MO: Caucus Outcome vs. Primary Outcome

At a time when the state and country is precariously perched on the edge of economic disaster, Missouri’s Representatives and Governor absolutely wasted $7,000,000 of our tax dollars on ‘an afterthought‘ and a ‘beauty contest’.

In 2009, Missourians paid $2,378 per capita in state taxes.  Using that figure, the elected leaders in the Missouri State Government, on one February day, wasted the full year state taxpaying efforts of 2,944 Missourians.  Sad.

Yet, we are provided an opportunity this week, weekend and next weekend to rectify that situation.  252,185 Missourians voted in the Missouri Presidential Preference Primary on February 7, 2012.  Their vote is not an afterthought.  The outcome is not a fluke.  Their vote is not a beauty contest.  And, their effort is not a waste.

It is the will of the Republican voter.

To ignore that Primary vote and give the delegate win to Romney or Paul would be the real tragedy in the failure of this process.  And, I am not a Santorum apologist.

I discussed the issue with several Tea Party leaders, Conservatives, candidates, and other voters.  So, to ensure that the Primary voters’ efforts were not in vain, it is entirely reasonable that we ask our local MO GOP leaders make an effort to give caucus-goers an opportunity to provide an outcome that matches that of the February 7th vote.

To match the outcome of the Primary vote on Caucus Day, each County / Precinct would need to elect as delegates a group of individuals who would vote in the same proportions as the public did on Primary Day.  Thus, for example, in Cape Girardeau County, where there will be elected 36 delegates to the 8th Congressional District and 36 Delegates to the State Convention, the math looks like this:

2012	Votes	Pct	Delegates
Santorum, Rick	139,272	55.20%	19
Romney, Mitt	63,882	25.30%	9
Paul, Ron	30,647	12.20%	4
Uncommitted	9,853	3.90%	1
Perry, Rick	2,456	1.00%	0
Cain, Herman	2,306	0.90%	0
Bachmann, Michele	1,680	0.70%	0
Huntsman, Jon	1,044	0.40%	0
Johnson, Gary	536	0.20%	0
Meehan, Michael J.	356	0.10%	0
Drummond, Keith	153	0.10%	0
Total	252,185
Rounding			3

The delegate counts were rounded down in the example above, so a total of 33 were assigned to Santorum, Romney, Paul and ‘Uncommitted’.  It’s your call what to do with the 3 Delegates left over after rounding.  Maybe add one each to Santorum, Romney, and Paul; give the Uncommitted Delegate to Gingrich?  But, you get the gist of what I’m suggesting here.

So, how do we do this?  I don’t know; I’ve never been to a caucus.  But, it seems to me:

1. Forward this post to as many Republican voters as possible.  Gauge support for this endeavor.
2. Put on your Community Organizer shoes.
3. Talk to your local MO GOP folks to see if they will work with you.
4. Be prepared.  Calculate how your County / Precinct delegates need to be distributed… …paper and pen to track the delegates candidates you enlist.
5. Arrive early.
6. Review the rules of your local caucus. Sadly, although the rules are probably already written, they are not being disseminated in some counties until caucus day.
7. Request an amendment to the rules to vote by ‘slate’ (if necessary).
8. Request an amendment to the rules to bind the delegates’ first vote (if necessary).
9. Work with other caucus-goers to build a slate that will vote in the proportions necessary to mimic the outcome of the February 7th Primary.
10. Present your slate to the caucus leadership.
11. Vote.

I don’t think this effort will be all that foreign to the leaders of the MO GOP.  I believe, from 2000 through 2008 they were still holding a caucus and  executing a similar process to mimic the outcome of the primary in selecting the delegates for the Republican National Convention.

At the very least, you are working with the MO GOP Leaders and Caucus-goers (some of whom would also rather be at the Dogtown Parade) to effect an outcome that mimics the will of the Missouri Republican Primary Voter.  How could that be wrong?

Now, head out for some green beer, corned beef and cabbage… …unless you already got your St. Patrick’s Day waiver.