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CAUCUS? YOU HARDLY KNOW US!
Democracy is a drug. Lori and I deeply drank the koolaid tonight at our precinct caucus. In fact we're delegates!
*applause*
THE CROWD
Our district normally draws a dozen caucus-goers. Tonight we gathered in a gymnasium of nearly one hundred ass-kicking citizens. The veteran DFLers among us said they hadn't seen this kind of turnout since the late 60's. (Thought: Bush is our Vietnam. Discuss.) The crowd was mostly younger, many people new to Northeast Minneapolis in their twenties and thirties. Rock star director Phil Harder and lunch artist Mike Dust were in the hizzouse. But the real rock stars were our neighbors who got up and said their piece, debated ideas, and threw their hat in the ring.
There's always a bad egg: Large scruffy old man, with cane and large dark-rimmed glasses, likely cigar-smoker. Of the many handwritten resolutions he brought but didn't himself read, one stands out for its ugliness. Close our borders, we have too many immigrants and they're sucking our resources, I hear they're dumping 60,000 more Hmong in St. Paul that there's no room for, and these immigrants are hateful people and... at this point there were audible gasps of shock. Me: "Whooooops! Ohh Grandpa!" Motion not passed.
THE PROCESS: VOTING
Lori and I were both a little scared and intimidated by this thing. Let me say now loud and proud to all my friends: Do not be afraid. It's fun and exhilarating to be in the heart of the political process. Overcome inertia. My natural state is at rest, but a body in motion stays in motion. Call me if you need a push next election.
After some introduction to the night's agenda - which we were free to change - we cast our votes for Democratic presidential candidate. This is the easiest part, and you're free to leave after that. I'm glad we stayed. Lori and I wrote "Dennis Kucinich" and signed our names on the back. And guess what...
THE WINNER: DENNIS KUCINICH
We live among lefties - hooray! Kucinich garnered the most votes, followed by Edwards and Kerry. Dean and Sharpton each got one. Little did we know Edwards was dropping out as we cast our votes. C'est la vie.
Kerry: 50 percent, Edwards: 27 percent, Kucinich: 17 percent. The good news here is that Kucinich, with over 15%, is eligible to be allocated some of Minnesota's delegates at the Democratic National Convention.
THE PROCESS: DELEGATE SELECTION
Our precinct was to send 35 delegates to the next level. "Stand up if you want to be a delegate." People stood up and counted off. Only 27. Lori and I looked at each other. "Okay, you guys sit down. Who else is willing to be a delegate? Stand up!" I shot out of my chair. I kicked Lori's boot, and kicked it again...c'mon honey! She shot up. 28..29..30.....35 even! How exciting and easy. If more people had wanted to be delegates things would've gotten more complicated, but no worries here. (No, we don't know what we're getting into.)
THE PROCESS: RESOLUTIONS
This was the most interesting part, the real nuts and bolts of the beast. Anyone can read a proposed resolution, put it up for discussion, and vote on whether it should be part of the DFL party platform. Aside from "racist grandpa," we had a refreshingly lefty crowd proposing universal health care for all Minnesotans, protection of wetlands, opposing nuclear weapon proliferation, supporting human rights treaties, and supporting gay civil marriage and civil rights.
This is where democracy is messy. A resolution is proposed against expanding gambling in Minnesota. Like most of the resolutions, I don't know all the facts but I have an initial gut reaction. On this issue I think, "Why would we limit a potential source of state revenue?" Discussion ensues. A question about whether this applies to tribal gambling? They're sovereign, so this resolution is relevant to state-sponsored gambling. One woman says state-sponsored gambling would compete with Indian tribal casinos, and that's all they have. Gay nurse man says they're getting rich anyway, bring on the competition.
Finally a stately older man stands up and says we promised Native Americans we would honor our agreement – our treaty – with them. Tribes in rural Minnnesota are barely getting by, they need this money for jobs and schools. We've been screwing over native people for as long as we've been here and it's wrong - we should OPPOSE expanding gambling! Lori and I were floored by his passionate appeal. Resolution passed.
Another resolution passed that I need to research: Switching Minnesota to a primary system, and holding the primary on the same day as Iowa (!). Is that a good idea?
NEXT STOP: COUNTY UNIT CONVENTION
You heard me dude, I said unit convention. (Band name alert: Fairport Unit Convention.) This is the next step in selecting delegates to the state and national Democratic convention. If you're curious, read the DFL delegate guide or the easier-to-understand Dean caucus guide.
HIGH ON DEMOCRACY
I know this will sound corny, but caucusing makes my heart swell up. I got teary eyed. Two wonderful women running for the U.S. House of Representatives said every caucus they visited tonight had shattering turnouts. Applause and cheers! For ourselves, and for this incredible energy people have to take back our country. We're sending a message to the Democratic convention: This is still Wellstone country, and we're going to keep on pushing you. I'm looking at you Kerry.
I should add: When we got home our little kitty Sabby was feeling very sick. That kind of burst our bubble of elation. Lori was all excited to do a blog post tonight, having taken extensive notes at the caucus, but our first priority was taking care of Sabby. She was all congested and not breathing well, so we gave her a prednisone. Hopefully she'll feel better in the morning, and I'm sure Lorika has a red white + blue blog post waiting to jump on the page.
March 2, 2004 at 11:55 PM in Current Affairs, Road to Democracy | Permalink
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» While you were caucusing from Disarranging Mine
Chuck at Blogumentary writes firsthand about the Democratic Caucus he and Lori attended last night. Very impressive involvement on their parts. Excellent reporting and writing. This is one of the... [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 3, 2004 9:51:36 AM
» Your Caucus is Better Than My Caucus from Eat Your Vegetables
Chuck and Lorika attended the Minnesota caucuses on Not-So-Super-Tuesday. They sounded like they had a great experience at them. Contrast that with the experience that Tina and i had at the Iowa caucuses in January. Chuck and Lorika felt like [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 5, 2004 8:39:46 AM
Comments
Wow! This is probably one of the best blog posts about a political event I've ever read. Blog post? Heck, make that article in any medium about any political event. I’m reeling. Your ambition and desire is very impressive. Great work, Chuck & Lori! I feel your fever.
Posted by: Marie at Mar 3, 2004 8:53:40 AM
It was my first caucus, too. I had a nearly identical experience to what you described. It's living, breathing democracy. So much fun. Me and the missus are also delegates, and signed up to be election judges.
Posted by: Chuck T. at Mar 3, 2004 9:38:16 AM
The caucus system is so much more exciting than the primary system. It must really feel like democracy in action. Simply going to the voting booth yesterday, although I was happy to do my part, was extremely anti-climactic. I guess I will just have to live vicariously through the Upper Midwest Blog Managers Association (UMBMA).
Posted by: Tim at Mar 3, 2004 9:51:50 AM
that's so great, you guys. I really wanted to get involved but I, uh, had to clean my room (mmooommm!) to prepare for the arrival of a giant bed. I know - pathetic. maybe next time. go kick some ass for me!
Posted by: jonathan at Mar 3, 2004 10:33:16 AM
Caucuses rock! Now that I've been to one, I don't see why any state our size would do it any other way. You get to meet your neighbors, talk about things that are important to you, and be a part of something. It's a lot more involving.
In SLP-Hopkins, the organizers said they had 10 times the expected turnout! I'm also going to the district caucuses; maybe I'll see you kids at state?
Posted by: Nu Finish at Mar 3, 2004 10:33:32 AM
Woohoo! Caucus fever!
Thanks for the glowing words and link Marie. (That feels strange because my mom's name is Marie.)
On the caucus vs primary thing - that was the only time Lori and I voted against each other on a resolution. Lori voted "Aye" because more people would participate in a primary, and so Iowa wouldn't have such disproportionate importance. I voted "Nay" because the caucus is so much more involving and real than just casting a vote, although you already can just cast a vote if you want.
I hope to see you delegates somewhere down the line. Perhaps when we're all president together.
Posted by: Chuck at Mar 3, 2004 2:35:56 PM
I went to my caucus, too, but I just voted and left. (Mainly because I just moved, and the caucus I went to was the one in my old neighborhood. I felt weird sticking around). It was standing-room-only, and they had long run out of ballots. The room was packed.
It's pretty exciting, all these people getting involved. One of my coworkers yesterday said he used to not care about politics, but now all he cares about is getting Bush out of the White House.
Posted by: spacewaitress at Mar 4, 2004 9:42:17 AM
I was at the SLP-Hopkins caucus site, too, and it was fucking crowded! Dawn and I just voted and left... we would have felt guilty trying to be delegates when we're jumping from 44A to 44B (and out of SLP 13-3, too) or vice versa. Lots of regulars from the last caucus plus a ton of new folks.
I think you'll like being a delegate. Dawn went a couple of years ago and had a lot of fun at the county level and was hoping to be a state delegate... sadly it didn't pan out.
Posted by: ryan at Mar 4, 2004 11:05:14 AM
...incidentally, the Republicans had their caucus at an elementary school a block from my apartment. Dawn just cringed when I drove through the circle drive with John Kerry on MPR playing at a high volume... tee-hee.
Posted by: ryan at Mar 4, 2004 11:07:32 AM
Chuck, lovely piece. I added a comment about it following your
comment on
The Sacred Ballot at BOPnews.
Posted by: Ellen Dana Nagler at Mar 4, 2004 4:37:00 PM
Thanks Ellen!
I'm trying not to think about listening to Kerry drone on for four years. I'd rather be bored than want to throw a brick at the TV, though.
Posted by: Chuck at Mar 4, 2004 5:32:53 PM
Apparently there were 5x as many people at the caucus this year as in previous years. There was even a huge turnout at the U, which surprised me.
I love how Minnesotans are so much more involved with the election process!
Posted by: Ciri at Mar 4, 2004 7:18:44 PM
i don't think you could have your primary the same time as Iowa's caucus, at least not without some changes elsewhere. NH has a law that states their primaries must be before anyone else's primary. pretty soon we'll have primaries in the summer before an election year.
Posted by: lane at Mar 5, 2004 8:45:55 AM
Why do they get to be first? Who died and made them god? Mommy, that's not FAIR!
Posted by: Lorika at Mar 5, 2004 1:45:15 PM
Hey, it's New Hampshire. Their motto is "Live Free or Die."
Yours is "Land of 10,000 Lakes."
Who do you think gets to go first?
Posted by: lane at Mar 5, 2004 11:55:03 PM
That's the most logical thing I've ever heard.
Damn you, logic!
Posted by: Chuck at Mar 6, 2004 2:25:30 PM
