We IOWANS know that Romney BOUGHT the Straw Poll. Does the rest of this country realize that he's that hollow?

Question

Mitt Romney is nothing but a very expensive empty suit, and a pretty worthless one, ethically-speaking, at that. He's a multi-millionaire (possibly a billionaire) who's setting himself up as the "best" president money can buy.

Not only is the Iowa Straw Poll unbinding, but it also is TOTALLY **purchaseable**. Technically, it costs a person $35 to vote in the Straw Poll -- but almost NO one does. They allow the candidates' campaigns to pay that fee, in return for those candidates getting their votes. Romney spent countless millions on TV ads and large, slick, 4-color postcards with which we Iowans were inundated. Then he bussed people in to Ames from all over the state, to vote for him in the Straw Poll. Is the rest of America AWARE of just HOW substantially Romney's multi-million-dollar FIX was in, in the Straw Poll -- and thus, just how MEANINGLESS his phony-baloney "victory" was? What do you, beyond Iowa, think?

(By the way -- Iowa's Caucuses are FIRST, and Romney's strategy is clearly to con Iowans into thinking we really are FOR him, and thus give him a huge springboard win into the rest of the primaries, in December or January. I don't think that most US are fooled, and that we, here in Iowa, recognize the totally artifical nature of his supposed popularity. I expect him to lose the Iowa Caucuses, and for Giuliani to jump out then as the surprise winner. Rudy passed on the Straw Poll because he KNEW it had been bought by Romney -- but from here on he'll campaign vigorously in Iowa for the LEGITIMATE votes. He's leading strongly, nationally, and I think that in the Iowa Caucuses, it'll be discovered that the IOWA Republicans want him to be their nominee, too.)

Answer 1

I lived in Massachusetts during the first year of his governorship, so I'm not in the least surprised.

As I now stay in another country, I've only seen the headlines on the straw poll. It's both reassuring -- that all Iowans aren't THAT gullible -- and scary -- that the single most powerful job in the world is so subject to money raising.

Government is supposed to protect the interests of the people from those with the most power and money. How did we get it so completely backwards?

Answer 2

That's always true of the Ames straw poll.

I live in MA, I know Romney will stop at nothing for his own agrandizement.

What was more interesting was Huckabee - he received MORE votes than his campaign paid for. That says something.

Answer 3

Myself, I laughed at all the people backing Ron Paul on the internet. Watching the straw poll certainly changed my mind. I see why he is endorsed by the people, he makes sense. He knows what is happening and sees the Big picture. I now know why they avoid giving him questions at debates. What he can reveal would destroy many politicians, so they portray him as a lunatic.Romney, no,he is digging himself a hole.