dreamshark (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dreamshark) wrote2008-02-05 09:16 pm
dreamshark) wrote2008-02-05 09:16 pm
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Back from my caucus - a winner!
Yes, friends, I am a delegate to the DFL District Convention. It was an easy victory - all I had to do was stand up. I was a bit surprised - usually in a presidential year there's some competition for delegate slots. But it was not a well-run caucus. If there had been somebody out front explaining the new rules, if the line had been managed so that caucus-goers could vote and get into the caucus without having to wait behind all the people who were just there to vote and leave, if somebody had remembered to give the hosting church a room resume so that the caucus room wasn't full of large round tables, and if the obviously new precinct chair had not been... well, so obviously new, there probably would have been more participation in the delegate selection.
Still, I like the new rules. Essentially, the DFL has kept their regular caucus system and added a de-facto presidential primary in the form of a "binding straw vote" or whatever they ended up calling it. They did an abysmal job of explaining what this meant (not only beforehand but at the caucus itself) but enough people had picked up on it that an absolutely astonishing 468 people showed up to cast a presidential preference ballot!!! Bear in mind, a South Minneapolis precinct is not very big - about 4 blocks by 8. This is a very active precinct, typically getting about 100-150 caucus attendees in a presidential year. So the chance to vote primary style tripled or quadrupled the participation level. Which I think is great. I think 80-100 people stayed for the caucus, but it probably would have been twice that if the room hadn't been set up so badly and there weren't so much noise from the ongoing voting in the back of the room until almost 8pm.
Incidentally, Obama won in our caucus, 335 to 127. There was also 1 vote for Edwards, 1 for Mike Gravel, 1 for Al Franken, 1 blank ballot and 2 uncommitted. There's always a few wise guys, but it takes quite a lot of dedication to stand in a claustrophobic line for 45 minutes to cast a vote for somebody who isn't even running. Some people have too much time on their hands.
I'm excited to have a chance to participate in Super Tuesday for the first time ever! In the past, Minnesota's caucuses have been later in the spring, always coming too late to have any effect whatsoever on the selection of the candidates. And with the "non binding straw poll" business, nobody even knew how to interpret them. It's a lot more fun watching the results come in knowing that I had a chance to participate for once. Even if Richard and I did kind of cancel out each other's votes...
Still, I like the new rules. Essentially, the DFL has kept their regular caucus system and added a de-facto presidential primary in the form of a "binding straw vote" or whatever they ended up calling it. They did an abysmal job of explaining what this meant (not only beforehand but at the caucus itself) but enough people had picked up on it that an absolutely astonishing 468 people showed up to cast a presidential preference ballot!!! Bear in mind, a South Minneapolis precinct is not very big - about 4 blocks by 8. This is a very active precinct, typically getting about 100-150 caucus attendees in a presidential year. So the chance to vote primary style tripled or quadrupled the participation level. Which I think is great. I think 80-100 people stayed for the caucus, but it probably would have been twice that if the room hadn't been set up so badly and there weren't so much noise from the ongoing voting in the back of the room until almost 8pm.
Incidentally, Obama won in our caucus, 335 to 127. There was also 1 vote for Edwards, 1 for Mike Gravel, 1 for Al Franken, 1 blank ballot and 2 uncommitted. There's always a few wise guys, but it takes quite a lot of dedication to stand in a claustrophobic line for 45 minutes to cast a vote for somebody who isn't even running. Some people have too much time on their hands.
I'm excited to have a chance to participate in Super Tuesday for the first time ever! In the past, Minnesota's caucuses have been later in the spring, always coming too late to have any effect whatsoever on the selection of the candidates. And with the "non binding straw poll" business, nobody even knew how to interpret them. It's a lot more fun watching the results come in knowing that I had a chance to participate for once. Even if Richard and I did kind of cancel out each other's votes...
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There were three more people who wanted to be delegates than there were slots; but three of them agreed to be alternates, and then the delegates and alternates were elected unanimously.
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K.
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