Precinct committees, AKA caucuses

About the Texas Presidential Primary and Precinct Committee meetings, 3/4/08

Texas does their Republican and Democratic Presidential Primaries different, but Texas does just about everything different. This was the first year, in 30, that I ever paid attention to this, and I think that many other Texans have not paid attention to this, either. Apparently, about 65% of the convention delegates are elected by vote, and the other 35% or so are elected by precinct committees...These precinct committees are held directly after the end of voting, at the polling place.

Typically, according to sources, these precinct committees are barely attended...Not so this year: voting was heavy. From personal reports of friends at various precincts, voting cut off was handled in various manners. But, if someone was inside the polling place door, by 7 PM, they had to be allowed to vote: consequently some polling places had voters at voting machines well after 7 PM, the lines were so long.

Precinct committees could not start until polling was done: voting had to be verified, and if the rolls were incomplete, voting could not be verified...Early voters as well as primary day voters could attend, as long as voting was verified on the rolls...

My experience was we went to a small computer lab in the local elementary school where voting is conducted... There were so many in attendance, milling and churning occurred. We were welcomely moved into the cafeteria where there were seats for all..We were fortunate: the 7:15 PM start was delayed maybe 30 minutes for the last of the voters... It was delayed much longer in many precincts across the state...

We were also blessed: unbeknownst to me, the precinct in which I live is the home precinct of the current Lubbock County Democratic Chairperson, and the future one. We had knowledgeable folks conducting the committee meeting. As I learned from reports of friends and the news media, that was not so in many precincts...

We signed in, the count was made, and of the 84 present, 50 were Senator Hillary Clinton supporters, 34 were Senator Barrack Obama supporters: the delegate allotment was 11 and 7 respectively. We elected a chair and secretary, divided into groups, and "elected" delegates: volunteers were called for first. I did not volunteer at first, thinking everyone there would want to be a volunteer, and I would defer. Wrong. We did get eleven (female) volunteers, and the Obama caucus got their 7, were an equal number of alternates for each...

Resolutions were entertained: from the well thought out to the unrealistic and unreasonable..

And, then we were done.... Except, everyone was invited to volunteer to help with the Lubbcok County Convention. (I have actually attended one, previously.) I signed up... And, will be a delegate.

Over and over again during the committee meeting, I was struck by several things, and comparing notes with my friends, they agreed: Senator Barrack Obama may be reaching out to the young voter, but the attendees at my precinct were of all ages, with a predominance of elderly women. The Senator Hillary Clinton delegates were ALL women. Many, many people present said they were torn between candidates, and found themselves willing to say they would come out and support which ever Democratic candidate is nominated...

Ultimately, I think Democrats are FINALLY glad to have not one, but two candidates they can support! I think many of us have thought these two candidates could fill both the Presidential and Vice Presidential slates. I heard Senator Hillary Clinton say the same, and the decision could be who takes which role.

Ultimately, whether Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is nominated as the party choice, I feel confident this fall I can support the Democratic Presidential candidate to the extent I can be supportive of the campaign in some way... It has been years and THANK YOU!

Elections and campaigns

I really want to thank those of you whom have recently commented about the inability to select a candidate this early in the campaign. I have really, really, had it wrong for 55 years, and I am not sure at this late date in my life I will be able to learn how to do this thing, called voting, correctly.

You see, I thought that, at least in part, some of the reason for a campaign is so that voters can get to know about the candidates, and have opportunities to become more informed about the candidates' views on various issues. I thought the campaign is a way for people to learn about the candidate as a person as well as a politico. I thought that the decision is cast on voting day (election day usually, but not always) and until then it does not matter which candidate I support, if I do not vote, the candidate will not have that vote in support of election... Isn't that how it works, or have I missed something here?

So, this early in the campaign/election season, why would we be asking people to make a decision about supporting just one candidate? I want to take as many as I can out for a test drive...

It is true that candidates need to have a base of support, and that comes from many, many places: family, friends, cohorts, political cronies, political parties being just a few places. People with or without funds or other means of support who are like minded. But just because I like a candidate at the beginning of campaign season does it mean I will eventually like that candidate at the end. For example, it might be like working in a campaign for a candidate who is known to change his mind, or be "wishy-washy" only to discover the campaign is disorganized. Both of those things would tell me that I can expect this person to be a little disorganized and wishy-washy in the way he conducts business, be it commercial business or the business of governing....Okay, lesson learned, maybe this is NOT the candidate I want to support....

Several years ago we had a mayoral race in which there were 2 candidates I considered "the lesser of all evils." (It was a crowded race.) I was not markedly in favor of one or the other, felt I could be satisfied with either who was elected. I voted early. In Texas, you can vote early for any reason, just show up at an early voting place in your county and vote....(It's made very easy.) I voted early. Early voting usually ends 5 or so days before election day. Not always. In this election, in the final days of the campaign (after I had voted early) the one of two candidates I did not vote for engaged in some campaign tactics, that for me, would have decisively helped me to decide against him. (He was making some personal attacks against an opponent (the candidate I voted for) and his family. I was appalled, but apparently, many of my neighbors believed what turned out to be lies about the attacked candidate.) I was not smug about the fact I had chosen correctly, but knew if I had voted after these tactics came out, I would not have had any trouble making up my mind. Well, the candidate I voted for lost, so obviously there were people who did not care about the other candidate's tactics, and he was elected, anyway. It was a close race, and the winner used tactics at the end of the campaign he thought would give him the edge. They did. As it turned out, these tactics were an accurate indicator of his character, and he did not get re-elected. But, deciding early prevented me from having all the information the entire campaign would afford, had I waited.

Or, what about supporting more than one candidate. Sure, many people who do so are "hedging their bets" in hopes of currying favor with whomever wins, but what if someone genuinely likes parts of each person's platform. The reality is, it is highly unlikely that any one candidate will represent everything just the way you like it.. So, you pledge your support with an acknowledgement of "I am supporting you because of X but I dislike your stance on Y. Your candidacy may get more or less support from me depending on how you prioritize these issues."

Lets face it, campaigns are run by professionals. But, many of the professionals will move on to another campaign, or another issue, as time goes by. Hopefully, the professionals work for candidates with whom they have some political/issues alignment. But does this always happen? I am skeptical.. And, many of the "professionals" work on the campaign in hopes of returned favor if their candidate is elected. So, what's in it for me is more than just having an elected official who represents me, what's in it for me is that I expect a pay off for me.

Sure, the campaigns rely on financial donations and volunteer workers' support. Some of those same people get out and work, or donate, year after, and they change allegiances as circumstances require. Others are attracted to one issue, sometimes year after year. Others are attracted to a candidate but not to a candidate every year, in every election. So, as times and circumstance change, support changes. This is true during a campaign and in each campaign.

What I really dislike about political campaigns any more is the extremely large amounts of money that is spent. It is a little like fiscal responsibility is suspended during campaigning... I always wish that this kind of funding could be channeled into social programs. But, I wish that about a lot of different kinds of finances.

So, okay candidate, court me. I admit it, I have no plan to make a decision early in the Presidential election campaign for a candidate. I may even change my party affiliation. I have done that before, to vote in a hotly contested primary in which I have an interest....

The point is, if I really had to make up my mind today, we would be having an election today. The election is in November. As long as I decide by voting day, and vote, I have done a part. If I decide now, if everyone decides now, that nullifies the campaign.

I understand that if I decide early, and work for a candidate, I can help to influence other people to decide the same way I have decided. The truth is, in many elections, the ultimate difference for me between candidates is minimal: I do not trust any of them. I think most can not deliver on their election promises, even if they want to and mean well. And, I think most people in elected positions make decisions based on "what's in it for me." It may be personal profit and gain, moral satisfaction, pay off, idealistic alignment, additional support from constituents or cronies, ego boosts, fame, notoriety. While people may get into politics because of their love of this country and its governing process, I suspect their motivations for their decisions come from elsewhere. Consequently, it is very difficult for me to promote one candidate over another. I do not "love" one candidate over another. I think they are all flawed, and subject to good and bad.

So yes, I tend to be undecided, unless I am going to vote "against" a candidate. Otherwise, poll me until voting day, and I will poll undecided. Even if I do know for whom I plan to vote, I will poll undecided....It is, after all, my prerogative to participate in a secret ballot!