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Academic

: Essentially Contested America

Why the Caucus Process Should Be Eliminated

By Robert Justin Lipkin

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Now that the titillating Iowa caucuses are over it's time for Americans to reflect on whether this process is democratic. Read today's NY Times for a negative answer. Here's the introductory paragraph. "The next president will serve 300 million Americans. io:

The process of selecting the president, however, starts off in a state of 3 million, in which fewer than 300,000 people are expected to caucus. Because the media attention on Iowa is so intense--and the outcome is expected to have a strong effect on states that follow--a swing in 1,000 votes here could have a dramatic impact on who is elected president. That is too much power to give to such a small group of voters." Click here for the entire editorial. Iowa's caucus system has certain civic virtues. The process gives teeth to the notion that all politics is local. In the caucus system virtually nothing but retail politics is possible. However, the results of this process simply have an inordinate and distorting effect on the process of selecting candidates. Iowa is hardly representative of the fractious groups throughout the nation. More important, keep in mind that the Founders loathed even the idea of political parties. The entire caucus/primary system should be examined in light of the Framers contempt. Eliminating this process might be impossible. Significantly reforming is not.

Full post as published by Essentially Contested America on January 04, 2008 (boomark / email).