Okay, I know I've been very political lately, but I'm sure I'll calm down pretty soon. I just figured I should mention that while John Kerry won the Minnesota DFL caucuses, it's very possible that things will be tough for him in this state come November. And no, I don't really mean President Bush. While caucuses generally don't see really great turnouts as compared to regular primaries and elections (probably less than 100,000 people participated in all of the caucuses statewide), they're still fairly important.
Votes stacked up for Kerry on Tuesday night, but I think Dennis Kucinich's strong showing (almost 17%—his best contest so far except for Hawaii) indicates that there's a much more liberal undercurrent flowing through the Democratic party. Heck, Kucinich was the only Democrat to venture outside the Twin Cities, and it showed up in the Iron Range according to this Strib article. I can see why Minnesotans would like him—he's very Wellstone-like in behavior when it comes to how he speaks and what positions he takes. The article I referenced said that some people voted for Edwards or Kerry even though they really wanted Kucinich. That age-old “electability” problem.
Of course, by the time November rolls around, Kucinich himself will probably be just a memory. The Kerry camp will have to do a lot to convince me and others in the state to vote for him. It concerns me that the state might fall to Bush because of this, so we'll see how things go. I'm getting even more excited about the results of the Independence Party's IRV poll, but we might have to wait until the weekend or even Monday for the numbers to come in. There's a reasonable possibility that Kerry will come out on top, but I have a strong feeling that Nader or Kucinich will top out in the end. In my opinion, the poll will be a good indication of where Kerry's competition is coming from, and I intend to hype the shit out of the results as soon as I get them.
Posted by mike at March 4, 2004 12:57 PM | Decision 2004 , Politics , Ralph Nader | TrackBack