Caucus Catastrophe

Dr. Hutter asked our 406 class how we could go about setting up absentee ballots for the caucuses. You know. Since the Iowa Democrats and Republicans HAVE to be first. So they HAD to put the caucuses on the 3rd. Before students come back. Same night as the Orange Bowl. IT'S OUR NEW-HAMPSHIRE-IOWA-WE-MADE-AN-AGREEMENT-SO-DONT-TRY-TO-TRUMP-US-OTHER-STATES-OF-THE-UNION-GOD-GIVEN-RIGHT TO BE FIRST!

Here's the thing about caucuses (at least the Democrat caucuses): the point is for people to come together, discuss the issues, try to win people to their side, and make group decisions. It isn't a vote in the sense of show up, say who you want, go home. At caucuses, there aren't a lot of people who show up. But that is okay (from my elitist POV), because only people who really care go out of their way to show up. People who have been paying attention and know the difference between Richardson's and Dodd's plans for the Iraq War. People come because they care. The date won't change a lot for most people - like me. When are we going to California? I couldn't decide until I knew when the caucuses were. I guess we can go after the 4th.

See, the absentee ballots wouldn't work because then the value of a caucus is undermined. Caucuses aren't about winning as much as they are about neighbors coming together and trying to convince each other: "This candidate is better for us, for Iowans, and here is why." An election is for choosing a winner. I know there is a winner in caucuses, and the results do make a difference. But if we wanted to tally votes and let that be that, we would just have a primary like everyone else. But absentee ballots make it a primary. People are more apt to vote if it is that simple. If it's that simple, in this leg of the race, people base their decision on the commercials (not that most people don't anyway). But Iowans who come to the caucus have to stand their ground. They take pride in what they know, and are enthused to help each other. So one hundred people show up to my precinct on caucus night, but there are two hundred absentee ballots that also need to be counted. Oops, I guess my rallying and enthusiasm for Candidate X doesn't matter, because people on the ballots have already made a decision. If they were at the caucus, I might be able to persuade them to change their vote. THAT'S THE POINT!

That's what we told Hutter, who wanted us to come up with a way anyway. We hemmed and hawed and told him no, and he gave us some ideas, but we didn't like them. We live in Iowa, we are front row to the something of history. Candidates spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to convince Iowans why they should be chosen. If we switched to primaries, if we screw things up, if we piss off New Hampshire, if we don't stick to this process, we could lose the front row seats that we are so priveledged to have.

It's not broke. Let's leave 'em alone. Things are going to change this year anyway, but if there's one thing I know, it's that the caucuses should remain the way they are.