicans were every bit as screwed up as the "Non-dem"-dem Iowans even though the republicans had no problem completing their counts on time

Drago said...

Banned Commenter LLR-lefty Chuck: "I understand your point, Althouse; but I think the real problem is with the notion of a “caucus” instead of a real election."

And there you have it!

The DNC talking points on Althouse, provided by ARM and backed up by "LLR" Chuck.

It's all on Iowa!!

Why, there the DNC was, just minding its own business, running everything as smooth as silk, when suddenly, a bunch of gun-toting Trump-trade deal lovin' yokels got hold of a single smart phone and messed everything up for everyone!!

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Bertrand Russel in writing about the ancient Greek philosophers noted how apparently fairly they had represented the views of older philosophers whose writings had not survived even if they disagreed with them. Drago apparently has no Greek blood.

traditionalguy said...

Hmmm? Maybe Seth Rich did it. He would be a good scape goat to use when the CIA Operators have to screw up Bernie Sanders again and create a fake report to cover for it.

Drago said...

As noted elsewhere on "Teh interwebs":

Biden's decline is hidden
Sanders is cheated out of a prime time victory speech heading into New Hampshire
Average democrat turnout (instead of the predicted "huge" turnout) is also hidden

What does Occam's Razor have to say about these facts?

MadisonMan said...

One of my kids works in IA and claims the State Democratic Party there is run by idiots. It's hard to disagree.
I'm reminded that Santorum won Iowa in 2012 and The Republican Party screwed it so they first claimed Mitt was the victor. Funny how the error is almost always in the direction of the establishment candidate.

Original Mike said...

How is a caucus not a real election? It's the quintessential election; party activists get together and select their candidate.

Yancey Ward said...

"Sanders is cheated out of a prime time victory speech heading into New Hampshire"

If Sanders is the victor when the results are finally posted (assuming that happens this afternoon), then Trump should offer Bernie the opportunity to give his victory speech before teh SotU- just for shits and giggles.

Original Mike said...

Franky, I think it sucks that in "real primaries" the two parties have commandeered the apparatus of government to their own ends. You want to select your party's candidate? Do it yourself.

readering said...

How many remember 2012 screwup when Romney mistakenly declared winner and turned out Santorum win. Bipartisan group of Iowa politicians will work hard to keep the caucus for 2024.

Drago said...

ARM: "Bertrand Russel in writing about the ancient Greek philosophers noted how apparently fairly they had represented the views of older philosophers whose writings had not survived even if they disagreed with them. Drago apparently has no Greek blood."

Nonsense.

Why, when I was growing up in Oklahoma and attempting to avoid the dust storms, many's the night around our campfire and dutch oven cooking up prairie dogs my Memaw and Pepaw would regale us with stories of our pure blood Greek forebears. Did you know that I am a direct descendent of Odysseus? (But only BEFORE the fall of Troy! Afterwards, not so much...)

Its all quite true naturally. I once did a book report in the second grade on "The Uses of Grape Leaves"! At the urging of moistened tart dressed all in white who tossed me a scimitar out of our trout pond! (I may be confusing a couple of the stories).

Besides, look at my cheekbones! They simply reek of Greekness!

tim in vermont said...

Nate Silver@NateSilver538
2h
I feel like turnout being rather low in Iowa is a theme of underrated importance.


He’s not wrong.

Yancey Ward said...

Yeah, but the Romney screw up wasn't a screw up- it was just some dishonest hacks at work who quickly got caught.

tim in vermont said...

"Bertrand Russel in writing about the ancient Greek philosophers noted how apparently fairly they had represented the views of older philosophers whose writings had not survived even if they disagreed with them.”

That’s why it’s such a joke that you use Aristotle as an avatar.

Howard said...

What's a Greek urn?

Drago said...

readering: "How many remember 2012 screwup when Romney mistakenly declared winner and turned out Santorum win."

That's nothing!!

Go back and read up and the utter failure of Romney's "Orca" application for the general election.

Tens of millions designed to tie every potential Romney voter with volunteers across the country to maximize turnout. And guess what? It flopped so horrifically no one ever wanted to talk about it again.

Fun Fact for this year: Hillary's campaign manager from 2016 (Robbie Mook) teamed up with Romney's campaign moron Matt Rhoades to launch some anti-cyber hacking capabilities....that naturally they are all to happy to sell to interested parties.....

What could go wrong with those 2 rocket scientists teaming up?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Dishonest hacks, in the Republican party, surely you jest?

Is this better or worse than the current screw-up?

Yancey Ward said...

It is much better, you dumb fuck- they didn't have people waiting 12 hours for a result.

Drago said...

ARM: "Dishonest hacks, in the Republican party, surely you jest?

Is this better or worse than the current screw-up?"

Now you are on to something fun.

Simply determine the dimensions of "screw-up-ness" and then assign values to these dimension for each individual screw-up and then compare and contrast.

But first things first: in a screw-up, what matters most?

Howard said...

Math is hard (Barbie)

Browndog said...

Interesting how they all came out in unison to blame Iowa, demand they can no longer be first, almost as if that was the plan.

Bernie doesn't get the win, Biden doesn't take the loss, and white Mid-westerners take the fall.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Aunty Trump said...
That’s why


Bitter, bitter, bitter. I am sure there is a picture of Medusa still available for your exclusive use as an avatar on this blog.

AllenS said...

Howard said...
What's a Greek urn?

In Iowa, it's where men and women spit their tobacco juice into.

Yancey Ward said...

I don't think it was a conspiracy of a talking point, just the only one they had handy to excuse the incompetence of the DNC. Blaming it on Russians would have just made them look ridiculous at this point (/sarc).

tcrosse said...

Howard Dean might still bear a grudge. Iowa is where he came out third in 2004 and let loose with the famous "scream".

Seeing Red said...

Bwaaaaaaa, what a cluster.

Iowa hasn’t had problems before, but messing with the Gods of Copybook headings.

Drago said...

Yancey Ward: "I don't think it was a conspiracy of a talking point, just the only one they had handy to excuse the incompetence of the DNC. Blaming it on Russians would have just made them look ridiculous at this point (/sarc)."

Remember, the modus operandi of the left and LLR-left is to offer up "suggestions" that are "obviously parody" and then have those "parody's" repeated ad nauseum until it becomes common knowledge that the parody is no longer a parody and is now received democrat/LLR-left "wisdom".

According to Schiff and the LLR's, Trump is guilty of colluding with Russia in 2016 and he's already doing it again. And Schiff advanced that in the official impeachment proceedings in the Senate.

tim in vermont said...

Politicians shouldn’t be starting “tech firms” but they are the ones who know how to get the money sent their way.

Bob Boyd said...

What's a Greek urn?

Drachmas. More if he has a nice ass.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Urban dictionary Donkey Dance: see 2020 Iowa Democrat Caucus.

tim in vermont said...

As if to prove my point, ARM.

Seeing Red said...

I loved my Ronaldus Maximus years, but I was young, thin, working, and hopeful for my future.

But #45 has been the most fun presidency in my lifetime. Well deserved after the past 8 years of bitter clinging.

Aren’t i just deplorable?

Bwaaaaaaaaa

Static Ping said...

I'm just glad we had a moment where the "learn to code" crack was literally true.

mockturtle said...

When there are more than one thread on the topic of the Iowa carcasses--er, caucuses--it rather dilutes the subject, does it not?

Yancey Ward said...

It does look like Buttuvwxyz did fund this app. My question is why?

Lurker21 said...

Maybe in high school gyms and church basements all across Iowa, they are still caucusing even now, condemned to separate, count, realign, and calculate; separate, count, realign, and calculate, until the merciless app frees them from their bondage ... in the Twilight Zone ...

JAORE said...

The Dems' insistence on quotas and diversity over merit produces the inevitable unforeseen consequences.

Add in the requirement that the vendors are politically connected (and part of the funding pipeline) to the DNC.....

Result?

The App only works on Obama phones.

narciso said...

Aristotle, the Belgian philosopher, now I worked with elections particularly when they introduced the chadless voting machines in 2002, but when you have problems with a smaller voting cohort than in 2016

Big Mike said...

From a mathematical perspective, there is no question that the two-stage Iowa caucuses do a better job of finding the Nash Equilibrium than a primary system, especially this early in the campaign season. People bitching about Iowa’s caucuses being at fault when it’s obvious to any 14 year old gamer that the software is manifestly inadequate merely demonstrate that they are out of touch with the 21st century.

Rick said...

Aunty Trump said...
Politicians shouldn’t be starting “tech firms” but they are the ones who know how to get the money sent their way.


It's revealing how much corruption is supported by the media. Obvious conflicts of interest - using your position in an organization to steer its disbursements to yourself - are simply ignored when they support Dems. The Annointed live by different standards. Thus the media defends manifestly unqualified scions like Hunter Biden and Chelsea Clinton from criticism for their 600k contracts from overseas oil businesses or NBC news. It's s if the media doesn't understand we all recognize this as corruption even if they support it.

Narr said...

I think Democrats are cute when they get angry.

Still no results! STILL NO RESULTS!! (If NPR can be believed . . . hmmm.)

The Democratic Party didn't invent political corruption, they have just been more successful, for a longer time, than any comparable gang in the historical record. (I speak only of secular gangs of course, though the distinction is sometimes not all that apparent.)

Narr
Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch

tim in vermont said...

Meet the Shadow team!

https://twitter.com/taraemcg/status/1086069110704824320

Yancey Ward said...

It sounds like the app is a glorified tip calculator.

Arashi said...

I am a retired software engineer. The app actually would not have to do any tabulation. All it would need to do is report the three numbers from each caucus site to a central location, where the data would get put into a database. Then software at the central location code access the database and run the tabulations.

The app itself would be very small. The only real issue is getting the security working well, as well as making sure it would run in iOS and Android - unless the DNC placed a working iPad at each caucus site. The code is really simple as would the user interface. Hell, even the database code would be straight forward.

The software doing the tabulation could be done in a scripting language like Python, that could fill in an Excel spreadsheet that would actually do the math.

That the DNC could not get this "right", smacks of master level incompetence, or else the numbers were not working out as "planned", so the DNC went into panic mode and came up with a "plausible' explanation for the app failure and lack of results.

Yancey Ward said...

"Meet the Shadow team!"

ARM, which one is you?

tim in vermont said...

One of the programmers has a Hillary sticker on her laptop.

https://twitter.com/taraemcg/status/1086069110704824320

Wa St Blogger said...

Clearly it was due to the app having fonts that were too large and Buttigeig's name scrolled below the bottom of the screen so none of the precincts were able to report their results so they just cancelled the Caucus.

Francisco D said...

Here is something I wrote in an earlier thread:

The caucus is a charming Iowa tradition like RAGBRAI, the state fair and the Bix race. Democrats of all stripes make it a point to attend, but not so much for Republicans. It is a simple task to tabulate votes just as it is easy and well practiced for the DNC mouthpiece Des Moines Register to provide a final poll.

The fact that both the caucuses and the final poll were supposedly screwed up by technical glitches is more suspicious than the murder of Seth Rich and the Vince Foster and Jeffrey Epstein suicides.

Bob Boyd said...

What was Hillary's cut?

tim in vermont said...

" am a retired software engineer. The app actually would not have to do any tabulation. All it would need to do is report the three numbers from each caucus site to a central location, “

That would make sense! Then they could just write a query in about four minutes from a command window and give us the results, even without the app. OK, they would have to check and double check, but there wouldn’t be that much room for error. That’s why none of this makes any sense at all whatsoever.

gilbar said...

I thought This Line was particularly good:

party’s initial investigation determined “with certainty” that the data collected through the app was sound but that “it was reporting out only partial data."

So, you see? When I wrote you out a paycheck for $28, i could say
"with certainty" that the date collected was sound
BUT
"it was reporting out only partial data"

That's why your weekly paycheck was for only one hour's work
But, that's not a problem, Right? I mean, i determined "with certainty" that the data for That hour was sound, i just didn't pay you for the other 39

Any other programmers out there, that wished Their company was so understanding?

John Scott said...

Trump should start his State of the Union speech with, "Before I get started I want to congratulate the winner of last night's Democratic caucus...whoever that might be"

tim in vermont said...

"It sounds like the app is a glorified tip calculator.”

Yes, would you like to increase your candidates counts by 10% - 15% - 20% - Other

Arashi said...

Actaully it makes snese if the numbers were not coming in as planned by the DNC and instead of Slo JO in the lead it was Bernie all the way.

Now the DNC must find a scape goat and blame their incompetence on others. Who wnats to bet by this evening that the Russians and DJT will somehow be in the mix of "guilty parties"?

Anonymous said...

They'll figure out what went wrong. Whether they'll cop to it is a completely different question.

Browndog said...

That's a great point.

No Iowa poll, no caucus results.

It's as if Iowa has been eliminated from the DNC and nobody told Iowa.

Todd said...

I really don't want to hear excuses that have to do with computers getting things wrong. This cannot have been a complicated app, and the backup was to use the phones, yet they want to blame the phone lines too! It's just not credible.

Worry not! If Bernie were to get elected, computers and phones will just be a thing of the past and you will only have to worry about candles and food...

Browndog said...

They'll figure out what went wrong.

Or, nothing went wrong. Everything went according to plan.

hombre said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Browndog said...

Maybe Hillary did to Bernie in 2016 what Obama did to her in 2008.

hombre said...

This is not a screw up. Bernie was leading on the polls. What was the DNC supposed to do, let the voters decide. That is not to say they might not have to come clean about the results after the commie riots start.

tim in vermont said...

They easily could have failed to provision enough phone capacity to receive the results. Because that kind of work is done by professionals, and has a lead time. It’s not done by children whose main qualification is political enthusiasm. But why would they even use phone lines? Is it like Mayberry RFD there, with Sarah switching calls?

None of this makes any sense.

wildswan said...

Diverse reasons intersected to create monolithic failure, the point of intersection being a lack of interest in competence which was seen as a white patriarchal hegemonic cultural device for othering. With competence excluded as a valid and necessary criteria at all levels, the result was as we see it. See also Peach Mint Caper, Mueller Report. more to come ...

tim in vermont said...

If you ever worked with an application with high rates of data arriving at random intervals, you would know that its not like an exercise in your programming class. These are the times you look to the wizened old guys for advice. It isn’t even that high of a data volume.

Iman said...

For the m00nbat Left, good intentions will always be prioritized over RESULTS.

gerry said...

This screw up is another nail in the coffin of the privileges that the small Midwestern states have retained, despite the decline in their overall contribution to the union.

ARM works for CNN! I wonder how he feels about New Hampshire? Vermont? Rhode Island?

tcrosse said...

This screw up is another nail in the coffin of the privileges that the small Midwestern states have retained, despite the decline in their overall contribution to the union.

Yeah, what does Iowa contribute, besides all that food?

Marc in Eugene said...

I was one of the volunteers, but I'm also a expert in failed IT projects, so....

Thanks for the article about the Romney ORCA business.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Wow! Here's footage from the Iowa caucuses last night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--HXlMZvdl8&feature=youtu.be

Bay Area Guy said...

@John Scott:

Trump should start his State of the Union speech with, "Before I get started I want to congratulate the winner of last night's Democratic caucus...whoever that might be"

Funny!

Seeing Red said...

Iowa isn’t to blame for this. This rests squarely on the DNC.

https://static.pjmedia.com/instapundit/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tommy-Boy-600x555.png


Tom Perez

Unless this was a joke?

Iman said...

Pay no attention to the debacle behind the curtain...

MountainJohn said...

Wreckers!!

tim in vermont said...

Here’s the deal: this is taking forever because the data are 100% corrupted and they can’t track down all the original ballots, which were never secured and have zero chain of custody verification, for a manual recount. Even odds that they nuke the entire election at this point. - Some blue check

It’s the first thing that makes sense to me.

Seeing Red said...

Oh, the ballots are in trunks.

That explains it.

Iman said...

“EEeeGadszzzYawwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!”

—- Howard Dean

Bay Area Guy said...

We may need one of those Hitler videos where he learns of the Iowa caucus(if they haven't already been banned yet).

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