Caucus Schmaucus

I have voted in three presidential elections in my life, which is to say that I've voted in every one I was old enough to vote in. I have only helped elect the president once, because in the other two he was alternatively nominated by the Supreme Court, and elected by the evangelical theocrat populace. But oh well, why harp on it? It's not like he's gotten us caught up in a quicksand war in the Middle East or ruined our credibility with the rest of the world or anything. Oh wait....

Anyway, each election I vote in, and even the one before them which I sort of did vote in if you count a junior high mock election, I learn a little more about the process. I have learned a lot more about politics since marrying a Republican, though. (Interfaith marriages really test your faith.) But caucuses are, I'm sorry, a concept I just can't wrap my mind around. I understand primaries. You go to the polling place, declare your party-line preference, and then go vote on either a Republican or Democratic ballot and walk out with a little "I Voted" sticker. Primaries make sense to me. But caucuses are weird, like some 18th century holdover from before the concept of voting privacy became popular. I actually wonder if maybe the little voting booths in Iowa don't even have curtains. The idea of standing around for hours being forced to listen to speeches, and then raising your hand and being counted that way seems, seems, well it seems like the absolute perfect way to ensure low turn-out. Who wants to get packed into a room to listen to a last minute attempt to sway your vote? Isn't there actually a law that says people can't try to sway your vote within so many feet of a voting booth? But then again, a caucus doesn't have voting booths, and I may be thinking of an Illinois law.

I wonder why states with caucuses don't switch to primaries. Admittedly, I don't understand the caucus system so I don't know anything about it except that it has notoriously low turnout and that yesterday's caucus gave Obama what I personally hope is a great edge over the competition. But still. In a little over a year I am supposed to move to the Omaha, Nebraska area, which lies on the Iowa border. I now have one more factor to consider when deciding which side of the border to buy a house on. On the other hand, I would sit through a caucus if I had to, but I don't think Tom would. Maybe living in Iowa could save the country from one more Republican vote.