And What About That Other Caucus? (You Know, the Democratic One!)

Lately, you've been reading a whole lot about the action on the G-O-TEA side both here and elsewhere. And of course, that's because their primary field is still contested and awfully unsettled. But last night, I attended a caucus training... For Nevada Democrats, held by Southern Nevada Stonewall.







Why?

Well, here's the secret. As Zeke pointed out back in October, the whole purpose of a caucus is party building. And ever since 2008, Nevada Democrats haven't stopped doing that. And after looking at the game plan for January 21 and beyond, it's clear that the NSDP has been thinking about how to regain momentum after all the Republicans' fanfare inevitably whimpers off.

Let's face it, Nevada Republicans have assured their caucus won't mean anything after February 4... And now, there's a chance it won't mean anything BEFORE February 4! They can't settle on a uniform time and set of procedures. They won't do anything but toss ballots into a box. They won't even be trying to "rally the troops" and sign them up to volunteer at caucus locations. It looks like the NV GOP has settled for nothing more than a glorified straw poll.

Nevada Democrats, on the other hand, are constantly bugging local volunteers to get on the phone, knock doors, do voter registration tables, and bring as many eligible Nevada voters as possible to caucus locations. Democrats will be spending at least two hours at the caucus discussing the candidates, policy platforms, party organization, and volunteer opportunities. Local candidates will also be heard from on the 21st. All in all, the Democratic caucus model looks to be another opportunity to gin up enthusiasm and further strengthen the already reviving Obama campaign.

In the coming days, I'll be writing more about that supposedly "boring" Democratic Caucus and explaining exactly why it's anything but "irrelevant" or "dull".