Inevitable?

It's been a long time since I have featured a "Logical Lady" of the media. Today we have Salena Zito, writing about a process that people who do not live in a "caucus state" understand. It seems that at least one Presidential candidate is trying to figure it out!

How do you stop the Bush-Clinton, Bush-Clinton inevitability?
Well, if you're Barack Obama, you continue to begin each speech in Iowa with the phrase, “If you haven’t signed up for our campaign, please do so now.”

Iowa remains political rocket fuel. It has the power to change the "inevitability"
that Hillary Clinton will be the next president. But first you have to win the
Hawkeye State. To win Iowa means understanding it. Many Americans likely don't understand the caucus process. And considering that only 124,000 of the state's nearly 2 million registered voters showed up to caucus in 2004, most Iowans don’t either.

Minnesota is a caucus state. Because I didn't grow up here, I think I have a little more of an appreciation of the process where the natives take it for granted. For those of you who don't know what the process is...

Caucusing is a very public and time-consuming process. Voters don't walk into a
private booth and pull a lever or touch a screen. Instead, they gather at meeting places and begin a night of horse trading. Voters begin by standing with the “preference group” representing the candidate they support. But before any
tallying begins, there could be some bartering among preference groups in an
attempt to persuade defections.
Finally, the tally: A candidate must hit a 15 percent threshold in each caucus group to be considered viable. If your first choice is not viable, then either you go for your second pick or walk around and shop among whatever viable candidates are left standing -- all under the watchful eye of friends and neighbors.

The key to the caucus process (if you are a candidate) is to get your people there! If you are running for an office that gets an endorsement, caucus night is where it begins. Delegates for the BPOU convention are picked on caucus night and the only way to go to the conventions up the line (Congressional District, State and National) are chosen at that lower level. You can go to state convention as a "first timer" (as I did). It's that simple! Senator Obama has learned this simple fact!

How does Obama entice his young demographic? By holding caucus “boot camps” --
mock caucuses to introduce them to the experience and make them comfortable with it. Obama's organization also is training precinct captains who can recruit
voters from other preference groups while holding the Obama preference group
intact.

Caucus night, in Minnesota, is February 5. If you are concerned about the direction of the Republican Party in Minnesota or if you just want to have a say in who Minnesota prefers for President then you need to set aside a few hours that night to go to your precinct Caucuses. The Minnesota GOP website will have a list of caucus locations at their precinct finder. Or keep your eye on your local newspaper. Caucus locations will be publicized in your local paper. Either way, set your VCR or Tivo to record your programs and get to caucuses. You will not regret it....and if you live in the Savage Lands, you just might see me there!