Pandering on ethanol is a fools errand.
The governor’s statement might carry some weight. In 9 days we will know.
Great, now the Cruz fans can quit whining.
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has a 14-point edge over Sen. Ted Cruz, his nearest rival, according to a new national poll.
Trump garners 34 percent support in the Fox News poll released Friday, with Cruz at 20 percent.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) ranks third with 11 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 8 percent. Former Forida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich tie for fifth with 4 percent apiece.
The poll also found that Cruz and Trump are the most popular second choice for likely Republican primary voters. Cruz is the second choice for 22 percent, while Trump is for 13 percent.
The survey found that voters are unconcerned with questions about Cruz's eligibility for the presidency.
Only 10 percent say the fact that Cruz was born in Canada makes it less likely they'll vote for him, while 88 percent said it would not affect their choice.
And 61 percent say he is natural-born American, with 27 disagreeing.
Cruz and Trump are battling for a lead in the early-voting state of Iowa, just 10 days away from the caucuses.
While Trump has double-digit leads in most national polls, he is ahead of Cruz by just 2.6 percent in Iowa, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.
This is just not that important an issue for me. If Trump uses it to win Iowa - then that’s great.
I am generally against all corporate welfare and mandates. Having said that, after decades of suckers on the government tit, we’ll need to gently wean them off.
It matters to Archer-Daniels-Midland, and the other big INDUSRIAL farm companies, it is their bread and butter.
Family farming is all but a thing of the past now. The “ethanol vote” doesn’t exist anymore, it’s just corporations trading donations to the establishment for corp welfare in return.
It’s a way to pander to farmers by raising corn prices. As a farmer who some years grows corn, I say ethanol sucks. I do not put it in my vehicles.
This is not issue that will drive voters except those dependent on the agricultural industry, especially corn. In their case this is an important issue.
The ethanol lobby has more paid staffers on the ground in Iowa than any candidate has, and most of them are on Ted Cruz’ tail.
The poll can be interpreted differently: (1) 3 out of 4 Iowans who say they know who is calling for NOT INCREASING the ethanol mandate, correctly identify that candidate as Ted Cruz. This is bad for Ted.
(2) BUT FORTUNATELY for Ted, only 1 out of 4 Iowans even claims to know who is calling for NOT INCREASING the ethanol mandate.
(3) BUT, ON THE OTHER HAND, 80 percent of Iowans think the ethanol mandate is CRITICAL for the Iowa economy.
Is this why they bury Iowa farmers only 2 feet deep nowadays, so they can still get their hand out?
It’s a sad day in America when so many working people think they cannot get by without help from the government. Our country really is going down the tubes.
“We didn’t build that,” say 4 out of 5 Iowans.
Now I will ask a question: how many people in Iowa think their economy depends on our ability to sell agriculture in the global economy? The Smoot-Hawley Tariff turned much of America into a dustbowl, and Trump - were he to touch off a trade war - could repeat that.
It’s a big issue for a few scumbags with a financial interest in it, and their bought and paid for servants like Governor Terry Branstad.