Iowa

Here is a great Politico overview of the Iowa Caucus. This is a good supplement to the Clinton video we watched. It is interesting to note that the Democratic and Republican caucuses are different. The Republican system is not like what we saw in the Clinton video. Instead, Republicans write down a candidates name on a blank piece of paper. Democrats also give more weight to rural districts.

The author has some interesting and humorous insight into the strategy Dems use in the caucus. Bribing people with snow shoveling and babysitting is perfectly normal. There is a lot of fighting that can potentially go on on caucus night, and neighbors can leave pretty mad at each other. The whole system seems so foreign to me and at the same time this strange process will be crucial to this election.