Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Caucus Cluster

Well, after always having voted in primary elections during the nominating process for President, tonight I went to my first caucus. What a mess. And what an opportunity for election fraud.

The process went like this. You enter the building, find your name on your precinct's list of registered voters, and sign in on a separate sheet of paper. Once they read the rules, we broke out into our individual precincts (12 were meeting at the school where our caucus was held). Then we took a show of hands for a preliminary vote. Then we went through some confusion and finally took a final count of preferences for President. Then we elected delegates to the county convention twice, since nobody understood how it was to work. When the person I voted for to be a delegate won as the alternate and then proceeded to give her position to a woman who had only her own vote, I felt that wasn't right. I voted for the first woman, not the one she handed her position over to.

The problems are many with this system, and here are some of the reasons why I now believe a primary is better than a caucus:

1. There was no positive identification of voters. I could have claimed to be anyone whose name I saw on the list. They didn't check identification at all.

2. There is no secret ballot.

3. The problems and lack of understanding how the delegates were to be elected.

4. People who had to work or were out of town during the hours of the caucus were disenfranchised...a primary allows for absentee and mail in ballots; along with longer hours for polls to be open.

In other words, the caucus is a complete and utter cluster "you know what". While I respect politics beginning at the neighborhood grassroots level, this is not a good way to do it, in my most esteemed opinion.

Super Duper Tuesday

Super-Duper Tuesday is here. Since Colorado's political parties hold their caucuses tonight, they are actually early enough that what I choose may count for something. The bad news is that the remaining candidates have not highly resonated with me.

John Edwards message did strike a chord, but with him out of contention, and since I registered as a Democrat to oppose the Bush administration back in 2004, my choices are now down to Senators Clinton and Obama. I fear Clinton represents more of the same old way of doing business, that she is too divisive to win a general election, and that she is too cozy with the corporate lobbyist interests. Senator Obama is a refreshing and inspiring speaker, but is he truly ready for the awesome responsibilities of the Presidency?

Of course I could vote for the GOP candidate in the general election, but the issue of Supreme Court appointments is too critical to risk another round of packing the court with extreme right-wing ideologues. I respect Senator McCain's personal sacrifice in the Vietnam War, but he wants to continue the Bush tax cuts for billionaires, and continue the Iraq occupation indefinitely. Governor Romney is an empty, flip-flopping mannequin. Although I have many points of contention with him, Congressman Ron Paul (who once ran as the Libertarian candidate for President) is the only GOP contender I could possibly get behind, but he has no chance of gaining the Republican nomination.

Will Paul make an independent or Libertarian run? Will Mayor Bloomberg get in the race? Is what we see now the best we have? Whatever happens, it seems clear that the next President of these United States of America will be one of three people; Clinton, Obama, or McCain, any of which would be an improvement over the failed Bush administration. How anyone could have thought this idiot son of a former President, who failed at every business venture he ever undertook, could run this nation, I'll never understand. He ran it alright...ran it into near bankruptcy and ruin, shredded core freedoms, and now has the audacity to come up with his final lame duck budget containing a record $3-TRILLION dollar deficit.

So will I caucus? Probably so. Of the two, I will probably support Senator Obama. The good news is that no matter if Obama or Clinton get the nod, it will piss of the religious right, as neither is "Christian enough" to suit them. That in itself, makes it worthwhile.