What is a caucus, anyway?

All the attention from the news media on Thursday will be directed towards the state of Iowa. This is the nation's first presidential primary where citizens of the Hawkeye state decide who they would like to see run for President. But there's one catch. There will be no voting in this primary. In fact, there really isn't even an election in the traditional sense. It is a caucus. Wait, you ask, isn't a caucus the remains of a dead animal? No, that's a carcass silly. A caucus is a group or gathering of people. In Iowa's case, its used as a verb. Instead of voting, people are said to caucus. Basically what that means is instead of going to a polling place and vote, you go to a caucus location and -- what else? -- caucus.

Republicans write the name of their candidate on a blank piece of paper like a secret ballot. The vote tallys from each location are totaled up and delegates from each location go to the County Convention to vote for delegates to the District Convention who then vote for delegates to the State Convention who then vote for a Republican candidate. Sound complicated? It gets worse.

Democrats go to their caucus locations and divide up into groups according to the candidate they support. Then they go for a 30 minute free-for-all to try and sway other people to change their mind and switch groups. Then they reassemble in groups according to candidate again and get counted. If a certain candidate's group or caucus is too small, that candidate's supporters have to pick another candidate or go home. (What size of caucus is too small? Who knows? It varies from place to place.) Then another 30 minute free-for-all ensues. After that, a final head count is taken and the numbers are reported to the state Democratic party officials. Each group appoints delegates to go to the County Convention to vote for delegates to the District Convention who then vote for delegates to the State Convention who then vote for a Democractic candidate.

Doesn't this whole thing sound ridiculous? It's been going on since the 70's. You'd think someone would have put a stop to this foolishness by now! It's the year 2007 and we're still electing the Leader of the Free World using these arcane and almost barbaric means. Obviously this is a huge benefit to the people of Iowa because they receive a disproportionately large amount of personal attention from the presidential candidates. With such a small population, face to face campaigning can have a huge impact on the outcome of the race. And Iowa winner can claim early momentum leading into the coming weeks when other states (with more civilized means of electing their leaders) hold their primary elections.

The whole thing seems strange to me but, for better or for worse, this is our system. Keep an eye out on Thursday to see who wins this silly thing.

=MV=