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Article: The Iowa Caucuses Work
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 21, 2005
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Peter Beinart ["Rethinking Iowa," op-ed, Jan. 14] blames the Iowa
caucuses for the Democrats' failure to nominate more moderate,
security-conscious candidates in recent years.
But while Iowa's Democratic caucus-goers clearly are not
representative of the overall Democratic electorate, they have not
been particularly friendly to left-wing candidates.
In 1976 moderate Jimmy Carter's victory over several liberals in
the Iowa caucuses helped propel him to the Democratic presidential
nomination. Four years later, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's attempt to
challenge Mr. Carter from the left failed badly in Iowa.
In 1988 Missouri Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, a moderate, finished
first in Iowa, and in 2000 ...