Article Contributed on: 2/6/2008 4:29:08 PM
I had never been to a political caucus before, but I have to say that I liked it. It made me feel a lot more a part of the process of electing a president than in previous years when our "primary" voices did not really matter.
For one thing, the candidates had already been selected since our caucuses used to be held late spring rather than on Super Tuesday. Secondly, I got to share enthusiasm with my neighbors, not just about the candidate of my choice but the idea that no matter who won, we were participating in the decision.
I saw my neighbor next door whom I haven't seen all winter. I saw the gal down the street who spells her name the same as mine. And I saw a friend who didn't even know I was a Democrat (maybe because I was a Republican last century).We had a lot to catch up on, that is after we tallied the votes and filled in the forms for our precinct.
The voting took a lot less time than the getting organized. So many more people turned out than expected that we had to get extra forms for voters to sign in. I volunteered to be precinct secretary, so it was my job to keep track of the sign-in sheets as well as the outcome. I knew before anyone else that we had given
Obama 3 delegates to
Clinton's one.
I'm not quite sure how the process really works after this, except I know that those delegates go to the county assembly and then there is a state convention before the big national convention which for the Democrats is in Denver the end of August. I would love to take part in that, but I think it's best to let those who have been involved in politics and the party for longer than I have.
I've pretty much just been a voter before this year, who also watched the returns with some anticipation. Last night, however, I loved going home and turning on the national news to see the results from most of the country before Colorado's votes were counted. And the fact that they counted, that felt the best, to know that finally my voice and my neighbors' mattered.