Feeling of pride comes from taking part in political process

I recently attended my first political caucus.

I never really cared to before, content to watch from the sidelines, discuss political candidates and issues with friends and do my civic duty in the voting booth, quietly. Besides, I find the goings on of the two major political parties rather distasteful, frankly, which I concede is rather effete of me. You know, let others do the nitty gritty, then just step in at the end and cast a vote with self-righteous smugness. Look what a good citizen I am.

But this year, I wanted to be a part of the discussion, before it came down to the voting booth. It wasn’t that I had anything I particularly wanted to say or to sway someone to my point of view, but it seemed important to be there. There is an aura of historic consequence to this election that just drew me in.

So, it was off to Chase Middle School on Feb. 9, where 14 precincts were caucusing and where a cadre of bright-eyed young people was at the door handing out Obama and Clinton stickers and many, many Clinton signs. Hmm, I thought, it looks like the Clinton folks are here in force. I wonder what that portends.

I signed in and listed my candidate preference. And then the caucus began. Our caucus chairman was young and obviously new at this, so it was a bit disorganized. Not that I would know exactly because I was new at this, too, but I was reminded of the famous Will Rogers quote: “I am not a member of any organized party – I am a Democrat.”

When the first count was done, there were 21 for Clinton, 21 for Obama and five undecided. A discussion ensued in which precinct members spoke about why they supported a particular candidate. The purpose was this: If enough of the undecideds change their preference, then the delegates to the district convention could be apportioned 4-3, rather than 3 (Clinton), 3 (Obama) and 1 (undecided).

It was just like having a discussion in a jury room, with the conversation going back and forth, beginning rather loftily, principled and fact laden. The contention that Clinton has more experience was countered with statements about the value of Obama’s state-level experience in Illinois. Obama’s fresh approach representing true change was countered with Clinton’s depth and perceived ability to actually bring about that change in the tough environment that is Washington, D.C.

What clearly emerged was that both candidates were appealing and that the group could probably support either of them, even though they favored one over the other. It began as an enlightened discussion, an embarrassment of riches.

Of course, as these things go, the conversation devolved. People began to spout off. One person got huffy and marched out, calling the group a bunch of Republicans. I’m pretty sure she meant that as an insult, which is too bad. One person waxed on about Obama having the aura of a prophet in a biblical sense (dangerous territory); another said that with Hillary Clinton we’d get two Clintons for the price of one (hot potato).

At that point it would have been nice to hear from a timekeeper, but, alas, that was not to be, and it droned on.

In the end, three of the undecideds did change their minds, so the delegates were apportioned 4-3 in favor of Obama.

If I were going to predict how it’s going to come out nationally, based solely on what I saw in my own precinct, I’d say Obama will get the nomination. His supporters stayed to the end of the caucus. They didn’t wave all the signs or have them in the numbers that the Clinton supporters did, but they stuck it out, which goes to show that how it looks at the front end, at the front door, isn’t necessarily how it turns out when it’s over.

That surprised me, not that the Obama contingent hung in there, but that the Clinton supporters trickled away. I think that means something.

However, as has been abundantly clear in American politics, and certainly this year, and to quote a Yogi Berra-ism, “it ain’t over till it’s over.”

For me, it was fascinating to see reflected at the local level what’s going on in politics nationally, in the debates, among TV’s talking heads, in the news magazines, on the blogs. The best of political discourse and, unfortunately, some of the worst. There was something about seeing it in my own backyard and being there and being a part of it that filled me with pride.

Yes, it’s messy and somewhat chaotic. But it made citizenship so much more real for me. I felt very honored and privileged to be an American citizen that Saturday afternoon.