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Raucus Caucus
By Administrator | January 19, 2008
Nevada has spoken. A great majority of our Republican residents, in their infinite wisdom, favored Mitt Romney well over the other contenders. Ron Paul took second place over John McCain, then came Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, and Rudy Guiliani. The last-place candidate turned out to be the hardly-known Duncan Hunter who announced his decision to drop from the race after five disappointing finishes.
This was my first experience with the caucus process and I must say I was very disappointed with the way the local party handled the procedure. The first big problem cropped up when the location that was supposed to have been reserved, but wasn’t, and mailers had already been sent out with that address. Despite attempts to get the word out about the change, some people still turned up at the incorrect spot. Enough people found the right place to cause massive overcrowding, with ten precincts in one location, and I heard the ballots were gone long before everyone was covered. I don’t think what we did could actually be considered an official caucus because those of us who arrived early enough were allowed to sit in the room just long enough to fill out a ballot before we were shooed away for the next group. The experience was quite frustrating and disappointing for me and the people with whom I spoke during the hour we stood in line together.
While I don’t feel my attendance made much impact, I’m glad I was able to get a feel for the makeup of a portion of the local Republican party. Our home is situated in an area of older homes between the lower-income eastern portion of town and the upscale western edge. Needless to say, the average attendee at my caucus turned out to be older and somewhat more affluent and I can’t say that I really agreed with their opinions on our candidates.
Republicans across the nation don’t seem to be strongly behind one particular candidate and this will definitely hurt the party in the long run. The Democrats seem to have much better options this time around and I have a feeling that the 2008 election will go to one of their candidates.
The “first in the West” Nevada caucus didn’t accomplish much on the Republican side - except to, hopefully, teach the local parties that they need to have alternate plans in place for any contingencies that may happen at future events such as these. Northern Nevada Republicans also need to stop relying on the Las Vegas office to handle everything.
Better luck next time…
Topics: Current Events |
