National Presidential Caucus Set for December 7, 2007
Americans to initiate thousands of caucus groups across the nation to deliberate in advance of "National Primary"
Sausalito, CA (PRWEB) June 18, 2007 -- To help Americans prepare for the onrush of a de facto "National Primary" slated for February 5, 2008, when two presidential candidates may suddenly emerge as "finalists" based on the front-loading of State primaries, a consortium of partisan, bipartisan and non-partisan interests have initiated the first-ever National Presidential Caucus, wherein thousands of local, self-organized, web-enabled, and face-to-face gatherings across the country will convene in caucus on December 7, 2007.
Especially in this critical election cycle, citizens need more and better ways to prepare for the very short, intense official voting period beginning with the Iowa Caucus on January 14, 2008 through what's been coined by the media as the "National Primary" on February 5, 2008. Part mass straw poll, part mass focus group, the National Presidential Caucus will advance discussion and deliberation on the issues and candidates in greater numbers, in greater depth and in person.
The National Presidential Caucus builds on the phenomenon of '03/'04 election season where the Internet enabled nearly 5 million self-appointed citizens to organize and participate in tens of thousands of local political "Meetups", Town Halls and House Parties.
"It is a challenge to overstate the importance of who will be chosen as the next U.S. President," said Don Means of Digital Village, Coordinator of the National Presidential Caucus. "Our democratic process, as currently practiced, has proven unsatisfactory to the great majority of Americans. Even with hopeful new signs of Internet-enabled participation, our national elections remain essentially poll-driven, mass media campaigns and little more than an ugly spectator sport, though one with enormous stakes."
Citizen-led and open, the goals of the National Presidential Caucus are to:
| | - Help the country better prepare for the vital business of selecting its next president, not in haste, but through 1000's of informed face-to-face discussions and thoughtful deliberations.
- Foster deeper and more meaningful access to the country's political system toward the goal of helping revitalize American democracy.
- Create a new voice for those willing to participate in person.
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Open Call to Participate
Registration for the National Presidential Caucus is scheduled to officially open on Labor Day at http://www.nationalcaucus.com, followed by a preliminary Straw Poll Caucus on October 26th, 2007. The National Presidential Caucus main event will commence in thousands of cities and small towns on December 7, 2007 across the nation.
Americans everywhere are invited to participate and join the National Presidential Caucus locally by starting or finding a local gathering at http://www.nationalcaucus.com, where they will be able to find support services for organizer registration, searchable group listings, general notifications.
The National Presidential Caucus is open to all civic and political organizations that wish to take part as a special event or as part of their regular activities on the condition that the meeting be publicly accessible.
"Local libraries are especially invited to serve as Caucus venues and help folks engage in important civic deliberations," said Don Means. "Internet-enabled Libraries would be ideal for supporting registrations and for posting Caucus results and uploading pictures, blog posts and even video clips from the meetings."
The National Presidential Caucus also encourages participants to use any and all web services to ensure a successful caucus, including Meetup, Facebook, MySpace and other web-based meeting & social organizing tools as well as YouTube, the recommended online video service for the initiative.
The National Presidential Caucus invites the support of groups and individuals like Politics Online, Stanford University's Center for Deliberative Democracy, University of Virginia's Center for Politics, Democracy for America, Unity '08, The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, and others. Please see select endorsements:
The National Presidential Caucus welcomes the endorsements of . . .
Phil Noble, Founder, Politics Online:
"The internet is transforming political processes all over the world, especially democratic ones. The National Presidential Caucus is that rare combination of the newest digital tools for online participation with the oldest form of communication, face to face. The world watches as its oldest democracy tries to cope with these disruptive technologies during the critical process of selecting the next president."
James Fishkin, Director, Stanford University's Center for Deliberative Democracy:
"The National Presidential Caucus provides an unprecedented opportunity to combine citizen deliberation with mass participation. New technologies make new forms of politics possible. In order to assess the process, the National Caucus has agreed to make data from its exit polls available to Stanford's Center for Deliberative Democracy to consider two basic questions: When citizens discuss the issues and become more informed do they change their views? Does it make a difference whether or not participants vote by secret ballot, as in most American elections or vote publicly, as is the common practice in events like the Iowa Caucuses?"
Howard Rheingold, Author, "Smart Mobs":
"Democracy is not just about voting -- it's about citizens communicating with each other about issues and candidates. The National Presidential Caucus is a wonderful opportunity to bring citizens back into an increasingly professionalized election process, and to give citizens the power to influence electoral processes that have been taken out of our hands."
Dr. Larry J. Sabato, Director, Center for Politics, University of Virginia:
"One of the greatest challenges our country faces is in connecting all Americans to their political process--improving civic education and participation, and combating easy cynicism. The National Presidential Caucus is a creative attempt to do just that, as we face the critical election of 2008."
Peverill Squire, Professor, Political Science, University of Iowa:
"The National Presidential Caucus provides Americans outside of Iowa an opportunity to engage in the nomination process in a meaningful way. The caucus allows voters to do more than simply register their preferences, it affords them the rare and valuable opportunity to deliberate with others over their choices. And the choices National Presidential Caucus participants make are likely to be noted in Iowa and elsewhere."
Doug Bailey, CEO, Unity '08:
"The National Presidential Caucus is a fabulous way to let the people back into the process. It's a straw vote when you don't even have to be bussed across the country to Ames Iowa to take part. Imagine that -- the voice of real people might actually be heard."
Jim Dean, Chair, Democracy for America:
"The presidential nominating process has long been dominated by the few. The National Presidential Caucus breaks that tradition and allows all Americans to have their voices heard. With the Internet as their tool, thousands of grassroots activists -- rather than a privileged few -- will set the national agenda. I can't wait!"
Interviews with planners, organizers, advisors, and participants are encouraged
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