Bring the muthafuckin' caucus*

[boztopia]

For those who don't know, today is the Iowa caucus, which will begin the process of deciding who our next President is going to be. If you need a primer as to what a caucus is and how it works, I recommend this AP article and this MyDD series outlining the process in gory detail.

Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake has some early predictions as to who

Comments

[anvilchorus]

My brother will be sad to hear it if Thompson drops out of the race. He was planning to vote for him "for all the tough decisions he had to make on Law & Order"

Ive saved the entire evening for caucus coverage and video gaming. It will be a good night.

[shinotenshi02]

RE: your brother's potential voting for Fred Thompson.

Bwah? tough decisions on a TV show? Um...reality check please...

*sigh* then again, I know I have relatives who'd vote based on similiar silly criteria.

[anvilchorus]

It was a joke :)

My brother will vote for whoever will let cops have larger guns.

Oy

[boztopia]

I knew that first post was a joke, but even I'm worried about the second one. ;)

[secret_stuff]

The only good thing to come out of Iowa was James T. Kirk, and he's fictional.

Wah hah hah

[boztopia]

"Well, I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space."

[secret_stuff]

I find it interesting that according to the AP article you link, the Republicans actually run their system in a much more fair manner.

You're not wrong

[boztopia]

The Iowa caucus system is horribly broken and disenfranchising, especially on the Democratic side. It cuts out whole classes of people who can't take off work to be there and removes the sacred trust of anonymity.

It's bad enough that our tax dollars go to millions in subsidies for Iowa just to placate the caucus come election time, but the system itself caters to an even narrower class of voter.

Re: You're not wrong

[secret_stuff]

I will say something in their defense, and something that is really misrepresented in the media:

The Democratic Party (and all Parties) are PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS that are NOT part of the US Government. They have NO responsibilities to the American Electorate or People as a whole. That would be the Government's job.

How the Iowa Democratic Party chooses to assign delegates is no different from how the local Loyal Order of Buffalos decides how they elect a Grand Poobah.

We tend to equate the working of these Private Organizations with the Government. And we give them way too much power in the process. That is what needs to stop.

The Party Machines need to be crushed. They are the modern era Antitrust. They have monopoly in the marketplace of ideas that is strangling the free exchange of thought. Just like a Ma Bell or US Steel or whatever, they need to be broken up under some kind of Antitrust legislation.

Absolutely

[boztopia]

There is a definite chokehold on the reins of actual infrastructure and voter enfranchisement on both sides of the fence. Both parties use the machine advantages to cut off real dissent and funnel money and resources to the chosen candidates.

On the Dem side, this favors "insiders" who work within the machine and benefit from the patronage system, cutting out Internet-based activists and real progressive upstarts. On the Repub side, it involves using the resources of the evangelical fundie movement as an arm of the party for vote-getting and fundraising, then tossing them aside when the election is through.

That's why you've seen the rise of guys like Huckabee on the GOP side, and Edwards on the Dem side. These are people who are connecting directly with voters and expressing populist sentiments that are not addressed by the machines of either party.