{"id":2853,"date":"2016-02-01T13:33:05","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T19:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richyrocks.com\/?p=2853"},"modified":"2024-01-16T22:49:25","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T04:49:25","slug":"should-the-iowa-caucus-be-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/richyrocks.com\/coolenglish\/should-the-iowa-caucus-be-first\/","title":{"rendered":"should the iowa caucus be first?–practical political vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

the iowa caucus is today; it’s\u00a0the first official step to electing the next president of the united states. \u00a0as mentioned previously\u00a0here on richyrocks.com<\/strong><\/a>, each state has a preliminary election; either a caucus or a primary, with the objective of determining the candidate for each of the political parties (democrats<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0and republicans<\/strong><\/span>).<\/p>\n

\"welcome
(larry w. smith, epa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

this wall street journal\u00a0<\/strong>video, \u00a0iowa voters get to be first, should they be?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>explores some of the issues surrounding iowa’s first in the nation status.<\/p>\n

\nhttps:\/\/richyrocks.com\/coolenglish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Iowa-Voters-Get-to-Be-First.-Should-They-Be-1.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

get to<\/strong><\/em> appears in the title, and a few times in the video. \u00a0it indicates a privilege or an enjoyable activity.\u00a0the first line of the video is<\/p>\n

every election cycle, many voters get to<\/em> personally ask all the presidential candidates questions.<\/h4>\n

and at :18<\/p>\n

why does a small midwestern<\/em> state with demographics that don’t resemble the rest of the country get to<\/em> set the pace<\/em> for the electorate?<\/h4>\n

the midwest<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(midwestern is the equivalent adjective) is the middle of the united states. don’t confuse it with the middle east<\/strong><\/em> which is the global region of western asia and northern africa.<\/p>\n

\"mideast<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"midwest<\/a><\/p>\n

the mideast and the midwest (u.s. census bureau)<\/em><\/h5>\n

set the pace<\/strong><\/em> means iowa establishes which candidates will be significant for the rest of the election cycle.<\/p>\n

at :25, iowa’s accuracy in selecting (picking<\/em><\/strong>) the candidates who eventually represent their party in the general election is discussed<\/p>\n

iowa’s record for picking<\/em> democratic winners is decent<\/em>, but it’s much less so for the gop<\/em>.\u00a0since 1976, only two who won the state went on<\/em> to win the nomination.<\/h4>\n
\"candidates<\/h6>\n
four of the candidates iowans have to pick from: donald trump, hillary clinton, ted cruz & bernie sanders. trump and cruz are republicans. clinton & sanders are democrats. (getty)<\/em><\/h6>\n

in 2012, the republican party wrongly announced that mitt romney<\/strong> won the caucus, when in fact rick santorum<\/strong> was the winner. so at :43 the observation is<\/p>\n

it’s no wonder<\/em> that republican officials in the state are worried like no time before about whether it [iowa] will continue to be first in the nation.<\/h4>\n

it’s no wonder<\/strong> <\/em>is an expression that means it’s not a surprise<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"reince<\/h6>\n
rnc national chairman reince priebus (ap\/susan walsh)<\/em><\/h6>\n

indeed, the video goes on<\/p>\n

in september, rnc<\/em> chairman reince priebus\u00a0said that the early states shouldn’t get too<\/em> comfortable.<\/h4>\n

rnc<\/strong><\/em> is the republican national party. too<\/a><\/strong><\/em> means excessively<\/em>. in other words, the national organization was warning iowa\u00a0not to take being first for granted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ted
iowa supporters say it is a good first state because candidates can get to every single corner<\/span>\u00a0of the state. (associated press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

in defense of iowa being first, the chairman of the republican party of iowa jeff kaufmann<\/strong> cites affordable<\/a> media markets and explains that<\/p>\n

any candidate regardless<\/em> of their bankroll<\/em> can visit every single corner<\/em>. if we’re really serious as a country that anybody can become president of the united states, u can’t start in california, u can’t start in texas.\u00a0 u have to start in a state like iowa.<\/h4>\n

regardless<\/strong><\/em> means it doesn’t matter<\/em>. bankroll<\/strong><\/em> is money. \u00a0every single<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0corner\u00a0<\/b><\/em>\u00a0emphasizes that candidates can visit all<\/em> of iowa. something that would not be possible in bigger states like texas or california.<\/p>\n

fun english practice 😎 richyrocks english on youtube<\/a><\/h4>\n

and it’s not only the republicans. at 1:21 the video says<\/p>\n

the democrats are also touting<\/em> iowa’s uniqueness<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

touting<\/strong><\/em> means speaking for<\/em>. uniqueness<\/strong><\/em> refers to how iowa is different<\/em> (in a positive way) than other states.<\/p>\n

\"michelle<\/h6>\n
michelle bachmann (left) won the last iowa straw poll<\/span> in 2012. her victory and subsequent loss at the caucus caused the straw poll to lose credibility. [ap\/charlie neibergall]<\/em><\/h6>\n

the iowa straw poll<\/strong> was a republican event that used to take\u00a0place the summer before the caucus. it was an informal vote that gave an indication of what to expect the following winter. but as the wsj (wall street journal) video mentions at 1:50, last year it was a source of nerves (jitters<\/strong><\/em>)<\/p>\n

adding to the state’s jitters<\/em>, the iowa straw poll<\/em> was cancelled this year.<\/h4>\n

in an effort to change the dialogue,<\/p>\n

iowa political leaders argue there isn’t any\u00a0one state can make or break<\/em> an election, and that iowa’s not about picking<\/em> winners. it’s about winnowing<\/em> the field to 2 or 3 contenders.<\/h4>\n

make or break<\/strong><\/em> in this context means that no one state can decide if a campaign wins\u00a0or fails. winnowing<\/strong><\/em> means reducing<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"jeff<\/h6>\n
jeff kaufmann, chairman of the republican party of iowa (brian houlgrave\/des moines register)<\/em><\/h6>\n

finally, kaufmann utilizes the second conditional<\/strong> to present a hypothetical situation<\/p>\n

if<\/span> we were<\/span> gonna be able to predict who was gonna be the nominee after the first time, why would we need<\/span> the other 49?<\/h4>\n

in a standard case, second conditional consists of if<\/strong>,\u00a0a verb in the past<\/strong> that represents a conditional possibility and another verb with the modal<\/strong> would, could or might. in this situation. kaufmann is trying to downplay<\/strong><\/em> (minimize) the role of being first.<\/p>\n

\"iowa
should iowa be first?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

are u interested in who becomes the next president of the u.s.? who do u think it will be? \u00a0is the u.s. electoral process confusing? share your opinions under leave a reply<\/strong><\/p>\n

decent<\/strong><\/em> means pretty good, not great<\/em>. gop<\/a><\/strong><\/em> is grand old party. it’s another name for the republicans. \u00a0went on<\/em><\/strong> means continued<\/em>.<\/p>\n