Thread: Every time a pundit talks about how predictive Iowa is and/or makes a huge deal over the Iowa polls, note well that participation at a caucus requires:
(1) being able to get off of work for several hours, something many people who are not their own bosses cannot do. 1/
(1) being able to get off of work for several hours, something many people who are not their own bosses cannot do. 1/
2) hanging around for several hours (something many disabled and elderly people cannot do) listening to others with loud, assertive voices speechify. 2/
(3) For full-time moms and dads of preschool children, childcare (which many cannot afford) is required—or, alternatively, a high degree of tolerance for bored children hanging on to one’s clothes. 3/
Caucuses seem especially well-suited to college students, who are young and mostly healthy and rarely adverse to skipping class for far less worthy endeavors. 4/
Next time you hear how Bernie “almost won” the primary in 2016, note that he won caucuses, not primaries. And—oh yes, almost forgot: the caucuses that Bernie won were almost entirely white. 5/
Caucuses are NOT democratic. Don’t fall for the hype about Iowa. 6/
@threadreaderapp Please unroll.❤️
