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Rural county chair on some changes Iowa Democrats need
Tuesday, Feb 22 2022
Brian Bruening
...The state-level Democratic Party infrastructure seems to be primarily focused on running and maintaining the four-year presidential caucus cycle. As a party leader in a small rural county, I spend 35 to 40 hours of work and $200 to $300 of county party money on caucus preparation in a non-presidential year. A presidential year caucus requires 60 to 80 plus hours of work and $500 to $600, not including the time dozens of other volunteers put into running the caucus.
Multiply that commitment times 99 counties, and add it to the thousands of dollars the state party spends to print the box loads of paperwork (most of which is unused and thrown away or recycled) and hundreds of staff hours. It adds up to an expensive endeavor for business that could have been handled in a regular central committee meeting on off-years, or by an efficient primary run by county election officials during presidential cycles. (The irony that we still hold a primary in June is not lost on me.)
We were told that the off-year caucuses this February were a way to build grassroots participation. Perhaps in large counties it works that way, but in my experience off-year caucuses bring out the same dedicated folks who attend central committee meetings. I have a sneaking suspicion a underlying reason they are held is to keep caucus procedures front of mind for presidential years.
After five plus years in county party leadership, I perceive that the end-all, be-all of Iowa Democratic politics is courting presidential candidates and keeping our first in the nation caucus, with the prestige and status and money that comes with it. Organizing voters, building a backbench of candidates for office—hell, even supporting state and local candidates up and down the ballot seems to be an afterthought.
...https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/02/22/rural-county-chair-on-some-changes-iowa-democrats-need/
Brian Bruening
...The state-level Democratic Party infrastructure seems to be primarily focused on running and maintaining the four-year presidential caucus cycle. As a party leader in a small rural county, I spend 35 to 40 hours of work and $200 to $300 of county party money on caucus preparation in a non-presidential year. A presidential year caucus requires 60 to 80 plus hours of work and $500 to $600, not including the time dozens of other volunteers put into running the caucus.
Multiply that commitment times 99 counties, and add it to the thousands of dollars the state party spends to print the box loads of paperwork (most of which is unused and thrown away or recycled) and hundreds of staff hours. It adds up to an expensive endeavor for business that could have been handled in a regular central committee meeting on off-years, or by an efficient primary run by county election officials during presidential cycles. (The irony that we still hold a primary in June is not lost on me.)
We were told that the off-year caucuses this February were a way to build grassroots participation. Perhaps in large counties it works that way, but in my experience off-year caucuses bring out the same dedicated folks who attend central committee meetings. I have a sneaking suspicion a underlying reason they are held is to keep caucus procedures front of mind for presidential years.
After five plus years in county party leadership, I perceive that the end-all, be-all of Iowa Democratic politics is courting presidential candidates and keeping our first in the nation caucus, with the prestige and status and money that comes with it. Organizing voters, building a backbench of candidates for office—hell, even supporting state and local candidates up and down the ballot seems to be an afterthought.
...https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/02/22/rural-county-chair-on-some-changes-iowa-democrats-need/