Don't let Iowa get in the way of victory

A little rant before the Iowa Caucus results start coming in:

This time in 2012, conservative voters were again at each others' throats -- sometimes berating one another's choice in candidates based on how they were performing in the polls.

Nothing has changed this year, except the rhetoric seems to be more vitriolic than before given the great diversity of policy positions between the many candidates.

Here's how the 2012 Iowa Caucus turned out, defying expectations:

Source: http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/data/iowa-caucus/results

Though some polls called it ahead of time, few saw Rick Santorum taking the lead, and hardly anyone on those Sunday School-hour morning talk shows expected Ron Paul to be as competitive as his ardent supporters suggested.

It was a surprise, for sure. And by South Carolina, we were in for another surprise as Newt Gingrich started to perform well, too. And by that time, the talking heads were all discussing how "irrelevant" the Iowa Caucuses had become in politics, making us all wonder what the big deal about Iowa was, in the first place!

We were so bloodied and beaten (over mere appearances) by the time Mitt Romney was nominated that re-election was a cakewalk for President Obama. A great number of us sat it out, fearing another four years of B.O. was inevitable.

The 2016 election will offer its share of jolts and letdowns, too. And it will be interesting to watch (here's a site that will be tabulating the results). But let's not lose sight of the bigger picture when cheering on our candidates.

Come this summer, it will be time to circle up and celebrate what we have in common. For now, this writer urges everyone reading to smash the crystal ball! Support a candidate on Super Tuesday, March 1, based on their positions, qualifications, and track record -- not just how likely they are to win or "unify the party." No vote is "thrown away." It represents you, not anyone else.

Whether you're behind Donald Trump or Jim Gilmore (or someone in between, polling-wise), you represent 100% of your own "delegates" at the voting booth.

And the party's nominee, whoever it ends up being, will need your full support in order to take back the White House as well as the Supreme Court.


UPDATES:

11:05 p.m.  Cruz is the called winner of the Caucus, which bodes well for grassroots social and fiscal conservatives. But regardless of who you supported, take into consideration former Travis GOP Secretary Dan McDonald's observation:

Daniel J McDonald

27 mins · Twitter · And 10th place GOP finisher Rick Santorum got more votes than all of the Dem candidates, combined ‪#‎IowaCaucus‬

2:13 p.m. 2/2/16: Matt Mackowiak lays out what happened and what may lie ahead in "The Hill." http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/267872-iowa-results-reshape-gop-race