Dec.22.2007
6:54 pm
by TeddyBear
It’s your party and you can (and should!) caucus if you want to
Dorothy Fleming, Duluth News Tribune
Published Friday, December 21, 2007
At this time of year, I often feel like the Macy’s Santa Claus in “Miracle on 34th Street,” traveling around the state, encouraging people to attend their precinct caucuses. As a character in the movie put it, sometimes I wonder if people think I’m “a little crazy, like painters or composers or some of those men [and women] in Washington.”Santa and I and even our congressional delegation aren’t all crazy. But a caucus? What’s that? Well, it’s nothing more than a glorified New England town meeting with your neighbors. You show up, listen to certain campaign pitches and decide whom you would like to win. It is not difficult, but it does require your presence.
All campaigns are organizing for the Minnesota caucuses now. This is how it should be. When I speak publicly, I invite people of all parties to attend caucuses. I’m not just rounding up Republicans, thank you, but all voters of Minnesota. Participation shouldn’t be partisan. Caucuses are for everyone. And everyone should attend. It’s their party.
My presentations are unique because while my audience is usually Republican, I routinely speak to civic groups and radio talk show audiences that are anything but. Like Macy’s Santa, I recommend to listeners that they find the party that most represents their positions on issues.
While fashionable, I disagree that I should speak and reach out only to others of like mind. I simply can’t do it. Minnesota voters deserve to see firsthand what their local, state and national party officials are advocating. A voter’s personal position may be similar to the national party’s position or it may be very different.
Times have changed, and so have the parties. Many are surprised to learn that it’s not their parents’ party. Caucuses are an opportunity for voters to learn for themselves. The alternative is autopilot.
Over the years, I’ve heard almost every reason for not attending caucuses. What a shame when the caucus affords Minnesota voters an opportunity to participate, choose candidates they want to represent them and discuss issues in the form of resolutions, some of which may become part of state and national platforms.
Anyone 18 by Nov. 7, 2008, qualifies to participate in the upcoming caucuses. Admittedly, young people don’t vote, as a general rule, and that issue is the topic of another article. Still, anyone 18 or older on that date is encouraged to attend.
I don’t know of a single-issue party, only issues that attract more attention than others. Regular caucus attendees know that the most important business of the caucus is to elect delegates to a convention where candidates are endorsed and resolutions for party platforms are debated. Imagine the reaction of politicians and newly endorsed candidates to an informed electorate.
This year’s caucuses will have a straw poll, a chance to vote for a presidential candidate. Of course, the poll is not an official election, but it does give everyone an opportunity to vote for a favored candidate. This year it is even more exciting because it’s the first time in decades there is no incumbent president or vice president on the ballot.
You don’t have to be an insider to attend. Caucuses are for people who believe in truth, justice and the American way. This is one Republican official who urges every Minnesotan to attend a caucus on Feb. 5, 2008.
Dorothy Fleming of St. Anthony is the deputy chairwoman of the Republican Party of Minnesota. She wrote this for the News Tribune.
You can find this article here:
And here:
Are you getting excited yet?
Filed in Call to Action, Election 2008, Precinct Caucuses |
