Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:52 pm
After an aide to Hillary Clinton had said that her campaign speech was designed to “shake some sense” into Iowans, Bernie Sanders came to the defense of Hawkeye State Democrats.
A CNN report of Hillary Clinton’s campaign stops in Iowa contained an interesting quote, “The former secretary of state used a Teleprompter to deliver her remarks to hundreds of supporters on the campus of Simpson College. The speech, one adviser said, was designed to “shake some sense into Iowans” and escalate the experience argument she has been making against Sanders with limited success.”
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In other words, the Clinton campaign is growing increasingly frustrated that their electability argument is not playing as well as they thought it would in Iowa.
Sen. Sanders’ spokesman Michael Briggs responded to the notion that Iowans needed some sense shaken into them while campaigning in New Hampshire, “This is a strange way to appeal to Iowans, who already have lots of common sense. That’s why they picked Barack Obama in 2008, and that’s why we are confident they will caucus for Bernie on February 1.”
Briggs was correct. The statement was a very strange way to appeal to voters. One would suspect that questioning the common sense of potential caucusgoers is not the best way to woo them into supporting the former Sec. of State. The Clinton campaign has never really been able to figure out Iowa. Instead of an insult, it is best to view the aide’s comments through a lens of frustration.
The Clinton campaign is very well organized in Iowa. They have tried to learn from their mistakes in 2008. They have put time and money into the state.
Hillary Clinton is locked in a nail-biter with Bernie Sanders. The Clinton campaign wasn’t expecting this difficult of a fight, but they should have been anticipating problems as 2016 has turned out to be a year when having an experienced and politically familiar name has been a drawback in both parties.
The fact that Iowa is a close contest is a good development for the Democratic Party. The Democratic nominee is going to emerge from the primary as a better general election candidate after being tested in the primary.
Frustration may be getting the better of some in the Clinton campaign, and for Bernie Sanders, his opponents’ frustration is a symbol of his campaign’s under anticipated success.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
