No way to fudge the Iowa caucus votes, right??

[elizm]

I feel confident Obama will win when the vote count is accurate.

[wyldwolf]

1. so you're pre-excusing an Obama loss.

[jaysunb]

2. sounds like reality is setting in.

better get you a big dose.

[elizm]

3. I'm asking a question....

No way to fudge the Iowa caucuses, right?

[jaysunb]

6. hard to say

but I can tell you from past experience, Iowa polls can be very unreliable in both directions. You just never know until caucus night.

[elizm]

7. I wasn't asking about polls. I was asking about votes. nt

[Ethelk2044]

13. Nope he will win, bottom line.

[wyldwolf]

14. did I ask you?

[Pirate Smile]

4. They don't count ballots, they count bodies. All the people for each candidate

get grouped together.

[XemaSab]

5. If the number of people for a particular candidate isn't enough to get the candidate a delegate

then the people for the candidate pick another choice.

Being second choice for Iowans can win a candidate a lot of votes.

[elizm]

8. Thanks for the explanations. That's what I was thinking...

They will be counting bodies and the count can only be accurate. I like that.

[Freddie Stubbs]

28. What about robots?

Warning: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVnkd7ot_pw

[illinoisprogressive]

9. these are people who are going to vote for sure. Obama is the most liked and

like my husband and I say, he is a president. He has all the qualities to make a great president, looks like president and is someone who makes people proud of their country again.

[CK_John]

10. A caucus can easily be controlled by peer pressure or a bully who knows the

mechanics of a caucus. A load mouth and a little knowledge of Robert's Rules can control a caucus.

[NoPasaran]

11. If you had some sort of super-magnet

You could use it to drag everyone with any metal on their persons into a particular group. Bwah hah hah!

[CK_John]

12. I have been in caucus where racial slurs and job loss treats where screamed across a gym. A caucus

can easily turn into a mob action.

[ISUGRADIA]

17. What county did this happen in?

[Pirate Smile]

19. What the hell kind of caucus was that and where was it?

[CK_John]

20. It was in Lansing, Mich during the McGovern run. n/t

[smalll]

24. lol - I'll be looking for that excuse if and when Hillary wins Iowa.

It was super-magnets! That's why {non-Hillary candidate} didn't win! Damn Hillary and her super-magnets!

[Greyhound]

15. Do they use hand-counted paper ballots? n/t

[ISUGRADIA]

16. No, the vote is not a secret one

You allign with a candidate group and 15% is needed to get a delegate. Delegates are counted, the raw vote is not.

caucus attendees have to publicly declare who they support.

For example, 5 delegates at a caucus, 100 people in attendance:

1st round

Obama 30
Clinton 25
Edwards 25
Biden 7
Kucinich 3
Dodd 5
Undecided 5

Obama, Clinton and Edwards have over 15% and are viable. The other candidates are not. So their supporters have to find people to join them or join another group.

2nd round

Obama 32 2 delegates
Clinton 25 1 delegate
Edwards 28 1 delegate
Undecided 15 1 delegate

[CK_John]

18. No, in a caucus you form groups in the corner for each candidate. If your group

doesn't get 15% of the total number of people at the caucus, your group is disbanded and you go and join another candidate group.

A lot of wheeling and dealing and screaming can go on in quest of these freed caucus goers.

Finally the group with the largest count get that portion of the delegates for that precinct and these delegates advance to the state caucus or national convention.

State caucus rules vary a little but this is an overall picture.

[sandnsea]

21. Iowa caucus 2004 was live on CSpan

None of what you're talking about happened there.

[CK_John]

23. I don't know how you get each precinct caucus on TV. These are usually held in

schools mostly, some firehouses.

There may have been a state caucus held a month go so after the precinct caucus to select the convention delegates.

[sandnsea]

26. Cameras all over

Homes, libraries, schools. Several. There are also DUers who went to the caucuses. What you're describing did not happen in Iowa.

[CK_John]

27. I wish the big 3 networks would do that, I don't have cable.

[NoPasaran]

30. There were two live

CSPAN showed a fairly large caucus held at a school or civic building of some kind, CSPAN2 apparently showed a small one held in a private home.

[smalll]

22. lol Well don't the Dean people have some big story about how Iowa was "stolen" from them?

I don't remember how it goes exactly, but it was very long and involved and vehement. Some of the real diehards allege that there are secret Srebrenica-like mass graves of Orange Hats out there in the Iowa cornfields, slaughtered by Edwards and Kucinich operatives working in unholy alliance. Am I close?

[NoPasaran]

29. No, we lost Iowa fair and square

[Pirate Smile]

31. I caucused for Dean in 2004. There were more Kerry and Edwards people.

It was just a matter of numbers. The DK people did go to Edwards because they didn't have 15%. There were a couple of Clark people (he didn't campaign in Iowa), one joined the Dean people, one left. The Gephardt people left (they didn't have 15%).

Kerry got 4 delegates, Edwards got 3 delegates and Dean got two delegates.

I discovered my neighbor was a Dem (she was with Kerry) and my daughters Brownie troop leader was a Dem (she was with Kerry also).

The only time anyone tried to convince people to go with their candidate was after the initial count where the Kuch, Gep and Clark people didn't have 15%. It was polite persuasion with someone from each of the groups (Kerry, Edwards and Dean) talking to them individually. The people who already knew who was their second choice just went over to that group (and were very warmly received).

That was that. I didn't know anything except what happened in that room until I got home and saw Kerry won and the numbers were essentially the same as how it broke down within my caucus.

[quinnox]

25. OF course if Obama comes in third place (which is very possible)

I can guess there will be many threads saying there was a conspiracy or cheating to deny Obama his rightful victory.

Because Obama could not lose fair and square right? LOL