YourHub.com \\ Old Colorado City \\ Stories \\ News \\ General News

My Caucus

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Catherine Durkin Robinson on 2/7/2008

Twenty-one Democrats in my precinct attended the Colorado Caucus Tuesday night.

The last time a caucus was held, two people showed up. Therefore, twenty-one is considered a success.

Really, it's a failure.

Back in Wesley Chapel, Florida, my home for almost six years, we had similar numbers of demoralized and conservative-Christian-fearing progressives. In our 2004 Democratic Primary, 150 voters came out and pulled the lever for their favorite candidate.

A pathetically low number, but better than the numbers here.

Voter turnout is one important reason we should do away with the caucus system and hold primaries instead. Primary voters get an entire day in which to take part in a process that lasts only a few minutes. In a caucus, interested party members must arrive on time for the 7 p.m. straw poll or miss out entirely. Then they get to spend another hour or two listening to their neighbors argue over resolutions and whether Ernie the Neighborhood Drunk is fit to be an election judge.

After a long day of working and/or taking care of the kids, how happy do you think people were to crowd into a smelly classroom, sit and stare at me while I carried the nine and counted my toes trying to make the numbers come together on my Delegate Math Work Sheet?

Other friends who were stuck at more crowded caucuses had similar stories of tension and boredom.

One co-worker had to pay $22 for the privilege of volunteering as a delegate to the county assembly. That's what she gets for registering Republican. I told her to cheer up; maybe she'll get to kick Doug Bruce once for all of us.

An especially fun moment occurred when caucus-goers realized the straw poll wasn't binding.

"You mean a delegate can attend the county assembly and stand for someone else? What's to stop one of you from supporting Obama here tonight and then voting for Ralph Nader?"

What's stopping me? Ummm. How about healthy brain cells and a bit of integrity?

Another co-worker told me about angry Edwards supporters who just couldn't accept the fact that he's no longer a viable option. Another colleague mentioned longwinded Ron Paul enthusiasts who wanted to argue until midnight because "this event should mean something more important than getting home in time to watch The Colbert Report."

However, today our caucus is a thing of the past. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney won - which explains a lot about Colorado. Perhaps we'd have the same outcome if we were a primary state. Nevertheless, holding primaries is a more democratic way to ensure that as many as possible are involved in the process.

Of course, if Ernie the Drunk could fit a 7 p.m. caucus into his busy schedule, what's your excuse?

***to complain about this post and other areas of interest, visit the writer at Out in Left Field***

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Current Rating

Based on 2 user ratings.

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

Submitted By: Rhonda Heschel

posted on 2/16/2008 @ 12:59:11 PM

Rated Story

Although it is true that a primary is more accessible for voters than a caucus, as a relatively new citizen of Colorado Springs, I found it a wonderful opportunity to get out and meet some fellow Democrats. We are too few and far between in this town...

[Report as objectionable]

Submitted By: Mame Shroyer

posted on 2/7/2008 @ 7:47:26 PM

Rated Story

my bad...upon closer scrutiny there is a link to a list of caucus locations from the "What We Are Doing" page, but you have to actually read the first block paragraph, the middle of which is an inobtrusive "Want to find out where your Caucus is being held? click here". Very bad website design. But why am I complaining to you about this? Sending them an email :~)

[Report as objectionable]

Submitted By: Mame Shroyer

posted on 2/7/2008 @ 7:27:27 PM

Rated Story

I agree Catherine, primaries would be a much better option. I intended to show up for the Republican caucus, but was so sick, (including chills and fever), it took several hours to get up the energy to venture out into the 11 degree weather to drag the trash out to the curb. It might as well have been a climb to the top of Pikes Peak. That's my excuse. Not that the El Paso County Republicans seemed to even want anyone to show up, as the calender section of their website even now says, "Calendar is coming soon. (But mark your calendars for Feb 5th to attend Caucuses!) "

[Report as objectionable]

Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Catherine Durkin Robinson

Colorado Springs , CO

Catherine Durkin Robinson has posted 65 stories and 8 comments since joining on 11/8/2007. Catherine Durkin Robinson 's average story rating is 4.1.

view profile » view other postings from Catherine Durkin Robinson »