So after the fiasco of the NV Democratic Caucus, I decided to attend the GOP Caucus a few days later as an observer. I was granted approval and was surprised at how different the process and the vibe was. I attended the same caucus location but witnessed a completely different event.
THE LINES:
Similar to the Democratic Caucus, they had super long lines outside the school that wrapped around the building and out to the street. But the lines moved quicker for the GOP attendees.
THE PROCESS
Very different. You had to have registered to vote as a Republican 10 days prior. Unlike the Democrats, you could not register onsite. If you knew who you wanted to vote for, you would go into the school, vote and leave. If you were Undecided or if you wanted to become a delegate, you would go into the gym, sit in your precinct area and wait. This is where some very interesting conversations about the candidates took place. Voting took place between 5pm and 7pm. Speeches between 6pm and 7pm. Undecided voting and assignment of delegates between 7pm and 9pm.
THE REPRESENTATIVES
Each of the five candidates had a table and representatives there to discuss issues, hand out lawn signs, and bumper stickers. However the Ben Carson representatives were not there until a couple of hours into the event. There was a congressman from California stumping for Cruz. There was a last minute addition of Donald Trump's son. He was walking around talking with people briefly, including me. I had no idea who he was until he walked away. When I was told I had to run up and tell him that I was a Democrat, say "Cheese." It was pretty funny.
THE CONVERSATIONS
What I appreciated the most about the Republican caucus was the conversations around the room. I walked around for a bit and chatted with different groups. And then sat down with a few and listened. They were very cordial with each other. In all the people I spoke with, most were on the fence between Cruz and Trump. There was some concern for Cruz's ability to play fair and tell the truth. This was the same day he fired someone in his camp due to inaccurate ads running. The speech his representative gave received a loud thunderous applause.
Ben Carson and Marco Rubio's name came up the least amount of times, unless I was speaking with their representatives directly. No one made any comments about religious issues or women's rights issues.
The speech from Kasich's camp was also received very well, it was all about a balanced budget. However many did not think he could survive very long as a candidate so they were not going to vote for him. This speaks alot to the idea that we should only vote for the one we think will win instead of decided who will win by voting our conscience. I think both sides do this, unfortunately.
As for Donald Trump, many that liked him cited it was because of his "mouth." He was not afraid to let it rip. Many agreed that his mouth is what is giving him the most press and that is getting him supporters. Some though he was pure comedy and were thinking it would be fun to have him as a President due to that. One woman told me that as American children we have never been taught to be politically correct. This is only expected of us as we grew into adulthood and she thought that was wrong. We should be allowed to be our children selves and say whatever we want without repercussions. Quite a few that were thinking about voting for Trump because of his mouth also cited that his mouth is what could get us into wars with foreign countries. Now there were some opinions that the American War Machine was a good thing because it feeds our economy. However not everyone thought so. Many commented on how he flip flops in his opinions but it was just comments and no one seemed too concerned about that.
Overall, this caucus ran smoother than the Democratic one a few days earlier. There was no yelling or intimidation here. There was thoughtful discussion and a smoother process. I did read reports that not all sites were like that. But that would be expected. The only thing I saw that looked off was the ballot. They must have printed these awhile ago.
It was funny because some of the Republicans there used the ballot to quiz me on who was still in the race and I passed their quizzes. No one seemed to have any issue with me being there as a Democrat who was also a Delegate for Bernie Sanders. They asked me questions about what I thought of their candidates and I was pretty frank about it. No one flipped out. I did hear some negative comments about Hillary and when I asked a few who they would vote for on the Democratic side I only heard the name Bernie.
I did meet a couple of people who said they voted for Jeb, even though he wasn't running anymore. They wanted him back, I suppose. But then this is why it's important to get out to the Primaries and Caucuses. The decision on who will run for President of the United States is in your hands at this point. Every vote counts at every site. It is easy to give up on the process, but regardless on what side of the aisle you are on, please don't.
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