Covalt: Nebraskan Character Showed in the Nebraska Caucus
Feb 13, 09:05 AM CST
Lancaster County Democrats Caucus Chair Vic Covalt submitted the following to the Lincoln Journal-Star:
The real story of the Nebraska Caucus should not be buried behind the negatives. The real story is of the Nebraska caucus was that the Nebraskan character came out strong and admirably so.
Yes, a few counties were disorganized. Yes, the Clinton voters were disappointed. Yes, a two hour caucus did not achieve the gross numbers of a meaningless 2004 primary. Yes, we are still a red state.
So what? What does that mean now? What it really means that the Republicans needed to continue their putdown, negative view on life. That is old news. Let’s move on to what really happened.
What happened was that the real character of Nebraskans, especially Nebraskan Democrats, shone beautifully. We are an awesome people of great character.
At Irving, the larger site in Lincoln, an unknown woman made handwritten signs to direct caucus goers to their precincts. She was not a “volunteer” in the sense that we knew she was coming. She was a true volunteer in the sense that she saw a need to help and took it upon herself to do so. That is a Nebraskan.
At the Firefighter Hall, the doors were opened 45 minutes late. The site leaders were in a panic, but the people headed for the rack of chairs and set them up themselves. Pre-planning gave way to practical innovation. When the event was over, all the chairs were put away, again without prompting. Those people are Nebraskans.
At the Unitarian Church, 454 people filled a room for 300 people. A retired fire-marshal made paths and move crowds into other rooms. Despite the crowd, the next morning when crews showed up to clean the church, there was nothing to do. The Church lady said there was not a feather out of place. The attendees had simply cleaned up the place.
Nebraskans who came were not there to simply vote, but came with a sincere desire for a meaningful conversation on the issues. After overwhelming crowds in Sarpy and Douglas County, Lancaster County offered an option to vote and leave. That option was accepted at only two sites. In 51 other sites, the attendees refused the quick solution and stayed and debated the merits of the candidates. Some caucuses went on for more than an hour. Those who came did so for a meaningful conversation with their neighbors over who should be president.
In our caucus, 25 or 30 people (out of the 70 people there) spoke on a variety of issues. When it was over and Obama won all the delegates, the Clinton folks did not leave mad. At the invitation of the Obama supporters, they stayed and joined in deciding who the delegates for the precinct should be. It was a precinct decision, not a partisan one. That is an example of Nebraskans being a community.
When we first used the term “Nebraska Caucus,” we thought we were turning a clever phrase. In fact, we were not. Nebraska is a special place with people of a special character. It showed. Nebraskans deserved their own caucus.
-Vic Covalt, LCDP Caucus Chair.
– by Eric Van Horn | Send this to a friend
Can you post the names, business addresses and email addresses of Nebraska’s superdelegates … or is there an easy way to find contact information for all six of them?
— Marian Ingwersen Feb 16, 05:28 PM CST #
— Trevor Fitzgerald Feb 16, 06:46 PM CST #
— Marian Ingwersen Feb 16, 07:57 PM CST #