Posted on 01/10/2016 9:34:44 PM PST by Rebelbase
Question: What is the history of the Iowa caucus system? How did it originate in place of normal voting at the polls like the rest of the country has done since its founding?
My speculation is that it is social event in the dead of winter in an area of the country where people would have stayed cooped up on the farm, IOW and excuse to get out of the house and have a party. But that's just a guess.
I've searched on google and the results are too cluttered with political stories to ferret out and answer.
Thank-you for your interest!
The general history to this is that it started after the convention period of 1968, and it seems that the locals wanted this to unite people in some way....to avoid all the frustrations that were going on within the US at the time. You can imagine the idea...getting people to come out....spend two or three hours with neighbors and having to engage in thoughtful conversation with a peaceful end.
Caucuses have had a role in the nominating process going back to the early nineteeth century. In the early days, however, party caucuses were meetings of party leaders closed to the general public. In the 1820s, then-presidential candidate Andrew Jackson “and other reformers railed against what was called the ‘King Caucus,’ in which a caucus of members of Congress essentially chose the political party nominees,†says Spitzer. Even after the advent of the modern political convention in the 1830s, caucuses used to be “pretty much limited to people who were members of party organizations, insiders who were usually the only ones who even knew about them,†says Abramowitz.
The majority of states chose their delegates in caucuses prior to 1972. After the 1968 election, in which Republican Richard Nixon beat Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey for the presidency, the Democratic Party created the McGovern-Fraser Commission, which recommended reforms to make the process “more open to rank-and-file participation,†says Abramowitz. To comply with those recommendations, the Democratic Party in many states switched from a caucus to a primary election. The Republican Party in many states followed suit when changes were made in state legislatures around the country, says DePaul’s Steger, and primaries became the dominant means of selecting delegates.
I think that the RNC prohibits any primaries prior to New Hampshire’s. The caucus system is a way around that prohibition.
It is a reminder that, historically, the American republican (representative) form of government was not based on mass popular vote. We really were not intended to be a "democracy" by our founding fathers, and for very good reason, as we have increasingly had to face since the progressive debacle of the early 20th century.
I suspect you might be right, but OTOH, let’s go back ANYWHERE in this country and people were more sociable esp in rural areas, and yes this was an opportunity to not just show up and throw in your ballot but to discuss the candidates. It is 180 degrees from any other. I think too, because people can change their minds once they know the truth. I have a room full of staff that are sooooooo clueless about the candidates, the issues, the stances each takes, that they will wait until a day or two, or the day to think about it, then vote. On the down side, Iowa, hasn’t picked a winner for some time now, no? I think, at these caucuses the evangelicals will win out for whomever they are backing. I like Cruz, but I read somewhere that he’s bringing outsiders to help canvas the voters? Trump’s people are locals. The other thing is Cruz has support from people who are regulars to these things, whereas Trump is getting new voters, and people perhaps who are democrats? How does that work? Don’t you have to change part affiliation to vote in that caucus? The more foul language Trump uses, the more he bashes Cruz, no matter how he disguises it, the more times he comes out and says that current football is soft, ( baseball more so, I think, with the no running into catcher rules), the more votes will go to Cruz. That’s my opinion of course, but what do I know... nothing.
I think your history is the correct one. Only party leaders were allowed to vote, and weren’t the senators elected by the state congress?
Trump says he for term limits. I am sure he is. How about Cruz and the others?
They can peer pressure people easier when they can see who they caucus with.
The caucus system of party organization dates to the early US. Caucuses choose the delegates to the county, Congressional Distict, state, and then national conventions who chose the party’s candidates. In recent years, most states have introduced party primary elections for choosing their candidates. Some still use caucuses. Iowa has a primary for all offices except President.
N.H. is heading in the same direction. Meaningless.
S.C. is in reality...the first primary.
JMHO.
Thank-you everyone for your comments.
There are a few other states that use the Caucus system.
Click for a link.
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/events.phtml?s=c
Iowa caucuses are local party organizational meetings to elect officers and consider platform planks. If you don’t have neighborhood meetings where you live, how are local party officers and platform planks determined?
The presidential preference straw vote was an afterthought to counteract boredom.
Until this cycle, the presidential preference vote did not award the ‘winner’ anything. It has been the MSM and and political junkies going full retard that have mislead people about the Iowa caucuses.
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