Reality check: Caucuses ARE undemocratic, but they benefit Clinton [View All]

[Dob Bole]

Let's take a look at the caucuses that Obama has won:

North Dakota
Minnesota
Iowa
Kansas
Nebraska
Colorado
Idaho
Washington
Alaska

What these states have in common is that they are rural (with Washington being the most urban), working class states mostly populated with persons of European descent. Obama's advantage among African-Americans that has developed since New Hampshire does not work to his advantage in these states. However, he is a senator from the Midwest, and his mother was from Kansas.

Caucuses are undemocratic because they can disenfranchise working voters. However, this works to Hillary's advantage because most of the people who attend caucuses are retired. (The average caucusgoer's age in 2004 was 54; See http://www.google.com/search?q=average+age+caucusgoers ) Most Democratic voters in any contest are women. So you have rural contests dominated by retired white women...Hillary's key demographic.

What has happened in this race that was unexpected is that young voters, especially college students who also have free time, have showed up in waves and registered to vote in the caucuses, outflooding Hillary's support.

Caucuses are undemocratic...but Hillary supporters cannot claim that they inherently work against Clinton. She has had all of the advantages in this race.