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So, Should I Caucus?
The Iowa caucuses will come to their tumultuous conclusion Monday. I live in Sioux County, here in the northwest corner of the state, and from what I can tell, Cruz, Trump, and Carson are the candidates of choice here. Carson will probably do very well, as this area is both very conservative and very religious. The various precincts will have large public rooms or gyms assigned for meeting, and the Democrats will probably gather in someone’s basement. My pastor encouraged everyone this morning to participate in the caucus and make their voice heard. I do believe in fulfilling one’s civic duty, and my vote and advocacy (primarily against Trump) would have some non-zero value.
Problem is, I’m not a Republican.
I dropped out of the GOP about a decade ago, because they failed in their responsibilities too often. They simply didn’t seem to be worth supporting any longer, and the party pays only the barest lip service to my values and beliefs. To paraphrase Reagan, it’s not so much that I left the party, but they left me. I’m officially declared as “No Party” in the voter rolls. (Not that this has in the least dissuaded the GOP from sending me stacks of junk mail.)
I have zero affection for or loyalty to the GOP. I also have no strong opinion for anyone left in the field, though I do despise Trump. Right now, I’m nearly certain that I’m not going to bother showing up tomorrow night.
But still, this is a civic duty, and the primaries this year are consequential. What does Ricochet think? Should I show up at the caucus, re-register as a Republican, and participate in the process?
Published in General
Objectively speaking, today you’re one of the most powerful people in the world. There’s probably not a person on this planet whose life is apt to be completely unaffected by things the United States does or doesn’t do in the coming four years: by the decisions we make about war and peace, by the technologies we develop, by our economy, by the norms we set, by our culture. Assume a record turnout and 350,000 people in Iowa caucus. There are seven billion people on the planet. This is probably the most powerful day of your life. I wouldn’t waste it.
Mixed feelings. I greatly resent the Democrats who vote in Republican primaries to saddle the right with the worst possible candidates, but it sounds like you are more interested in having a good candidate saddle up.
If he rejoins then taking part in the proceedings of the club is not dishonest.
it is your duty to stop Trump
he is an existential threat to conservatism and limited government
his election would set conservatism back a generation
Regardless of who you would prefer as the nominee, the best way to stop Trump is to stop him in Iowa, and the only way to do that is to vote for Cruz.
You’re freaking me out.
Where do you live? Chicago? “Vote early and often!”
Please go. I live in New York and won’t be able to participate in the primary process until it probably means nothing. You don’t know what I would give to have your power right now. You have a chance to strike a blow against Trump when you still can, and you might not do it?
I can’t even fathom.
Please go and caucus! You can help determine the GOP nominee and start clawing the party back to where you stand.
Come with me and caucus for Rand!
I think the most important priority in voting is to stop bad actors from getting power. In the primaries, I think our most important priority should be stopping Trump from getting the nomination.
I gave Ted Cruz a small donation, mainly because I’m worried about Trump. I like Ted Cruz a lot, but my worries about Trump are more compelling. I didn’t expect to be donating any money in primary season, but Trump motivated me to do so.
I think most of the Republican candidates would make fine presidents, but I don’t think Trump is a good choice.
It might be worthwhile to participate in the Democratic caucus, but personally I don’t think either of the Democratic candidates is that much worse than the other.
I like this comment a lot. We need to remember that political change is almost always gradual, and virtually invisible when it’s happening, both on the social level and on the personal level. While I can actually remember the moment I stopped being a Democrat, it was a very gradual process that led up to that tipping point. The people who persuaded me to become conservative don’t know the fruits of their efforts, and likewise I know that if I ever succeed in changing someone’s mind, I won’t actually have the pleasure of seeing it happen. We have to have faith.
Belt should have the courage to stick to his convictions. Don’t caucus tonight, Belt. You gave up on the GOP and by doing so abdicated any right to complain about the way things have turned out.
Well, I’m back. I’m a Republican again, though I don’t know how long that will last. Turnout was exceptionally large tonight. Carson did fairly well, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be an afterthought. Trump did fairly poorly here in Orange City. The interesting thing is that Rubio was the clear winner, with Cruz (my pick) in second place.
I’ll be checking out the Ace of Spades Decision Desk for details on how the state ends up.
I can say this: My lack of enthusiasm has not abated a whit.
Thank you.
Good work, Belt.
Well done, you.
Maybe it doesn’t feel like it, but you played a bigger role in giving the whole world a bit of faith that Americans still think that’s a serious office than most people will in a lifetime. Still early days, but how often do you contribute to an event that makes the front page in India, Europe, and the Middle East, with everyone, pretty much, saying in so many words that they respect Americans a lot more today than they did yesterday? Even the Sanders turnout is a healthy sign. To me it suggests that people in Iowa don’t think that private server was “no big deal.”
My gut says the world’s a little bit safer today. The “inevitable” Trump story was making Putin salivate, and I reckon he’s been thinking, “Obama plus an inevitable Trump means now’s my chance — Obama won’t do anything and Trump will approve of my strong leadership.”
I feel safer today knowing that Vladimir Putin woke up, saw this news, and cursed.
Thank you.
Stop getting your optimism in my pessimism!
Eh, I don’t know about this. Even if Putin thinks that Trump sincerely admires him and his rule in Russia, do foreign leaders and governments think that Trump can be trusted or relied on? Politics is politics, still.
Not entirely. But guys like Putin understand that guys like Trump can be just as easily manipulated as guys like Obama. It’s just a different set of actions with which to take advantage of the imbalances inherent in each.
Putin dabbles in judo, but the principles of opponent balance manipulation are just as applicable in political and military settings.
Eric Hines
I agree with this assessment, and this is what I meant.