I Will Caucus for…
This 8-week long experience leading up to the big show on Monday night has been very enlightening for me. As a participant chronicler in The Des Moines Register’s Our Caucus project, I was able to hear and see different perspectives that I may not have and forced to think critically about core issues important not only to Democrats, but also Republicans. On several occasions, I found myself challenging my own inherent political beliefs and values. As I observed the candidates, both up close and afar, and engaged my peers on the issues, it was clear to me that there were strong feelings all around and that, once again, another segment of society had become increasingly polarized.
On the one hand, we have Hillary Clinton. No matter how you feel about her, there’s no doubt that this woman is a natural leader. She’s been in politics longer than I’ve been alive, though not always playing for the same team. Still, through much political and personal adversity, Hillary Clinton has evolved as a person and as a politician to become the powerhouse Democrat that she is today. Many say that because of her breadth of experience, her allies and her goals for the presidency, she is the most worthy and electable. I’ve read many well-written words lauding Secretary Clinton’s record, a hefty chunk from editorial boards including The Register’s, and many words pillorying her opponents. Nevertheless, despite it all, Clinton’s campaign has not convinced me that these are adequate reasons for me to caucus for her. And it is not because she is unworthy. Let me elaborate on this thought by briefly recapping the main critiques of Bernie Sanders’ candidacy.
Critics of Senator Sanders say that his ideas are not feasible because it is likely that the U.S. Congress, comprised of mostly Republicans, will not agree or work with him on these policy goals and that a “political revolution” is unrealistic. They say Bernie is a polarizing idealist. Critics often point out that Bernie doesn’t actually have any real plans and that he’s peddling the sort of fluffy magical stuff that legends are made of to people who like to hear stories. The truth of the matter is, I don’t seriously believe it matters which of the Democrats become the nominee on a political level. We have three fine candidates (I’ll get to the governor next) and they all have the capacity to manage this country and the U.S.’s station in the world exceptionally for four to eight years, in my opinion. These candidates have differences, but they also have many similarities and, when it comes to that sort of micro level nuance, I think the differences begin to matter even less. They all will work to right some form of injustice and they won’t get everything done. As Joseph Brodsky said in his speech to the University of Michigan in 1997,
“Try not to set too much store by politicians — not so much because they are dumb or dishonest, which is more often than not the case, but because of the size of their job, which is too big even for the best among them, by this or that political party, doctrine, system or a blueprint thereof. All they or those can do, at best, is to diminish a social evil, not eradicate it. No matter how substantial an improvement may be, ethically speaking it will always be negligible, because there will always be those — say, just one person — who won’t profit from this improvement.”
So, when I found that the specific issues weren’t as important to me in a candidate, I resorted to a more base decision model: how do I feel? What I feel is that ideals matter to me more than a politically convenient candidate because this country needs serious healing and a political revolution has long been the prescription for this malady. I don’t agree with Senator Sanders on everything, but I do think his vision and leadership is better for the Democratic Party, the United States of America, and the world than Secretary Clinton’s.
Which brings me to “the other guy.” The only person that I, surprisingly, discovered that I like better as a leader for the U.S. is Martin O’Malley. The former mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland has not received the sort of attention from the press and the electorate for his campaign that he may have if two titans like Hillary and Bernie were out of the picture. Yet, Governor O’Malley has substantive goals and a vision for America that is not only admirable, but clearly feasible. I applaud O’Malley’s efforts and, like many other Iowans, want to see him in a national leadership role in 2017. For this to happen, I think it’s important that he finish as strongly as is possible in the Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina caucuses.
The great thing about the Iowa caucuses, I’ve found, is that you don’t really need to know who you’re caucusing for exactly when you show up (though it does help to know who you’re definitely not caucusing for): you can get convinced, cornered or corralled once you’re at your site. Also, caucusing is essentially a numbers game. Here’s a good primer on how it works. So, here’s what I’ve decided: I’m going to caucus in Iowa for Bernie Sanders. I don’t “feel the Bern” per se and I will never use that phrase: it’s lame. But I do share his political sentiments on U.S. campaign finance reform, poverty, fair wages and many other things — far too many things not to caucus for a candidate who embodies these ideals so purely. It would be hypocritical for me personally not to. Still, I respect Secretary Clinton’s record, and if she wins the nomination of the Democratic Party, I will support her all the way to the general election. However, I strongly believe that Martin O’Malley should retain the minimum of 15% needed at my caucus site and, hopefully, many others across Iowa, to have a respectable showing. In the event that O’Malley needs a few bodies at my caucus site to stay in the game, I’m going to “hold strong” and ensure he has a decent shot because I doubt Bernie or Hillary will have the same sort of trouble on caucus night.
With that, I say to all those caucusing tomorrow, “don’t choke” and I will leave you with this wonderfully poignant thought from an exceptionally cool person:
“Oh, you’ve gotta have hope. You know, pessimism will get you nowhere. In fact, pessimists are already defeated. It’s the optimists [who] get things done. People who have hope. People who inspire. People who see things better.”
— George Takei on NPR’s “Ask Me Another,” 01/28/2016
