Leadership and Change

My impression was that there was low interest in the party business of the caucus. This may be due in part to the transitory nature of this University community, where the student population in the neighborhood is high. When the convener called for volunteers to fill the seats for precinct chair and two associate chairs - only two of those slots were filled. In the call for delegates to attend the state convention, only 24 out of 30 possible seats were filled. What was missing for me at this caucus was the "sub-caucusing" that I've experienced in the past. Still undecided myself, I was expecting to engage in dialogue with others about the candidates and by the end of the caucus commit to either the Obama or Clinton camp. I left the caucus still undecided (and cast my vote that way), because none of this sub-caucusing occurred.

I'm not sure how, when, or why the caucus process changed, but this year caucus participants had the option of casting their presidential vote and skipping the rest of the meeting. I thought caucusing was supposed to be about citizen involvement in the political process, where community members meet face to face, where issues are discussed, platform positions debated, and voters participate in the mechanics of party politics. This caucus did not have any of these grassroots components. We did vote on a handful of resolutions brought forward by caucus attendees, but that was the extent of the "debate". There was no discussion of senate or house candidates at all, and I'm uncertain as to why that was, as I heard from friends in other parts of the city and metro area that they had those sub-caucuses in their precincts.

In some respects, participation at any level is great. Many voters came to let their preference for president be known, and that is shows some interest in the political process. However, having experienced a sub-caucus once before, I felt let down by the level of active participation. I felt that by not having the option to really debate and rally around candidates, it was a pretty superficial experience. Following the caucuses, I read that legislation had been put forward in favor of a primary system over the caucuses. While there are arguments to be made for a more clean voting process through a primary system, in terms of leadership development and encouraging participation, I believe caucuses, in their true form, serve the public better.