We have a race Iowa proved one thing, nothing is settled in the race for the Presidency

Iowa proved one thing, nothing is settled in the race for the Presidency

The results from the first state in the nation to pick Presidential candidates are in and here’s the important take away from Iowa. We have a race. Two actually. Sure Iowa doesn’t always predict who will be the eventual nominee in either party for President. But while some in the media and political establishment wanted to virtually coronate Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump before the votes were counted, it’s clear that voters want their own say, despite what polls show.

There is quite a lot of bad to note about the process of the caucuses in Iowa, Hillary Clinton winning 6 coin tosses which awarded her enough delegates to win barely, reports of precinct not staffed by the Iowa Democratic party, no paper trail for a recount because there are no paper ballots- just hand counts. But it’s worth noting some good about the process. Ted Cruz won in part because he visited every county in the state and met with voters face to face in small town gyms, sometimes getting tough questions about his policies. It’s the kind of retail politics where money doesn’t matter and there is something refreshingly old school about it.

Donald Trump held big rallies, didn’t take questions from voters and flew to each rally via plane or helicopter. It may not be the only reason he lost but the politicians who dig deep in Iowa and work hard and meet with actual voters in small numbers usually win. Trump was leading in the polls including a key, usually a predictive final one from the Des Moines Register and still lost. After leading a bunch of national polls and getting a ton of media attention, Iowa was the first state where voters had a chance to vote on his candidacy. And it’s quite possible Republican voters won’t have the stomach to actually pull the trigger on him when it comes down to it. But he’s not completely out and has a much bigger lead in the next primary in New Hampshire.

Regardless of complaints about the archaic process in Iowa and how many hate how they are first every Presidential year, it’s important to move on. It’s not the end of the race and everyone within reason still has a shot. On the Democrat side, Bernie Sanders has a lot to be happy about. He stopped Hillary’s media and political coronation in a state where she had tons of staffers and was up by 61 points a year ago. That a 74 year old grey haired socialist unheard of Senator from Vermont could start a movement and has a legitimate shot for the Presidency is unbelievable. But it’s well past time for people to start taking him seriously in the media and political worlds. He has carved together a coalition of college students, young professionals, low income workers and seniors that is not to be scoffed at. Many who think he can’t win the Presidency need to be reminded that the people who are supporting Bernie are very crucial to winning the Presidency for the eventual Democratic nominee. So the question should not be whether Bernie Sanders can win but why is Hillary Clinton not winning his supporters over?

Barack Obama won the Presidency in part due to overwhelming support from young voters who turned out to vote for him in higher numbers than usual. In Iowa, Bernie Sanders won the support of 80 plus percent of voters 29 years and younger. Hillary Clinton has a serious problem with the lack of enthusiasm from young people and Bernie Sanders has exposed that. They are tired of establishment, corporate politicians who want someone to truly shake up and change the system. They are sick of fake and broken promises which has happened too many times from previous politicians. If Hillary Clinton wants to win the presidency and not just, she needs to fix that. She can wait until later to do it but she may lose the nomination in the process. She is the embodiment of corporate, establishment politicians right now and that is exactly those voters don’t want.

Bernie Sanders said it best in his speech on caucus night “What Iowa has begun tonight is a political revolution” and went on to discuss how his coalition of voters caused a virtual tie in the state because they were upset with the unfair economic policies which tilt everything towards the wealthy. It is important for Bernie to continue on with his message of income equality and changing the system, reforming and punishing Wall Street, changing our campaign finance system, making college and health care more affordable for everyone and keep it positive. It’s clear his message is resonating. Sometimes support of Bernie gets too bogged down in complaining about lack of media attention and go negative on Hillary Clinton. Let those things speak for themselves.

You can overcome the lack of media attention with real grass roots power which he’s done with millions of people contributing under $27 and high turnout to his campaign events. When you attack Hillary for her negatives, you become lumped in with people who have been after her whole political career like Ken Starr and Newt Gingrich. Win on your message not on bringing down others. She has her own challenges but did come back after an Iowa loss in 2008 to make it a race and will do the same here. While Bernie Sanders has a huge lead in the next state of New Hampshire, he has challenges ahead as well.

The biggest is convincing minority voters of his economic inequality message which hasn’t resonated with that key Democrat constituency in states like South Carolina. It is a firewall which could vault Hillary into the nomination. Sanders is doing well in mainly white states like Iowa, New Hampshire and soon in Minnesota. But he needs to get his message across to minority voters if he wants to win the nomination.

All in all, we should be happy that his messy process has not be something of a rubber stamp on well known nominees expected to win. It’s far from over and everyone in the top tier still has a shot. We are not going to see Clinton vs. Bush again, thank God. Barring a miraculous comeback, Iowa all but squashed Jeb Bush’s candidacy and it’s only a matter of time before he’s done. It is great that a woman is running for the Presidency and won Iowa for the first time in history in the Presidential process. But we need to make sure it’s the right woman. And it shouldn’t be awarded to her based on her gender.

Some of us wonder if real change is even possible in our system anymore. It may not be but Bernie Sanders has brought some hope to many who are disenchanted with the political process. He may be our last chance for real change in this frustrating political system. Time will tell whether his coalition will have the force to propel him and overcome establishment roadblocks and his own challenges to winning the nomination. But now he’s got a real