Editorial: A chilly wind blows

On the eve of the Iowa Caucuses, thank goodness, an air of foreboding inevitability floats. Donald Trump is poised to claim a big victory come Monday and roll on to the Republican nomination — unless everything we see and hear in polls and interviews and Trump rallies is just plain wrong.

Trump is deeply popular among Republicans in Iowa and across the USA. The disgraced former president holds leads in funny New Hampshire, which has an open primary where Democrats can jump in, and in Nikki Haley’s home state of South Carolina. Politics is a fluid process. It appears, today, that Trump probably will be the Republican nominee.

Iowa could surprise the nation. We should hope, and Republicans especially so.

Trump says he wants to be a dictator. He already has proven this is one thing he is not lying about. He was found by a jury to have committed sexual assault. He faces multiple state and federal charges for attempting to overthrow the democratic process. His court dates interfere with his campaign while energizing his base. Foreboding.

It makes people nervous. Most voters want to be rid of Trump. That’s how Joe Biden got elected.

Not that they are necessarily happy now with President Biden. He is old. The nation has been crashed about in the aftershocks of the pandemic. We’re wary of the wars. It feels like we’re not getting ahead. Even with all the pandering that the caucuses bring, we wonder if we are heard. Problems like immigration are intractable — that’s because they are designed to be that way by people who make a living not solving the problem.

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are not posing realistic answers. They’re not talking about why we don’t have a farm bill, or how to stop the brain drain from Iowa, or that we must take urgent action to protect our food supply from climate disaster.

That’s why we endorsed Asa Hutchinson in the Republican caucuses. He at least tried to talk about real issues — first, that we must protect democracy and the rule of law. Few listened. He will not be the nominee.

In that event, there is no choice but Joe Biden.

Biden brought us out of the pandemic. He led the nation with civility. He is trying to unify us. Inflation is under control. Unemployment is at record lows. Wages are rising. Farm income has been good. He held NATO together in the face of Russia’s criminal attack on Ukraine. He is trying to restrain Israel and avoid an armageddon.

He is not the Almighty, but as he would say, consider the alternatives.

This is a time for steady-as-she-goes decency. If it is the economy, stupid, then Biden should be in good shape in a contest against Trump. By nearly every measure, we are better off today. Immigrants in Storm Lake feel safer. Crime is down in big cities. Still, children are shooting children in Iowa. Biden would put at least some controls on guns if he could. He appreciates the pain. He is a decent man.

We wish Biden would pay more attention to rural America. Storm Lake, a huge protein production center, has real issues with water availability. Consolidation is killing little towns. We are not moving nearly fast enough to protect our vulnerable food supply chain that, by its consolidation, has become frighteningly brittle. We need immigrants to sustain our rural economy as we continuously ship out our young for better prospects elsewhere. We are not seeing the huge climate and infrastructure bills playing out in a beneficial way in Buena Vista County. If the administration actually paid attention to flyover country, perhaps we would not be writing it off to Trump at this hour. Biden put the package together but has not executed.

That is one big difference between Trump and Biden. Trump could get people to do anything, even terrible things. Biden can’t put a dime in our tin cup to save a water system that is vital to America’s meat market. That’s one big reason Trump remains so popular. When he said he was going to do something, he did it. Now, he says he wants to be a dictator. He says he wants to deport undocumented immigrants from Northwest Iowa (who work in Republican-owned dairies in Sioux County). He declares he will put his opponents in jail. Take him at his word.

Biden said he would be an advocate for working stiffs and immigrants. He told us we could make agriculture more resilient and diverse, and strengthen rural communities. Biden could win Iowa if he delivered on that promise. So far, Trump is winning rural hearts and minds while picking their pockets. Monday night should confirm it. It gives you a chill as the temperature plunges.