The Devil’s Theory of Farmageddon

DJW argues that we should appreciate the heightening of the contradictions here, and this may be a rare case of the genre of argument being right:

Seriously, this is the best possible outcome, people:

– Paper backups mean we’ll get a proper count eventually
– Outsized impact of Iowa reduced by delayed reporting
– Coalition for killing this stupid first in nation caucus once and for all grows stronger— David Watkins (@djw172) February 4, 2020

Betting on status quo bias to prevail in American politics is normally where the smart money goes, but I think there really is a chance that this was the last first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus ever. The number of caucuses has already been reduced from 18 to 4, and the Sanders supporters who fought to keep them alive will be much less inclined to do so next time given the perception (that may well prove accurate) that he got screwed by the caucus process in Iowa this time. A particularly dramatic failure may be what was needed to finally kill the damned thing.

Eric Levitz is also hopeful that the jig is finally up for this object lesson in how not to run an election:

The “first-in-the-nation” Iowa caucuses died Monday night after a protracted battle with advanced-stage omnishambles.

Or so we can hope. Iowa’s eccentric, endearing — and wildly anti-democratic — nominating contest has always been an indefensible institution. There is no reason why the most politically-engaged and/or time-rich citizens of America’s 31st most populous state should have the power to veto presidential candidates before anyone else in the country has a say. And yet, few of Iowa’s bitterest critics ever dreamed it would subject the country to something like this.