The politics of ethanol have shifted enough over the last 15 years that several Republican presidential candidates felt comfortable – at an agricultural summit in Iowa Saturday – expressing their disagreement with special government supports for corn growers. Philosophically, that is.

Back in 2000, John McCain skipped the Iowa caucuses altogether on the grounds that he could not win while opposing the federal ethanol subsidy. But the GOP has shifted rightward during the age of Barack Obama, and as the 2016 race gets underway a thousand spectators gathered at the state fairgrounds to watch the party’s top contenders try to thread the needle on farm policy, especially when it comes to ethanol mandates.

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