Caucus Report from 2/2/10

[MineralMan]

In State Senate District 67, St. Paul East Side, turnout was very low at last night's caucus. My precinct, W-6 P-13, had only 6 people in attendance, and had one of the lowest attendee count. In the past, the precinct has not had a Chair or any other officers, but we fixed that last night. I'm now the precinct chair, and three of the attendees were willing to accept the rest of the precinct offices. I managed to cajole everyone there to serve as delegates to the Senate District convention in March. At the next caucus in 2012, I plan to have the highest attendance of any precinct in our district. The activism starts today, and I'll be creating a website for our precinct.

I'm posting this information to make a point. This caucus was an opportunity for anyone who wanted to to take a grassroots leadership position. In almost all precincts, anyone who is willing can become a precinct officer, and probably the chair for that precinct.

This is how progressives can take control of the Minnesota DFL, precinct by precinct. Precinct officers are part of the District council. It's too late, now, to move into precinct leadership. Next chance is in 2012, and the opportunities will exist then, despite it being a Presidential election year.

It is my contention that it is possible to assume most leadership positions in the Minnesota DFL within four years. Not just the precincts but the district level and, perhaps even the state level within six years. But, this will only happen if progressives take action to put themselves forward for grassroots-level leadership positions. It can happen, but only if people who care make it happen.

[bluescribbler]

1. I see the same thing in my Massachusetts

Two years ago I was elected chair of my ward committee. I am now recruiting new members. The state committee says I can have up to 35 members. Because my city committee hasn't ben able to approach that number in any ward, they agreed to a voluntary limit of fifteen members. (This hapened years before I got involved.) Currently my ward committee boasts 7 members. I want to push the envelope. I want to get us up to fifteen, and to have enough of a waiting list that I can then push for the statewide limit of 35. I know it's an ambitious goal, but I think it's worth striving for.

[MineralMan]

3. Good work.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Yes, it is much easier in Minnesota than in many other states

We had 78 people attending (northern half of Linden Hills in southwest Minneapolis), but only about 50 wanted to be delegates, and we were eligible for 63.

Attendance was definitely lower than in 2008 (when the registration line snaked halfway around the block, literally), but still pretty healthy, judging from what other people have reported.

[MineralMan]

4. Our precinct only gets 19 delegates. So, we're short this year.

In the next two years, I'm going to work very hard to build the activity for the precinct caucus in 2012.

I have a basic precinct website online now. The District site will add a link, and I'll get links to it from several other places.

http://saintpaulw6p13.blogspot.com/

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. When I worked on the Kucinich campaign in 2004, I and another volunteer walked my entire

precinct over the course of a few weeks, talking to people and leaving off leaflets.

Linden Hills is about 80% Dem, so everyone was disgusted with Bush, and we had something like 250 people (as opposed to 40 the previous year) show up.

[MineralMan]

6. Our precinct is very small, physically.

It's also very Democratic, but has relatively low turnouts, so I'm going to put together a GOTV campaign for it, along with a voter registration drive. It won't be hard. I could walk the whole precinct myself in a couple of weekends.

[DFLforever]

7. My caucus in St Paul SD 64 A( Mac-Groveland) was

lightly attended. We were entitled to 35 delegates, but had only 25 attendees. We did get volunteers for all the SD convention committees and filled two of the three precinct offices without difficulty. You're right about how easy it is if you want it. A woman who has only lived in the precinct 3 mos is now precinct chair. She had no competitor!

I enjoy electoral politics but very much dislike party politics. I've worked on a lot of campaigns and love door knocking but I've never liked being close to the mechanics.

I had to force myself to attend the caucus. Largely as an antidote to the futile consumer politics that prevails on-line.

[becxx]

9. Would you please explain

DFLforever, would you please explain what you mean by "futile consumer politics that prevails on-line". I personally cannot tolerate sites such as DailyKos because they basically combine repeated information readily available elsewhere with nasty posts from overly zealous friends(?). You know the problem, with rude, insulting and screaming friends such as these, who needs enemies? But, I was wondering what you mean?

[DFLforever]

11. Those are just the kind of people I was thinking of.

Though a poster on Booman Tribune put it more succinctly than I could re pissed off lefty bloggers. "They ordered a burger with fries. They didn't get their fries".

Health Care Reform drove a lot of people crazy and they weren't all on the right.

[Brickbat]

8. Good thing all those non-traditional voters and hordes of young people kept that momentum going.

Oh wait.

[dflprincess]

10. You think turnout was bad this year?

Wait until 2012 when, odds are, there will be no serious challenges to Klobuchar or Obama.

[Brickbat]

12. Yup.

I'm just sick of the lie that THIS!!!1! YEAR!!!11! Young people are FINALLY ENERGIZED! And now will be forever!

[glinda]

13. yea that is what Mass. thought too. I count on NOTHING. Take NOTHING for granted.

[dflprincess]

15. I was referring to serious challenges to Obama & Klobuchar from within the party

the lack of them will keep DFL caucus attendence down. Minnesota Republicans will probably have a better turn out in 2012 than we do. Just as DFL caucuses were swamped in 2004 and 2008.

[Bjorn Against]

14. Can't blame this entirely on young people...

Older voters did not turn out for these caucuses either. We only had seven people at our caucus, and those seven people included young and old. Seven people in a precinct of thousands is pathetic and a problem that far reaching can not merely be blamed on the young or "non-traditional voters".

[Brickbat]

16. No, I don't blame young people at all.

I blame the older folks for thinking that somehow the Obama revolution would be different.