Donald Trump wins Iowa...

Many of us at least half expected that tonight. Trump wins the Iowa GOP Caucus. While Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are in close second/third places in the running, they are still distant from first place Donald. Does winning the Iowa Caucus even mean anything, MAGA or no MAGA? For the most part, it usually does. The Iowa caucus time and again has meant the winner of the contest usually being the party's overall respective nominee much later going into the general election. 2016, however, was an exception. While Donald Trump cruised to the GOP nomination throughout most of that year, Ted Cruz won the Iowa GOP Caucus of 2016. Pretty sure there wasn't a GOP Caucus in 2020. Even if there were, it was extremely tiny and we all expected Trump to come out swinging out of any partisan preliminaries as he did, anyhow. Nah, I don't think there was a Republican Caucus during Trump's failed re-election bid.

One of the biggest obvious questions is, especially regarding Ted Cruz' moot Iowa win in 2016, is could it end the same for Trump? The guy has enough legal issues in front of him, that maybe, just maybe, he could actually have to do some time away from the public one day. And if that day comes before the election, how would Republicans proceed; especially if by the time of an untimely prison sentence being declared, Trump were already a nominee? Is this scenario likely? Probably not. But it does raise the question of exactly how the law has to be applied to the rich and powerful, especially one who outright says that ever being a president makes him immune to criminal charges. If that were the case, House Republicans ought to know they are wasting their time with a Hunter Biden-rooted impeachment probe, even if somehow that weren't a tremendous nothingburger. People who are well entrenched to the further right of the spectrum are often prime victims of cognitive dissonance, I suppose.

I honestly can't stand Joe Biden. There are loads of things I wish he would do way better on. But I will vote for him, because a repeat of 2020 still sounds preferable to a repeat of 2016. The DNC at the end of the day feels like it prides itself on selecting the most unlikable candidates possible since Barack Obama retired. And maybe, starting in 2025, I can put my hopes and aspirations behind a third party, if I even feel like voting is still important at that point. Green Party? Communist Party USA? We'll see. I think the GOP are evil, while the establishment Dems are just in the business of trying to convince the world they're smarter than everyone. We'll see how I feel a year from now. The last two presidential elections I voted in feels like it's been an experiment in holding my nose to some horrible and unforgiving odor. Honestly, I'm still of the impression that while a lot needs to change in the next 9 months, preferably a lot sooner, that these improvements will take hold. Hopefully by springtime. Gas prices aren't terrible but could still be sprucened up. Food and other stuff is still pretty high. Biden is aware of these things and is disgusted by it. But to get re-elected and doing so comfortably, even if none of these things are his fault, these things need to be dealt with. Like, yesterday man.

More questions about the Iowa Caucus, pertaining to 2016 and 2024, though. I still wonder if, especially in light of Trump's legal entanglements (and that sense of worry you can almost smell from Trump-fatigued Republicans half the time) the GOP might try to sabotage the Trump campaign going forward. The options beyond Trump, from a Republican point of view, don't sound so bad. Obviously, I'm not a Trump fan and I dislike DeSantis even more. But I can't say it plainer than this: if I were a fascist, I'd absolutely embrace Ron DeSantis. His only real issue among Republican voters (besides not being Trump, and thus dividing MAGA from the establishment even further) is that inflation/corporate price-gouging in many metro areas of Florida is twice the national average. If DeSantis debates Biden and bashes Biden for inflation/corporate price-gouging, DeSantis' whole argument goes down in flames. However well Trump may be doing in polls, straw polls, and overall contests, I am honestly relieved that DeSantis is lagging as far back as he is. Nikki Haley represents an opportunity for new beginnings for the GOP. Are they smart enough to acknowledge it and let go of their furthest reactionary fringes as of late? I doubt it. An Indian-American Christian woman could be held in regards as a person who represents whatever is left of the diversity of the GOP. Also, if Haley somehow wins the presidency, the Republicans would be responsible for nominating the first woman president. After the 2016 and 2020 races, that says a lot. I don't agree with or like Trump, DeSantis, or Haley at all. But the Republicans have always been terrible at game-winning strategies outside of cheating their way into Congress via gerrymandering and leaning on the Electoral College. It's extremely hard to tell whether it will ultimately happen. But I don't rule out the possibility of the GOP trying to sabotage the Trump campaign at all, especially late in the race and/or when he'd least expect it. As I said, if I were a horrible human being, DeSantis would be my guy. Honestly, from where I stand, I'd rather Trump be the GOP nominee over him any day. With Iowa going in Trump's favor, his chances of being GOP nominee are as good as ever. But time and primaries will tell.

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