Amateurs in the Political World

They didn't give me a sticker for voting tonight, and I wanted one, so I made myself one!

Whew, caucusing is hard work guys! Standing in line for 3 hours to put your little drop in the bucket is not an incredibly enticing prospect, but boy was it a valuable experience.


By the nature of this being the first presidential election I was not on my mission during, this is the first opportunity I have had to be really politically engaged during a major election cycle, and I have been learning so much.


Here's the thing about my voting experience, though: the learning has been difficult. I'm not talking about learning about the candidates, I'm just talking about learning how to vote! Searching as thoroughly as I could, I found little-to-vague information on how exactly I can register to vote, how exactly a caucus works, where it would be, or how long it would go, let alone how to make it a good experience.


If information like this is largely unavailable, how can our citizens feel prepared to participate? I had many friends who did not go because they misunderstood the requirements for attending! There are so many roadblocks in the way of the average citizen (essentially the equivalent of an amateur, as discussed in class) being civilly active as it is, this seems like a fairly simple thing we could develop a solution for - a simple, thorough guide on what to expect from the experience, and how it works.

My brother and I at the Democratic Caucus! 3/22/16

So, this is what I have resolved to do: I am going to borrow a page from the success of amateurs in the 21st century and collaborate with my other fellow amateurs to create something that will be useful in helping us all become a little more skilled like the professionals (after all, isn't that what politics in the US is supposed to be all about, putting the power in the people's hands?). I am going to become active as a volunteer with the local political organizations, and help them with just what the name for that group implies they should be - being well organized. Along with volunteering locally, I am going to interview other who went to caucuses and then create a blog post that walks through my caucus experience, borrowing from added info from others who were there, and explains what to expect and how to be prepared.


My hope is that my post will be helpful and insightful enough that it assists at least a few to be more involved next time this comes around!

How the March 2016 Utah Caucus Changed my Personal Politics

I really didn't think I would start getting so involved in the political process. Nor did I think I would change or evolve my party affiliation. Of course I planned to vote, but this 2016 election cycle (as all know) has some unique dynamics that drew me in.

This registered Republican has crossed the aisle and joined the Democrats. Last night at our neighborhood caucus meeting I became an official delegate from my voting precinct to the Democratic county convention.

I'll tell my tale, but let me skip to the bottom line: 

1. Online discussion both frustrated and inspired me to say and do more about politics, both online and off; and, 
2. While the distress over current presidential nominees was an impetus, in-person discussion among family members and the experience of the local caucus meetings propelled me into changing my party affiliation and rolling up my sleeves to do more than express opinions. 

Presidential-sized Problems

Is it wrong that when I think of this Presidential Election, this meme comes to mind?

Let's make the Caucus Digital!

Black Friday or Political Caucus? It's hard to tell File:Black Friday by Powhusku.jp

The Utah caucus are done and after viewing the results all I can say is "Hallelujah"! It was amazing to see so many people out to vote on both sides of the isle. It's inspiring to see democracy in action but how can we improve it? I think we need to get even more people involved by taking the caucus into the digital age. 

Wake Me When I Care

Because I had to work last night (horrible, I know!) I was unable to attend my party's political caucus.  I have, however, done my research on not only my party's candidates, but also the candidates of other major parties.  In doing so, I have come across some pretty neat things about each candidate, and I have stumbled on some not-so-neat things.  As we are talking about politicians, here, that is no surprise.  The trend that I've noticed in my research, however, is what I call "hate grouping".

Hot Dogs or Hot Topics: Which Wins Votes?

Last Saturday, I was feeling a little peckish, so I went down to J-Dawgs, the locally famous hot dog joint. Since the restaurant is fairly small and local, I didn't think I'd run into anyone I knew there. I certainly didn't think I'd run into Ted Cruz.

Yeah. This one.

To my chagrin, I was about two spaces back in line, watching a presidential candidate order a hot dog.

I was witnessing a fairly common campaign strategy. The presidential hopeful, dressed in an unassuming plaid shirt and slacks, trying the local specialty. Bonus points if the food is something as common as a hot dog. Ted Cruz was doing his best to appear as the common man.

The best part was that the tactic was unashamedly obvious. In fact,  as he was leaving the building, I heard his speech-writer say these exact words to him, "Remember, you love the Mormons, you love the people of Utah, it's a beautiful state with a rich heritage."

The problem is that it worked.

I knew full well that the "common man" act was just that: an act. I knew that the news van parked outside was not there by accident, and that he would have never stopped in the restaurant without an adviser's tip-off. Despite all this, I still felt a commonality with the candidate. We were held together with the strong bond that only fast food can provide. The reason candidates keep using these tricks is because they work. When we see them in such situations, we ignore the fact that the whole thing is staged, because our emotions kick in. We'd rather believe their appearance than the fact.

I know next to nothing about Cruz's policies, to be honest. I don't know if he's an honest guy. I'm not sure of his ethics. But I know that one time, he bought a hot dog at the same restaurant I was in. And sometimes that's enough to win a vote.

Returning to be Heard

This country was established so that every citizen within its borders would get to cast their voice in with others to choose their leaders. However, statistics show that only 60% of America is represented in the votes for leaders. With such strong roots for individualism, when did we let our voices fade away?

I will go back. That was my decision as I left the caucus tonight.

-The Caucus Mass-

This evening's experience at the Republican caucus was both enlightening and terrifying. I arrived 15 minutes before 7pm and the masses began to form around different parts of the tiny elementary school. My first observation was how many people of all walks of life were there, but especially students! I overheard a lot of them saying, "what's going on?" or, "what does this even mean?" It took at least 30 minutes to find the right line and then another 15 to get my ballot. You could tell that the true decorum of the event was taking all the staff by surprise because there were way more people than they expected to show up.

On the Other Side

Hanging chads: a personification of the many
challenges America's democracy faces.

I'm a democrat, registered in the state of California. My wife, however, is a registered republican here in Utah. I felt bold and attended our corresponding republican caucus with my wife. This was my first caucus, and as such, I was surprised by several observations: