Decisions, decisions...

I have got to make up my mind in fairly short order, because decision time is drawing near. If you live in one of the 24 states that will hold primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday, then you do too! It's time for us to cut through the rhetoric and figure out where each candidate stands, so we can use our votes wisely a week from Tuesday.

This is the first time Colorado will make its voice heard on Super Tuesday; in previous years the primary was held so late that it really didn't matter anymore, most of the time it was a mere formality. Also this year Colorado has returned to a caucus system, which will be a first for me. I had to go online and research caucuses to find out what they are and how they work. Now that I know, I am looking forward to seeing this portion of the democratic process in action. For those of you who are unfamilar with caucuses, as I was, a caucus is a political party meeting held in each precinct, usually at a school, community gathering area or private home. Only registered party members are allowed to participate, though I understand that some states allow people to change their party affiliation at the caucus (Colorado is not one of them). At this meeting people mingle and discuss why they support their chosen candidate, and then a vote is taken. If a candidate gets the support of over a certain percentage of people there, it's done and he or she has won that precinct's caucus. If not there is another discussion period and another vote, and it goes on until there is a winner. The results from each precinct are reported to the state party headquarters, which tabulates results from all the precincts and declares a statewide winner.

I am looking forward to meeting some people in my community who may share my political views and are interested in taking part in the democratic process. I think it will be a fun evening! Will be sure to report on how it goes in a post next week.

Another aspect of the political race has been on my mind lately: I have been asked if I am going to declare my support for any particular candidate on this blog. The answer is, not at this point. When all the primaries are done I think it will be obvious who I favor in the presidential race, but at this time, no, I'm not going to state a preference publicly. The reason is because I think we owe it to ourselves, to our pasts and to our futures, to make the best informed decision we can without outside influence. We each must learn all we can about each candidate's strengths and weaknesses, where he or she stands on the issues we believe are most important, and decide who will do the best job of leading our country for the next four years. This is what I plan to do, and this is what I encourage each of you to do as well. Hopefully my chosen candidate will take the nomination, but if not, then I will repeat this process with the remaining candidates to decide who gets my vote in the general elections in November.

If you're too young to vote you can still take part in the political process by volunteering at a campaign office. This is a wonderful way to exercise your voice and make your opinions heard regardless of age or eligibility to vote.

Volunteering isn't only for politically-precocious teens and those who can't vote for whatever reason - if we want change and believe that a particular candidate is capable of creating the changes we seek, then we need to get off our lazy asses and work to help our chosen candidate get elected. There are many ways to do this, and some don't even require leaving your home. In the last presidential election I volunteered on a media communication aspect of the campaign, writing letters to various media outlets in an effort to create coverage and generate buzz about my candidate's views on specific issues. It was an easy, painless and worthwhile way to walk my own talk and get involved, and fit volunteering into my then-crazy schedule.

"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato

Later,
AuntieM