I talked about this for Iowa — in the The 4% Iowa Party Hack Lie — and it’s just as bad or even worse in Nevada. How about a little right to make your voting choice in private, away from bosses’ (including union bosses’) ears and eyes?! It’s damn obvious caucuses, which violate the principle of a secret ballot, should be illegal, but they aren’t in this devolving to pre-democracy. Here’s Las Vegas Sun columnist John Ralston (emphasis added throughout diary):
New York: We have heard a lot about unions pressuring their members (or not pressuring their members) to caucus for Obama. Do you think this is going to play a significant part in tomorrow’s caucus? And as a follow up, if union members are largely Latino and minority, do think these demographics trump the union expectations?
Jon Ralston: The answer to your last question may be the key to the election. That is, will women and Hispanics in the Culinary — Hispanics make up about 40 percent of the union members — who might lean toward Hillary Clinton stick with her, or out of union solidarity, go with Obama? If it were a secret ballot, I think the Culinary’s impact would be diminished. But these folks will be standing with other union members and openly stating their preference. How many will go against the union’s wishes?
Here’s Culinary political director Pilar Weiss: “We just made our endorsement yesterday, we’ve got plenty of time in the grand scheme of the caucus, and we think in the end our members will act like a union.”
More from Vegas on putting union solidarity above the right to vote freely:
Can the Culinary hold its membership to its Obama endorsement (and turn it out) by acknowledging members might support Clinton but urging them to put union loyalty above their candidate affinity?
The “It’s the union above all else” pitch began Wednesday when Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor announced the Obama endorsement. He praised all the candidates but made it clear that his members value union solidarity above all.
Take it from me, take if from Bugsy Siegel (below), you don’t wanna vote against Obama on the Strip.
Here’s more from Ralston on the amazing Nevada caucus:
Nevada: What if any verification process will be put in place to validate the casino workers as being legal U.S. residents at the nine at-large caucus locations?
Jon Ralston: None. No ID required. All they have to do is sign a statement saying they are legit under penalty of perjury. Pretty loose.
Las Vegas: The only instructions I’ve been able to find say that the caucus centers open at 11 a.m. and register at 11:30 a.m., but there is no statement about how long the process will last … is this two hours or eight hours, and if you work and only can stay an hour or two, does your attendance make a difference?
Jon Ralston: It should only take an hour or so, they say. Done before 1:30, they say. We shall see.
Images from Why Obama Will Wynn The Nevada Caucus.
