So 17,000 of 3 million Iowans voted in the

[malaise]

straw poll. :rofl: :rofl:

[Bluzmann57]

1. Well let's think about this

We are not all loonytune repukes, I suppose that a lot of the aforementioned either didn't want to, or were unable to travel to Ames, and I know that people actually had things to do other than voting in some bogus straw poll. So yeah, 17,000 out of 3,000,000 Iowans voted in the straw poll. By the way, what's your point?

[malaise]

2. My point is that it is absolutely meaningless and not deserving

of the 24/7 M$Greedia coverage

[Tennessee Gal]

5. Agree, that is a very valid point. nt

[Bluzmann57]

7. They (the media) need something to talk about

And since they (the candidates) are repukes, they will continue to get all the coverage. And besides, let's face it, Obama will not be primaried so there is no real story among the Democrats, at least not for the Presidential election.

[HereSince1628]

11. It's certainly true that the media covering politics always needs something

to talk about...

[HereSince1628]

8. It's not -completely- meaningless.

It's seen by republicans as a field test of the campaign organizations and their fund-raising ability.

Candidates with good organization in Iowa get to prove it by organizing (sometimes paying for) transportation and paying for the registration.

It provides the campaigns that participate a benchmark to evaluate their progress.

[Uben]

3. So if Bachmann spent a million in Iowa.....

.....the votes only cost her $200 apiece. Such a dumbass, she coulda spent two million and I bet she coulda got that number down to $199 apiece! If she were a quadrillionaire, she could actually buy enough votes to garner a second place showing in almost any state.

[malaise]

9. Pawlenty spent all his money on this crap

now he's finished :rofl:

[HereSince1628]

13. That is sort of the meaning of the Ames Straw Polls

to show early on which of the organizations choosing to participate is weak.

[HereSince1628]

4. ? So why is that so funny?

No one claims this is a scientific poll or truly representative. It isn't conducted statewide. It happens at Ames and represents Iowans participating in a GOP fundraising event. It costs about $30 to register to vote (which I believe can be paid by a candidates organization).

[rurallib]

6. it is funny because media spends so much time on what should

be a non-event.
like watching grass grow or paint dry.

[HereSince1628]

10. The OP is pointedly about participation...not the media

Why mention attendance as the focus if it's not the point?

Attendance could be the point of a political discussion about the poll.

Attendance of this years event was down nearly 20% from participation rates in the late 1990s. A discussion of that might be interesting...are Iowans not coughing up money to participate--is that a consequence of the economy? Are Iowans not as interested this year because Romney didn't play?

[gratuitous]

12. I supposed the laugh is on the popular media

While the talking chuckleheads may not be making specific claims that the Iowa straw poll is scientific or representative, the coverage certainly implies it. Even the absent candidates (Perry and Romney) are being trotted out as missing something significant by being somewhere else this weekend. If only some pretty blonde woman had gotten bitten by a shark Friday, we could have glossed over the entire non-event.

[Itchinjim]

14. This Iowan is proudly not among those 17K.

[gristy]

15. It is probably a statistically valid sample

It certainly is large enough. Simple online calculator here: http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm