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One of the political gurus was talking today on the radio, while I was at work.
He was saying and describing the Iowa Caucus as a straw poll.
Then he went on to tell how the Ron Paul crowd, pulled a fast one.
He said that although the vote count shows one thing, because all the delegates for Paul stayed longer than anyone else and that is when the delegates are actually picked. Not right when the vote is over.
He said, "All Paul's supporters were instructed to stay until they threw them out to lock up".
Many of Santorum, Romney, Gingrich, Perry and the rest, left right after the vote.
Something about Paul getting the delegates, while not getting the full majority of votes registered.
I'll say one thing, caucuses are confusing. They do get those with a passion for politics, something to do all day.
The meeting is called to order by the temporary chairman; there is also a temporary secretary. The first order of business is to elect a permanent chairman and secretary; usually someone moves to elect the temporaries to the permanent posts, and it usually passes.
Next order of business is to elect the 8 members of the committee for the next year.
After that you have the "stumping" for the candidates. Our precinct allows three minutes per candidate; I don't know if this time limit is universal for all precincts or if each precinct sets its own limits. If multiple people want to speak for the same candidate, they have to split up the three minutes between themselves.
Next is the vote. There are no ballots, you just write the candidates name on a piece of paper. Our precinct is small, so rather than move on to other business the chairman usually goes over the platform while the votes are counted. The people who spoke for the candidates are allowed to observe the counting.
After the votes are announced comes the nomination of delegates to the county convention. In our precinct all the committee members are automatic nominees, again I don't know if this is universal or just something we do. We have to nominate a minimum of 21 people and elect 14. The 7 not elected are alternates. Each nominee announces who they support before the vote so that the voters know where they stand.
Then the delegates are voted for and that's it until our county convention March 10 when all the county delegates elect the delegates to the state convention.
So there you have it. I suppose it would be possible for someone to delay the delegate nominations until a few people had gone home, but we have 99 counties with a total of 1,776 precincts. I have a hard time believing that these sort of shenanigans would be well orchestrated enough to have any impact on the eventual outcome of the election.
The meeting is called to order by the temporary chairman; there is also a temporary secretary. The first order of business is to elect a permanent chairman and secretary; usually someone moves to elect the temporaries to the permanent posts, and it usually passes.
Next order of business is to elect the 8 members of the committee for the next year.
After that you have the "stumping" for the candidates. Our precinct allows three minutes per candidate; I don't know if this time limit is universal for all precincts or if each precinct sets its own limits. If multiple people want to speak for the same candidate, they have to split up the three minutes between themselves.
Next is the vote. There are no ballots, you just write the candidates name on a piece of paper. Our precinct is small, so rather than move on to other business the chairman usually goes over the platform while the votes are counted. The people who spoke for the candidates are allowed to observe the counting.
After the votes are announced comes the nomination of delegates to the county convention. In our precinct all the committee members are automatic nominees, again I don't know if this is universal or just something we do. We have to nominate a minimum of 21 people and elect 14. The 7 not elected are alternates. Each nominee announces who they support before the vote so that the voters know where they stand.
Then the delegates are voted for and that's it until our county convention March 10 when all the county delegates elect the delegates to the state convention.
So there you have it. I suppose it would be possible for someone to delay the delegate nominations until a few people had gone home, but we have 99 counties with a total of 1,776 precincts. I have a hard time believing that these sort of shenanigans would be well orchestrated enough to have any impact on the eventual outcome of the election.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA -- "I think Ron Paul just won Iowa," declared Mark Hansen, Ron Paul's Pottawattamie County coordinator. Here at a bar serving as the unofficial county headquarters of the Paul campaign, Hansen had just conceded that Paul would not win the popular vote in Iowa, but he also pointed out that after the straw polls, the precincts appointed delegates to the county conventions in March -- and that in every precinct in Pottawattamie, at least, two or three Ron Paul supporters volunteered to be delegates, and few other candidates' supporters volunteered.
Delegates at the county conventions help select delegates to the state convention, which then select delegates to the Republican National Convention.
Technically, tonight's vote was a straw poll, determining no delegates, but setting the tone. The only actions that actually could make a difference in electing delegates to the National Convention heavily favored Paul. Nobody will be watching in June, unless this election gets much more exciting, but Ron Paul might send more Iowa delegates to Tampa than any other candidate.
Where are you getting this? Dr. Paul doesn't have ANY delegates at this point; neither does anyone else.
Last night 24,864 LOCAL delegates were elected to the 99 county conventions. Each of these delegates supports somebody; they do announce who they support prior to the delegate election; but it's not binding, nor is it recorded as part of the public record. And most delegates will support the candidate elected from their precinct regardless of their personal opinion unless they feel a strong moral obligation to buck the vote or if the candidate elected in the caucus has dropped out.
The only delegates that really count are the ones chosen at the state convention. Iowa has 28 delegates. 12 are chosen at the 4 Congressional District Conventions, 13 are chosen at the state Republican convention, and the other three are state officers. How these delegates vote in the RNC will depend on how the candidates fared in the state caucus and who is still in the race.
I think the Iowa Caucuses are a sham because they allow anyone in. They are not an accurate reflection of who Republicans want as their nominee.
This is inaccurate. Yes, you can register at the door if you aren't registered beforehand, and since there's really no way to confirm your address at the time a person might easily vote even if they aren't eligible. But they do follow up and anyone found to have voted illegally is persecuted (see Savage, Dan).
I do agree that the caucus is less accurate than a primary would be, though, for a totally different reason. Making people be at a certain place at a certain time to vote excludes a large percentage of working folks and people with kids who could vote in a primary where the polls are open all day.
This is inaccurate. Yes, you can register at the door if you aren't registered beforehand, and since there's really no way to confirm your address at the time a person might easily vote even if they aren't eligible. But they do follow up and anyone found to have voted illegally is persecuted (see Savage, Dan).
I just meant that you don't have to be registered as a Republican to vote in the Republican caucus, so it's not a true reflection of who Republicans want as their nominee.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA -- "I think Ron Paul just won Iowa," declared Mark Hansen, Ron Paul's Pottawattamie County coordinator. Here at a bar serving as the unofficial county headquarters of the Paul campaign, Hansen had just conceded that Paul would not win the popular vote in Iowa, but he also pointed out that after the straw polls, the precincts appointed delegates to the county conventions in March -- and that in every precinct in Pottawattamie, at least, two or three Ron Paul supporters volunteered to be delegates, and few other candidates' supporters volunteered.
Delegates at the county conventions help select delegates to the state convention, which then select delegates to the Republican National Convention.
Technically, tonight's vote was a straw poll, determining no delegates, but setting the tone. The only actions that actually could make a difference in electing delegates to the National Convention heavily favored Paul. Nobody will be watching in June, unless this election gets much more exciting, but Ron Paul might send more Iowa delegates to Tampa than any other candidate.
I just meant that you don't have to be registered as a Republican to vote in the Republican caucus, so it's not a true reflection of who Republicans want as their nominee.
That's not entirely true; Republican caucuses in Iowa are open to independents and third-party voters, but to vote for a Republican candidate you have to register as a Republican. Which you can do on-site, but you have to do it as you enter the room so it's not like you can change your mind after you hear the speeches.
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