Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, said the bill would hurt many Democratic legislators' constituents.
"The bill is a ploy to cut down Democrat voting in the state of Iowa because about 20 percent of voters in Iowa are Democrats and do not own the proper identification in order to vote," he said.
He noted that there has only been one case of voter-identification fraud on record in the state's history, making the bill too harsh of a response to a small problem.
Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, said he agreed.
"The bill is a solution in search of a problem," he said. "There are virtually no cases of people trying to vote illegally. This is Schultz being cynical. This bill is preventing seniors, people with disabilities, and poor people from voting."
John Deeth - Too old to be cool, too young not to care
Friday, January 27, 2012
Friday Clip Show
Skipped out on the president in Cedar Rapids Wednesday. The event seemed largely made for national cameras and I didn't feel like there was much unique that I could add to the story.
The Register did the leg work and tracked down people from the eight "missing" GOP caucus precincts. The result is a must read for any process geek and the stories are familiar to any caucus veteran.
Our local state senators come out strong against Matt Schultz's latest variation of the photo ID bill:
Coming up next week: the February 1 deadline for state senators to declare residence, at which time we'll know for sure how many senate races will be on next fall's ballot. So far it looks like 26, just one more than normal and probably some kind of record low for a remap year. All the even-numbered seats are on the presidential cycle, and the two possible pair-ups are both even: Dem Mary Jo Wilhelm and the GOP's Merlin Bartz in 26, and a Republican primary between Jim Hahn and Shawn Hamerlinck in 46. (I still bet one of those guys blinks.) That would mean the only "extra" race is in Clinton-based no incumbent Senate 49.
Up in open House District 2 in Clay and Palo Alto. Republican Megan Hess reports raising $15,945.12 to Democrat Steve Bomgaars' $7,618.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Better Late Than Never, I Guess
Maybe I complain too much, especially since my senator Joe Bolkcom is the guy sponsoring the bill and a step forward is a step forward.
But in considering Gene Fraise's sudden surprise support of medical marijuana, my main thought is: why won't politicians support this increasingly mainstream issue before they've announced their retirement?
Even Gary Johnson, the current patron saint of the Peter Tosh platform, didn't support legalization until after his term limits kicked in.
But in considering Gene Fraise's sudden surprise support of medical marijuana, my main thought is: why won't politicians support this increasingly mainstream issue before they've announced their retirement?
Even Gary Johnson, the current patron saint of the Peter Tosh platform, didn't support legalization until after his term limits kicked in.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Bearinger Announces In House 64
Another good name on the House Dems recruit list:
So there's an Oelwein vs. Independence dimension to this as well as a partisan dimension; down the ballot the friends and neighbors factor matters a lot. But as for the partisam aspect, Rasmussen loses a couple hundred voters. The last race was pricey, with both Waterloo and Cedar Rapids TV ads. Look for another top tier race here.
Oelwein City Councilman Bruce Bearinger announced today that he will run for state representative in House District 64, which includes parts of Buchanan and Fayette Counties.Bearinger is challenging GOP incumbent Dan Rasmussen of Oelwein, who had such a touch re-election race in 2008 that he lost, to one-term Dem Gene Ficken, before winning the 2008 rematch by just 208. (With this announcement it looks like a Ficken comeback isn't happening.)
Bearinger teaches agriculture and biology at Jesup High School and has previously worked as the Education Director for ISU Extension in Buchanan County. He is also the FFA Advisor for Jesup High School and helps with a variety of community services, including farm safety, environmental projects, and charity events.
“It’s time for strong leadership at the statehouse that will put the partisanship aside and get things done for Iowa. I’ll work to find common ground on the key issues we face and keep focused on putting Iowans back to work while helping the middle class grow,” said Bearinger.
On the city council, Bearinger serves on the economic development finance committee, works on local food initiatives, and is helping develop a health and wellness survey for Oelwein. He has been a teacher in Oelwein, was a member of the Oelwein Jaycees, and a donor to the Fine Arts Guild in Oelwein.
So there's an Oelwein vs. Independence dimension to this as well as a partisan dimension; down the ballot the friends and neighbors factor matters a lot. But as for the partisam aspect, Rasmussen loses a couple hundred voters. The last race was pricey, with both Waterloo and Cedar Rapids TV ads. Look for another top tier race here.
Helland Draws Primary Challenge
From the Did Not See That Coming Department, the DI reports UI senior Jake Highfill running in House District 39, now held by Erik Helland (R-Grimes).
As you all know I'm a big fan of student candidates, but to me, this looks like one of those "Hey, I want to get involved and this is where I happen to live" campaigns. The funny part is that at age 31 Helland, first elected after a hot `08 primary and unopposed in 2010, is already one of the youngest legislators at 31.
Either way, the high-growth district shrinks a lot in redistricting and is basically just Johnston and Grimes, with Jefferson Township to the north and a small bit of Urbandale.
As you all know I'm a big fan of student candidates, but to me, this looks like one of those "Hey, I want to get involved and this is where I happen to live" campaigns. The funny part is that at age 31 Helland, first elected after a hot `08 primary and unopposed in 2010, is already one of the youngest legislators at 31.
Either way, the high-growth district shrinks a lot in redistricting and is basically just Johnston and Grimes, with Jefferson Township to the north and a small bit of Urbandale.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Obama Cedar Rapids Event Details Announced
President Obama's post-State Of The Union visit to Cedar Rapids Wednesday is going to be less pep rally and more hard-hat and safety goggles trip: a tour of Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing near the airport. They make what looks like, technical term here, big stuff.
So the audience is sort of Iowa -- we're looking like a swing state again this cycle -- but it's really more for the national TV cameras. It's employees and invited guests only, but then noon Wednesday isn't a very rally-friendly time.
Iowans wanting to see Obama speak should instead stop by a State Of The Union watch parties Tuesday night. It's a chance to gather in a room full of Democrats and watch the President on TV. You know, kinda like caucus night.
The Iowa City event is at that old Democratic standby, The Mill. Given the next day's stop, expect a meat and potatoes, jobs jobs jobs speech.
So the audience is sort of Iowa -- we're looking like a swing state again this cycle -- but it's really more for the national TV cameras. It's employees and invited guests only, but then noon Wednesday isn't a very rally-friendly time.
Iowans wanting to see Obama speak should instead stop by a State Of The Union watch parties Tuesday night. It's a chance to gather in a room full of Democrats and watch the President on TV. You know, kinda like caucus night.
The Iowa City event is at that old Democratic standby, The Mill. Given the next day's stop, expect a meat and potatoes, jobs jobs jobs speech.
Campaign Finance From The In-box
With the campaign finance filings out as of Thursday, I'm working up a big picture kind of story. This is an important stage in the triage process: serious contenders had better be in the race by now and raising significant dollars. But here's a few stories from around our fair state to tide you over while I number crunch:
They're already talking Million Dollar Race in Mike Gronstal's Senate District 8, but GOP challenger Al Ringgenberg only raised $5,745 last year and had less than $500 left in the bank. The money will come, no doubt, but Gronstal raised $349,762 last year, and has $434,275 on hand. Usually that leadership money goes to help in the tough races, but in this case Mike is the guy with the tough race. And the winner is -- Omaha TV ad sales reps.
GOP House leaderhip had a good haul, too: "Iowa House GOP leaders Thursday touted setting a record for their 2011 fundraising. (Speaker Kraig) Paulsen raised $253,914 and had $215,580 left in his campaign war chest, while House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, raised $211,631 and had $189,777 going into this election year."
I missed this announcement: Republican Jane Jech isn't letting two straight losses to Marshalltown Dem Mark Smith deter her. She has her ambitions set higher this cycle, challenging Senator Steve Sodders in Senate District 36. Finance reports show Sodders with a big cash on hand lead: $26,630 in cash on hand compared to $784 for Jech.
Democrat Desmund Adams outraised both Republicans in Polk-Dallas Senate District 22. And primary challenger Jeff Mullen outraised the moving-in incumbent, Pat Ward:
From Knoxville, a look at open Senate and House races: Greg Heartsill looks to be the main-chance contender in the retiring Republican Rich Arnold's House 28. Heartsill outraised Christian bookstore owner Len Gosseling (another announcement I missed) by several orders of magnitude. Winner sees Democrat Megan Day Suhr in the fall.
The Adams for Senate campaign raised $18,655 for the 2012 November election. Sen. Pat Ward (R) presently representing Senate district 30 raised a total of $11,095 mostly from PACS while her Republican primary opponent, pastor Jeff Mullen of Waukee, raised $13,195.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Today's Pet Theory
Hey, anyone heard from Stephen Bloom the last few days as the caucus counting crisis has hit the front page?
It's easy for us locals to forget, amidst the hurt feelings that were so intense that even Bloom's co-author on the Oxford Project basically disowned the guy, that this wasn't just bashing for the sake of bashing. There was a thesis here: that because Iowa is so culturally backward that we don't even have a kosher deli on every block, we don't deserve our first place in the nomination process.
And where is the temporary base he lobbed this grenade from? Michigan. And no one hates the Iowa Caucuses more than Michigan. Senator Carl Levin has made it his purpose in life to take the caucuses, and the New Hampshire primary, away. And Ann Arbor's even in the district of fellow caucus hater John Dingell.
There are few arguments stronger than a "your own guy says so" argument. Obviously, no one could have predicted the perfect storm of a dead-heat result, but that just makes it even petter from their perspective. You think maybe some of these Michigan pols maybe had a talk with the visitor who was from Iowa but not of Iowa?
It's easy for us locals to forget, amidst the hurt feelings that were so intense that even Bloom's co-author on the Oxford Project basically disowned the guy, that this wasn't just bashing for the sake of bashing. There was a thesis here: that because Iowa is so culturally backward that we don't even have a kosher deli on every block, we don't deserve our first place in the nomination process.
And where is the temporary base he lobbed this grenade from? Michigan. And no one hates the Iowa Caucuses more than Michigan. Senator Carl Levin has made it his purpose in life to take the caucuses, and the New Hampshire primary, away. And Ann Arbor's even in the district of fellow caucus hater John Dingell.
There are few arguments stronger than a "your own guy says so" argument. Obviously, no one could have predicted the perfect storm of a dead-heat result, but that just makes it even petter from their perspective. You think maybe some of these Michigan pols maybe had a talk with the visitor who was from Iowa but not of Iowa?
Friday, January 20, 2012
Raecker Retiring
An open GOP-leaning seat in Polk County, as House Appropriations chair Scott Raecker of Urbandale announces he's stepping down after 14 years.
The new House District 40 was familiar turf for Raecker, as it shrunk all the way into his base, the Polk County part of Urbandale. The line changes cost Raecker about 200 registered Republicans but he still had a Map Day edge of nearly 1000. With the advantage of long incumbency he was winning safely: 61% in bad year 2008 and 65% in good year 2010. As an open seat it's not unwinnable for a good Democrat in a good year, but for now list this as GOP favored till the dust settles.
In another Polk race, Democrat John McCormally exited this week, citing health issues, from the crowded open seat House 36 race (where Representative Janet Petersen is looking at a smooth transition to Senator Janet Petersen). John worked on a few campaigns over on this end of the state, including the landslide Dave Jacoby special in the summer of `03, and the Deeth Blog wishes him the best. As for House 36, it's still a crowded field that could go to a convention.
The new House District 40 was familiar turf for Raecker, as it shrunk all the way into his base, the Polk County part of Urbandale. The line changes cost Raecker about 200 registered Republicans but he still had a Map Day edge of nearly 1000. With the advantage of long incumbency he was winning safely: 61% in bad year 2008 and 65% in good year 2010. As an open seat it's not unwinnable for a good Democrat in a good year, but for now list this as GOP favored till the dust settles.
In another Polk race, Democrat John McCormally exited this week, citing health issues, from the crowded open seat House 36 race (where Representative Janet Petersen is looking at a smooth transition to Senator Janet Petersen). John worked on a few campaigns over on this end of the state, including the landslide Dave Jacoby special in the summer of `03, and the Deeth Blog wishes him the best. As for House 36, it's still a crowded field that could go to a convention.
Iowa CIty Federation of Labor Meets
A special thanks to the politicos who showed up last night at the Iowa City Federation of Labor annual chili supper. No slight meant to anyone with a schedule conflict, but I like to give credit to those who make it. The legislators get a pass for being in session, but Mary Mascher stopped by on her way home. Also on hand were supervisors Rod Sullivan, Janelle Rettig and Terrence Neuzil, Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek (who helped organize his department before the voters kicked him upstairs into management), legislative candidates David Johnson and Sara Sedlacek... and don't forget Oxford Township Trustee Patrick Hughes, re-elected as City Fed president last night. Staffers were also representin' for Tom Harkin and Dave Loebsack.
Congrats also to award winners Joe Marron, Mary Larew and the Carpenters.
Congrats also to award winners Joe Marron, Mary Larew and the Carpenters.
Getting 21 Wrong Again
Once again, the politicians are wrong on the rights of young adults:
And in Iowa City, they're sending in 20 year old ADULTS to play gotcha at Bo James, trying to drive Leah Cohen out of business. Yet still people wonder why the students are going to vote no on the jail.
Meanwhile, where law enforcement has actual problems to deal with, Broadway, they want to deal with it by... changing the street name? Chris Rock has a classic suggestion:
Great idea, Chris. Better than the real estate developers who name cul de sacs after their kids, or the 60-somethings who think they're hip and throw in an Abbey Road or a Penny Lane. If I'm ever a real estate developer I want to name streets after Marxist leaders and serial killers, or both, and then write the whole thing off as a tax loss when I can't sell lots on Stalin Street. Let's vote.
Iowa lawmakers are being asked to crack down on those who provide alcohol to minors.Hopefully this is just one of those silly season bills which dies at funnel time, but guess who's lining up behind it:
A House subcommittee began work Wednesday on House File 396,which would make it illegal for the owner, lessee or person who has control over a property that is not a licensed premises to allow a person under the legal drinking age of 21 to consume or possess an alcoholic beverage on their property.
Rep. Lee Hein, R-Monticello, said he filed the bill to address problems associated with underage drinking at house parties in college towns, “keggers” or alcohol-related events “at the back 40” of a farmstead.
“It’s just another one of the tools in the toolbox to help in the enforcement of underage drinking,” he told members of a three-person House panel assigned to consider the bill.
Jessica Harden, a lobbyist representing Iowa City, said officials there would welcome any part of the bill becoming law. “Overall, they support anything that gives them more tools to help them control alcohol locally,” she said.The "lobbyist representing Iowa City," or better yet the elected officials representing Iowa City, should be taking completely the opposite approach. Insert my standard rant: the problem isn't "underage" drinking, it's the drinking age itself. My read of the Constitution is an 18 year old is an adult.
And in Iowa City, they're sending in 20 year old ADULTS to play gotcha at Bo James, trying to drive Leah Cohen out of business. Yet still people wonder why the students are going to vote no on the jail.
Meanwhile, where law enforcement has actual problems to deal with, Broadway, they want to deal with it by... changing the street name? Chris Rock has a classic suggestion:
Great idea, Chris. Better than the real estate developers who name cul de sacs after their kids, or the 60-somethings who think they're hip and throw in an Abbey Road or a Penny Lane. If I'm ever a real estate developer I want to name streets after Marxist leaders and serial killers, or both, and then write the whole thing off as a tax loss when I can't sell lots on Stalin Street. Let's vote.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Happy Anniversary, Howard
From the inbox, Howard Dean makes a pitch, one of many today, for an Elizabeth Warren money bomb:
Though today may eventually go down as the biggest event in caucus history for now the Dean Scream, which followed the much more important Dean Disappointing Third Place, is still high on the list. The Dean Scream, by the way, is still my ring tone, instantly recognized by Democrats everywhere.
On a happier note, the 1/19/10 date that was a downer for Democrats in Massachusetts and nationally was a good day here in Johnson County, as Janelle Rettig won her special election for county supervisor.
Today is the two-year anniversary of Scott Brown's special election. He's playing up the anniversary to officially announce his reelection campaign and he's probably going to raise huge sums of money from big contributors because of it.If I was Howard Dean, I wouldn't be reminding anyone of anniversaries today. Because today is the eight year anniversary of the 2004 caucuses:
Though today may eventually go down as the biggest event in caucus history for now the Dean Scream, which followed the much more important Dean Disappointing Third Place, is still high on the list. The Dean Scream, by the way, is still my ring tone, instantly recognized by Democrats everywhere.
On a happier note, the 1/19/10 date that was a downer for Democrats in Massachusetts and nationally was a good day here in Johnson County, as Janelle Rettig won her special election for county supervisor.
Iowa Parties Need A Hand
I spent another night on the phone last night, doing post-caucus detective work in the role I've played for five presidential caucus cycles now, co-chair of the county credentials committee. I was asking folks Which committee are you on, are you a delegate or alternate, what's your email. Little stuff, but still a fair chunk of work on my own time. No complaints; I signed up for the job.
So today I feel sympathy and solidarity with Matt Strawn and the crew over at the Iowa GOP, who had to swallow hard and announce that 1) there were eight out of 1774 precincts that are never going to be found and 2) the numbers from the 1766 they DO have now show Rick Santorum on top.
Here's hoping the national press is sidetracked by Rick "the Platypus" Perry dropping out and endorsing Newt "the Newt" Gingrich today.
Nate Silver, the best numbers guy in the biz, tweets: "The 8 caucus sites that Iowa says it lost and cannot certify, Santorum won 81-46 based on election night counts." You can't just add that in, but it does lend an additional feather of strength to the 34 Santorum... win?
I don't trust Republicans on everything, but I've worked with enough of them on caucus stuff to know they take it as seriously as I do, and I really believe that Strawn and Crew did the best job they could tracking this stuff down.
But my hope, my desperate hope, was that they'd come up with a number that was 1) 100% transparent and 2) had a Mitt number greater than the Santorum number, not for Romney's sake but for Iowa's.
Well, now Iowa's secret is out there: our beloved caucuses are a volunteer operation. And some mistakes happen. Not out of a venal back-room vote stealing kind, that wouldn't fly. Just plain human error. And I know as well as anyone that an all-volunteer operation can get spread too thin. For all the excesses of money in our political structure, at the most local level the ball game is still an amateur sport.
Looking at my own local team, our activists are clustered in a few precincts. But on caucus night you have to get someone from East Pole Bean to chair the East Pole Bean caucus. In real elections you could bring in someone from another precinct and have them vote absentee early. With no absentees in the caucus, if you bring in a caucus chair from another precinct, that person has to give up their vote. And I've seen county chairs do that, skipping their own caucus to drive to the far corner of the county and waiting for no one to show up, just to make it all happen.
And you might not have any good volunteers in East Pole Bean. Or you might have a volunteer who's good at the phone bank but over their head running a meeting. Counting the votes is a different skill set than getting out the votes. Or you could have a volunteer whose finger slips punching a result number into a cell phone. Or -- and this happened to us -- a precinct chair who has a family emergency and has to leave town at the last second.
And all this is at the worst possible time, when all the regular volunteers are off busy with campaigns, and in the last couple of cycles right over the holidays.
I can't say exactly that those specific things happened to the Iowa GOP in 2012, but that's the kind of things that happen.
The caucuses are too important to Iowa to let us become a punchline to all the old Florida jokes. The spotlight is too intense for all the volunteer excuses I just made.
We party activists need some help. And we have the people to do it: our Secretary of State, county auditors, and poll workers. (Full disclosure: I work for the county auditor, on the accounting side of the office, but at election time we all help.) I don't have an exact plan, and I still want to see the parties running their own show. We don't want to be "too much like an election" and incur the wrath of our uneasy ally New Hampshire. But there's an existing infrastructure of people who are used to doing the paperwork and reporting kind of stuff, even if it just means recruiting some of the same experienced people on their own time.
It's also a good time, even as the excitement of the caucuses fades away, to get involved in the party of your choice, in building that precinct by precinct organization. A lot of those committee spots went unfilled on caucus night, and us old timers on both sides would love to have you.
It’s something to consider as we face the latest criticism. The expectations bar for the caucuses has been raised far above their town meeting origins, and planning ahead for additional resources, public and partisan, is the only way we have a hope for keeping first place.
So today I feel sympathy and solidarity with Matt Strawn and the crew over at the Iowa GOP, who had to swallow hard and announce that 1) there were eight out of 1774 precincts that are never going to be found and 2) the numbers from the 1766 they DO have now show Rick Santorum on top.
Iowa GOP Releases Certified Iowa Caucus Presidential Preference Vote Totals
Des Moines, IA – The Republican Party of Iowa today released the final, certified vote totals of the January 3 Iowa Caucus presidential preference vote. The final, certified vote totals represent 1,766 of the state’s 1,774 caucus precincts, and reflect a record-breaking 121,503 Iowans who participated.
2012 Iowa Republican Caucus Certified vote totals (1766/1774 precincts certified)
Rick Santorum 29,839
Mitt Romney 29,805
Ron Paul 26,036
Newt Gingrich 16,163
Rick Perry 12,557
Michele Bachmann 6,046
Jon Huntsman 739
No Preference 147
Other 86
Herman Cain 45
Sarah Palin 23
Buddy Roemer 17
Total (1766/1774) 121,503
Certified vote totals were unavailable for eight of Iowa’s 1,774 precincts. Full, certified vote totals per precinct are available online at www.iowagop.org.
“Just as I did in the early morning hours on January 4, I congratulate Senator Santorum and Governor Romney on a hard-fought effort during the closest contest in caucus history,” said Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn. “Our goal throughout the certification process was to most accurately reflect and report how Iowans voted the evening of January 3. We understand the importance to the candidates involved, but as Iowans, we understand the responsibility we have as temporary caretakers of the Iowa caucuses.””
As Strawn noted during the January 4 announcement of unofficial caucus night vote totals, Iowa GOP rules provided for a 14-day period by which each of Iowa’s 99 counties were required to submit a Form E document from each of the caucus precincts within the county. The Form E document is the official record of the presidential preference vote in each of Iowa’s 1,774 precincts. The deadline for county Republican officials to submit the Form E documents was 5 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, January 18. Following Wednesday’s deadline, Iowa GOP officials were able to certify results from 1,766 of the state’s 1,774 precincts.
Strawn noted that a hallmark of the Iowa caucuses is the openness and transparency within which the proceedings occur. Not only do voting Iowans and presidential campaign representatives have the opportunity to observe the vote counting in each of the state’s precincts, but each presidential campaign had senior campaign officials in the Iowa GOP’s official tabulation center on caucus night.
Strawn indicated this openness and transparency will continue during the post-certification period as the Iowa GOP will be making the precinct caucus Form E documents submitted during the certification process available for review to both presidential campaign officials and members of the media.
Here's hoping the national press is sidetracked by Rick "the Platypus" Perry dropping out and endorsing Newt "the Newt" Gingrich today.
Nate Silver, the best numbers guy in the biz, tweets: "The 8 caucus sites that Iowa says it lost and cannot certify, Santorum won 81-46 based on election night counts." You can't just add that in, but it does lend an additional feather of strength to the 34 Santorum... win?
I don't trust Republicans on everything, but I've worked with enough of them on caucus stuff to know they take it as seriously as I do, and I really believe that Strawn and Crew did the best job they could tracking this stuff down.
But my hope, my desperate hope, was that they'd come up with a number that was 1) 100% transparent and 2) had a Mitt number greater than the Santorum number, not for Romney's sake but for Iowa's.
Well, now Iowa's secret is out there: our beloved caucuses are a volunteer operation. And some mistakes happen. Not out of a venal back-room vote stealing kind, that wouldn't fly. Just plain human error. And I know as well as anyone that an all-volunteer operation can get spread too thin. For all the excesses of money in our political structure, at the most local level the ball game is still an amateur sport.
Looking at my own local team, our activists are clustered in a few precincts. But on caucus night you have to get someone from East Pole Bean to chair the East Pole Bean caucus. In real elections you could bring in someone from another precinct and have them vote absentee early. With no absentees in the caucus, if you bring in a caucus chair from another precinct, that person has to give up their vote. And I've seen county chairs do that, skipping their own caucus to drive to the far corner of the county and waiting for no one to show up, just to make it all happen.
And you might not have any good volunteers in East Pole Bean. Or you might have a volunteer who's good at the phone bank but over their head running a meeting. Counting the votes is a different skill set than getting out the votes. Or you could have a volunteer whose finger slips punching a result number into a cell phone. Or -- and this happened to us -- a precinct chair who has a family emergency and has to leave town at the last second.
And all this is at the worst possible time, when all the regular volunteers are off busy with campaigns, and in the last couple of cycles right over the holidays.
I can't say exactly that those specific things happened to the Iowa GOP in 2012, but that's the kind of things that happen.
The caucuses are too important to Iowa to let us become a punchline to all the old Florida jokes. The spotlight is too intense for all the volunteer excuses I just made.
We party activists need some help. And we have the people to do it: our Secretary of State, county auditors, and poll workers. (Full disclosure: I work for the county auditor, on the accounting side of the office, but at election time we all help.) I don't have an exact plan, and I still want to see the parties running their own show. We don't want to be "too much like an election" and incur the wrath of our uneasy ally New Hampshire. But there's an existing infrastructure of people who are used to doing the paperwork and reporting kind of stuff, even if it just means recruiting some of the same experienced people on their own time.
It's also a good time, even as the excitement of the caucuses fades away, to get involved in the party of your choice, in building that precinct by precinct organization. A lot of those committee spots went unfilled on caucus night, and us old timers on both sides would love to have you.
It’s something to consider as we face the latest criticism. The expectations bar for the caucuses has been raised far above their town meeting origins, and planning ahead for additional resources, public and partisan, is the only way we have a hope for keeping first place.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
An Unconventional Convention
This is a bigger deal than people think:
I don't think the convention, an institution nearly as archaic as the electoral college, will ever fade away completely. (What is gone forever is the political junkie's ultimate fantasy: the brokered convention.) The delegate seats are just too big a perk for the mid-level politicos who compete for them. The longest delegate fight I ever saw was in an uncontested year, 1996. We were voting until 3:45 AM at the state convention for the last national delegate seat.
Three kinds of people get elected out of district and state conventions as national delegates, but 95 percent of that is one kind of people.
I remember a line of eighty-four people waiting to speak and running for four Obama delegate seats at the `08 2nd CD convention. Mostly fresh-faced youngsters, but some long time veterans as well, as national delegate is kind of a lifetime achievement award. At that 2008 district convention, the first of those 84 people elected was former House Democratic leader Dick Myers, who amazingly had never been a national delegate before. Dick was one of the first six people in the whole country to back Jimmy Carter back in 1975, and even that was only good enough for national alternate.
That's most of the delegates and serious contenders. Legislative committee chairs, mayors, state central committee members, former congressional candidates.
Sometimes, though, national delegate is a Rookie Of The Year prize. Usually one of those fresh-faced youngsters gets elected out of the whole state. That's a good thing, and a lot of these folks are all-star activists, at least for a cycle or two. Sometimes they stay active longer, other times life intervenes. But they work hard at it while they're around.
Then there's the fluke winner, again usually one in the state per cycle. The person who no one has ever seen before who decides: "I want to get involved in politics! I'll start simple by going to the national convention so I can learn about it!" having no clue how hard that is. And they get lucky. Give a good speech, maybe have the right combinations of demographics (a big deal at Democratic conventions), and capture the zeitgeist of the day. They get third and fourth and fifth choice votes on the early ballots and make it to the late rounds. (Democrats make you use all your votes on every ballot; if it's a Vote For Five ballot you have to use all five.) Their friends stick around late while supporters of the also-rans drift away after 1:00 or 2:00 AM, and they stumble into a win. Such is democracy.
The old-timers hide their disappointment that their lifelong friend just lost, welcome the n00b, and hope she or he turns out to be a Rookie Of The Year.
The newcomer goes to the convention, gets their picture taken with some famous people, comes home... and never shows up at the phone bank. You see them once, probably on the stage when the vice presidential nominee comes through the state. Four years later, you look at an old list and have no idea who that person was.
Just describing a phenomenon here, not trying to be elitist.
Which leads to the subject, much discussed in 2008 but an afterthought this cycle, of the superdelegates, the high-level officials who are automatic national delegates on the Democratic side. One problem with getting rid of the superdelegates that isn't discussed much: If the congressman has to run against the 84 fresh-faced youngsters and mid-level officials, the congressman will win. And the congressman doesn't want to beat the fresh-faced youngsters and mid-level officials, because that win will hurt some feelings and alienate some folks.
The three day convention is also the latest convention ever, concluding on September 6. Historically the out party went in mid-July and the president's party in early August. The Democrats went in late August in 1964 and 1968 at the bequest of LBJ's ego, as he wanted his conventions to run over his August 27 birthday. Of course, `68 wound up not being "his" convention after all, and the Democrats had less time to reunite their bitterly split party. That wound up taking 40 years anyway but who's counting.
It was the Republicans who first broke the September barrier in 2008. They also, sort of, broke the four day barrier, scuttling most of their Monday proceedings to look sensitive as a hurricane headed to the Gulf coast.
Third party activists will note -- did, in fact, note in 2008 -- that September is after the filing deadline in many states including Iowa, a legal issue that the major parties frankly fudged in some cases. I know the importance of a good campaign kickoff, which this convention is clearly meant to be. But I'm also enough of a rules and credentials geek (post-caucus work is still cutting into my writing time, dear readers) that I believe in fair play.
In addition to announcing that President Obama would deliver his acceptance speech at Bank of America stadium, Democrats also said yesterday that they were shortening the convention from four days to three. (On Labor Day, they will instead gather at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for a day of organizing.) Make no mistake: This change will have a lasting repercussion. We likely won’t ever see four-day conventions any more. Also, given that they have just three days to work with, Democrats have a potential primetime scheduling challenge on their hands. How do you find three days to fit in primetime speeches by Obama, the first lady, the vice president, the keynote speaker, and Bill Clinton (who you know will want to receive speaking time)?Of course, with Labor Day as an "organizing" day it's still de facto four days.
I don't think the convention, an institution nearly as archaic as the electoral college, will ever fade away completely. (What is gone forever is the political junkie's ultimate fantasy: the brokered convention.) The delegate seats are just too big a perk for the mid-level politicos who compete for them. The longest delegate fight I ever saw was in an uncontested year, 1996. We were voting until 3:45 AM at the state convention for the last national delegate seat.
Three kinds of people get elected out of district and state conventions as national delegates, but 95 percent of that is one kind of people.
I remember a line of eighty-four people waiting to speak and running for four Obama delegate seats at the `08 2nd CD convention. Mostly fresh-faced youngsters, but some long time veterans as well, as national delegate is kind of a lifetime achievement award. At that 2008 district convention, the first of those 84 people elected was former House Democratic leader Dick Myers, who amazingly had never been a national delegate before. Dick was one of the first six people in the whole country to back Jimmy Carter back in 1975, and even that was only good enough for national alternate.
That's most of the delegates and serious contenders. Legislative committee chairs, mayors, state central committee members, former congressional candidates.
Sometimes, though, national delegate is a Rookie Of The Year prize. Usually one of those fresh-faced youngsters gets elected out of the whole state. That's a good thing, and a lot of these folks are all-star activists, at least for a cycle or two. Sometimes they stay active longer, other times life intervenes. But they work hard at it while they're around.
Then there's the fluke winner, again usually one in the state per cycle. The person who no one has ever seen before who decides: "I want to get involved in politics! I'll start simple by going to the national convention so I can learn about it!" having no clue how hard that is. And they get lucky. Give a good speech, maybe have the right combinations of demographics (a big deal at Democratic conventions), and capture the zeitgeist of the day. They get third and fourth and fifth choice votes on the early ballots and make it to the late rounds. (Democrats make you use all your votes on every ballot; if it's a Vote For Five ballot you have to use all five.) Their friends stick around late while supporters of the also-rans drift away after 1:00 or 2:00 AM, and they stumble into a win. Such is democracy.
The old-timers hide their disappointment that their lifelong friend just lost, welcome the n00b, and hope she or he turns out to be a Rookie Of The Year.
The newcomer goes to the convention, gets their picture taken with some famous people, comes home... and never shows up at the phone bank. You see them once, probably on the stage when the vice presidential nominee comes through the state. Four years later, you look at an old list and have no idea who that person was.
Just describing a phenomenon here, not trying to be elitist.
Which leads to the subject, much discussed in 2008 but an afterthought this cycle, of the superdelegates, the high-level officials who are automatic national delegates on the Democratic side. One problem with getting rid of the superdelegates that isn't discussed much: If the congressman has to run against the 84 fresh-faced youngsters and mid-level officials, the congressman will win. And the congressman doesn't want to beat the fresh-faced youngsters and mid-level officials, because that win will hurt some feelings and alienate some folks.
The three day convention is also the latest convention ever, concluding on September 6. Historically the out party went in mid-July and the president's party in early August. The Democrats went in late August in 1964 and 1968 at the bequest of LBJ's ego, as he wanted his conventions to run over his August 27 birthday. Of course, `68 wound up not being "his" convention after all, and the Democrats had less time to reunite their bitterly split party. That wound up taking 40 years anyway but who's counting.
It was the Republicans who first broke the September barrier in 2008. They also, sort of, broke the four day barrier, scuttling most of their Monday proceedings to look sensitive as a hurricane headed to the Gulf coast.
Third party activists will note -- did, in fact, note in 2008 -- that September is after the filing deadline in many states including Iowa, a legal issue that the major parties frankly fudged in some cases. I know the importance of a good campaign kickoff, which this convention is clearly meant to be. But I'm also enough of a rules and credentials geek (post-caucus work is still cutting into my writing time, dear readers) that I believe in fair play.
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