Just got back from my precinct caucus (37th LD, Precinct 1652.) 3 delegates for Obama, 1 for Clinton. I informally surveyed the other precincts in my location, most of which had more delegates, and 4 to 1 Obama seemed to be the average.
Our caucus location was simply overwhelmed, with every precinct running out of sign-in sheets. 49 people caucused in my precinct, more than twice what I saw in 2004, which had been by far the most crowded caucus I’d ever attended; the chart for calculating delegate apportionment only went up to 25, so we had to do the math to determine the results. It was messy and disorganized — we had to wait for the custodian to open up classrooms because the cafeteria was stuffed to over-flowing — and incorrect instructions were repeatedly delivered… but then democracy is messy, with or without the capital “D”.
More later, but first I want to urge all of you to report in the comment thread on the outcome of your own caucus, Democratic or Republican. Let’s see if we can get a good snapshot of the the results ahead of the official release.
UPDATE:
Geov and Lee and I all decided to post at around the same time, so I bumped my post back to the top, because hell… it’s my goddamn blog. Reports are coming in, and it was uniformly HUGE turnout everywhere, and it looks like a rout for Obama in the making.
UPDATE, UPDATE:
It sure does look like a rout for Obama. Reports are now coming in from Eastern Washington, where Obama also appears to be running strong. 70-percent statewide wouldn’t be surprising.
UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE:
It occurred to me that as the whole nation watches the Washington state caucus today, there isn’t a single local talk radio show on the air tonight where we can discuss the results amongst ourselves, anywhere on the local dial.
My fellow bloggers have posted “An Open Letter to 710-KIRO“, asking you to sign on and join them in protesting the cancellation of Seattle’s only local liberal talker… me. I’m told they are approaching their goal of gathering 1000 signatures, but it occurs to me that if you really want to see local progressive talk back on the airwaves somewhere in this market, it might be more symbolic if they gather exactly 1090. I’m just sayin’.
Our caucus (LD45, Weeks Precinct) went 66 votes BHO, 21 votes HRC, 1 uncommitted.
Delegate count, 8 total:
6 BHO
2 HRC
0 uncommitted.
I am an alterate delegate.
Obamamentum!
In mine, (43th LD, Precinct 1843) the initial counts were 6 delegates for Obama, 1 for Clinton and 1 uncomitted.
36-1751
89 participants. 5 Obama delegates; 1 Clinton.
I heard 3-1, and 5-2 in a couple of the other precincts.
Representing the 11-1941
49 participants total.
Obama 42
Clinton 6
Edwards 1
5 delegates to Obama, 1 to Clinton.
Vashon Island turnout huge, heavy overwhelming and pretty cool. McMurray School is where all Vashon precents caucus.
Appears that the vote is heavily favoring Obama. My precinct (carpenter)had 5 delegates for Obama 1 for Hillary allocated. This appears to represent pretty much what was going down in most of the other precincts on the Island. People are fired up and ready to go for Obama.
26-216
Over 100 participants (Too noisy to hear the final count), with 10 Obama and 6 Clinton.
And one thing that highlights the problem of caucuses over primaries. My wife had to work today, so she couldn’t attend. Since she wasn’t there to drag me out of line, I ended up volunteering as a county/district delegate.
What was I thinking?
46-2257, Maple leaf.
Obama 5
Clinton 2
47th District (Rush Precinct)
4 Delegates; 3 for Obama, 1 for Clinton
Caucuses certainly encourage the band-wagon effect and we saw that today.
43rd 2064
Obama 4, Clinton 1
Several other precincts in the same building had similar results (including a 10-2 result in one). Turnout was huge, easily setting the record, and every person I talked to was a first timer.
33 to 16 Obama at the location I convened in S. King
I caucused in the 37th, at Washington Middle School, for my Mt. Baker neighborhood.
The turnout was tremendous — 94 votes, ~79% for Obama. The dynamic seemed similar in other precincts I observed. A lot of folks, a tremendous amount of enthusiasm.
“Electabilty” seemed to be the top issue in Ballard; and Obama was winning around 3-1.
Pullman 134 Obama 5 Clinton 1 Delegates
34th Dist 1528
Obama 17
Clinton 8
Uncommitted (like me) 3
It was at Chief Sealth HS and was crowded and lively. A good day for the process!
34-1476, W. Seattle: Went 3-1 for Obama, and it sounds like most of the others in the district went about the same.
I talked to someone that was at a Caucus in Bellevue, it was about a 50-50 split there.
FWIW – I signed up as the PCO (precinct chair officer?) for my district, and while it was all easy enough, but there is NOTHING about Caucusing that does much to foster confidence in ‘the system’. I’m a reasonably competent person, but was drafted just last week, with minimal training, I barely had a grasp on what I was leading. The room next door has no one show up as their PCO, so I guess it was chaos, no-one knew what was going on. I think Primaries are much better.
36th up in Ballard @ Adams Elementary:
My precinct went Obama 4, Clinton 1. the precinct next to us went Obama 8, Clinton 1, Uncommitted 1.
It seemed like all the Hillary supports had buttons on, but they didn’t seem like more than 25% of the attendees.
It was announced at the beginning that we tripled the 2004 turnout at our location!
Did the GOP jam the wa-democrats.org caucus locater as well? I could never get it to work while the County democratic websites worked great. I also ran into the GOP website after trying to open wa-democrats.com. You have to give them credit they know all the tricks.
Precinct 242 in Bellingham had 190 Obama signers, 13 Clinton, and 1 undecided. The Undecided switched to give HRC one delegate while Obama has 13! The other four precincts were the same. It was a rout! It is time to contact the Superdelegates and ask them to follow the majority! This was a huge turnout and Obama’s day.
YES WE CAN!
Report from precinct 1375 (Wallingford) – About 100 people voted, 80 Obama, 11 Undecided, 9 Clinton in initial voting. People gave impassioned speeches, at the end, we had 85 votes for Obama, and 15 votes for Clinton. This resulted in 5 Delegates for Obama and 1 for Clinton. Many people volunteered to be delegates, so we had to have an election. I got elected as a delegate – woooohooo !!
Now I get to go the District Caucuses April 5th and the County Convention April 19th. My guess is that it is going to be Obama landslide in Washington State.
My precinct in the 31st (Auburn) went 3-1 for Obama, but just talking to people a 50/50 split was more the norm. A bit chaotic with a high turnout, but we manged. Primaries get more total people, but they are ultimately a very isolating experience and there is nothing like actually getting to hear your neighbors to reinforce one’s belief in democracy.
My district caucus 25th/153rd was totally disorganized, no committee representative other than a woman who didn’t have a clue what was going on! Ultimately, they finally figured out that we had 11 delegates – 6 went to Obama 5 to Clinton. It was a disappointing process to say the least. I say WA state needs to forget about the Caucus process and go to a primary election that means something!
In Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood, precincts 43-2085, 2086, 2230, and 2239, we ended up with 21 Obama delegates, 6 Clinton, and 1 uncommitted. More than 300 people there, including 90 from one relatively small precinct. Overwhelming Obama support, and very little changing of minds. People were patient, friendly, and genuinely ready to fight in 2008.
White Center seemed to be Hillary Country, my particular precinct was 4-2 Obama, but the neighboring precincts were coming out overwhelmingly Clinton. The precinct that caucused next door came out 79% Clinton – 21% Obama. 18 Clinton – 5 Obama
At our Beacon Hill Precinct (37-1930)we had 132 people turnout–on the initial vote it was 112 for Obama, 15 for Clinton, 4 undecided. We ended up with 7 delegates for Obama, 1 for Clinton.
A neighboring precinct, 37-1927, 60 for Obama (4 delegates), 12 (1 delegate)for Clinton. I don’t know the counts from the other 13 precincts that met at Beacon Hill Elementary, but there was a huge crowd and Obama buttons seemed to predominate.
32-0573
Obama: 4 delegates
Clinton: 2 delagates
31 people showed up with 20 for Obama, 10 Clinton and 1 undecided. One of the things that struck me as interesting was that during the wooing period we had 7 or 8 impassioned speeches for Obama but had to coax Hillary supports to speak up.
Our caucus: 32nd LD
5-1 Obama in our precinct. Other precincts were: 4-2, 5-1, 5-1, 6-0 Obama.
As promised, I caucused for Hillary today. Here is my report:
Well I attended the local Democrat caucus and a few things made an impression on me. First of all, there were a record number of people there. They were lined up out the door. My only other experience at a Democrat caucus was years ago and it involved about 12 people meeting at a neighbor’s house and discussing the candidates. This was quite a different experience for me as it was all the precints in the area at once in the cafeteria of a local middle school.
The event was supposed to start at 1:00 PM but, as is usual with Democrat events, it was late. Most likely the record turnout played a role in this, but I think the lack of organization also contributed to the fact that things didn’t start until well after 2 pm. Once inside the scene was total chaos much akin to herding cats. In other words, your typical Democrat run event.
Finally at 2:01 pm one of the local Democrat politicos took to a stage an began reading a list of what was to happen. He then ended by asking everyone to stand for the pledge of allegiance, to which a young enthusiastic Obama supporter remarked “I thought only Republicans did this”. He mumbled his way through the pledge, refusing to say “one nation under god” and then everyone clapped and started their caucusing.
One person after another got up to speak and from the speakers and those present for Hillary it was quite apparent that the majority of those for Hillary were women. It was quite telling that in such a supposedly enlightened party as the Democrats portray themselves, that men at a guestimated ratios of 20 to 1 went for Obama. Read into that what you will.
The main points of the speakers for Obama were that he was honest (and Hillary wasn’t was the implication) and that he would unite America. The main points for Hillary were her experience and the fact that “the patriarchy had ruled long enough”.
I had a chance to advocate in a small group for Hillary. I pointed out that the job of president is not a learn on the job program but rather whomever is elected must be ready from day one to take the reigns of government. I conversed with a young black Obama supporter and asked hi to name one bill or one legislative accomplishment of Obama. He gave me a blank look.
Democrats seemed keenly aware that Hillary was a divisive figure. The delegates for Obama outnumbered those for Clinton at about 3 to one. There were many young people, too young to remember Jimmy Carter who were supporting Obama. Whether that enthusiasm will translate into votes in November is anyone’s guess. Historically the young people do not show up to the polls on voting day as former Kerry advisor Bob Schrum will quickly attest.
All and all it was an interesting peek into the psyche of the Democrats of Kitsap County. I didn’t realize my district was so heavily Democrat. In the end it appeared the majority was more enamoured with flash over substance if you will and it showed in the impressive Obama tally.
Precinct 46-2253 in Wedgwood:
71 attendees, 4 delegates for Obama, 1 for Clinton.
HUUUUGE turnout. Nathan Ekstein was more crowded than on a school day.
Great turnout in Uptown/Lower QA, at Seattle Center (two locations too!). I can’t bring myself to give the numbers, but it went Obama’s way.
37th LD Precinct 1615
Orca School (formerly Whitworth) in Seward Park/Lakewood 66 Obama, 6 Clinton, 4 undecided. 5 Delegates for Obama. 90% white yuppies feeling good about themselves.
@ 24 and vice versa, at my precinct, no one volunteered to give the speech for Obama, and in our Q&A session, no one had any idea what he stood for other than ‘Change’ – and when I asked what ‘Change’ meant – they said “Well, he’s not the political machine”. And so I said, well, how do you rate him on his social security policy – no one knew what his was.
I asked about his health care plan – and no one knew what it was.
I asked about his positions on guns – and no one knew what it was.
Yet, I wasn’t able to sway anyone, they just all blindly followed like sheep on ‘change’.
White Salmon precinct (Klickitat County):
41 attendees (7 delegates)
Obama – 26 (4)
Clinton – 15 (3)
Double the number of the ’04 caucus with a lot of new older participants.
From the 37th district caucus, jam packed, with lots of Obama supporters. 37-1566 is sending 3 delegates for Obama and 1 for Clinton.
4 Obama, 1 Clinton at my Kenmore precinct.
Additional Comment on Orca School. At least 10 precincts at this school, huge turnout. Janitor showed up to open the Library and additional classrooms and activate the elevator to let the 300 people +/- out on the sidewalk in.
46-2096 (u-village area) 3-1 for Barack – turnout was over 80 in my precinct vs. 30 in 2004
Down in Thurston..
22nd Leg; Precinct #210
6 BHO
2 HRC
1 Uncommitted.
Turnout huge!!
I was in the Mason County district, 35th. 33 Obama, 20 Clinton.
across 9 precints in a gym in Bellevue LD 41 the delegate total was:
38 Obama
13 Clinton
Obama won all 9 precints
My precinct 34-1487 in West Seattle was 3-2 Obama, but the count was something like 35-15 Obama by voters, so she just slipped in with those two. Two other precincts went 3-2 Obama and 3-0 Obama. The dialouge for Obama was definitely about seeking a break from the past and a new politics, aside from the details of policy itself.
“Yet, I wasn’t able to sway anyone”
Really? With your charming personality I thought they would all swoon at the meer sight of your presence, Dusty.
46th District, precincts 1962 to 1980 and 2057(mainly the Bryant and Laurelhurst neighorhoods). 13 precincts met at Laurelhurst Elementary. Major crowds in the cafeteria, so the library and various classrooms were utilized.
I heard counts of 75 and 80 and 100 in some of the precincts. Ours, 1967, had 125 people sign in.
Tally was roughly 92 Obama, 27 Clinton, 6 uncommitted. In the first round there was a Kucinich voter, who moved to Obama. So when our precinct was done… 6 delegates for Obama, and 2 for Clinton.
I was hearing pretty much the same throughout the building… about 2/3 of the delegates were going to Obama.
Gig Harbor (Harbor Ridge Middle School) was an overflow crowd. Lots of first timers, lots of independents.
26-219 went (about) 78 Obama 35 Clinton 5 other. I had to leave before all the balloting was done.
I was struck at how positive and forward looking most of the crowd was.
Huge turnout at Redmond Town Center. My precinct gave Obama 4 delegates and Clinton 0. Obama won every precinct I asked about at the location. We had 4 people in 2004 and 31 this time. Great, great energy and support from Democrats old and new – indeed some people said they’ve only recently decided to vote for Obama after considering themselves Republicans previously.
I was at BEL 48-0140, which caucused with 15 other precincts at Spiritridge Elementary. We had 41 people from our precinct, and it went 27 Obama, 13 Clinton, and 1 uncommitted, so 3 Obama and 2 Clinton in delegates.
We had to move almost half of our precincts to other locations (like outside or in some classrooms) from the school gym, because there were an incredible number of people attending.
I think there were 71 delegate positions overall in the 16 precincts. One of the precincts (which had 6 delegates)still had not reported when I left. The other 15 precincts had a total of 40 Obama delegates and 25 Clinton delegates.
Looking at some of the other totals I have seen from other caucuses reported on here, looks like east Bellevue is a Clinton stronghold (she is getting a little over 1/3!) — at least in relative terms! It should be a Obama landslide statewide at this rate.
In the middle of Tacoma, 27th Legislative district, the 6 precincts south of 6th Ave met in a church that couldn’t really hold everybody — probably about 500 people there, quite a bit higher than even 2004’s attendance.
I don’t remember the delegate counts, but I think the 6 precincts were running about 2-1 for Obama.
@37
If Obama can win like that in Mason County he can win all the populated counties in the state. Yeah, I could give a shit about Ferry and Okanogan counties.
My precinct went 7 to 2 for Obama. I don’t know if the two were split between Hillary and uncommitted or went all Hillary. I’ll have to look that up later.
I signed up as an alternate delegate. Looking forward to that. We fourteen get together and hash out what the 7 chosen will have to stand up and say at the “next level up”.
A nice chance to plan and strategize with the neighbors.
Only 49 in your precinct Goldy? Ours had almost twice that. The freaking place was packed! Fire violation time.
And all this after the campaigning was about 5-1 for Clinton — in terms number of phone calls to our house, anyway. No, wait. Nobody phoned for Obama. But in the past 36 hours, we’ve received 5 calls for Clinton.
45th District, Woodlands Precinct…
Conducted the caucus in my living room…
We started with a flag salute and the Pledge of Allegiance with all enthusiastically saying, “…one nation under God.” Republicans have their values straight in this regard.
A lot of WW II and Korean War vets who expressed deep reservation about the defeatest mentalities of both HRC and BHO.
While all in attendance acknowledge and are very happy to support John McCain, our four county convention delegates went:
McCain – 3 (including yours truly, an automatic delegate)
Romney – 1
From some of the Demo caucus reports, it sounds like Will Rogers’ description still applies: “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”
Republicans went through extensive training on how to run a caucus, deal with issues, be scrupulous in observance of the rules, and report results. Discipline has always been our strong suit.
With Democrats, sounds like a lot of anarchy rained, which isn’t surprising.
The Piper
My precinct in central Spokane (3152 in the 3rd LD) had 86 participants and ended up with 11 Obama delegates and 4 Clinton delegates. It was a HUGE turnout.
Based on these today’s results, Hillary Clinton should step down as a candidate for the nomination.
She is siphoning off needed funds from the party, and hurting it. The longer she lingers on, the more she hurts Obama’s chances. There is no reason to believe she will win another primary or caucus. She had the money behind her. She had the power brokers behind her. She has an ex-president campaigning for her in an unprecedented way. She had a 30 point lead in the polls as recently as December. She has absolutely blown it, even with all these advantages.
The only way she can win now is by winning super delegates, and getting the delegates of Florida and Michigan to count toward her total. This would be seen as unfair electioneering, and would drive independents to McCain. It may also turn off the younger voters who overwhelmingly are for Obama. At the least, it would shrink the party base.
It is over for her. Everything she does now only hurts the party, and if she continues on, I hope everyone remembers how she hurt the party if Obama loses a close election. She can now be seen as someone who gracefully bowed out, or someone who became a spoiler.
34-1463 3 Obama to 1 Clinton (20-12 delegate vote was actually 2.5 to 1.5 but they round up for the one in the lead)
Huge turn-out in West Seattle, easily 4X 2004.
Had a great time. Brought the kids. They busied themselves playing games on their ipods. It’s kind of fun actually playing a hand of klondike on those ipods during the slow moments.
Some good speeches were given. I’m a caucus fan.
@46: Est. 2006 population, Mason County: 55,951
Est. 2006 population, Okanogan County: 40,091
Okanogan has a lot more in common with Mason population-wise than with Ferry (7,560), Garfield (2,223), Columbia (4,087) or Wahkiakum (4,026).
Hell, man, if you’re gonna dis the counties with tiny populations, at least get your geography straight.
Discipline has always been our strong suit.
Top down. Authoritarian. If you hate democracy and prefer to stew in a pit of fear and despair, attend a Republican caucus.
@49: Hey, Piper:
Anarchy reigns. Seattle winters rain.
Maybe the Republicans were better organized because the crowds were so thin? Just sayin’.
I love it – pooper admits that his fellow republicans are so stoooopid one of the delegates is dedicated to the mormon fuck who cut and run from the race.
My caucus was at Madrona Elementary School. It was so crowded they announced we were in violation of the fire code and if you did not want to be a delegate to vote and leave so the building would be safer. At my precinct where 10 folks voted four years ago there were 79 Obama votes, 19 Hillary votes and 6 undecideds. We pursuaded the undecideds to vote Obama and got 5 delegates to Clinton’s 1. Very exciting!
@54
You’ve got a point there…
46-1285: 4 Obama, 1 Clinton
@56…Geov…
You are correct…Thank you for the correction.
See how willing I am to admit a mistake and graciously accept a correction?
The Piper
I heard from a few folks in Tacoma’s North end, turnout was huge and seemed to go 3-1 for Obama. Haven’t seen any official #’s on that.
@57…BBGOP…
As I scanned over Dem cacus results, it wasn’t unusual to see reports of people still supporting John Edwards.
Pot…kettle…black?
The Piper
Yes, Medina and West Bellevue do have some Democrats!
Part of the 48th District caucused at Medina Elementary-about 500 strong. My precinct was 23 Obama and 2 Clinton. The other precincts I spoke with seemed to be about 80% Obama to 20% Clinton at the most generous.
An amazing experience.
It was great to see so many very young voters, one of our delegates is 18!
Betsy
@54
I still don’t give a shit about Ferry and Okanogan counties.
@63
Edwards didn’t quit he suspended. He still has and can gain delegates.
@54
Of course Okanogan County has its population spread over 5 times the area than Mason County does. And lots of people in Mason county are commuters to Olympia and Bremerton for work. So, Mason is and should be seen as more of a suburban county while Okanogan and Ferry counties are rural.
Our precinct in the 32nd LD: 64 total turnout (over three times what we hand in 2004 – I would really like to know what that is as a percentage of registered voters in the precinct)! Five delegates for Obama, 2 for HRC. Nobody was uncommitted, we had one person for Gravel, I don’t know if he ended up in the Obama camp or what.
1502–Obama, overwhelmingly, 5 to 1.
I was at Madrona Elementary, too. I got there relatively early, but they said there was a line around the building at 1:30. (And I heard the announcement about the fire code violation. We all cheered. :-) ) My precinct went for Obama with 87 to 18 for Hillary. (4-1 on delegates, I believe.) The totals for the nearby precincts were about the same, too.
Piper Scott @ 49
Did your Republican precinct have more attendees, beyond the four that were “elected” as delegates? If you had more people attending from your precinct, would you have been eligible to elect more delegates?
As you know, I hate you fucking moonbats. But I want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for kicking Hillary’s big fat fucking ass.
I’d like nothing better than to see her and Bubba shoved into the shitcan of history where they belong.
No matter if McCain or Hussein is elected, you guys win. The only thing I can cling to is the fact that Jimmy Carter made Reagan possible. Of course, a lot of people are going to suffer, and many will die, but apparently that is the cost we must pay.
72 – We never thought too much of you either. Now pay your fucking gambling debt and get the fuck out.
#72
You are welcome. See how polite we can be in victory.
@71…RP…
My precinct was allocated three elected delegates and three elected alternates. As the elected PCO, I’m an automatic delegate. We had well more than that number in attendance.
The Piper
@66…Michael…
Ditto Mitt Romney. The word he used was “suspended.”
The Piper
Piper Scott @ 49
It is incredibly easy for Republicans to run a precinct caucus in a discoplined manner when only four voters bother to show up.
My caucus was a lot of fun and it went really well despite having a huge number of people. I decided to volunteer because of the numbers of people who showed up at the Hillary rally and the Obama rally. I figured it would be a madhouse — it was packed but it did go smoothly. They made me caucus chair of my precinct since there is no PCO in my precinct. We ended up with 3 delegates for Obama and 2 for Hillary. The final vote was 20 to 12 after two people switched to Hillary and one switched to Obama.
SEA 43-2013
Obama 4
Clinton 1
We had a turnout of 117 people for this precinct at the Montlake Community Center. There were a few people that switched to support Obama: 4 undecideds, and 1 for I believe Edwards. No other switchers.
Unfortunately, it seems that the location of many caucuses got changed within the last day, so there was a lot of confusion of where to go. Luckily this location was just about 5 blocks away from the original location of the Montlake Elementary School.
There were about 5 or 6 precincts meeting at this location and, and there must have been close to 800 people. I didn’t find out the tallys of the other precincts, but if the “O-Bam-a!” cheers from the nearby groups were an indication, I think it was Obama’s night.
CNN is calling it (kind of) for Washington and Nebraska.
They “project” Obama will win.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITI.....index.html
I bet the Republican turnout today is so incredibly poor that the Washington State Republican Party will not report the results to the media.
@65…Michael…
“I still don’t give a s*** about Ferry and Okanogan counties.”
Why? Don’t those Washingtonians deserve representation and recognition too?
The Piper
46-2228 – 4 Obama and 2 Clinton
What mayhem and disorganization! Won’t catch ME doing that again. But Roger Rabbit I was a GOOD surrogate bunny and performed as promised.
Had 111 people show (they said last time they had 15)
@ first it was 3.5 Obama, 2 Clinton, .5 Kucinich. Finally had to do a voice yell as to whether to give Kucinich 1 whole delegate. We Clintons yelled “Yes!” Not wanting to give Obama stronger count, but the Obamas yelled louder with a “No”. Danged if in the end the Kucinichs walked on over to the Obama Camp.
We only had three 60 second speeches to get the Undecideds to switch – one per candidate, because all the rest of the time was taken up with the counting. But I did relay some of Roger’s points with some of the other Clinton ladies, while we were waiting for everyone to get in the door (surprised that they opened the doors early but the line snaked out to the end of the parking lot, about 3-4 people abreast).
We had 4 precincts in the Wilson Pacific gymnasium, 3 on the floor and 1 on the stage, the place was wall to wall people! Our poor guy trying to count the signup sheets had the patience of Job! While he was in the MIDST of counting and numbers weren’t adding up, people just kept yanking their sheets and tossing back in the pile (where may or may NOT have been previously counted). He was getting more confused, so people had to tap him on the shoulder with different requests (even though they could SEE he was ATTEMPTING to count). Like, can we donate to the room costs? And money started flying at him. Thankfully, another lady that happened to be sitting nearby “I’ll take care of the money, let him count.” His wife was standing behind him with the youngster, just standing by every time the kid kept draping herself over Daddy. Poor guy, just kept trying to count. Fortunately, a woman from the Clintons helped him, or else we would all STILL be there this evening.
Then we had the fool who seemed to be a 2nd Committee Chairman proudly wearing his Obama nametag. EVERYTIME it looked like the pile of signup sheets was ALMOST counted, #2 would come over to start yacking at #1 Counting guy. So, of course distracted, it got confused and the numbers didn’t match up ONCE AGAIN. By about the 6th or 7th recount, some of the ladies started yelling at #2 Fool to leave the man alone and let him “do his job”. Unbelievable! Plus, of course the cheatsheet only went up to 25 people, so it all had to calculated by his calculator. What an experience. Why the HELL don’t the Dems allow a more professional scenario by following the State Primary instead?
Mark the Redneck @ 72
Why don’t you repay your gambling debt by donating $100 to Obama? I assume Goldy would consider the debt satisfied if you did that.
@81…RP…
Then you haven’t been watching the TV news.
Were Republican results poor when you attended Republican caucuses as a Republican and ran for office so many, many, many, many times as a Republican espousing and supporting Republican values, the Republican platform, and asking for Republican support and $$$ from other Republicans?
BTW…I’m putting together a little pool with the winner being the person who comes closest to guessing when you next switch parties. I’d let you participate, but that would tend to skew the results in your favor.
The Piper
This was my first time at a caucus. Lake City area turnout was huge with tons of other first timers also. There were at least 300 (probably 400) people in the school cafeteria for 6-7 precincts and I heard the auditorium with other precincts was just as crowded. Many had to move out to hallways. My precinct had 65 votes, 7 delegates. 5 for Obama and 2 for Clinton. Most people were already set in their ways, though two people switched sides, balancing each other out. We had no undecideds, even at the start.
The organizers were overwhelmed with the turnout and our person leading the caucus had never done it and barely knew what he was doing. Yet we did it all right on time and correctly, and people really seemed to enjoy the process anyway. The enthusiasm for both sides was encouraging. Unlike what a couple others said, this confirmed my belief in the caucus system, where people can truly be involved and where literally one person can make a difference.
Hey Pope – How bout you fuck off? How many elections have you lost? I think it’s up to eleven now?
@82
Yes they do deserve representation and recognition. Far better representation and recognition than they are currently getting in fact. But, they’re like you’re drunk friend that won’t get sober until you stop being their friend. They just need a little tough love to straighten up their acts.
In Tacoma our site went overwhelmingly for Obama as well. My preceinct had a turnout of 86 people and 19 total Delegates (10 Obama, 8 HRC, and 1 Uncommitted.
The other precincts meeting at our location wend even more for Obama – 11-4 in one, 15-6 in another for example.
Turnout was HUGE!!! At 1:00 the line to sign in went around the block more than double 2004…
Piper,
I was the PCO that reported an Edwards.
He was one vote out of nearly 50, and did not receive a delegate.
Before you make snide comments about disorganization, remember the precinct turnout was HUGE. Mine had 49 people, and others had as many as 80. Try doing a show of hands when you have that many people. I dare you.
We pulled it off, with two separate hand counts.
Frankly, your remarks about the pledge (we said it too) and your respect for rules and discipline is a reminder of why I generally don’t vote for Republicans. For a party that claims to promote personal freedom, there’s this nasty authoritarian smell in the air that is really hard to shake.
“Freedom is fine, as long as you listen to your elders and betters when you’re told to”
I have a small precinct in Downtown Tacoma.. 10 folks showed up. 7 were for obama 3 for clinton, we ended having to split the delegates 1 and 1. The caucus location on the hiltop was packed with hundreds, overwhelming obama supporters in this high african american area.
Kitsap County — 23rd LD, precinct 328, went 95 Obama (8 delegates), 23 Clinton (2 delegates), 4 undicided (0 delegates).
@ 51 – You realize of course, that HRC is leading overwhelmingly in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio, which, if true and she does win these states, she is going to win the most delegates.
So why should she step down because Washington, Nebraska, and Louisiana are voting for her, when the most likely eventual outcome is that she will go into the Denver nominating convention with the most delegates?
Pope: weren’t you a running a republican precinct once ? But now that you switched, you assume people forget your history. Wrong.
If (and I assume it’s the case) republican caucuses were smaller maybe it’s because republicans can still vote in the primary and their voice will be heard. According to a poll published here a few days back, 85% of the democrats want to vote in the primary, most of which can’t/couldn’t make it today. Talk about disenfranchising your constituency. So people had to go to the caucus, whether they had the time or not. Republicans can still have their voice heard in the primary.
But it’s so much easier to ramble off some garbage, rather than use your brain.
There were quite a few people at my caucus (Rochester, Thurston county), but plenty of room at the school. I got the impression they used to host these at a house and nobody had been to one before. They passed a sack to reimburse the room rental costs… it was stuffed full of money. The atmosphere was cordial, with basically no debate (we were too busy figuring out the forms). My precinct went 2-1 delegates to Obama vs. Clinton, 14-6 people, with one undecided.
@ 94 – *sigh* After caucusing today, and this was my first caucus ever, I’m disallusioned – not because my preferred candidate isn’t ahead, but because the PCO didn’t know the rules, limited our discussion to 1 minute per candidate TOTAL (not 1 minute per candidate per person who wanted to speak) and allowed no extra discussion. Since it was my first caucus, I had no idea that these weren’t the rules.
My parents, for instance, were confused as to how the caucus worked, and wondered ‘Why can’t I just vote in the primary?’ I wonder about all the people who couldn’t get off work on Saturday, like my sister, to go and caucus. I know she wanted to, but she couldn’t. That’s the advantage to having a primary, you get a lot more participation, and a lot truer representation.
46-1980:
First tally: 66 Obama, 11 Clinton, 4 uncommitted
Final tally: 69 Obama, 11 Clinton, 1 uncommitted
That’s 4 delegates for Obama, 1 for Clinton.
Large turnout at Laurelhurst Elementary: they ran out of sign-in sheets.
@49
Conducted the caucus in my living room…
Hahahaha! Republicans are so toast this year.
@49
Holy crap, that comment was so funny, I had to post over at EffU
http://effinunsound.com/?p=626
@90…JSAonBH…
I’ve been going to caucuses for decades, with some hugely attended and some sparsely attended. I’ve been an attendee and chaired many. Because I take the time to attend the training, study the rules, and keep a copy of Robert’s Rules close at hand, I’ve never had a problem.
Republicans tend to be respectful of process and governing rules. While we can debate furiously and intensely on issues, we do so with respect for each other.
One thing you never hear at GOP events is the level of viturperative profanity that is the lingo de jour of the HA Happy Hooligans. Our vocabularies and minds are larger than that.
Shouting, yelling, mucking about with papers, etc. Not stuff you see at our events.
I like the caucus system. If you care for your country and its leadership, then participating ought to matter enough to take the day off. Use a floating holiday or a day of vacation or something, but be there!
The nomination of a party’s candidates should belong to those who actively and on an on-going basis support that party by participating in its events, supporting it financially, and making it a priority. If it’s important, then it should matter, and if it matters, then it should be worth sacrifice and commitment.
While the process in both parties is a little complex, it ain’t rocket science. Anyone with a modicum of smarts can figure it out simply by reading what’s written about it in the newspaper. Again, if you care about your country, then learn how things work, take part in them, and make the system work for you. Ignorance is no excuse.
That I held my caucus in my living room proves what? That I’m willing to open my home up to my neighbors, extend to them hospitality at my own expense, and make them comfortable while we conduct our business may be funny to Lee, but that only shows Lee up as a snob. Nothing new there.
What drove attendance at Dem caucuses was the horse race between HRC and BHO. Had the nomination been settled, the turnout wouldn’t have been anywhere near as big. Even so, I was surprised that seemingly ALL the Dem caucuses were in public facilities as opposed to the homes of elected PCOs. What’s the matter? Afraid to welcome the neighbors for fear grandma’s silver will disappear?
Still, it’s surprising how disorganized so many of the Dem caucuses seem to be. But when you think that this is a party that can’t schedule a county convention without offending a significant core constituency’s religious sensitivities says something. The Bungle Bros. run a political party.
It’s a long time between now and November, and anything can happen. Keep that in mind.
The Piper
Piper,
My first Democratic caucus (1988) was held in a living room with six people. It was nice.
I loved meeting with the folks who came out to the caucus today, but practically speaking, I can’t put 50 people in my living room. The last time we had a party that size, we spilled out into the front and back yard.
1) It was May, not February.
2) We weren’t conducting official business. Just snacking, drinking wine, chatting, usual party business.
You know, I generally enjoy your brand of bullshit, but you are coming across today as a much more of a partisan hack than usual.
I’m glad you are an old pro at caucus procedure. There are much worse credits you can have to your name. A lot can happen between now and November, but I’m feeling pretty optimistic.
While I like McCain in the sense that he has a good grasp on foreign policy and doesn’t sign on with the looniest aspects of 21st Century conservative dogma (i.e. tax cuts uber alles, building a giant wall to keep the brown people out, and fellating the religious right), he is also despised by the GOP’s base (for very much the same reasons I kind of like him — for a Republican), and he has a tendency to speak from the top of his head. He’s going to find in a campaign where every word he says is parsed by people that hate him (see his “100 years in Iraq” quote), he will find that the same characteristic which makes him a great face-to-face pol is going to hang him in broadcast politics.
Maybe one of these days someone will charge the Republican party in the same way Obama is charging the Democratic party this year. When this happens, I hope you have a good time herding 20 and 30-somethings in your living room rather than a dozen of your chronological and economic peers.
It’s going to be a fun eight months.
From Precinct 34-1434 (Alki area) —
Democracy IS messy (and hot and stuffy). Initial preference was 20 Obama, 9 Clinton, 3 undecided, and nothing changed from there. The main problem was that 4 precincts were all competing in a small school auditorium, which meant TOO MUCH NOISE and no possibility for any reasonable clearly audible discussion and subsequent persuasion. However, the numbers gave 3 delegates to Obama and 1 to Clinton, so there was really nothing that would get changed by further give-and-take. But, Democratic Party, there is no reason to have any precinct meeting unless it’s in a DEDICATED room. For God’s sake, this was in a school, and a dozen classrooms could have been used so that each precinct could have had a civilized time of it.
P.S. — The other three precincts had about the same ratio of preferences.
@99…Lee…
You need to get out more. Start by pulling your head out from where it appears to be most of the time.
Mine is the Woodlands precinct for both parties, so your snarking at its name is equally applicable to Dems. We have just as many numbered precincts as do you, and you have as many named precincts as do we.
“One nation under God…” is part of the Pledge of Allegiance by an act of Congress, which included lots of Dems. Your notion of separation of church and state has no basis either in history or law, but we’ve been down that path before.
Trying to teach you the truth and the fine points of American history is like trying to teach a pig to dance. It’s a wasted effort and only annoys the pig.
That Dems seem to relish in and take pride in the disorganization of their effort is bizarre. Dems can’t run a caucus without troubles yet they think they’re qualified to run the government? Yikes!
Nice of you to mock WW II and Korean War vets. Next time you claim you “support the troops,” I’ll remind you of how you derisively dismissed them. BTW…the sentiment I expressed was also shared by the Vietnam era vet in attendance at my caucus. Let’s face it, vets in general don’t like Dem defense policies. They see you as dangerous and anti-American. I remind them that you’re simply arrogant and dumb. Either way, they don’t like what you stand for and regard it is contemptuous of their service and an affront to their sacrifice. That’s what they tell me.
Mock me among your glitterati cognizenti all you wish; you wouldn’t know a credible argument or be able to respect a contrary opinion to save your life. Yes, Lee, yours does indeed stink.
The Piper
@101…JSAonBH…
In 1980, Ronald Reagan turned out scores of people of all ages, and his appeal was universal, as evidenced by his two landslide electoral victories.
Partisan hack? That I observe and comment upon obvious glitches in the Dem process and compare them how we do things on the Republican side? Oh, contraire, mon frere (spelling and usage subject to approval by my French speaking daughter who lives in Quebec while attending school).
The caucus thing is less an attractive candidate and more preparing and training your PCOs and others in your legislative district. My e-mail in box has been loaded for weeks with updates, instructions, advisory memos and more from our district leadership. We even had signs made up (I didn’t pick one up) to post in yards identifying caucus sites.
Detailed instructions, access to on-call help lines, experienced operatives ready to help the newbies, and organization, organization, organization…
No reason the Dems can’t do the same. But again…this is the party that insulted its Jewish members in scheduling its county convention when it did. And it wasn’t like it was something that was an obtuse point or obscure issue. Passover is on all the calendars.
As for me herding 20 and 30-somethings? I have five grown children; I’ve been doing that for years!
The Piper
@21: pbj
I asked the Hillary supporters to name one bill she was the prime sponsor of – got no takers. She has been in the senate longer than Obama and has less to show for it – but she does have these votes:
for the use of military force in Iraq
for the use of clusterbombs
against the tougher amendment on earmarks
I have yet to hear a Hillary supporter explain THOSE votes.
A report from what we thought was a Republican county. At the Toledo caucus site in Lewis county.
23 for Obama
12 for Clinton
1 undecided.
All the confusion is not good, but now we know its happens in the citys and the farm towns.
Caucus: Central Library Definately Obama driven.
Off of the rooms so, in true caucus fashion, you have to stand in front of everyone and step to your side of the room that distinguishes who you voted for. Apparently, the idea that a person’s vote should be a private one is a lost idea. It was originally made that way so votes would be HONEST and not up for scrutiny or bashing by your peers. Your vote came from your mind, and no one had a lease on that when you were standing behind the curtain. Apparently 18 year olds peer pressuring their friends to vote for Obama and then bitching them out if they don’t, young black men pulling young black women to the side on the way to the rooms and calling them traitors because they decided to vote for a caucasian woman (she changed her vote after the caucus was over)…or having to stand in front of everyone and feel ashamed, or insanely arrogant, of who you did or didn’t vote for is as trendy as a skinny latte here in the Evergreen state.
Then there were the undecided’s.
This is where it got insanely depressing for me. One man said, “I don’t want to know who’s more charismatic or moving. Charisma only goes so far. I want to hear about policy”.
Those of us on the Hillary side brought up things like the the oil trust, REAL universal healthcare, the 5 year freeze on interest rates, conversions to electronic medical records that will save billions, immigration…oh the list goes on and on and on.
Obama side: He’ll probably beat McCain.
This is where I had to say something. It’s as if this new generation doesn’t even KNOW what propaganda is. Democrats are beating Republicans in voting. 2,3, even 4 times as many are showing up to the polls. Every Dem I’ve met says that they’d be happy with either…they just have their preference. If you vote blue, we will crush them. They’re FREAKING OUT, so they made up these ‘polls’. Give me a break. The gullibility of, apparently, the majority of our party is letting the GOP have its way.
There was no knowledge of Obama’s health plan, or, since he flip-flopped on a mandate (one kid didn’t know that meant…I’m not kidding) run system, how he expected us not to go insanely in debt.
There was no knowledge as to how he, in detail, planned to get us out of the middle east.
There was no clue as to what his plan is on Social Security, student loans, cracking down on predatory lending, the foreclosure crisis, etc.
But he’s a damn good speaker. And apparently, a leader that hopes for change is more popular than a leader that demands it.
America’s going to hell.
@101
Is it really going to be a fun 8 months? This is how it was with Kerry. He had his white teeth and beautiful smile. He was smart and he had hopes. We all voted for him…but he was missing one thing: a policy.
In 2004 there were also “record numbers”. There were tons of celebrity endorsements, rock the vote, vote or die, etc. Kerry tore Bush UP in debates. He tore him down, exposed his weaknesses, went round and round on what Bush wasn’t doing, etc
Then there was the string that started the shameful unraveling that caused 4 More Years. It was the question of, “What do YOU propose to do then???”
We are once again deciding to choose a candidate that is awe-inspiring, but not structured. Do you have any idea how much it truly PAINS me to tell you that Kerry’s strategies and plans were MORE structured??? He does not do well in debates, and this has been proven. Even in the last debate, when things were civil, he still didn’t talk so much about his policy as he was about how they were the same. I had a feeling the entire night that he was running for Vice President. I remained neutral for quite some time. I tried and tried to give him a chance because I didn’t want my vote as a 30-something female to automatically go to the woman. It’s my President. It deserves thought, and I’m now convinced that Hillary’s stance on issues/strategies is so strong that she can hold her own against whatever the GOP tosses at her. SHE’S A PRO.
Kerry was tossed out by a president that ruined our budget and yanked our boys off to war.
I have to agree with The Piper on this one. It’s a long row to hoe until November. I sincerely hope that we can pull our heads out of our buts or crack some kind of a defined policy out of this man, but if we don’t it’s a coin toss. Also, I think it’s arrogant to say that we’re the only movement in town. I took a look at the GOP races today.
The Republican youth like Huckabee, and he did quite well today. You never know…
Kenmore: because the KCDems don’t know how to run things, we drove to the wrong location, which was jammed much more than 4 yrs ago. Finally got to right place; 32-0036 had 85-plus people show up. Tally (after a fairly respectful back-and-forth discussion) was about 55 Obama, 30 Clinton, a couple undecided. Nobody changed their minds. Obama got 5 delegates, Clinton 3. I’d prefer a primary for the candidates and caucus for platform, but it was energizing nonetheless. My 8-yr-old grandson didn’t want to come but afterward said he was glad he did, saying “It’s my future too”!
AMANDA.HE OBAMA STILL LIKES TO SAY HE DID NOT VOTE FOR THIS WAR.WELL HE WAS NOT IN THE SENATE.HE IS ONE EMPTY SUIT AND JOHN McCAIN WILL EAT HIS LUNCH.
Down in my precinct, Trails End, in unincorporated Thurston County, 60 people showed up, 49 voted for Obama, 10 voted for Clinton, and 1 was noncommitted. This translated into 7 delegates for Obama, 1 delegate for Clinton.
Five precincts met in the East Olympia school and I wouldn’t doubt there were more than 300 people there.
I worked, the Farmesse caucused.
37-3159 91 attended. 72 Obama 14 Clinton 1 undecided. One other undecided flipped to Obama. 3 for Obama HRC 0.
Massive turnout at Dunlop Elementary.
Sunnywood had a great turnout. An eve 50 showed up for our precinct, and I’d say about 400 for the location.
Our voting started 41 Obama, 5 Clinton, 4 Undecided. Ended 48 Obama, 2 Clinton. We got 7 Delegates, so 6 for Obama and 1 for Clinton. I ended up going to Obama for a few reasons, and then got into the District caucus as well (cause no one else would volunteer, and sure, then there were tons of alternates :P).
It was my first caucus and I have to say it was a very iteresting step in the process.
Rujax! says: 34th Dist 1528
Uncommitted (like me) 3
Figgers someone as a clueless dull knife like you can’t make up their mind. Waiting to put your wet willie finger to the winds of “change”?
Figgers Metaphorically DustinJames is from White Center and they pull for Heilary. So DustinJames and Rujax! a metaphorically neighbors?
That’s just too funny.
pbj: “Finally at 2:01 pm one of the local Democrat politicos took to a stage an began reading a list of what was to happen. He then ended by asking everyone to stand for the pledge of allegiance, to which a young enthusiastic Obama supporter remarked “I thought only Republicans did this”. He mumbled his way through the pledge, refusing to say “one nation under god” and then everyone clapped and started their caucusing.
Well pbj, that’s the education one receives from the NEA. No clue about the country, the pledge of allegiance or the political process. Clueless!
@128: Amanda
Kerry barely lost to a sitting president in war time. His fatal error was not reponding quickly enough to the swift boat smears.
Here he was – an actual war hero in vietnam versus bush who used family connections to NEVER go to Vietnam and didn’t even fulfill his military service.
No – the reason Kerry lost was not policy – it was lack of a fighting attitude. Obama has shown he will swiftly respond to attacks.
Aslo, bush has shown what an incompetent fool he is and we are finally starting to hear about all of the slanted intelligence, illegal torture and illegal spying done by this adminstration. Katrina, Brownie and Gonzalez have shown the cronyism and incompetence and Abramoff has shown the corruption rampant in the republican party.
The democrats could run Fred flintstone and beat a republican tied to Bush. Instead, they have two quality candidates and Obama has the better chance against McCain.
@103
Hey man, just keep giving me the material, and I’ll keep bringing the laughter to my folks. You are a circus act – a monkey with a top-hat riding a tricycle. If you can’t figure out why the contrast between your caucus and the Democratic caucuses is funny to us, we love you more for it.
Dance, Piggy, Dance!
I’d still like to hear one–just one–Democrat who voted to authorize Bush’s war in Iraq state that he or she did so because they couldn’t believe we had a commander-in-chief who was a total lying sack of shit.
I had a great time at my Democratic caucus in Lakewood. We had 6 or so folks say their piece for Hillary or Barack, and a couple of folks switched over to Obama, which actually changed the original delegate count of 10 vs 9 to 11 vs 8.
My wife, on the other hand, is a Republican. She lodged one of the “complaints of improprieties” that you may have heard or read about in the news. At her caucus site the precinct committee officer (PCO) didn’t allow time for any discussion, but quickly and quietly put together a slate of delegates from the list of those who said they supported McCain, passing over the names on the sign-in list who weren’t McCain supporters. This despite the fact that a number of attendees were for Huckabee, Paul, or Undecided. Tsk, tsk. Well, actually, the fourth alternate delegate was a Paul supporter, because the PCO ran out of McCain supporters. My wife’s complaints afterwards seem to have had an impact, based on the comments on the TV and radio news and talk shows today.
I went to the caucus at TT Minor School in the Central District. There were hundreds of people in attendance, an overflow crowd. Lots of Hillary propaganda but an overwhelmingly Obama vibe. Our caucus group (1904) voted 35 Obama, 5 Clinton. No one switched over after some discussion.
To the Clinton camp I would point out a few things- she doesn’t have any more legislative experience than Obama; she has ties to Blackwater; she voted for the frigging war (how many billions wasted?).
I read your posts. And quite honestly, you people are ridiculous when you say Obama routed Clinton. Haven’t you all a problem when you consider that Washington state has over 6 million residents and only 31,000 democrats voted to select their party’s presidential nominee? Are you all loony and willing to accept that we all can go to a precinct at 1:00pm to vote and then have the entire process end in an hour? Obama did not win the representative vote of this state. You are all delusional if you think that the caucus system is a fair method in selecting your presidential nominees. I for one am contacting the Secretary of State and complaining about this lame and undemocratic process.
jujubee:
1988 just phoned. They want their news back.
Washington has been a caucus state since dirt was dirt. In 88, a bunch of well-organized fundies and at least one young obnoxious saboteur conspired to deliver the GOP delegation in the state to Pat Robertson.
Quick like a bunny, an initiative was filed so that the next presidential election would have a primary and we’d never have nonsense like this again.
And, I suppose for a few years there were primaries. There still are, kind of, sort of, if you’re a Republican, in which case you get half a vote. Unless you recall that a few thousand caucus-goers statewide get as much weight as all the primary voters, in which case it’s more like a fiftieth of a vote, but anyhow….
The State Supreme Court ruled a few years back that primaries were party activities, and not public elections, so you get to argue your outrage with nine superannuated men and women, the Secretary of State, and finally, me.
The United States is the only country in the world I know of where ordinary citizens (as opposed to paid-up party activists) get ANY participation in the candidate selection process. Yes, you get to vote for the parliamentarian, legislator, and/or party of your choice, but you don’t get to help the party pick unless you are in the party’s leadership structure.
Here, you get a say, and you get a primary for down-the-ticket races like governor, legislator, etc.
Finally, 31,000? That shows you haven’t the slightest clue as to what’s going on. That’s the number of delegates pledged to the next level of caucusing (county) in April.
Precincts get delegates assigned based on voter participation in the last general election. Mine had 6, for instance. From 50 living flesh-and-blood voters came six delegates. The ratios i’ve heard varied from 30 people per precinct to 150, and precincts hand out different numbers of delegates based on participation and representation (precincts in Republican strongholds like Benton county don’t get as many delegates as majority Democratic precincts in Seattle).
In any event, expect your ratios of voters:delegates to be somewhere between 3:1 and 15:1.
In general, I’d prefer if the people picking the president were willing to take an hour or two out of their day to hear out the issues and meet their neighbors. It’s just not that high a bar. If you’re squeezed for time or have to work, you can show up, sign a preference and leave, or deliver your preference by a surrogate. Several people (not just Piper either) have pointed out that Republicans do this better than Democrats do.
But rail away if you want to. Otherwise, you can always relocate to Oregon (a primary state), or British Columbia (a parliamentary democracy where you will be kept safely away from ALL levers of power). They all get lots of rain, all are full of trees, and all run on coffee. The beer in BC kind of sucks, but they compensate by having MUCH better dim sum.
34-1433
obama: 56
clinton: 19
in 2004, 18 people showed up. this time 75.
The dem caucus I attended followed a detailed agenda, printed up in advance, and available on the web:
http://41dems.org/2008/caucus/
If you look at the delegate allocation sheet, you can see how it benefits the minority candidates. As little as 10% of the vote will get you a delegate in a precinct with 5 delegates to allocate. That is a doubling up of representation.
In the 41st, there were 51 delegates total and there were 10 precincts. With a 10% vote, either candidate would be guaranteed 10 delegates, minimum. Our results? Clinton 15, Obama 36.
Personally I think it is a good thing to give minority candidates delegates to represent their views at local and state conventions. It may not be fair, bit it is hard to pin down who it isn’t fair to.
Someone in our precinct introduced a resolution to follow the Republicans and use the results of a primary vote. Who represents the minority candidates if they are chosen by a primary vote, who chooses the delegates? Isn’t that somewhat important?