'If you’re into politics, this is heaven': 2020 Democrats hone message to party faithful at iconic Iowa dinner

DES MOINES — Presidential candidates entertained and orated at the Iowa Democratic Party’s largest and most boisterous event of the year, basking in the glow of blinking LED lights, a swirling smoke machine and the adoring roar of their supporters.

The event was part presidential politics and part political theater. The theater, which included candidate hype videos plastered across a Jumbotron, light shows from candidates’ supporters in the stands and coordinated sign-waving, was part of the appeal for the gathered Democrats.

“Have a good night, enjoy the rest of the show,” Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand told the crowd midway through the night of 13 candidate speeches.

While some candidates stuck with their tried and true stump speeches, others unveiled new and more focused themes as they sprint toward the Iowa caucuses.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and entrepreneur Andrew Yang were among those who adhered closely to their standard campaign-trail rhetoric. But South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts unveiled some new material and made a more pointed, thematic case to Iowa caucusgoers.

Others, like former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro and Sen. Kamala Harris of California, were fighting for their lives amid low polling and poor fundraising. That reality was thrown into sharp relief after former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas unexpectedly ended his campaign just hours before the speeches began, surprising even his campaign staffers and volunteers who had been chanting and rallying in the cold and rain since early Friday morning.

Still others, such as Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Cory Booker of New Jersey, were fighting for attention as the crowd thinned noticeably as the night wore on.

The 13,000 Democrats who filed into the Wells Fargo Event Center in downtown Des Moines soaked up the atmosphere.

“If you’re into politics, this is heaven,” said Grace Lybeck, a 19-year-old freshman at Drake University who was wearing a T-Shirt in support of Harris and plans to caucus for the California senator.

Stephanie Calease, a 33-year-old Buttigieg supporter from Webster City, Iowa, is a recent transplant to what she called the “rich political atmosphere” of Iowa.

“This is a dream to me,” she said as people began filing into their seats.

As the program began, Biden spoke about the fight for the moral soul of the nation and the need to defeat Republican President Donald Trump. Sanders highlighted the big, progressive ideas like “Medicare for All” and the Green New Deal that have come to define his candidacy both in front of the arena crowd and in a 1,500-supporter rally in a nearby hall. And Yang’s dedicated “Yang Gang” of supporters shouted back answers to the rhetorical questions their candidate posed to the crowd.

Buttigieg’s supporters wore matching yellow and blue T-shirts and wore LED light bracelets that flashed in time to his walk-up music. In his speech, he drew parallels to President Barack Obama, who used this same dinner in 2007 to propel his campaign ahead of his rivals.

“If talking about hope and belonging sounds optimistic to you for a time like this, fine,” Buttigieg said. “Call it optimistic, but do not call it naïve. Because I believe these things — not based on my age, but based on my experience.”

The mayor also drew subtle contrasts with Warren, who has emphasized taking on the big fights she says others are too afraid to tackle.

“We will fight when we must fight. But I will never allow us to get so wrapped up in the fighting that we start to think fighting is the point,” Buttigieg said. “The point is what lies on the other side of the fight.”

Warren, though, leaned into her message that Democrats won’t get what they don’t fight for. She made the case that the federal government can be a force for good if it’s freed from corporate influence and the corruption of big money.

Democratic presidential candidate South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty and Justice Celebration Friday, Nov. 1, 2019.
Democratic presidential candidate South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty and Justice Celebration Friday, Nov. 1, 2019.

“We win when we offer solutions big enough to touch the problems that are in people’s lives,” she said. “Fear and complacency does not win elections; hope and courage wins elections. I’m not running some consultant-driven campaign with some vague ideas that are designed not to offend anyone. I’m running a campaign based on a lifetime of fighting for working families. I’m running a campaign from the heart.”

Harris, who has scrambled staff and closed offices in other early-voting states amid falling poll numbers, delivered a more focused speech than she has at other Iowa cattle calls, recommitting to her “For the People” campaign slogan.

“I started my career fighting for the people,” she said. “In fact, the first time I walked into a courtroom, I spoke five words: ‘Kamala Harris, for the people.’ And those words, ‘For the People,’ capture our system of justice … And, Iowa, I stand here before you today, for the people, fully prepared to defeat Donald Trump.”

Her supporters filled a large section of the arena’s stadium seating, holding up purple lighted letters reading “Justice for the people” and waving yellow thunder sticks.

Klobuchar and Booker, who spoke after 10 p.m., still had crowds of both their supporters and others’ cheering as they delivered honed messages with new facets.

“If you want to get AK-47s out of the hands of domestic abusers, we can’t just win – we have to win big,” Klobuchar said. “If you want to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, we can’t just win – we have to win big. And if you want to get rid of the privatization of Medicaid in Iowa, we can’t just win – we have to win big.”

As she spoke, her corner of the crowd joined her in chanting “win big.”

Booker told the story of his dying mentor Frank Hutchins’ last words to him: “I see you,” Hutchins, a tenant attorney, told Booker, “I love you.” Booker, whose supporters held up lighted signs reading “rise,” had the crowd chanting “We will rise” along with him during his speech.

Democratic presidential candidate hopeful Cory Booker speaks during the Liberty and Justice Celebration on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Des Moines.
Democratic presidential candidate hopeful Cory Booker speaks during the Liberty and Justice Celebration on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Des Moines.

The dinner comes as recent polling shows the race in a state of fluctuation and volatility — two-thirds of likely Democratic caucusgoers say they still have not decided who they will support in the caucuses, a September Des Moines Register Iowa Poll showed.

And although the campaigns bought thousands of tickets and recruited supporters to attend the event on their behalf, some Iowans say they were still sorting through their options.

Among them was David Leonard, who braved a blizzard in 1972 to caucus for George McGovern. But this time around, the 75-year-old self-proclaimed “political junkie” sporting a green Dallas County Democrats shirt said he and his wife are “in a total state of flux” about who to support this year.

They like Biden but think he’s too old, Leonard said. They like Warren, but worry she’ll be labeled a communist right out of the gate. They like Buttigieg, “but he’s awfully young,” Leonard said.

He said ahead of Friday’s event that he hoped Friday’s speeches could offer some clarity, but he also worried the 10-minute time limit wouldn’t be enough time for any candidates to have what’s often described as a breakout moment.

But he was glad to hear the candidate roster was shortened a little more Friday; he said he thinks more candidates should also drop out.

As the night stretched past 11 p.m., the crowd dwindled further as former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland spoke and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock closed out the night — joking that he was delivering the “keynote” of the event.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller speak with a voter ahead of the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty and Justice Celebration.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller speak with a voter ahead of the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty and Justice Celebration.

“It doesn’t matter whether you wear boots, wingtips, Birkenstocks – we know it takes more than your bootstraps to make it in America,” Bullock said while wearing his signature cowboy boots.

His supporters hoisted bright orange foam boots and chanted “give him the boot” throughout Bullock’s speech.

Frederick James, 70, of Cedar Rapids, attended the party’s dinner in 2003 and 2007 when it was called the Jefferson-Jackson Diner. He said the crowd on Friday night was more excited than he recalls during those previous two events — and more diverse.

“There’s a whole different energy,” said James, a Warren supporter. “People are more seriously compelled to stand up, speak out. There were way more young people — people from vast demographics and backgrounds.”

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Liberty and Justice Dinner: Democrats hone their message ahead of Iowa caucuses