Tag: ground game

Quote of the Day, RELYING On The Ground Game Is A Bad Sign edition.

Don’t get me wrong: Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 ground game was great – at getting Barack Obama elected, at least – and the Democrats were not shy in confidently claiming that they had converted that success into a more general system that would allow them to retain the Senate and make up lost territory in the states. Which is fine: bragging is one of the pleasures of winning. One must expect it.

This is not bragging.

Democrats are praying their ground game will save them from a crushing defeat in next month’s midterm elections.

This is what you say when ‘crushing defeat’ is something that you aspire to. We’ll see how the early voting goes (check here for a good, balanced look at the running totals), but so far I’m not particularly worried about that.

Duelling narratives on Iowa ground game?

Or, Always get involved in a ground war in Iowa.

If you want to really appreciate the chaotic nature of the pre-caucus environment in Iowa right now, contemplate the two stories below (both via Hot Air Headlines):

  • People reading the New York Times are being told, effectively, that the ground game race is effectively between the technocratic Mitt Romney and the plucky Rick Santorum (with his 1,000 precinct leaders!), with the weird Ron Paul only still on the board because of the cult-like devotion of his campaign staff.  I’m paraphrasing, mind you, but you can tell that the NYT writes for an audience who considers Mitt Romney the least incomprehensible specimen of that most exotic (and no doubt poison-secreting) species known as Republicans.
  • Meanwhile, people reading CNN are being told that Rick Perry has recruited over 1,500 precinct leaders, covering 95% of the 1,700+ caucuses (some precincts are combined into one location); and that neither Romney’s or Paul’s organizations are ready to give that information out.  Note that the CNN article is not precisely complimentary to Perry in its tone: articles that start with “Even as they grapple with mediocre poll numbers, a gaffe-prone candidate and internal staff feuding…” rarely are.

Continue reading Duelling narratives on Iowa ground game?