I'd like to hear these practical, viable solutions for job creation in the US that he claims people are happy about. All I seem them discussing is abortion, foreign affairs, contraceptives, and the caucuses.

I know all I care about is economic recovery plans laid out in straight terms instead of soundbites about how whatever area they are is the one they are most concerned with, etc etc vote-mongering BS.

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:

>> ^criticalthud:
what's with the shitty music? like we need a crappy emotional score to move us.

Not to be an ass, but you don't happen to know the score do you? I like this piece, even if I am trying to be subtly manipulated by it


ha! fo sho. nope no idea. i guess every piece of music gets a bit smarmy once its attached to a candidate.
don't stop believing!

>> ^criticalthud:

what's with the shitty music? like we need a crappy emotional score to move us.


Not to be an ass, but you don't happen to know the score do you? I like this piece, even if I am trying to be subtly manipulated by it

Yea I've been watching this, and it's pretty fucked up. States just purposefully not counting a counties result, or pushing off a caucus to purposeless not get it counted toward the total. If I lived in Main, no matter who I was in favor for, I would be outraged and I'd be trying to form a protest.

As to why the voting process is secret and analog.. it's obviously because the republican party is fucking backwards. They never left the 50's.

I wasn't around (or at least clued in) at the time, but my dad frequently talks about the days when candidates were determined in "smoke filled rooms by the party big-wigs", rather than in caucuses and primaries. His take on that is that it is sort of nice to have the democratic process included in that initial stage, but that in all honesty the finger-on-the-pulse party bigwigs probably chose better, more electable candidates than the current system does.

In my home state of Kansas, the religious right-wing-nuts show up in force for primaries while a lot of the more moderate republicans are at home waiting for the actual election. That tends to push the party candidate further and further to the right, and results in situations like when the Kansas state Board of Education got filled with enough nut-bars to try to keep evolution out of schools. Only after that fiasco did enough of the moderate republicans realize that their votes are important in the primaries, too.

Maybe the whole caucus and primary system needs to have some high visible major trainwrecks like this to draw some attention to its deficiencies. Maybe things have to get worse before they will get better. Small comfort to Ron Paul and his supporters (I'd count myself as one).

The Maine caucus may be small, but is has shown to be rather explosive. Supporters of the Maine caucus remind us that it isn't the size of the caucus that is important, but how it is used. It looks like the Maine caucus will be on the tips of our tongues for quite a bit longer.

>> ^longde:

What motivated you to caucus and would you do it again? I assume from your comments you would not.>> ^Crosswords:
I caucused once, it was a complete cluster fuck and completely open to corruption. I also find it hilarious that Republicans are always bitching that democrats cheat, and yet here in their own party is some pretty blatant cheating. Those with a guilty conscience are more likely to think others are guilty too.



Lets see, there was the general lack of nobody knowing what was going on, the drunk guy getting in a shouting match with the only person who seemed to have any idea of what was going on, waiting a long time for an election official that never showed up. A lot of potential, mostly young, voters left before voting occurred because of all the above. The lack of anonymity on voting, seemed to have an obvious effect on many people's vote, as some obviously felt pressured when they weren't in the majority, or they saw someone they knew voting opposite of them. I don't remember exactly how votes were done, I do remember we all went into our separate camps, then there was a show of hands for candidates, then a piece of paper was passed around for people to sign for which candidate they voted for. Then we voted on some other measures, and then potential delegates were selected. There was no security to the voting, just a guy with the pad of paper our names got written on, that and the general sense of people not having a clue wtf was going on.

I would probably be unlikely to go to one again, but you never know.

Your video, Maddow: Rampant corruption in Republican party caucuses, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

It is ironic that Ron Paul would be done in by a privately run caucus. There have been few to no problems at the state run primaries. The invisible hand works in mysteriously incompetent ways.

http://news.yahoo.com/ron-paul-cheated-victory-poetic-justice-libertarian-234300204.html

Not only are these caucuses prone to corruption, but nobody attends them. Out of the million plus residents of Maine, just over 5,000 turned up to caucus - partially due to the fact that there aren't many Republicans in Maine, but there are surely OVER 5000!! right?

I love saying the Maine caucus. Say it outloud. The Maine caucus excites me. The Maine caucus is going to be hard to deflate. What will be the thrust of the Maine caucus? And how deep will the Maine caucus penetrate?

What motivated you to caucus and would you do it again? I assume from your comments you would not.>> ^Crosswords:

I caucused once, it was a complete cluster fuck and completely open to corruption. I also find it hilarious that Republicans are always bitching that democrats cheat, and yet here in their own party is some pretty blatant cheating. Those with a guilty conscience are more likely to think others are guilty too.

I caucused once, it was a complete cluster fuck and completely open to corruption. I also find it hilarious that Republicans are always bitching that democrats cheat, and yet here in their own party is some pretty blatant cheating. Those with a guilty conscience are more likely to think others are guilty too.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

So the guy running an allegedly anti corruption, pro people campaign wants to win by rigging the election and going against the will of the country? Shady. That said, it would be fun to see Obama kick his ass in the general.


I think what's said starting at 10:23 is really what this is about. Both Ron Paul and his campaign people know he doesn't really have a chance of being the nominee. But by amassing enough delegates to swing the primary for one of the other candidates, he has this enormous barging chip. And Paul can pretty much name whatever political price he wants in exchange for those delegates.

I agree it is completely weasely, but it's only possible because the caucus system is set up to be ultimately decided by insiders if the people don't vote the way they're supposed to. Maybe this will force the parties to change their shamefully undemocratic nomination system.

Yup.

I think Newt's gonna get the nom. Please please please. I guess this is how repubs felt last time: hoping a tight nomination contest will derail things.

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
BTW, Santorum ended up winning the Iowa caucus after all by a small handful of votes that were misplaced. You called it.