Maine Caucuses

My mother moved to Maine recently and left the straightforwardness of California ballot elections for an arcane primary caucus system.

She’s registered “Decline to State” or whatever the designation is in Maine because she doesn’t want to be harassed by canvassers (in my experience this makes you more, not less, likely to be harassed, but that’s what she wanted to do). It turns out she’s able to change this designation on Sunday at the caucus and then go and stand on whichever side of the room she feels corresponds with her candidate. (This whole system of standing here or there feels medieval to me.)

Bucking the predictions of the New York Times and other worthy sources, her candidate and mine appear to be the same (I’m over the magical 44 that designates women-for-Hillary). She’s planning on voting for Obama. A lot can change between now and Sunday, of course. But still: I consider this a great transformation. (She campaigned for Eisenhower in ’52, came from a solid Republican family, one that valued fiscal responsibility and, well, responsibility period. I’m just glad my grandmother never lived to see the likes of W.)

This is by far the most interesting election I’ve lived through since I moved to the US in 1988…