American government is messy and inefficient. The Founding Fathers designed it that way for a reason. By its very nature, the concept of government by the people and for the people is going to be burdensome and over-complicated. This fact tends to frustrate many Americans who seem to have decided that the process is just to cumbersome and chaotic to waste their time on it. Yet those same people would, no doubt, have to admit that the American system is far and away preferable to the much more efficient and decisive government models run by folks like Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin. But it does takes a bothersome amount of time, effort and sacrifice to make any real difference in the American model. And so most people, being overtaxed for time as they are, don’t bother to get involved.
The Nevada Republican Caucus, held on Saturday, was a good example of the overwhelming nuisance of the democratic process. There were widespread reports of chaos and confusion at many polling places. The state Republican Party was roundly criticized, justifiably so, for its lack of basic planning and foresight in administering the caucus. The Party didn’t do enough to inform the general public about the procedure and format of a caucus. Party volunteers were not given adequate information enough in advance to ensure that their precinct sites would run efficiently and accurately. Finally, the Party squandered the powerful opportunity of being the ‘First in the West’ caucus; an opportunity which will likely not be offered to the state in the future. All this is discouraging for rank and file voters who are craving order in their political system.
Even here locally, where the caucus was carried out relatively smoothly, some caucus-goers became impatient and critical of the process. Some wondered aloud why they were even wasting their time to have so little say. They felt like just one small gear in an overwhelming Party machine. And that was just from the 12% of local Republicans who actually cared enough to even show up to the caucus at all.
In some respects they were right. The decision for the Republican Presidential candidate is a long way from being final. It will be made over the next several months through a long series of distant state primaries and caucuses. It will then continue through a tedious array of county conventions and state conventions. The result of all of this won’t come to fruition until this summer at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida where the final party candidate will emerge.
And so, amidst all of this, many people ask: What possible difference does my one vote, cast in the lowly rural precinct meeting of our six-electoral-vote-state, make? Wouldn’t I get more accomplished by planting my spring garden on Saturday morning? Maybe so.
But the fact of the matter is, last weekend’s caucus was American democracy at work. Say what one will about the event and its Party organizers, for Nevada Republicans this caucus was right where the rubber hit the road for the 2012 Presidential race. Nowhere else in this Presidential election cycle will the lowly voter have such a direct effect on an outcome by casting a vote than there. After all, even the final ballot cast on election day in November is merely an indirect influence in the decision. The final decision for President is, after all, made by the Electoral College.
Anyone who longs for a situation where their one vote would make a real difference, should have been there to wield it on Saturday. The real business of the caucus was to determine what precinct delegates to send to the County Convention and to give those delegates marching orders on a presidential candidate. Every precinct meeting set a small pebble in motion on Saturday that will eventually become the avalanche that selects the Republican nominee. When all is said and done, a vote cast at the caucus, despite all of its failings and disorganization, may have been the most direct and influential voice that Nevada Republicans will have in the 2012 race for President. Realizing that, it is just too bad that Nevada voters made such a poor showing in casting that one vote.