Why caucuses are bad -- because they deny participation to many.

[dflprincess]

26. My point was that no one is forced to get up and speak if they are not comfortable doing so

it's not like we go around the room making everyone tell us what they think whether they want to or not. We also do our best to follow Robert's Rules and no one is allowed to dominate a discussion. Often times rules are adopted by those in attendance that will limit discussion of an issue to 3 to 5 in favor and the same number opposed and the individual's time is usually a couple minutes. It helps move things along which makes everyone happy. And after a few speakers people start repeating points; again people are happy not to listen to the same point of view several times. (Rules can be suspended if there is a particularly hot issue and the body votes to suspend them...I can't remember that happening in years.)

Our caucuses are not run the same way you saw on TV during the Iowa caucus.

Caucuses are neighborhood events, you may live in the same precinct as one of your employees but I bet you don't. Just wondering if your employees feel free to put a bumper sticker on their car for a candidate you don't support? If not, you may be doing something wrong. I once worked for a small business and the owner was a Republican (a normal one back when there was such a thing) we used to have great discussions and he didn't mind if I stayed late to do some DFL work, including using the copier. He just thought it was great I was involved. I hope you have the same attitude with your employees and make it clear to them that you do.

It helps to speak English in many aspects of American life - even when reading campaign literature or listening to a candidates debate before a primary. However, there are areas where the caucuses are conducted in more than one language if the need is there. To be honest, in my area it is not, though we have had American Sign Language translators present.

Minnesota law requires that an employee be given time off to caucus. Forty years ago I would take an unpaid evening off to attend and it was not money I could afford to lose at the time but I figured if my dad could spend three years in the Pacific I had a duty to participate in the process and could use a few hours every couple years to do so.

Caucuses also make it easier to push someone the party establishment doesn't approve of through the endorsement process. Wellstone being a shining example of this. They cost less money, depend on grassroots activism and the winner isn't decided by who can afford the slickest ad campaign.

If it comforts you at all, the way it works in Minnesota, the caucus merely helps push someone toward being the party's endorsed candidate. There is still a primary and those who didn't get the endorsement can challenge the endorsed candidate in the primary and sometimes the challenger wins and more often than not the party will give that challenger its blessing. This is actually the route Dayton took on the road to becoming governor, though he chose not to go through the caucus system at all. It also led to the odd situation where those of us who are active in the party finding ourselves not voting for the endorsed candidate.

And I believe we are going to just a primary for 2020 presidential vote.