Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumWhy keep Iowa's caucuses? Andrew Yang does the math on the influence of our state
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, speaking to several hundred young voters last weekend, said he understood why many young Americans are politically disengaged and why Iowans are different:
The fact is if you engage in our politics, it can be really depressing, it feels like people arent talking to you, and you despair that your time and energy is not going to actually bear any improvement on your life, your way of life. And its not just that chunk of young people who are deciding to disengage. Twenty-five percent of Americans are politically disengaged because they dont believe that we can actually solve these problems. I understand completely.
The reason why Im here in Iowa along with the other parade of candidates, is because this is one of the only places where what I just said is patently false. You all can actually make a big, big difference. If I were in any other state in the country, Id be lying to you if I said your vote could make a big difference, but here, it can. You only need about 40,000 Iowans to change the future of this country.
Yang was making one of the strongest cases Ive heard so far this cycle about why the Iowa caucuses are important and why Iowans should participate. He goes on:
I did the math: Do you know how many Californians each Iowan is worth? One thousand.
That is the magic of this state. This is the only place where democracy actually works.
Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/kathie-obradovich/caucus/2019/09/26/why-keep-iowa-caucuses-andrew-yang-does-math-young-voters/2446242001/
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
pnwmom
(108,925 posts)of "where democracy actually works."
It's the opposite, really. Democracy works when everybody gets a fair chance to participate -- so the more active voters, the better.
Having read the whole article, it seems that the main reason Iowa carries so much weight is because it's one of the first primaries or caucuses. But it could hold a primary on the same date the caucus is now held and still be among the first.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
JI7
(89,182 posts)because they want the status of "first primary in the nation" .
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
TexasTowelie
(111,316 posts)The media and campaign staffs have to eat and sleep somewhere.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
ritapria
(1,812 posts)I'm not too thrilled with Iowa .He is only polling at 11% right now ...Iowa could end his campaign But on a more serious note , .I don't understand why Iowa and NH have to be the first 2 states every cycle .. I have been of that opinion for many years....Why not , for example, New Mexico and Rhode Island the next cycle and so forth and so on ? ..I think the process should start with 2 small states so candidates who don't have a lot of money have a chance to compete
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Dagstead Bumwood
(3,528 posts)Not to impugn the political chops of the good folks of Iowa and New Hampshire, but it doesn't seem fair that they always get to go first.
As you suggest, a reasonable solution would be to rotate states each presidential election cycle. Maybe even go further and group them by proximity. So, for instance, you could group Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio together and call it the "Great Lakes Primary" and that group would vote first on the same day in early 2024. Then in 2028, they are the last primary group to vote and the Florida/Georgia/NC/SC "Southeast Primary" gets to go first. You could balance it by population totals to even up the state count a bit, I guess. But, you get the general idea.
I don't know, something needs to be done with the current system, that's for sure.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Tarheel_Dem
(31,211 posts)are in no way representative of the real Democratic base. It's unfair that two small, predominately white states should shape the outcome of our nominating process.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Garrett78
(10,721 posts)...that don't remotely reflect our electorate has long been ridiculous.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)In a democracy, California would have far, far more say in who gets elected President, Iowa a lot less.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
DrFunkenstein
(8,745 posts)In small states like Iowa and New Hampshire, you can do retail politics where there is actual face-to-face between the voters and candidates.
The two early states in general also take their responsibility very seriously and make an effort to see the various candidates around.
It's not an ideal situation and perhaps other states like South Carolina and Nevada could rotate, but I would hate for us to lose that personal contact. This coming from someone in a state where the race is generally over by the time they get to me, and we vote so reliably Democrat that it is just out of civic duty (and keeping those popular vote numbers high).
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided