Confusion and Heated Words Mark Caucus Day in Northern Las Vegas Precinct

Las Vegas- Sixty-three Democrats showed up at the Von Tobel Middle School in northern Las Vegas today to caucus in precinct #2413.  There they battled an insufficiently trained temporary chairman and not a little intra-party antipathy to make their voices heard in the Nevada caucuses.

The first sign of trouble for the good-intentioned but woefully unprepared temporary chairman was the unexpectedly large turnout.  An Obama precinct captain, who like the other players in this comedy of errors will remain nameless, was amazed by the throng of people that lined up to register as the caucus began at 11 a.m.

“I was expecting like five people,” she said, surveying the line and pushing Obama stickers into outstretched hands.

The precinct caucus took place in the middle school’s cafeteria and attendees quickly filled the benches and tables surrounding the temporary chairman as the minutes slowly ticked away.  Supporters of the various candidates sat together, but there was little conversation between them as most seemed either too shy or too confused to raise their voices.

“Okay, we’re gonna get started,” said the temporary chairman.  He began explaining the rules, but in a voice far too weak to carry over the crowd of people.

“Can’t hear you!” shouted a man from the back of the crowd in a bright yellow Hillary Clinton t-shirt.

The chairman accepted a proffered green Hillary Clinton AFSCME megaphone and tried again.

“So, right now we’re doing viability,” the chairman said, directing Obama supporters to his left, Clinton supporters to his right and Edwards supporters to the tables before him. 

The crowd dispersed in the directions indicated, immediately revealing some interesting demographics about the candidates’ support among the races.  Twenty-one of the sixty-three caucus attendees were African American and all but two of those moved to the Obama camp.  The four Edwards supporters in the precinct were white, and fully a third of Clinton supporters were Hispanic.

“Are we going to have a chance to speak about our candidates?” asked one Edwards supporter.

The temporary chairman seemed uncertain, but quickly granted that “that would be alright.”

Unlike Iowa or other places more experienced with caucusing, the assembled groups were quiet, apparently considering it rude to attempt to win over the clearly non-viable Edwards supporters or the precinct’s one uncommitted.

The minutes ticked away and the vocal Edwards supporter became antsy, finally approaching the chairman to ask again for a chance to address the assembled caucus-goers.

“Hey man, you’re being rude,” an Obama supporter called out in a voice many times louder than the temporary chairman’s.

“I’ve got a right,” the Edwards supporter answered.

“Not if you’re being rude.”

“You’re the one who’s being rude to me.”

The back-and-forth continued and quickly became heated until the precinct’s undecided voter stepped between the two, repeating “We’re all good Democrats, we’re all good Democrats,” which set both parties sulkily returning to their corners.

The fifteen minutes of viability up and no speeches made, the chairman asked for ballots to be collected from the viable candidates’ groups and announced the non-viability of both Edwards and the uncommitted. 

“Okay, we’ve got the numbers, so if you’ve got to go to work or something you can leave now,” the chairman said, skipping several steps of the caucus process and setting off a rush for the doors. 

From then on, the caucus was pure chaos.  The chairman began distributing delegate cards without regard to the as-yet uncompleted delegate math, Edwards supporters switched to Obama with the mistaken understanding that they could still be Edwards delegates to the county convention and a call was made and seconded (but never acted upon) to replace the temporary chairman.

It took the staunchly uncommitted voter to reign in the chaos.

“Give me those cards,” he said, receiving a handful of completed delegate cards.  “You’ve got to do the math first.”

The Obama staffer stepped to his side with a cell phone calculator and they quickly calculated the results.  Mirroring the results from the rest of the state, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) squeaked out a close win in the precinct, receiving seven of its thirteen delegates. 

The uncommitted voter called roll from the completed delegate cards, dividing them up into two piles. 

“I need two more Clinton delegates and one more Obama,” he said, quickly identifying volunteers from the small group of caucus attendees remaining.  That completed, he filled out the delegate math chart before discovering another overlooked step.

“We never identified a permanent chairman,” he said looking around him sheepishly.  “I nominate the temporary chairman.  Anyone want to second that?”

A second found, the paperwork filled out, the uncommitted voter quickly explained to the delegates what would be occurring at the county convention.

“It’s basically going to be just like what we did here,” he said, setting off a couple of laughs.

“Lord, I hope not,” one of the delegates answered.

That completed, the chairman closed the caucus, putting an end to the torturous process.

Asked in the parking lot what he thought about the morning’s events, the uncommitted voter had only one reflection.

“I just hope no one from Iowa was here today,” he said.