Don’t let party identification keep you from the caucus

My first opportunity to attend an Iowa caucus during a presidential election year was in 1988. I had moved to Iowa in 1985 and was working in downtown Des Moines. With both political parties up for grabs, the caucuses were attracting a lot of media attention. The last couple weeks before the caucus, I would see about 20 satellite uplink trucks in the downtown area when I came to work.

With all that excitement, it never occurred to me not to attend. Now I tend to be surprised by the number of long-term Iowans who have never attended a caucus. It has made me wonder why so many people who vote in elections don't attend caucuses. We discussed reasons that people might not attend at our recent Gazette Writer's Circle meeting.

I think many people lack a strong party identification, and that deters them from attending caucuses. I've never felt like I fit into either major political party, but I was fascinated by the caucus process and wanted to be part of it. Before my first caucus in 1988, I learned that the Republicans cast a ballot and the Democrats gathered in preference groups for each candidate. I decided that I didn't care enough about any of the candidates to stand in a preference group, so I decided to attend the Republican caucus in my precinct.

People also find the caucus process intimidating or don't feel they understand it, and that also discourages attendance. My experience has been that many first-time caucus goers leave after the initial straw poll. Delegates get selected for the county convention and they miss out on that process. I've seen cases where the candidates supported by the delegates selected did not reflect the results of the straw poll, but that can happen if many supporters of one candidate leave before the delegates are determined.

They also miss the opportunity to discuss and vote on party platform planks. I find that part to be a fascinating example of grassroots democracy that you don't get in other states. You get to hear passionate discussions about potential planks, and there can be debates and votes over minor changes in wording. You see how it takes compromise to draft language that satisfies people in one precinct of one political party, which should help us to understand that compromise is a necessary part of the political process. (I was disappointed when I attended my precinct's Democratic caucus in 2008 and we had no discussion of platform planks. They simply said that we could provide statements and they would submit them all to the county convention.)

I think that people should also recognize that Iowa's leadoff status in the presidential election process could come to an end. I think it makes sense to start the process in smaller states like Iowa and New Hampshire where candidates have to practice retail politics. That doesn't mean the parties won't decide that Iowa has had its turn and let some other state lead the process. I think that Iowa voters should appreciate the unique opportunity that we have and participate in it.

I've always believed that people who don't vote forfeit their right to complain about the results. Applying that same logic to the caucuses, I encourage all Iowans to participate in the process.

' Steve Chamberlin has spent most of his adult life in Iowa, and has attended both Republican and Democratic caucuses. Comments: editorial@thegazette.com