Raucus Caucus

Saturday afternoon will find Dave and me at the first ever Democratic caucus in the state of Nebraska. Two weeks ago we went to the practice event so we would know what would happen. It will be interesting. There are 3,250 registered Democrats in Seward County. Usually when the county group gets together five or six people show up for a meeting. I have never attended one. At the practice caucus there were 22 people in the room. A nice young man, Eric Van Horn, was there from the state organization to show us the ropes. We did it using JFK, Thomas Jefferson, Bill Clinton and FDR as our candidates. The group divided up into four areas of the room, one for each candidate, and one group of undecided voters, just like what will happen tomorrow, except that we have lost one candidate and will only have Clinton and Obama supporters. A group has to have 15% of the total number of participants to remain viable. A spokesperson is chosen from each group and gives a speech trying to encourage people from other groups to "jump ship." Time is alloted for realignment and people can change their minds and move to a different group. After that I get a little fuzzy on the details, so it is a good thing I am not in charge. I think what happens is that each group with at least 15% of the total is viable and the number of delegates if figured from there. It is NOT winner take all. Seward County only has one location for its caucus, the Seward Civic Center and it will be interesting to see how many folks show up.