Like the morning after a one-night stand, the morning after the Iowa caucus left many with remnants of exhilaration and disappointment. Last night was historic for any number of statistics you could dig up from the reports. My precinct more than doubled its turnout from the 2004 caucus, and the turnout overall was almost twice as much as it was four years ago. According to Time:
“The size of the turnout was driven by young people, who supposedly never turn out — and by independents, and Republicans who crossed over, and by people who never had attended caucuses before but figured that this year political participation was, for once, mandatory. And a very clear message was sent: Iowa, at least, was ready for a new generation of leadership.”
Last night Iowans who had never before taken an active role in politics braved the cold to caucus. Last night elementary, middle schools and high school rooms were crowded with Iowans who wanted to make a difference. The post-caucus rallies and celebrations dominated the news and filled the largest venues in Des Moines. By this morning the campaigns had cleared out to New Hampshire, returning morning traffic to normal; the television commercials ceased to be the constant stream of political messages; even some of the billboards were being replaced.
To all outward appearances, Des Moines has gone back to normal, but this is not the case.
Iowa has basked in the national spotlight for months now, and the impacts of that will not go away overnight. Two of the campaigns will remain here until November, so there will still be the political outlet. The campaigns of the Republican and Democratic nominees will be working to increase their base and engage far more Iowans than those who caucused last night. Those individuals who became involved in the caucuses for the first time are more likely to get involved again, which builds the base of grassroots activists in this state, which is great news for those of us working on energy and climate issues.
The impacts of the Iowa caucuses went beyond just activating a record portion of the population. They provided a national forum for discussion on global warming (among other issues). They allowed direct access to question our national leaders about tough issues.
When I moved out to Iowa 8 months ago to work on the Sierra Student Coalition’s March to ReEnergize Iowa, my friends asked “why Iowa?” or “what are you doing in Ohio?” and “did you say you were going to Idaho?” That far back from the caucuses, Iowa had only begun to come into the national consciousness.
Our work on the march over the summer (and the work our peers in New Hampshire) was to increase the discussion of climate change solutions in the context of the caucuses. We were not the only ones, and global warming was not the only issue. However, in a state that is the 3rd highest in developed wind capacity in the nation (behind Texas and California), the 1st in ethanol production, and has 2 proposed coal-fired power plants, energy became a dominant issue in the months leading up to the caucus.
The people of Iowa are paying attention to energy and global warming. According to the Des Moines Register, six of the top ten business stories in Iowa of 2007 were related to energy. At a “Faith and Climate Change” event in September, I had the chance to confront Barack Obama on his support for coal, despite its unjust impacts on miners, families and the environment in mining regions. After the event, three different people came up to me and told me that they too had wanted to ask similar questions. But last night, that kind of opportunity came to a close.
What will Iowa be like in the post-caucus slump? Well, remember all those local people who got involved? They are not going away. Global warming isn’t going away either, and the recognition it has received in the media has further educated the citizens of this state about the impact Iowa and Iowans can have in building a clean energy economy on the national and local scales.
You could say (and many news outlets did) that Iowans voted for change last night. That change isn’t going to be made by just the next President of the United States – it will require action from all of us. The caucuses were exhilarating and exhausting, and left a fair number of Iowans disappointed that the spotlight is gone. But at least here in Iowa, our work fighting global warming will continue to build and is all the stronger for enduring the campaign season. It’s time to get back to work.
Rock on Juliana!
Nice job. I was going to use your quote from Time in a post as well, but you beat me to it. The point is still there: Young people, whether organizing around climate change or the Obama campaign, or even just by showing up to caucus for the first time have made a difference, and people are starting to notice.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed returning to Iowa City from Minnesota and suddenly being surrounded by political activism. I can only imagine what it was like to be involved in it for as long as you were in this cycle. Iowa continues to impress me; as I grow further away from it, I feel like I understand its character more and more.
But I know that Iowans weren’t the only ones who brought energy issues to the forefront of these campaigns. It was coalitions like this, like Powershift and the SSC and the EAC that accumulated the vast knowledge and efforts of a gigantic student movement to where it mattered. I’ve seen my friends back at my high school take the energy of the national movement and make it important among teens here. And, in reciprocation, I’ve seen the national movement get energy from seeing high schoolers take the movement into their hands at their level.
It’s obvious that we’ve had an effect on these candidates. When I read through Edwards’ and Obama’s big plans, it was like reading a list of our demands on Lobbying Day (admittedly without the same strength on coal). Green jobs, sustainable communities, renewable energy, fuel standards, and emissions reductions are real proposals for these candidates, and we can finally hope to finally get some help from those who have thus far taken little responsibility.
But Juliana, you’re right: this is just the beginning. The issues are on the table now, and everyone is speaking change, but it won’t be implemented magically on January 20, and it won’t happen by itself. We are what is driving this and we are what will bring it to fruitation. New leadership will give us more strength, but the will is all on us. Let’s carry this out and bring in someone who will work with us to build a new energy future, but let’s not forget: we are the ones that we’ve been waiting for.