Shedding Some Light on the Louisiana Caucuses?
What is happening in Louisiana is a sad state of affairs that shows how desperately the electorate needs to get involved in their state political process. It also shows just how deeply divided the Republican Party is after eight years of George W. Bush. The Republican Caucuses in Louisiana give us a bird's eye view on how difficult this election season is for Republicans. When you add into the mix a little fancy footwork, bureaucratic red tape, and general confusion, you end up with what is happening in Louisiana.
There are generally three different kinds of primary systems in the US. There is the "direct primary" where the voters vote directly for the candidates for office. There is the "preferential primary" where the voters instruct their delegates on how to vote for their preferred candidates. There is also the "caucus", which is used by states such as Iowa and Nevada. Louisiana has recently instituted a hybrid of the last two. A read of the following article from the Shreveport Times is beneficial in explaining Louisiana's system: (Link Edited For Length)
The above author's questioning of this new system when he writes, "Not a few Republicans are unhappy with the caucus system trumping the choices of primary voters. "It takes away the rights of Republicans in Louisiana," said outgoing Rep. Charlie Lancaster, R-Metairie, a longtime party builder. "It's set up so a few people can control the operation? The long-shot possibility of a brokered convention would put uncommitted delegates like Villere and company in the catbird's seat in Minneapolis, though they might find themselves in the doghouse back home. Imagine how ordinary Republicans might feel if, by some outside chance, the outcome of the Louisiana primary still matters by Feb. 9, but their votes don't." has proven to be both timely and accurate.
In fact, a source (we'll call him "Jack") within one of the precincts in Louisiana has borne out the above author's worst fears. In a phone interview this afternoon, "Jack" confirmed the problems of the current system, and his frustration with his vote being useless unless one of the candidates receives a majority vote on February 9th. He detailed for me just how the primary system is set up. I asked "Jack", "How does "Pro-life/Pro-Family Uncommitted" become the winner in the Louisiana Caucus?".
He answered, "That's a technical term, meaning the GOP did not tell them they were bound to somebody. If a candidate in the Primary election receives more than 50% then they are assigned 20 bound delegates. If there are no bound delegates those twenty become at large." He went on to expound upon how the votes of those on February 9th would essentially be useless if no candidate receives more than fifty percent of the vote.
More important, was the concern of "Jack" about the LAGOP declaring McCain the winner in the Caucuses of the other night saying, "It's a complete twisting of the technical term. McCain is not the winner of the Louisiana Caucus". He was very concerned because it seems that more than a few of his acquaintances were actually recorded for more than one candidate. Some were on handbills for McCain, Romney, and Uncommitted. "Jack" questioned how they could declare McCain the winner when clearly votes had been counted for more than one candidate. In fact, "Jack" said, "Everyone I know agrees, there is no front runner in Louisiana. McCain is not the front runner."
"Jack" based the above statement on the fact that everyone was on the uncommitted ballot as well as the ballots of the candidate or candidates they were supporting, and on the fact that there were so many provisional ballots as yet uncounted. He seemed to be under the expectation that many of the provisional ballots would go to Ron Paul. However, whoever they went to, "Jack" was upset that the LAGOP would declare a winner, when the sheer number of provisional ballots guaranteed that there was no possible way a winner could be called.
In addition, "Jack" explained the difficulty the GOP was having even counting and verifying the provisional ballots because, "The GOP does not have an up to date list of the Roster. The Secretary of State's office was going to sell them the list for $5000 dollars. However, the LAGOP decided not to buy the list. The raw numbers were sent to all the delegates and alternate delegate applicants via e-mail. They posted them on the website, but then removed the link." (Some have since been reposted.) This is why there were so many provisional ballots, and why the parish by parish numbers have not been available, although some are becoming available as of this writing.
All of this calls into question the transparency of the Louisiana Republican Primary system, and leaves significant doubt that voters are getting a fair shake. It seems from the outside that there are machinations happening. "Jack" said that the Pro-life/Pro-family slate was added at the last minute. "The Pro-Life/Pro-Family slate was put together in the latter part of last week to ban together the best possible outcome for those individuals. And it was rumored that it was put together by former Governor Roemer.", "Jack" stated. At the very bottom of the following link, you can see just who former Governor Roemer is supporting:
http://www.lanewslink.com/
Former Governor Roemer's Wikipedia biography is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Roemer
When asked who he thought had won the caucuses, "Jack" was under the impression that after all the provisional ballots were counted, Ron Paul would be declared the winner. He said, "In District 3 and District 7 Ron Paul has no shot. Districts 1, 2, &5 are looking exceptionally good. Districts 4 &6 are still in play." Since our interview, apparently District 6 has been counted and posted on
http://www.lagop.com Apparently Ron Paul only picked up 13 delegates. We shall see how the other parishes play out.
The situation in Louisiana should not be happening in the "land of the free and the home of the brave". Our election process in the states and at the federal level should be transparent and easily verified. A voter should have confidence that his vote will actually have an effect on the nomination process. A voter should know that his vote is not just a useful tool to manipulate the process. A voter should know that his vote is for one individual, not a pseudonym to allow others to give his vote away. A voter should know that his vote actually elects his candidate. Voters should have the right to understandable parish by parish or county by county numbers showing who is winning, and showing a verified winner once all the votes have been counted. No candidate should be allowed to count votes that did not go specifically to him or her.
For Republicans, the situation in Louisiana is a sad commentary of the state of our once great party. The fact, that we have left behind our conservative roots, have branched into being the party that infringes on the constitutional rights of the citizens of these United States, and now have been reduced to giving our citizens taxation without representation by denying their right to one vote, one candidate, is reprehensible.
As for me, I call on the GOP to stand up and hold LAGOP responsible for this travesty! I can only hope that Ron Paul, who has run an honest open campaign, will win both in Louisiana and many other states, and save this nation from herself. However, given what I've detailed above I am very concerned for his chances. Obviously the Ron Paul Campaign is also concerned:
http://www.nolanchart.com/article1417.html
Our country is ill, and what we need is a good doctor. Even so, whether Ron wins or not, as an American citizen I want voting to be fair and open for my fellow citizens and myself
! The gop will do everything in its power to make sure Ron paul 2012 doesn't happen! I fear the gop is so corrupt we are just plain screwed!
