Democratic Iowa Caucus – Ageism and Representative?
I’ve never been to a caucus, have you? Don’t know what a caucus really is? Don’t feel bad; I don’t really know either (since I’ve never experienced one), but here’s some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_caucus
The process sounds interesting to me, but also slanted towards senior community members (i.e. ageism). What I mean is: if I were a younger voter (which I think I probably still am—as well as one of those bleeping Gen Xers who always disappoint at the polls [1]), would I have the skills necessary to persuade others to support my candidate? Or how about just deflecting hit-jobs and mud-slinging? We all know how dirty politics is and, if you don’t know: Democrats tend to eat their own [2].
Trying to put myself into the position of a caucusgoer, I can just imagine that the 40-60 bunch (the average caucusgoer in Iowa is 53 [3]) would be much more effective delegates for their candidate with trying to persuade the undecided or those whose candidates aren’t viable (which will be the case for Biden, Dodd, Gavel, and probably Kucinich).
Not only are they (or, at least, should be) more savvy, but they have the experience of politics-past—they lived it as adults, which is powerful ammunition with which to be both offensive and defensive for one’s candidate.
Sure, some younger delegates might be very well-read and prepared (perhaps they’ve been members of a debate-team), but the average 20-something enthusiastic delegate probably doesn’t have the chops to debate Mr. Wilson…even though Mr. Wilson may be jaded and fearful/obstinate to change, which I think any reasonable person agrees is needed for the country. Don't you?
The debate is at the center of the caucus. It’s not a “go cast your ballot”—it’s a “go campaign for your candidate” sort of thingy [4].
From what I hear (back in 2004 the night of the Iowa caucus on the DFA blog), this was one of the downfalls to Howard Dean’s campaign in Iowa (pre-scream [5] and is always a downfall to Dennis “My Wife Elizabeth is a Goddess” Kucinich--yowza!): he lacked sufficient supporters with experience, who were unable to convince 60 year old undecided Ms. Mabel to stand with them instead of Mr. Wilson, who stood by Mr. Establishment John Kerry. Howard Dean is risky and the older people get the less risks they take. Truth!
Tangent: That’s not a very nice description of the Senator from Massachusetts. Truthfully, I like a lot of what John Kerry says (and I appreciate his verbosity—especially written) and I certainly admire, appreciate and respect his service to the country, but he did not and still does not have much charisma. For better or for worse, charisma and charm are necessary qualities in today’s over-hyped MEdia age.
Point of Post: How representative are caucuses? I think pretty darn representative, truthfully. There’s always bias (like when an Iowan runs), but a lot of youth vote like their parents (especially with their second choice--I know I did!)…and seniors vote the experience of establishment when they’re not sure. And with this excellent round of Democratic candidates this year, it’s easy to be undecided. My answer is this blogger's opinion, of course.
Question: Would you want a zealous co-ed or Mr. Wilson as your caucus delegate if you were running for POTUS…or as W says: the “Commander guy”? [6]
I’m undecided because today’s youth vote is different than yesterday’s thanks to things like blogs.
[1] http://www.futuremajority.com/node/741
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/27/bill-clinton-rewrites-his_n_74402.html
[3] http://www.newsweek.com/id/42439
[4] http://www.pww.org/article/view/4661/1/198/
[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5FzCeV0ZFc
[6] http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/bush-im-the-commander-guy/
The process sounds interesting to me, but also slanted towards senior community members (i.e. ageism). What I mean is: if I were a younger voter (which I think I probably still am—as well as one of those bleeping Gen Xers who always disappoint at the polls [1]), would I have the skills necessary to persuade others to support my candidate? Or how about just deflecting hit-jobs and mud-slinging? We all know how dirty politics is and, if you don’t know: Democrats tend to eat their own [2].
Trying to put myself into the position of a caucusgoer, I can just imagine that the 40-60 bunch (the average caucusgoer in Iowa is 53 [3]) would be much more effective delegates for their candidate with trying to persuade the undecided or those whose candidates aren’t viable (which will be the case for Biden, Dodd, Gavel, and probably Kucinich).
Not only are they (or, at least, should be) more savvy, but they have the experience of politics-past—they lived it as adults, which is powerful ammunition with which to be both offensive and defensive for one’s candidate.
Sure, some younger delegates might be very well-read and prepared (perhaps they’ve been members of a debate-team), but the average 20-something enthusiastic delegate probably doesn’t have the chops to debate Mr. Wilson…even though Mr. Wilson may be jaded and fearful/obstinate to change, which I think any reasonable person agrees is needed for the country. Don't you?
The debate is at the center of the caucus. It’s not a “go cast your ballot”—it’s a “go campaign for your candidate” sort of thingy [4].
From what I hear (back in 2004 the night of the Iowa caucus on the DFA blog), this was one of the downfalls to Howard Dean’s campaign in Iowa (pre-scream [5] and is always a downfall to Dennis “My Wife Elizabeth is a Goddess” Kucinich--yowza!): he lacked sufficient supporters with experience, who were unable to convince 60 year old undecided Ms. Mabel to stand with them instead of Mr. Wilson, who stood by Mr. Establishment John Kerry. Howard Dean is risky and the older people get the less risks they take. Truth!
Tangent: That’s not a very nice description of the Senator from Massachusetts. Truthfully, I like a lot of what John Kerry says (and I appreciate his verbosity—especially written) and I certainly admire, appreciate and respect his service to the country, but he did not and still does not have much charisma. For better or for worse, charisma and charm are necessary qualities in today’s over-hyped MEdia age.
Point of Post: How representative are caucuses? I think pretty darn representative, truthfully. There’s always bias (like when an Iowan runs), but a lot of youth vote like their parents (especially with their second choice--I know I did!)…and seniors vote the experience of establishment when they’re not sure. And with this excellent round of Democratic candidates this year, it’s easy to be undecided. My answer is this blogger's opinion, of course.
Question: Would you want a zealous co-ed or Mr. Wilson as your caucus delegate if you were running for POTUS…or as W says: the “Commander guy”? [6]
I’m undecided because today’s youth vote is different than yesterday’s thanks to things like blogs.
[1] http://www.futuremajority.com/node/741
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/27/bill-clinton-rewrites-his_n_74402.html
[3] http://www.newsweek.com/id/42439
[4] http://www.pww.org/article/view/4661/1/198/
[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5FzCeV0ZFc
[6] http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/bush-im-the-commander-guy/
Labels: 2008, democratic candidate, iowa caucus, presidential election
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