General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLet's remember how Undemocratic a caucus is.
If you don't have the time to spend at the caucus you don't get a say in who your party's nominee is.
The answer if you .....
Have to work a first or second job in the evening is
or
Have to take care of ill elderly or children is
or
Or have a physical condition that prevents you from being able to spend the required time at a caucus
Is ...
"Go on, get outa here, just get, you don't get a damn say here, this ain't for your kind"
Beaverhausen
(24,470 posts)otherwise they caucus system disenfranchises many people.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)RB TexLa
(17,003 posts)my stating a presidential election doesn't count.
WOW
Please tell me how you got to that.
Obama's win in Iowa's 2008 Democratic primary.
Does this not count, or is it only undemocratic when it's not our side?
RB TexLa
(17,003 posts)such as voting. Doesn't mean I don't think someone wins the caucus. Once again, WOW.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW Say it with me!
MADem
(135,425 posts)That's how I responded to it, anyway.
MADem
(135,425 posts)The ones at the bottom of the pack who need to learn to speak publicly use Iowa as a moveable Dale Carnegie/Toastmasters course. They either "get it" or they sink out of sight.
Iowa makes a ton of money off all the idiots who chase the candidates around, and it helps the state economy.
It's the later contests that have more meaning. All Iowa does is unload the clear losers.
joshcryer
(62,269 posts)bigwillq
(72,790 posts)Just let it go.
joshcryer
(62,269 posts)God. Epic.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)DU at its finest. So.Much.Fun.
joshcryer
(62,269 posts)Good times.
rainbow4321
(9,974 posts)Being a nurse, the whole off shift thing stands out to me...anyone who works the evening shift gets shut out.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Mike Huckabee!
That little beauty contest doesn't mean much at the end of the day. As I said elsewhere, all they do in Iowa as a consequence of these caucuses is rake in the cash and take out the trash--Michelle Bachmann is being dragged out to the curb even as we discuss this subject.
downwardly_mobile
(137 posts)I'm kind of OK with Iowa's caucuses, because they are such a tradition in that state. But especially in all those other states that have caucuses - that most people don't even really know about -- you are exactly correct.
I read earlier today that, in addition to making a play in New Hampshire, Ron Paul is explicitly planned to try to game the caucuses, and focus a lot less on the primary states, which would make sense for him: when your supporters are so crazed that they see you as some kind of national savior, they are so motivated that they have a good chance of dominating low-turnout events such as caucuses. Also, Ron Paul has a lot of kids on his side -- if they want to sleep in afterwards and miss their morning classes, it's no big deal.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)If the people of Iowa wished to change the caucus system because they're unhappy, they can appeal to their state parties.
As for the small town thing: since you caucus in your precinct, it's pretty much like a small town.
In Iowa, Democrats do it differently than Republicans (who just listen to some speeches and then fill out paper ballots). Democrats have a lot more back and forth. You start by going to a part of the room to stand with others supporting your candidate. If your candidate does not reach a certain percentage of the population there, you have to go find another candidate to stand with. This is where it gets interesting: people supporting other candidates come talk to you, to convince you of the merits. This goes on for a while, with much discussion and meeting of new people, until the groups are formed and the numbers for each viable candidate counted.
Actually, if you've never done this (I did it when I lived in Minnesota), it feels much more democratic in a way than just dropping in for 5 minutes to push a button or make an x on a sheet of paper, talking to no one, and leaving. It promotes great neighborhood spirit; you get to actually discuss candidates and issues. It sort of feels like real democracy in action.
But my main point is: people think that political party primaries are somehow like elections. They're not. Maybe they've come to look like it in a lot of places, but they're really still party members deciding who they want their party's nominee to be. It's why I haven't paid all that much attention to the Republican primaries: I'm not a Republican, so it's really none of my business and doesn't hold that much interest for me. When it's a Democratic primary, I'm studying each candidate and position endlessly, because it's my duty as a member of the party to try to choose wisely.
WillowTree
(5,325 posts)....who Iowa's convention delegates or electors will be, right? When it gets right down to it, the caucuses amount to little more than a straw poll employing a different format because Iowa's delegates go to the convention "unbound".
But you knew that, didn't you? Didn't you??
KT2000
(20,576 posts)show up to caucuses. They are given way too much power. In our precinct of hundres of people, to have 10 show up is a good year.
Then there are rules that eliminate candidates that do not get at least a certian percentage of votes. People who supported the eliminated candidate then have to choose another one.
It is ridiculous and it gives a hand full of people lots of power.