Word: caucus
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...also implored the crowd to make sure to attend the caucuses after voting earlier in the day, a nod to Texas' uniquely complex contest. It is actually a hybrid system made up of both a primary, where the bulk of the state's 228 Democratic delegates are decided, and an evening caucus. Further clouding matters is that delegates are not awarded proportionally along congressional district lines, but instead are done based on state senate districts, with areas that had higher turnout in recent presidential and gubernatorial elections getting bonus delegates. That could mean that Obama could snag more delegates than...
...addition to this reliance on superdelegates, so much else is wrong with the current presidential nomination process: the tremendous cost that ties candidates’ fates to wealthy donors; the unbalanced calendar that disproportionately favors a few unrepresentative states; and, most of all, the fundamentally undemocratic nature of the caucuses that are still used in many states. All three conditions favor hyperactive political elites over ordinary voters, but caucuses are a particularly egregious assault on democratic equality. The caucus structure disenfranchises voters, discouraging ordinary citizens with its substantial time demands, and essentially silencing those who must work during caucus hours...
This enthusiasm and broad support is why the Hillary campaign has forsaken former President Clinton's snipes suggesting an identity-candidate equivalency between Obama and Jesse Jackson. In their press releases on the Saturday caucus results, Clinton flacks pointed out that Obama won by virtue of higher spending and better organization. Well, yes - that's how elections are typically won. If that dynamic holds, along with the Obama campaign's ability to bring new voters into the process, Obama seems well positioned to make good on the poll-test argument that he stacks up better against a McCain candidacy...
...caucus format in Washington, Nebraska and Maine could help Obama, who has won six of the seven caucus states so far, thanks to his passionate, dedicated following and stronger grassroots organizations. "I think that it is fair to say that he should win the caucuses in Maine, Nebraska and Washington State on Saturday. For my own state of Louisiana, I would venture that Senator Obama should win here," said Kevin Mulcahy, a political science professor at Louisiana State University, who himself plans on voting for Clinton...
...original version of this article contained a quote by Kevin Mulcahy, a political science professor at Louisiana State University, that "Almost all of the states that Senator Obama won on Tsunami Tuesday were caucus states." In fact, Obama won seven primary states and six caucus states on February...