National Presidential Caucus to Go Live on Dec. 7, 2007

Successful field test of a National Caucus prior to the Iowa Caucus and the "national primary" proves readiness and public enthusiasm for nationwide event.

It was really exciting to have a nice group discuss political issues in depth, get better acquainted with neighbors and meet new people

San Francisco, CA (Issues Wire / PRWEB) November 16, 2007 -- Following months of planning and outreach the National Presidential Caucus today announces that the field test on November 9th -- when dozens of self-selected and citizen-organized, local caucus groups across the country tested new meeting formats and online caucus registration tools -- was an overwhelming success.

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As a partial antidote for extremely early primary front-loading by the states and disenfranchisement of citizens feeling left out of the process, the National Presidential Caucus is gaining in public and institutional support across the country.

The report from the Sarcoxie, Missouri "Open" caucus at the Sarcoxie Library is typical. "It was really exciting to have a nice group discuss political issues in depth, get better acquainted with neighbors and meet new people," says Candace Turner, organizer of the Sarcoxie event. "One participant raced home to sign up and run a caucus in her SW MO county on Dec 7th! And another noted that at least two of the participants changed their preferences after arriving and discussing candidates and issues."

Institutional support is also strong. Democrat Pennsylvania State Representative Mark B. Cohen says, "I believe the National Caucus can give Pennsylvanians and others made irrelevant by the current system a voice in choosing the Presidential nominees of each party," says Cohen. "If governments won't give people a voice, then the people have to stand up and demand a voice themselves."

"Every four years the cry goes out to reform the primary system. But it's always for next time. Well, next time is here!" says Don Means, Project Coordinator. "There's never been more attention on how we conduct our primary elections than in this cycle. Wide open, highly contested, and with huge stakes, people are taking an interest like never before and they don't see the sense of the current mish mash, free for all. Yet it is a major challenge to overestimate the importance of this public policy which determines the selection of probably only two candidates for President of the United States. We must get serious in making such decisions as a body politic, and the NPC is a way to do so right now."

Republican Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, Chair of National Association of Secretaries of State concurs. "Each year our country's primary calendar becomes even more compressed, and this trend is damaging to our political process. It is essential that we give citizens the chance to discuss the important issues facing our country. Ultimately, our country must come together and reform our presidential nomination calendar, but until that time comes, the National Presidential Caucus is an innovative way to involve citizens from every corner of our country in the political process. Through the power of technology, the voices of citizens from states that are usually ignored due to the front-loaded nomination process, will finally have their chance to be heard."

Anecdotal reporting after the upcoming December 7th event will be further enhanced by way of exit polls that will gather detailed demographic data on participants. Dr. James Fishkin, Chairman of the Stanford Communications Department and Director of the Center for Deliberative Democracy, and an early Advisor to the National Presidential Caucus believes the "National Presidential Caucus provides an unprecedented opportunity to combine citizen deliberation with mass participation. New technologies make new forms of politics possible. In order to assess the process, the National Caucus has agreed to make data from its exit polls available to Stanford's Center for Deliberative Democracy."

Among the many public advocates for caucus reform is Tim Draper, a major Silicon Valley venture capitalist. "Internet driven transformation of the US political system and democracy itself is one of the most significant developments since the founding of the country, and yet we must resist over reliance on only electronic means of participation," says Draper. " The National Presidential Caucus will enable the kind of face to face discussion and deliberation that remains the bedrock of free speech and free assembly."

About the National Presidential Caucus:
In response to the current inadequate national primary system, a consortium of partisan, bi-partisan and non-partisan interests have initiated the National Presidential Caucus with an "Open Call to Participate" in local, self-organized, web-enabled face to face gatherings across the country on December 7, 2007 in preparation for the highly compressed national primary process.

For more information about the National Presidential Caucus visit: http://www.nationalcaucus.com/about

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