iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Who is Caucusing tonight?

Started by OneWithWood, January 03, 2008, 10:40:07 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

OneWithWood

For the Iowans among us.

Are you going to be involved in a caucus tonight?

I am not asking who you support.  I am very interested in the caucus system.  It sounds like a very interesting participative process.

If you are going to one would you please describe the process and how you feel about it?

One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Norm

Patty and my son Joel are going, I'll show this to her and have an update for you tomorrow.

I'd go but it's past my bedtime. :D

Roxie

I'm glad that you asked OWW.  It is something I've been curious about too. 
Say when

Frickman

Any of you who have cable TV can watch it on C-SPAN. I did four years ago and it was interesting. I'll probably watch it at a friend's house tonight.
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

Patty

Ok I will attempt to explain the Iowa Caucus as best as I can. Please ask questions if I have overlooked anything.

Anybody who is registered to vote can attend a caucus, however you MUST register as either a republican or democrat upon arrival. The parties hold separate caucus's throughout the state, and you attend the one in your area, and attend the one who's party you prefer. Personally I like the party with the cheeseballs with nuts on them...joke. Just kidding. :D

The procedure is different at each party's caucus. The democrats vote by a show of hands. A person will call out a candidate's name, and if he is your man, then you raise your hand. If that candidate does not receive 15% of the folks voting for him, his name is tossed out and he gets zero representation from that district. This elimination process continues until each remaining candidate has 15% or more of the votes cast in that district. Those results are then called into the party headquarters in Des Moines and tallied.

The republicans vote by secret ballot. You write your candidate's name on a piece of paper and throw it into a box. These votes are all counted and the results are called into the headquarters in Des Moines. Each candidate who gets a vote gets represented from that district.

Also at the caucus, the party platforms are decided upon. If I have an issue that I feel strongly about, I present it at the caucus, and the issue is discussed at length. After all the individual issues are put forth, they are voted upon. The issues that receive the most votes are then added to the party platform from each district. Again they are tallied in Des Moines at the headquarters and those with the most votes or representation is added to the party platform for the state, and then on to a national consensus. You see these platforms discussed at the national conventions later on in the year.

The caucus is very informal. You know generally everybody in attendance because they are your neighbors. Usually there are not more than 20 or 30 people at each caucus. You attend the caucus of your district. We happen to live in a tiny rural township, so we have to drive over to the next township to attend. This year we are meeting in the fire station. They will back out the firetruck and set up folding chairs in the parking bay, and somebody brings a box or a hat to put the votes into. Pretty low key.

If I have forgotten a detail, please ask questions. I will do my best to answer them.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Texas Ranger

Down here in Texas we call that Call Cuss, cause, we cuss the democrats for a while, then we cuss the republicans for a while, call the neighbors in and let them cuss at em, too.

We generally ain't to particular about what politician we cuss, they all get an ear full.
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Tom

So, what weight does a State Caucus have.  Is it used to determine the choice at the convention?


bull

I will probably be cusing after tghe caucus >:( >:(

beenthere

Patty
A couple years ago (maybe 4 ??) I watched a TV program that taped a Dem and Rep caucus in Iowa. Quite a difference between them. The Dem caucus was in someone's home, with parlor, living room, dining room, kitchen and front and back porch holding people. An older lady was running the meeting, and after the voting (show of hands) they were trying to get someone to be a 'delegate' (as I remember). No one wanted the job, but finally after coercing an individual (who finally said he would so they could get the food out and eat), the meeting closed. VERY informal, and seemed to be very little interest, other than the food. Most of the agenda had something to do with protocol that had to be addressed according to some rules the presiding lady had in her hand, of which the others were not too interested in (save a secretary directed to record things that happened). Not sure how typical this was, but it seemed a bit intimidating to the people who appeared to have zero interest in being at this gathering (I thought it might have something to do with the TV cameras in the rooms), other than the cake, cookies, milk and beer that were being held secure in the kitchen.  :) :)
The REP caucus was in a community room and quite business-like in comparison.

I don't know how typical this is. Appreciate your explanation of the procedures.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Jeff

I was trying to watch the Democratic Caucus on C-span because it sounded very interesting. I was outvoted and demoted by deal or no deal and now csi. :-[  So, here I am with my story. :-\
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

isawlogs

 Just heard that Huckebee has won or is going to win ... Hombey I think they said is going to finish second .
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

Jeff

I'm wondering, do you have to be pre-registered as a democrat or a republican to attend a given caucus? Or could, theoretically and as an example, republicans show up at a democratic caucus or vice-versa, and caucus for the opponent they felt was least electable?
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

isawlogs

Democrate ...   Obama . is in

Republican      Hukabee is not elected yet but is in the lead .


 
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

DanG

Well ain't this a fine kettle of fish?!  Us good ol' Redblooded American boys are getting our news out of Canada because the air heads we married are in charge of the DanG remote! :-[  I'm listening to Oprah's family tree in the background. >:(

World history is teetering on the balance, and these people can't give up the #$#$&! fluff long enough to find out which way we are headed.  Who the heck gave them the "right" to vote, anyway?  If they ain't even interested enough to listen, how can they vote with any sort of informed intelligence?
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

isawlogs

 You're on a roll tonight . Anything else I can do to help you out there mon ami ???    :)
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

Jeff

Quote from: isawlogs on January 03, 2008, 11:00:00 PM
You're on a roll tonight . Anything else I can do to help you out there mon ami ???    :)

:D :D
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

DanG

Does anyone, perhaps someone else in a foreign land, have any idea how the Caucus went?  I saw the 11:00 news, and all they had was some "chick" with a Schrader Valve sticking out of her head, that told us that Obama and Huckabee came out on top.  Well, that ain't the important part!  Who was in 3rd or beyond is the thing we need to know.  I guess it ain't critical that I know tonight, but all I've heard for months is how important the Iowa Caucus is, and now they won't even tell us who did what! >:(
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Radar67

Hillary was third, not sure about the others.
"A man's time is the most valuable gift he can give another." TOM

If he can cling to his Blackberry, I can cling to my guns... Me

This will kill you, that will kill you, heck...life will kill you, but you got to live it!

"The man who can comprehend the why, can create the how." SFC J

Jeff

On the republican side, the last I saw was Fred Thompson and John McCain to close to call for third and fourth
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Jeff

 Real-time Race Results: Updated January 4, 2008 - 12:15 AM (all times Eastern Standard)
Precincts Reporting 100%
Candidate   Votes   Vote %   Delegates   Projected Winner
Obama   940   38%   16   Winner
Edwards   744   30%   14   
Clinton   737   29%   15   
Richardson   53   2%   0   
Biden   23   1%   0   
Dodd   1   0%   0   
Gravel   0   0%   0   
Kucinich   0   0%   0   
.
Estimated Delegates: 40
Republican Primary Results
Thursday, January 3
Real-time Race Results: Updated January 3, 2008 - 11:49 PM (all times Eastern Standard)
Precincts Reporting 86%
Candidate   Votes   Vote %   Delegates   Projected Winner
Huckabee   35,621   34%   30   Winner
Romney   26,524   26%   7   
Thompson   13,932   13%   0   
McCain   13,693   13%   0   
Paul   10,184   10%   0   
Giuliani   3,613   4%   0   
Hunter   458   0%   0
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

bmill

 I'm from rural western Iowa and participated in my 4th caucus tonite. I can't speak for the Democrats as I'm a Republican and we meet in seperate places. I was amazed at the large turnout. Far larger than we've ever had before, about 500 people in the high school auditorium. As stated previously, it's really like a townhall meeting where you meet with neighbors to discuss the issues and then vote. We republicans differ in that when we finally vote, it's on a piece of paper so others don't know who you voted for. In my caucus, Romney won, followed by Huckabee then Fred Thompson.

  A few observations from myself and I am NOT making value judgements so please don't get upset with me, I'm just trying to give you a flavor of what the evening was like from a long term participant on the Republian side. Everybody here had the same theme, ABH, "Anyone but Hillary". The large turnout on the republican side was more of a show of strength against Hillary than strong support for any of our candidates.

After all the campaigning here, most Iowa Republicans aren't sure who they like. That's doesn't mean there aren't good candidates, we just can't quite figure out which one is best. In a bizarre way, most republicans are just glad the Hillary didn't win. There was a large evangelical turnout, so it will be interesting if Huckabee shows well up in New Hampshire. Again, I don't think the Rep results from Iowa necessarily mean alot. I really look forward to seeing what our friends in the Granite state decide.

  The biggest news I think is that a rural state composed of something like 95% white and has never elected a female or minority to the House, Senate, or Governership (a unique statistic that we share only with the state of Mississippi), voted for Obama. At the local watering hole after voting, several of my democrat friends said that there was a very strong anti-Hillary feeling in their caucus also. So were people voting for Obama or against Hillary on the dem side? I heard Obama speak at a rally and he is a very dynamic person. I think he will be a very formidable candidate for both the primaries, and if he wins, for the presidency. When the rest of the country sees him, look out because he can work a crowd with the best of them. Race was never an issue out here which was quite refreshing. Maybe we're really making some progress.

Interesting also was that here in Iowa, illegal immigration is a Huge issue that none of the candidates ever really gave a good answer to. I think it will be a defining issue down the road that all of these candidates are going to have to face as this race continues. I also wouldn't rule old Fred Thompson out. Just a hunch, but a lot of people out here were close to voting for him. In case you're wondering, I'm a Methodist who voted for a Morman, go figure!

It was fun as always, we here in Iowa did the best we could to sort through these candidates, now it's up to the rest of you to keep involved and ask the tough questions. I didn't enjoy 7000 ads and phone calls over the Holiday season, so hopefully next time we can move this back to late January.

If I offended anybody, I do offer my sincere apologies, I am just trying to give an honest reflection of what my caucus was like. As near as I can figure, none of these candidates visited the Loess Hills Forest or a sawmill so can any of them really be trusted ???  ;). Now back to peace and quite for another four years.


1 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 8 - 13 - 21 - 34 - 55 - 89 - 144 - 233 - 377 - 610 - 987 - 1597 - 2584    Kubota L3400, Loader, Backhoe, 3 point tiller, Stihl MS 390, Very hard working wife!

Fraxinus

Thanks for that analysis, bmill.  Like I said in the other thread, I think things are going to be much different here in NH.  We're a long way from the Bible belt here and Huckabee won't fare nearly as well, IMO.  If he's the nominee, I don't see him carrying this state in November.  Or any other "blue" state, especially against Obama.
As far as the ABH sentiment goes, I believe it is widespread and I think it's a wonderful thing.
Again, I thank you for the post.  Maybe I'll make one like it after the NH primary on Tuesday. 
Grandchildren, Bluegrass music, old tractors, trees and sawmills.  It don't get no better'n that!

isawlogs

 Sorry Dan , they only gave out those two names , they did that by interupting "Grey's Anatomie " for only a minute ... that was long enough to get  "the air heads we married are in charge of the DanG remote" on a bigger roll here .  :D

  Hey , I can still and will give you a hand anytime I feel you need one, or a bleue or two.  :)
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

Patty

Well Iowa is out of the limelight and hopefully we can return to some normalcy around here. Last week you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a candidate.  ::)  We had the largest turnout ever at the caucus I attended. We had about 70 people there, when normally it is hard to top 25. (2 years ago there were 4 people who showed up)

The ABH sentiment was strong, but not stronger than what the issues should be for the republican platform should carry. Our voting took 2 minutes (Huckabee won, Romney second & Thompson 3rd in my caucus)

We voted for the district delegates. These delegates will take our positions (on issues for the republican party) to the county level, from there they will go on to the state and eventually to the national level. As was mentioned earlier, in Iowa the big issue was illegal immigrants, then taxes (death tax, fair tax, flat tax) , definition of marriage (man, woman & family being the basis of our society), abortion and the sanctity of how precious human life is, and many issues you hear bantied around when politics is being discussed. These discussions were for the most part well thought out, intelligent and the dialog was very civil. Typical Iowa.

I was proud to see the thought and careful responsibility most of us showed in our role as first in the nation. Iowa does take this very seriously and we work hard to know the facts. It was an interesting evening.

There was no food, drink or coffee served. The chairs were uncomfortable and we kept our coats on because the building was  not heated. Folks were there to discuss the issues and leave. Typical Iowa fashion.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Ron Wenrich

Just curious, but do you Iowans use the caucus system in all your primaries, or only in the national or statewide races?  Do any other states use the caucus system?
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Thank You Sponsors!