My First Caucus: One for the Memory Bank

This past Saturday, February 09, 2008, I attended my first State Caucus. The venue for my designated precinct was the Center School which is located at the Seattle Center, once built to be home to the World's Fair of 1962, the first World's Fair held in the United States after World War II. The Fair's purpose was to promote prosperity while educating and entertaining those who attended. Not unlike those who attended the fair in '62, I sought to attend the caucus as a means of educating myself about the political process and in hopes of being entertained by people who are as passionate about their politics as I am.

Within minutes of entering the room which was designated for constituents of lower Queen Anne (Precinct SEA 36-1709), groups of people were forming and they were sharing their thoughts and hopes about the candidates that they were there to support. Approximately 100 people were crowded into the classroom which would serve as our podium for political debate.

This being my first caucus, I came into it a bit naive. I imagined those who would be willing to attend such an event would be those who were well informed and might be described on the nightly news as 'activists' or 'extremists'. Afterall, that is what Hillary just called us. To my disappointment, I found myself in a room full of people who were relatively uninformed or in some cases outright misinformed. Instead of basking in a room of fellow outraged Kucinich supporters, I found myself to be a minority in a room full of people who were supporting the corporate heavyweight candidates, Obama and Clinton.

Those speaking out for Barack made false claims; "He is for Universal Health Care!", "He doesn't accept corporate money!", "He will bring real change in this country!" On the other side, Clinton supporters argued, "She has the experience that is necessary to bring change to this country!", "She will get us the Universal Health Care coverage we need!"

I remained silent, waiting for the right moment to speak. In my mind I was disappointed to hear people in the room making false claims. Could one really believe that Barack Obama does not accept corporate campaign contributions? The only candidate from either side of the aisle that has taken more of it than him was Hillary Clinton. And to believe that Hillary would bring us Universal Health Care? Hillary has taken more money from insurance companies and HMOs than every contestant in the race and has taken the second most money from the pharmaceutical giants, only coming in behind Barack Obama. On a related note, Barack comes in right behind Hillary when counting dollars from insurance companies and HMOs.

When those who were speaking out for why we should support Hillary or why we should support Barack finished, a beautiful voice emerged from the audience. She said, "While it is nice to have candidates who are ready to solve our problems, it is better to have a candidate who has the foresight to keep us out of these problems which need solving. That candidate is Dennis Kucinich. He was against the war before the anti-war movement started, he was against the PATRIOT Act from day one and he has fought for the side of every issue most of us in this room care about. Problem solving skills are great, but excellent foresight is what we need in an elected President." And with that, sanity was restored in the room. At least in my mind it was.

Moments later we were given an opportunity by the woman orchestrating the caucus to mingle with our fellow Democrats in the room. I immediately sought out the woman in the Hillary corner who was certain Senator Clinton would achieve Universal Health Care for us as a nation.

I presented the facts to her regarding Hillary's corporate backing and asked her how she could believe such a candidate could resolve the Health Care crisis we have in this country. Further, I asked her why she didn't support Kucinich when he has also proposed Universal Health Care for Americans and has explained exactly how he will do it.



While talking to this woman about Universal Health Care and Kucinich, a man who was drawn to what I was saying blurted out, "But Kucinich is a kook!"

In response, I stated, "If in this room we were not given names or faces, but were instead given numbers and under each number we were given the issues and each candidate's stance on those issues, nearly everyone in this room would support the number which represented Dennis Kucinich. The corporate media wants you to think he is a kook because they don't want the American people to be presented with the real issues this country is facing. It is an information war. That is why Tim Russert, who works for MSNBC, who is owned by GE, who is one of the greatest profiteers from the War on Terrorism, asked Dennis if it was true that he has seen a UFO rather than ask him about the issues which pertain to this country. Asking that question is what contributes to people seeing Dennis as a kook rather than a man of the people who has a remarkable voting record in congress."

Another person who was drawn to the conversation exclaimed, "But he isn't electable!"

Irritated, I responded, "Electable to who? Who is telling you he isn't electable? Is it the same media which sold you the war in Iraq? When are we going to stop listening to who CNN, MSNBC, FOX, CBS, etc. tells us who we should vote for and instead vote for who he we think can do the best job?"

Another lady said that she doesn't watch television but instead reads the New York Times.

"But Ma'am, the New York Times has advertisers. Pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, HMOs, etc. all advertise in the New York Times. The New York Times has to appease its advertisers in the same fashion the corporate news networks do. You have to do your thinking for yourself. You have to get your news from not only the news paper and the television, but the internet and independent publications like The Nation and Mother Jones. This vote you are casting today is your's, it isn't the New York Times, it belongs to you. It should be based on what is important to you, not the motives of a large and widely syndicated News Paper."

When I was done ranting, I'd had several people come up to me and thank me for my passion and said they were willing to switch their vote from either Hillary or Barack to John Edwards. My ranting resulted in earning 2 delegates for Edwards but zero for Dennis Kucinich. At the conclusion of the caucus, our room had a delegate count of; Obama 11, Hillary 2, Edwards 2, Kucinich 0. Our caucus was like most others held throughout the state, in the end Obama took the overwhelming majority.

I left the caucus with mixed emotions. On one hand I was enthused about being able to talk with people and influence how they voted that day. On the other hand, I was sad that the room I had been a part of was sending the overwhelming message, "More corporately sponsored candidates please!" At the grassroots level, I thought this would not be the case. But I went into this as a learning experience and that is exactly what it turned out to be.

In hindsight, I am not surprised with the outcome of the caucus. We are a nation which seeks to be entertained. We like drama and characters who engage us. The battle between Hillary and Barack brings the Hollywoodism American's are lusting for to the political stage on a scale which has never before been seen.

Perhaps in a future election, when the opportunity to elect someone other than a Caucasian male is no longer a new fad, the issues that truly effect us as a nation will trump all other factors. Here is to hoping for that day.