Dullard Mush: Nevada Democratic Caucus and Its Union Lawsuit

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Nevada Democratic Caucus and Its Union Lawsuit

So is having special at-large Democratic precinct locations in big Vegas casinos specifically for Culinary Union workers to vote unfair?

Probably. But then, the very premise of a caucus isn't exactly fair. What with archaic rules, a built-in disadvantage for second-tier candidates and the not-so-small problem of having your vote literally out in the open for the scrutiny of your neighbors (or glaring union bosses), it is hardly a democratic system.

So is the Nevada State Education Association's lawsuit a strike for fairness for the common voter or just a political maneuver by a union whose leaders have been cozy to Hillary Clinton and not the Culinary-endorsed Barack Obama?

Of course it is political. If this was really a case of a bipartisan organization worried about precincts being created for the advantage of another organization a lawsuit would have been filed last year. After all, what about all the union grocery workers, miners, postal workers, retail clerks, gas station attendants, restaurant help or Reno casino workers who from the beginning knew they would be unable to participate in the small Saturday window that caucus rules allow? Apparently the plight of those disenfranchised voters didn't quite stir the soul of Nevada's teachers union as much as the Clinton slight by Culinary.

But despite the semi-sleaziness of the lawsuit, made all the more so by Clinton and Company's denial of any knowledge of this happening, there is merit to the complaint. Why should one segment of the voting public be given favor over the rest? This could never legally occur in a state-sponsored primary, but for a party-run venture does anything go?

What makes this all the more hypocritical is the big argument by Sen. Harry Reid to move Nevada's Democratic caucus into an early state role was it's supposed diversity. Somehow tilting it to the advantage of a union that represents barely 2.5% of the state's population hardly seems very diverse.

Other coverage of the lawsuit can be found below: