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Supercut: Iowa Caucuses ‘Disaster’ a Black Eye for Tom Perez

Perez promised ‘the most transparent, successful, accessible caucus in the history of the great state of Iowa’
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We don’t yet know the winner of last night’s Iowa caucuses, but we do know the loser: DNC Chairman Tom Perez.

For Perez, the former secretary of Labor in the Obama Administration, the Iowa caucuses were his first big test as chairman of the party. 

In the weeks and months, leading up to the contest, Perez promised a flawless execution. During an earlier Democratic primary debate in Des Moines, Perez vowed the upcoming caucuses would be ”the most transparent, successful, accessible caucus in the history of the great state of Iowa."

In subsequent media interviews, Perez was routinely asked whether Democrats might get distracted trying to manage the primary election alongside President Trump’s impeachment. 

Perez always had a ready answer: “Democrats can walk and chew gum.” Over the last few months, this talking point become something like a verbal tic. 

During an appearance on MSNBC’s Politics Nation, Perez dismissed concerns a prolonged Senate impeachment trial could impact Democrats running for president: “Democrats can walk and chew gum. The senators who are running for president are incredibly qualified. They understand that they have to dispense their duties in the Senate. And they have very robust operations out in Iowa. Frankly, the American people walk and chew gum and all of our candidates can walk and chew gum.”

Despite his promises, Iowa proved so disastrous, even members of the media are calling for his head. 

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews called him out and said he deserves “we gotta get Tom Perez in here and beat him up a little bit.”

“It was amateur,” Matthews continued. “It was a little wig operation tonight.” 

His MSNBC colleague, Brian Williams, called the caucuses a “dumpster fire.” 

CNN referred to the attempted election as “chaos.” NBC’s Willie Geist called it “an unmitigated disaster.” 

Other commentators predicted it could spell a “death knell” for the party.

For more, check out the montage above. 

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