Last edited Tue Jan 12, 2016, 04:10 PM - Edit history (1)
I agree with you that this is a "narrative" that needs to be busted up. For one thing, it's false.
We are working very hard to do this in Iowa.
Iowans, like the rest of the country, experienced eight years of Hillary being sold as the "inevitable" Democratic nominee. Look at this headline/first paragraph from a November issue of the Des Moines Register:
"As Iowa debate approaches, Clinton seems inevitable again
It's hard to foresee a result other than the Hillary Clinton juggernaut wining Iowa unless something major blows up in the presidential race, Democratic activists say."
This is what Iowans have been dealing with for years--and all the way into November and December (from national and local press). Slowly, this false narrative is melting. It's like a giant iceberg though! It takes a while to get that out of the public consciousness.
The good news though; Hillary running on a "I'm inevitable and the most electable" meme is fine if you don't have a formidable opponent. Her campaign, never in their wildest dreams, thought Sanders could catch up. He's now a formidable opponent. So, that blows your "inevitable" and "most electable" narratives. Sanders is just now being seen as that formidable opponent. Literally, this began less than a week ago. The shift was drastic and so sudden!
We're just now inside the crazy, last leg of the caucus season. 19 days to go! This is when Iowans are fully engaged, attending rallies to gather information and paying attention to the race. Television ads, mailers, phone calls and canvassers are bombarding us and we are preparing to caucus. Bernie is surging (and in some polls beating) Clinton. This is so significant because the people who are now paying attention are no longer making their caucus decisions when Bernie is behind by 20 points and Clinton appears inevitable and the most electable.
In effect, she is naked and without those critical narratives that kept her campaign propped up for so long. Bernie has the momentum now, and he is seen by generally by Iowans (due to the polls and the media reporting it) as a competitive, formidable opponent with his own ideas, as well as huge crowds. Her events are not well attended and they are low energy. Those optics will further help him and hurt her.
Anything can happen in Iowa. Either Clinton or Sanders could win. However, both candidates are on equal footing now. That is huge. Polls show Bernie beating Trump in the GE by wider margins than Clinton. It's just going to take a while to let that truth sink in. But we are working hard at it, and we've got the truth on our side, so I am hopeful.
So much work to be done in Iowa, but it's looking very good for Bernie.
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