{"id":2420,"date":"2025-07-08T12:48:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T17:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=2420"},"modified":"2025-07-08T12:48:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T17:48:57","slug":"grounds-for-divorce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=2420","title":{"rendered":"Grounds For Divorce"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There are two occasions when women have a certain \u201cglow.\u201d The first is pregnancy. The second is when a bad marriage finally ends in divorce. The vows that are spoken, \u201cfor better or worse; in sickness and in health; \u2018til death do us part\u2019\u201d are a serious commitment. But when only one party honors those vows, the vows have been essentially voided. The relationship is unhealthy and should come to an end.<\/p>\n

A prime example is the current crumbling marriage between the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP). There had been a nurturing and productive relationship during the many years of Iowa being the first in the nation to hold its caucuses. Iowans embraced the role that slowly developed into a statewide system of vetting presidential hopefuls. This enabled any candidate, some from very diverse backgrounds to launch a successful campaign. But caucuses are much more than simply showing support for candidates. It\u2019s a way for community members to gather and connect over problems and concerns; to work developing platforms based in current issues; and select delegates to bring these concerns from the local level, to the regional, state and national level. It is grassroots; therefore, it naturally evolves and cannot be corrupted or controlled.<\/p>\n

It may be hard to believe, but the Iowa Caucuses have been around since the late 1800s. In the past, caucuses were held to select candidates for local offices. It wasn\u2019t until 1968 that Iowa\u2019s Democratic leadership (Gov. Harold Hughes) changed the format to select delegates to conventions based upon an elector\u2019s personal preference for President.<\/p>\n

The first two caucuses after the procedural changes, 1972 and 1974, resulted in \u201cuncommitted\u201d as the winner of the Iowa Democratic Caucuses in its debut and sequel. The media was not yet a major player in the nomination process in Iowa. Theoretically, presidential candidates took note and realized that Iowa voters want more meat from campaigns. Spinning the usual political rhetoric wouldn\u2019t work in Iowa. Candidates toured the state and met future constituents in small venues like coffee houses, town halls or even living rooms, and were put on the spot for where they honestly stood on issues. It was a grueling method that brought national attention to candidates that wouldn\u2019t have made it out of the gate.<\/p>\n

During those first eight years of the caucuses, little attention was given to the uniqueness of the process. Although Edmund Muskie was declared the winner, he \u201cwon with 35.5% of the vote. But\u00a035.8% of Iowa voters<\/a>\u00a0signaled that they were\u00a0uncommitted<\/em>. Unlike what many think of the caucus results of the past, Jimmy Carter did not come out in front at the Iowa Caucuses in 1974. He came in second after \u201cuncommitted,\u201d 37% to 28%.<\/p>\n

Over time, Iowa Democrats developed a pattern of choosing minorities, such as the first black President, Obama; a strong woman candidate, like Hilary Clinton; and the first openly gay man to run, Pete Buttigieg. The DNC wanted to control who was selected, for example, white, male career politicians like Joe Biden. He came in fifth in Iowa, so like a jealous, frustrated spouse, the DNC plotted its elimination campaign. Afterall, wasn\u2019t Iowa just a \u201cfly-over state\u201d not worthy of the attention and focus? It was time to search for a trophy wife.<\/p>\n

More than 90 percent of Iowa caucus-goers are white, according to entrance polls”<\/a>\u00a0conducted in 2020. DNC leadership wanted to begin the process of electing a Democratic candidate for president \u201cin states that are less white, especially given the importance of Black voters as Democrats\u2019 most loyal electoral base.\u201d Wait a minute! Organized Labor was the Democrats most loyal base. Oh, that\u2019s right, Labor, like Iowa, cannot be controlled. So, the DNC moved on to an attractive southern belle that welcomed and submitted to the will of the DNC. South Carolina was courted and dubbed the DNC new lead off.<\/p>\n

Iowa, like many spouses before her, worked hard to make the marriage work. Even agreeing to use an app during the final lead-off Democratic Caucus in 2020. There wasn\u2019t time to test the app or do the necessary statewide training needed for it to be a success. It was a failure before it even launched. It was also an opportunity for the DNC to paint Iowa as an archaic, backwards, state that is no longer worthy of its historic, political influence.<\/p>\n

The DNC isn\u2019t the first spouse to go through a mid-life crisis; making poor decisions to prove its vitality. Today, a (former) DNC vice-president recently resigned after an idea to \u201ccourt\u201d new candidates to run against incumbents \u2013 disloyalty. The Party is having financial problems and may need to take out a line of credit. One donor quipped: \u201cThe thing that\u2019s clear to a lot of us is that the party never really learned its lesson in 2016. They worked off the same playbook and the same ineffective strategies and to what end?\u201d<\/p>\n

It’s time for Iowa to get its glow on. Even if the DNC doesn\u2019t understand or appreciate the value of the grassroots political process, it\u2019s what this country desperately needs. Neighbors gathering together to support and build communities. Iowa needs to do what countless underappreciated spouses have done in the pass. Kick the bum out and build a strong, healthy future.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in the July 2025 issue of The Prairie Progressive<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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There are two occasions when women have a certain \u201cglow.\u201d The first is pregnancy. The second is when a bad marriage finally ends in divorce. The vows that are spoken, \u201cfor better or worse; in sickness and in health; \u2018til … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[713,1340,703,702,1341],"class_list":["post-2420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-democratic-national-committee","tag-gov-harold-hughes","tag-iowa-caucuses","tag-iowa-democratic-party","tag-organized-labor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2421,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420\/revisions\/2421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}