How The Iowa Democratic Caucus Works, Featuring Legos

[newthinking]

[cantbeserious]

1. Go Bernie Go

eom

[libdem4life]

2. I guess there is no such thing as a secret ballot? I really didn't know how this worked. Thanks.

[oberliner]

3. It is truly an awful system

People ought to be able to vote in secret - and not be pressured or cajoled in this public manner.

[Flying Squirrel]

10. I caucus in WA

It's a fun and uplifting experience, much better than the more impersonal filling out of a ballot. I just can't understand why people are always knocking caucuses - maybe it's because they have never participated in one?



And when you think about it, it's not much different than people being subjected to tv ads, barroom or family conversations, and social media before casting their vote. Either way you have people doing their best to try and influence you. And vice versa.

[oberliner]

15. I think people ought to be able to vote in secret

That is something about which I feel pretty strongly.

[Flying Squirrel]

16. Understandable

But I didn't even know a single person in the room either time, nor did they know me.. And it's not like anyone could intimidate someone else into voting a certain way with witnesses from each candidate all around. Plus it's not the GE, everyone in the room is on the same side of the political spectrum. WA tried to get rid of the caucuses and put a primary in their place -- it didn't work, but maybe they'll try again sometime. I'm just saying, the caucuses are not that bad. There are good points to both systems.

[oberliner]

17. Good points

I do think there is something cool about the community feel of the entire endeavor. I just thing the bad (of not being able to cast a vote anonymously) outweighs the good. But I definitely see and appreciate the good points!

[retrowire]

4. Fun fact

The plural of Lego is LEGO.

Lego's is incorrect. I was told this at a job interview for a Lego store...

I didn't get the job.

[RoccoR5955]

7. Then maybe they should have done it

with Eggos, because the plural of Eggo, is Eggos!

[Beartracks]

8. The plural is capitalized??

Or do you just mean it's still "Lego"?

(Feeling dense this morning.... )

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[gregcrawford]

5. Them's mah peeps!

Vermont Public Radio RULES!

[LiberalElite]

6. I think I watched the Iowa caucus on C-Span in 2008

I recall people milling around, wandering from room to room....

[valerief]

9. Thanks for the link. The owner of a local business I patronize regularly

asked me how the Iowa caucuses worked today. I only knew part of the answer.

He's a Trump Republican and likes Bill O'Reilly, so I often want to strangle him. However, he has hope. He said today he was thinking of voting in the Dem primary so he could vote for Bernie. He thinks Bernie is honest, but his main reason for voting that way is to vote against Hillary. I wonder if this is something Billo is telling his masses to do. Whatever.

[Donkees]

11. "Why do the parties do things differently?"

Republicans and Democrats caucus differently.

After some organizational business and speeches, Republicans write down their pick for president and turn in their secret ballot.

Democrats break into groups according to their preference, plain for all to see. If a candidate fails to achieve the “viability” threshold of at least 15%, he or she is eliminated and supporters fall in behind another Democratic candidate. Or they can go home, though that is considered bad caucus form.

Why do the parties do things differently?
Because they can. Caucuses are party meetings, independent of any government or election agency. So the parties set their own rules. Democrats were deeply divided over the Vietnam War, so they fashioned the viability rule as a way of forging consensus and avoiding a split of the party into multiple small factions.


Why does Iowa go first?
Because for a long time, nobody much cared. The caucuses have been taking place, in some form, since the early 1800s. The presidential preference vote was an add-on, a bit of fun for insiders who were gathered to attend to party business. In 1972, the national media picked up the results of the informal balloting and that helped George S. McGovern, a surprising favorite, push past better-known rivals to win the party’s nomination. Four years later, underdog Jimmy Carter used a strong Iowa showing to win the White House, and Iowa has occupied a prime spot on the political calendar ever since.


http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-iowa-caucuses-explained-20160131-htmlstory.html

[jalan48]

12. He left out the coin flip part.

[tclambert]

13. That's because no one would be stupid enough to choose a presidential candidate based on a coin flip

How stupid do you think human beings can be?

Wait, somebody's whispering in my ear. Jesus Christ in a Smart Car, you can't be serious. If human beings are this dumb, they deserve a runaway greenhouse effect. A coin flip in 7 precincts? Six went for Hillary? If four had gone for Bernie, he would have won?

And this is how the most powerful country on the planet chooses its leader.

[jalan48]

14. It's easier than fixing the voting machines.