A Caucus 

Some states hold primaries, some states hold caucuses, some states like Texas hold both.  The Democrats in the state of Idaho hold caucuses.

 

With my new found desire to ensure Obama was elected, I soon realized that every vote and every delegate won or lost would impact whether he would become the candidate for president.    Gaining delegates was a huge hurdle, and I was hopeful he would exit the first Super Tuesday as the clear winner for the Democratic Party.  At Obama’s rally, quite a few volunteers asked if we were going to attend the caucus on Super Tuesday.  They noticed our children, and described the event as a “family affair”, “a carnival type atmosphere welcome and accommodating to families”.  Still uncertain of whether we should take two six-year olds and a four year-old, we called the Democratic Office.  They highly recommended their attendance.

 

I had no idea what to expect at a caucus, so we packed-up the ladies and arrived at the Qwest arena ready to support Obama.  Two congressional districts were holding their caucus at the same location.  The line for the caucus literally wrapped around the block, and there was a fair amount of confusion around which line was the correct line for each congressional district.  Rachel, 6, and Malia, 4, immediately backed-out.  We took them to the babysitter.  Hannah stalwart to the end decided that she would stay with us.  I will have to admit that having a child at the caucus was a benefit.  After about 10 minutes in an unmoving line, Hannah announced that she urgently needed a restroom.  After a short negotiation, we were allowed to enter.  Once we were inside the arena, we were handed a ballot.  We voted, and then found a seat in a very packed arena.  My husband was not so fortunate.  At 7 pm, volunteers were sent outside to close-off the line.  They were handed a ballot, and were told that they would have to vote outside.  Ballots were collected, and they were told they could depart.  Only a few additional people were allowed inside the caucus, and my husband became one of them.

 

With Dave by my side and Hannah on my lap, the caucus began.  Carnival is not exactly the description I would give to the caucus – zoo or maybe circus would have been more appropriate.  The arena was packed and noisy as people chanted for their chosen candidate.  With around 14,000 votes, I believe that there were more people in attendance at the Ada County caucus than every caucus in the state of Idaho for the previous presidential election.  The numbers were unplanned.  It is not easy to be a Democrat in Idaho.  I have clear memories in second grade of voting for the President – Carter vs. Reagan.  There was only one vote for Carter.  Instinctively, we all knew it was Adam who was shunned on the play ground for weeks to follow.  At first, I felt as if I were trespassing on a hallowed ground.  You could feel pride and see a sense of relief in many people’s eyes as the chanted “I’m a Democrat” knowing that no one was there to judge them.  For many it was a hard fought victory.

 

Each candidate had a representative speak on their behalf.  While I am not supporting Hillary Clinton, I appreciated the comments from Bethine Church, the wife of Frank Church a Democratic legend from Idaho who protected Idaho land and even ran for president.  We heard from Dave Bieter who supported Obama, and did an excellent job.  After the speeches, we waited for the vote to be announced.  Every 15 or 20 minutes they would tell us only a few more minutes.  Finally at around 8:45, they announced the numbers.  In the state of Idaho, a candidate has to have 15% of the vote to receive a delegate to the state convention.  It was clear from the numbers if every undecided and every Edwards vote changed to Hillary, she would receive ZERO – absolutely no delegates from our congressional districts.  The crowds went wild.

 

At that point, many people chose to leave the convention – Obama decimated Hillary, there was no comeback for her.  We sat to watch the rest of the proceedings, and were really interested to determine how the candidates were selected to attend the state and eventually the national convention.  They allowed 30 minutes for people to change their votes, and then went through the process of counting the votes.  During this time, my daughter played on the stairs.  Dave and I started visiting with some of the people around us.  New acquaintances seemed like old friends after visiting for the next two hours.  Finally the vote was in – no big surprise Obama had all of the delegates from our caucus.

 

Join my next post for a dialog on the selection of delegates for the Idaho state convention.