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Iowa operatives say ethanol worship is now as corny as The West Wing
Support for the biofuel and its economic impact used to be key in the caucus state. Then Ted Cruz opposed it and won
Ben Jacobs in Des Moines, Iowa
@Bencjacobs
Mon 18 Feb 2019 06.00 EST
For decades, supporting ethanol was considered the price of admission for the Iowa caucuses. Government backing for production of the corn-based biofuel was seen as a sacred cow. Presidential candidates who opposed it either skipped the state or changed their mind. There was even an episode of The West Wing that revolved around candidates grudgingly endorsing ethanol in order to save their political bacon.
Then, in 2016, Ted Cruz won Iowa despite being an ethanol opponent.
A coterie of top Iowa Republicans, including popular governor Terry Branstad, denounced the Texas senator. It didn’t matter.
Chris Wilson, Cruz’s pollster, said: “We tested it, we found that it was an issue, not a deciding issue [and] plenty of issues … were of equal importance.”
In other words, in an archconservative electorate, issues like abortion, cutting taxes and national security also played key roles.
more
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/18/iowa-ethanol-corn-caucus-democrats-west-wing