Tag: Iowa

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Buttigieg Holds Slim Lead As Iowa Results Continue To Be Released

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg holds on to a tiny lead as the remaining results of the Iowa caucuses continue to trickle in. According to CNN, Buttigieg is currently looking to receive 26.2% of state delegates with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) right behind him with 26.1 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has 18.2 percent, former Vice President Joe Biden has 15.8 percent (a result he’s called ‘a gut punch’), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sits at 12.2 percent. Regarding the popular vote, Sanders leads with 44,753 while Buttigieg lands in second place with 42,235 votes. Warren received 34,312 votes, Biden scored 23,051 and Klobuchar remained in fifth with 20,525. This reflects 97 percent of the votes thus far. Several media outlets have reported the long delay in finalizing the count is due, in part, to results being snail-mailed to the state Democratic party. In light of the counting debacle in Iowa, Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez is calling for a recanvass of the Monday night caucuses.

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News Round-Up: February 5, 2020

(image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: It is #BeefDip Bear week in Puerto Vallarta (above) and our favorite PV spot, Mantamar Beach Club, is where the action’s at. • Advocate: Chicago man arrested for robbing Grindr dates armed with a taser. • Epoch Times: Cute deaf dog adopts cute deaf guy #DogsRule

• The Wrap: The ratings for Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night were not boffo, down 26% from his first two SOTU addresses. • Instinct Magazine: The man behind the March on Washington, who helped organized multiple bus boycotts, and served as a mentor/advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. has been posthumously pardoned of his anti-gay arrest charge. • ABC News: Iowa caucus update – with 86% of precincts reporting, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had 27% of the vote and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had 25%. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren had 18%, former Vice President Joe Biden had 16% and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar had 12% of the vote.

(graphic via ABC News)

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With No Results From Iowa (Still) Candidates Go For Positive Spin

Pete Buttigieg in Iowa (screen capture)
The day after the rather inauspicious ‘first in the nation’ Iowa caucuses, there’s still no results to point to. The app that was created for precincts to report their results failed to work, and so folks in charge attempted to phone-in results to the Democratic party powers-that-be. And the phone lines jammed. The party says the delay is due to “inconsistencies.” So, everyone is waiting…and waiting. As the candidates move on to New Hampshire, Iowa loses its chance to crown an emerging victor and candidates lose their moment in the sun. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, according to several sources, did well but with no official tallies, they kind of got robbed of their moment. If anything, former Vice President Joe Biden (who we hear might not have had such a great night) lucks out with the waters being so muddied. And, folks took umbrage with Buttigieg telling his supporters “We are going on to New Hampshire victorious!” My take is: Iowa is about setting a narrative, and so since Iowa Dems couldn’t get it done, Mayor Pete was setting his own by putting a positive spin on the night. Let’s face it – a year ago, no one expected Pete to be ranked at the top of the competing Dems. So, if he ends up in first, second or third place in terms of Iowa, he’s certainly surprised a lot of people. Here’s his speech to supporters last night.

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Final Iowa Poll Cancelled After Polling Mistake

L-R Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Bernie Sanders supporters, of course, believe it’s a conspiracy against a Bernie. From USA Today: A highly anticipated release of the Iowa Poll, one of the most respected political surveys in the nation, was canceled Saturday night  ahead of the Iowa caucuses after Pete Buttigieg’s campaign complained that his name had been omitted by a poll interviewer. “The Iowa Poll was founded in 1943,” Carol Hunter, executive editor of the Register, said in an interview Saturday. “It’s built its reputation over many decades for accuracy, and we feel the utmost responsibility to uphold that reputation.” CNN did an internal investigation and found that an operator had enlarged the font on their computer screen, cutting off Buttigieg’s name, which had been at the bottom.  

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News Round-Up: January 31, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Australia’s Coach Clayton (above) shares great legs/butt workouts on his Insta. Why? Because no one ever wrote a song about a small butt. #amiright Follow him on Instagram here. • Press Herald: Jack Phillips, the anti-gay baker from Colorado who took his case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to avoid making a cake for a same-sex couple, just got a book deal for his story. • KIT212: Kenneth has the what’s what in gay rags across the country including the latest issue of DNA Magazine (below). • LA Times: Joshua Ebow, 30, was arrested in connection to a string of brutal anti-gay hate crimes in the Los Angeles area. If convicted he faces up to 14 years in prison. Ebow was charged with punching and stabbing “men who were gay or perceived to be gay.” • USA Today: The U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory amid the coronavirus outbreak. The new message is firm: “Do not travel to China.” The alert, which is a Level 4 (the highest level), cites the fact that the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency as reason to suspend travel. • Iowa: Donald Trump warned an Iowa crowd in a wild campaign speech Thursday night that global warming activists are out to “kill our cows,” and “that means you’re next.” #srsly

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News Round-Up: January 30, 2020

Ryan Worley (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Ryan Worley (above), of the world-famous Chippendales, is totes adorbs watching this kitten’s fascination with a string of lights. Follow him on Instagram here. • Advocate: The South Dakota House of Representatives Wednesday approved a bill that would make it a crime for doctors to give gender-transition treatment to minors. Doctors could receive up to a year in prison and a fine of $2,000. • Super Bowl: RuPaul took to social media to remind folks that he was the first drag queen to star in a Super Bowl commercial back in 2000. Here’s some #TBT action for you:

• AP: A bill proposed by a group of Republican lawmakers on Wednesday that would have amended the Iowa Civil Rights Act by removing protections against discrimination for transgender people is dead. • ABC News: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says Donald Trump would “definitely” encourage primary challengers to run against any GOP Senators who vote against him in the ongoing impeachment trial. “You could very well see the president encouraging or creating primaries against senators that are up this year if they went and voted the other way,” • Sesame Street: The long-running children’s television show announced on Facebook today that Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winner Billy Porter will be “bringing those fierce vibes to Sesame Street” in an upcoming episode. The post showed Porter posing in his iconic tuxedo dress from the Oscars.

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News Round-Up: January 29, 2020

Daniel Sheehan (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: I totally agree with designer Daniel Sheehan (above) on the issue of less: “As I get older I am understanding the notion of Less, that less can in fact be MORE. Better quality life, stronger relationships, and focus on what is really important to me as an individual and as a member of society.” Follow the wise and woofy Sheehan on Instagram here. • The Gaily Grind: Lee Brobson, 30, had to be hospitalized after he was brutally beaten up by two men during a night out after he bravely stood up for two of his gay best friends who were being subjected to a homophobic attack for holding hands. • BBC News: A number of gay men say they are going to extreme lengths to change their bodies – including using steroids and having plastic surgery – just to become “accepted” by others in the LGBT community. • NBC News: Donald Trump’s impeachment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, argued today that a quid pro quo involving a president’s political benefit was fine because all presidents believe their elections are in the public’s interest. Essentially, if Trump withheld nearly $400 million in aid to pressure Ukraine into announcing investigations of Democrats to help his campaign, that’s fine because Trump thinks his election is to the country’s benefit. • Advocate: Nine Republican lawmakers in Iowa have introduced a bill that would remove gender identity from the state’s nondiscrimination law — and if the bill passes, it would mark the first time an entire category was removed from such a law in any state. • MLive: Supporters of a ballot initiative to protect LGBT Michigan residents from discrimination say they’ll begin collecting signatures as soon as this weekend following initial approval from a state board. The group has until May 27 to collect 340,047 valid petition signatures in order to be eligible for statewide ballot in fall 2020. • Twitter: When Donald Trump Jr. tried to appropriate Billy Porter’s Grammy Awards lewk in an attempt to troll Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, Porter clapped back on Twitter throwing classic shade complete with closing curtains.

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Des Moines Register Endorses Elizabeth Warren For President

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
With just over a week before the ‘first in the nation’ votes are cast in the Democratic primary for president, the Des Moines Register has endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for president.

Each of the remaining candidates campaigning across Iowa ahead of the caucuses could make a fine president. Each would be more inclusive and thoughtful than the current occupant of the White House. Each would treat truth as something that matters. Each would conduct foreign policy by coalition building rather than by whim and tweet.

The outstanding caliber of Democratic candidates makes it difficult to choose just one.

The Des Moines Register editorial board endorses Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses as the best leader for these times.

[snip]

Warren’s competence, respect for others and status as the nation’s first female president would be a fitting response to the ignorance, sexism and xenophobia of the Trump Oval Office.

She is a thinker, a policy wonk and a hard worker. She remembers her own family’s struggles to make ends meet and her own desperation as a working mother needing child care.

She cares about people, and she will use her seemingly endless energy and passion to fight for them.

At this moment, when the very fabric of American life is at stake, Elizabeth Warren is the president this nation needs.

The editorial board also shared their thoughts on the rest of the field. RealClearPolitics’ average of polls shows Warren currently in 4th position in Iowa at 16.3 percent. Former Vice President Joe Biden leads with 20 percent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) just behind him at 19.3 percent, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg in third place at 16.8 percent. So, it’s a horse race, folks. Just about anyone could win the Iowa contest, but remember delegates are assigned proportionately to how well candidates do in Iowa. It’s not ‘winner take all,’ so we’ll have to see how it all shakes out.

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News Round-Up: January 20, 2020

Devon Gibby for DadnDaddies/Instagram
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Devon Gibby (above) spent the day at Mystic Hot Springs in Utah. “Not only is it super accessible (no 5-mile hike like others I’ve been to), but it’s the perfect balance of man-made quirkiness mixed with natural beauty. And who wouldn’t love sitting in actual bathtubs where the water doesn’t get colder while you watch the sunset behind snow-capped mountains!?” • RawStory: ‘Emasculated’ Virginia gun nuts mocked for ‘purchasing toys, dressing up in costumes, and playing fantasy games’ as they march on Richmond today. • Washington Post: In a single year, Donald Trump doubled the total number of false or misleading claims he had made in the previous two years combined. Put another way: He averaged six such claims a day in 2017, nearly 16 a day in 2018 and more than 22 a day in 2019. Lies like this one:

• RealClearPolitics: With two weeks to go until the ‘first in the nation’ Iowa caucuses on February 3, the two most recent polls there both show former Vice President Joe Biden leading the pack of Democratic White House hopefuls by 6 points. • Washington Blade: Some LGBTQ folks got riled up when Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign decided to nix a fundraiser planned at a gay club in Providence which the venue says is over a dancing pole the owners refused to remove. The Blade interviewed male pole dancers who were offended and say the decision was ‘unwarranted.’ • CNN: About half of Americans say the Senate should vote to convict President Donald Trump and remove him from office in the upcoming impeachment trial (51%), according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, while 45% say the Senate should vote against conviction and removal. • CBS This Morning: Over nearly three decades, RuPaul Charles has left his mark on culture in music, movies and reality television including taking home his sixth Emmy Award in September for RuPaul’s Drag Race. Vladimir Duthiers spoke to RuPaul about doing “it all” and how his childhood impacted his career.

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Pete Buttigieg Continues To Surge In Iowa

Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa
After taking lots of hits and attacks for his time working at global consultancy firm McKinsey, skepticism over his appeal to black voters, and the whole ‘wine cave’ thing, Democratic White House hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg is still surging in Iowa. From Iowa Starting Line:

Despite the new scrutiny, Buttigieg has seen his crowd sizes in Iowa swell this month, including five separate events with over 1,000 people each. Among those were a statement-making 2,000-person rally in Coralville, right in Iowa’s most liberal county, and a West Des Moines event this weekend that brought out 1,200.

Between those, he took a tour of rural counties and mid-size towns, often producing turnouts that local Democratic leaders say are the largest they’ve seen since Barack Obama’s 2008 caucus campaign. Around 500 showed up in Ottumwa and Fort Madison each for Buttigieg yesterday, and over 240 packed a theater in Centerville, a town of 5,500 near the Missouri border.

The Starting Line notes that many Iowans they spoke to have heard very little, or aren’t concerned about, issues with his time at McKinsey. Here’s what some of the town hall attendees had to say about the 37-year-old openly gay candidate: • Julie Gentz, 69, retired educator: “I just need some hope. I feel like this is a Kennedy moment … It’s a Kennedy moment in one respect, and it’s an Obama moment in the fact that he’s not just your run-of-the-mill politician.” • Laura Miller, 30: “He has his way of uniting all of us from different backgrounds and cultures, and just reminding us that we’re all human.” • Roger Mills, retiree: “I think he’s a person who has a great deal of spirituality in him, and I think he’s a person who can lead us into a different form of consciousness of peace and love. He quotes passages from the Bible. That intrigues me. It gives me hope.” • Tom Lucas, veteran: “He speaks from the heart because he is a veteran. It’s not a canned speech from some speechwriter. He’s worn the boots, he’s part of the brotherhood.” The most recent poll, from Iowa State University, shows Buttigieg with a three-point lead over his fellow Democrats. RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls shows him up 2 points. Also, two of the other top tier candidates – Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT)  – may find themselves locked down in Washington as part of the jury in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. That could leave a wider opening for Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden to campaign across Iowa in the weeks leading up to the February 3 caucuses.