Iowa
Tonight at 7 pm CST, Less than 250,000 citizens in Iowa will set the tone of the 2008 Presidential primary races.
I love everything about the Iowa contest - From the living room candidate forums to the caucus itself, true, citizen-fueled democracy is in effect.
FDR had his proverbial fireside chats, but in Iowa, campaign stops include actual fireside conversations, where serious candidates come into your neighbors' homes, sit down for tea and cookies, and address serious challenges posed by real Americans. Some of them like Joe Biden and Chris Dodd might not make it out of Iowa, but will go down in history like Webster and Clay (well, maybe Cabot Lodge, Vandenberg and Wagner) for their contributions to our country. And Iowans will have a chance to speak one-on-one with them. Others, like Romney or Clinton are ivory-tower politicians, buttressed by billions of dollars and rarely available to us common folk. But you might run into them at the pizza shop in Iowa.
The caucus is also a phenomenon, a true public sphere. Everyone in your neighborhood packs into a school gym and declares allegiances in plain sight. Arguments are made. People are persuaded. And at the end of it all, winners emerge.
We shall see what happens.
I love everything about the Iowa contest - From the living room candidate forums to the caucus itself, true, citizen-fueled democracy is in effect.
FDR had his proverbial fireside chats, but in Iowa, campaign stops include actual fireside conversations, where serious candidates come into your neighbors' homes, sit down for tea and cookies, and address serious challenges posed by real Americans. Some of them like Joe Biden and Chris Dodd might not make it out of Iowa, but will go down in history like Webster and Clay (well, maybe Cabot Lodge, Vandenberg and Wagner) for their contributions to our country. And Iowans will have a chance to speak one-on-one with them. Others, like Romney or Clinton are ivory-tower politicians, buttressed by billions of dollars and rarely available to us common folk. But you might run into them at the pizza shop in Iowa.
The caucus is also a phenomenon, a true public sphere. Everyone in your neighborhood packs into a school gym and declares allegiances in plain sight. Arguments are made. People are persuaded. And at the end of it all, winners emerge.
We shall see what happens.
Labels: Politics
posted by isaacjosephson at 9:16 AM
1 Comments:
I love the caucuses, too. They make people engage in real debate and public discourse. And, frankly, they seem like fun. I wish we had them in Maryland. But they are not without disadvantages, too. Perhaps the most striking disadvantage is the fact that they occur at only a particular time of day (7 p.m.). Because they are not open and available all day, as polls are, they leave out all those people who still have to work in the evening. The campaigns may offer babysitting, but they can't do anything about the people who have to work.
Not that I'm suggesting that caucuses be eliminated, or that there is a work around for having them at a particular time of day -- by definition, causes have to be for an arranged time. Perhaps the state, however, can allow for absentee votes on behalf of people who absolutely cannot be there (noting their first, second, and third choices). Or -- as we should have with national election day itself -- declare caucus day a holiday from work, so almost everyone can be there.
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