Caucus Night- The Quest for Change
I will begin by letting everyone know that this was indeed a new and interesting experience for me. It would have been helpful to know in advance a little of what to expect but I would like to interject here that I was not alone according to what I observed.
Precinct 7 was my assigned spot at the Andover High School in Anoka County. Finding a Parking space became a challenge. I was not surprised at all by the turn out due to the fact that I have been following all the media coverage of large turn outs in previous states that had the opportunity to vote before caucus night.
When I entered there was a line of people waiting to get information on which class room their precinct would be located. This was very short and fast. I was then directed to a room full of fellow precinct members. I then realize that there were two “leaders “in the room who were responsible for leading the process of voting, presenting resolutions and making sure that voters knew or understood the rules even though at that point I realized that these two had to get help from other floor members when it came time to explaining the basics of caucusing. Another point to note here is that one of the leaders of our precinct had on an Obama t-shirt. I then wondered what would have happened if they had both had on Obama T-shirts? The other leader seemed neutral without any sign of who her support would go to. This then bring me to my final observation regarding the leadership which was stated sometime during the evening. The rules were that the two leaders had to be one male and one female.
One interesting point I observed was the emergence of a “leader� within the group. I think his name was Doug. At one point there was the issue of volunteers being needed to serve as delegates to the up coming conventions. A total of 29 delegates were needed. Even though there was a roomful of more than 35, there were only about 15-17 persons that initially volunteered. Doug then asked to speak and he then took the stand and made a powerful plea to his fellow precinct members to not let the moment pass by where they could be a part of history making where they would be directly responsible for making “change� happen. Through this measure he was able to persuade more people to get on board to become delegates to the next meetings.
We were reminded from time to time by other participants who were frequent attendees to these caucuses how this was a milestone turnout. The whole process was interesting but somehow disjointed for quite a few. Maybe the thought would be for people to get more involved and active in these processes then the idea understanding the issues surrounding caucusing would be more meaningful. (Just my thoughts.)
Is “change “really on its way as is being seen by large turnouts and participation or is this jus the perfect opportunity to be a part of the wave? The question for me is, will the change be at all levels of the society or does it stop at the top? (Just my thoughts.)
Comments
I am interested in the word that is consistently in these entries and in the news. What will be changing, really? I have voted for many presidents. I have listened to the promises in the campaigns. I know from experience, many of the promises are not realistic and many are not kept. All of them are politicians. They will tell us what they think will bring in the most votes. The only thing I know for sure that will change, is George Bush will be leaving in January 2009 and someone will replace him. Whether that person is a woman, a black man or a war hero, does that really mean there will be change? I am intrigued with the "making history" perspective. To me it more important that they have expertise and trustworthiness as well as dynamism? To me it doesn't matter their color or their gender as long as I see by their past actions that we share common values.
I am hoping that, just maybe, the milestone turnout is a look at what is to come and maybe more people will participate in the process. This will be the best change of all and may lead to the biggest changes of all.
Posted by: Bette Jo | February 9, 2008 12:11 AM
Please forgive the typo...it is very late. I meant to say, "To me, it is more important that they have expertise and trustworthiness as well as dynamism.
With gratitude,
Bette Jo
Posted by: Bette Jo | February 9, 2008 12:17 AM
I was intrigued by your questions regarding change and the presidential race. I have studied and taught history and I feel like I am watching many 'historic changes' taking place already- and I think they are always really important to society. Maybe that is just my bias, as a history buff, but maybe not.
I think several important things are shifting, first, to have a democratic primary go to the convention is amazing!!! It signals a change in a lot of the ways people have been involved in politics already this election season (see primary and caucus turnouts) and will bring many more changes. (One hopefully being the engagement of far more people in the process and system).
Second, it is really important that a black man and a woman have been able to run competitive campaigns in this country!!! When I look back on history- it signals large scale social change- maybe not always fast enough - but it is there. When I think about the fact that women didn't even have the right to vote 100 years ago, or that in the 1920s there was massive numbers of lynchings in the south because African Americans were trying to vote, I am so proud to see that our presidential race finally does look a little different. I think this is an important shift for the rest of the world to see about the US as well.
Finally, I think another important change is the realization for many that politics does have a huge impact on their lives. The fact that many people are getting out and voicing their opinions means that somehow they have learned that sitting back and assuming that presidential politics doesn't really change anything is fundamentally untrue. I would imagine that people do see finally see that presidential politics have dictated that we are now at war in the Middle East, that thousands of our men and women have died in that war, that we are in a recession, and that we have a national debt that has grown to a point where most people can't even understand how big it is. Those changes, whether you support them or not, are a result of presidential politics and I think they are affecting everyone- including foreigners.
So even when it feels like a game and that nothing really will change, I am here shouting (with passion) that there is a lot at stake, and my heart beats faster and I get excited as I watch people go after it for the first time in a long time.
Posted by: Kristin Farrell | February 9, 2008 11:28 AM