The Iowa Precinct Caucuses: The Making of a Media Event, Third Edition

4. The 1968 and 1972 Caucuses: The Emergence of a National Event

Chapter4 lhe 1988 and 1912 Caucuses: De ImergenceofaNalionailleni THE EAR LY DATE for the prednct caucuses was destined to change their character completely. Before 1972 they were strictly local events; attendance was limited and activism was confined to a small band of partisans whose interest allowed them to dominate the meetings by default. A spirited presidential nominating contest, such as the 1952 Eisenhower-Taft race (Clifton 1952, 1), or a controversial issue, like the 1968 anti-war struggle, increased caucus partidpation, but this went largely unnoticed at the national level. It is not surprising that the local meetings attracted little national media attention, because Iowa Republicans and Democrats held their caucuses in the middle of the presidential nominating process and selected less than 2 percent of the delegates to their respective national conventions. Thus, even though the meetings were open and were regularly covered by the Iowa news media, they were often poorly attended and of little or no national significance. The 1968 Precinct Caucuses Beforewe turn to the events of 1972that focused national attention on the state, it would be helpful to examine briefly the 1968 precinct caucuses in order to appreciate their purpose and the changes necessary to turn them into a media event. Procedurally, 1968 was a typical year for the caucuses, although the anti-war movement stimulated greaterthan -usual partidpation in the Democratic sessions. Both parties held their 1968 prednct caucuses in March. The Republican Caucuses Most of the Republican local meetings in the state's 2484 precincts were held on March 4 (a few were held on the fifth). The opening 35 36 Chapter 4 The 1968 and 1972 Caucuses round in the contest for Iowa's twenty-four delegates to the national convention in Miami centered around the candidacies of former vicepresident Richard Nixon and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, but there was also interest in some precincts in the possible candidacy of California Governor Ronald Reagan (Mills 1968a). Generally, the sessions went smoothly and according to traditional procedures. After electing local party officials and considering resolutions that might be appropriate for planks in the county platforms, many caucuses conducted a straw poll; others simply elected delegates to county conventions and forwarded their names to state party headquarters over the next several days (DMR Mar. 5, 1968, 1,6). There was no statewide poll or reporting system, and the state party made no systematic attempt to determine the candidate preferences of the delegates elected to the county conventions. In fact, it was not customary for those seeking to represent the precinct at succeeding levels to declare their presidential loyalties, although there were periodic attempts by candidate organizations to require disclosure (DMR Apr. 11, 1968, 4). Even when preferences were known, delegates could change their loyalties, since they were not bound to candidates by law. Thus in 1968 Iowa Republicans had no systematic way to determine which candidates had won, or even to judge with any certainty the number of participants in their caucus process. Local newspapers, however, attempted to provide information about the candidate preference of caucus participants by covering selected precincts. The Des Moines Register, for example, published information about several Polk County meetings, noting that "attendance was spotty," ranging from heavy in some larger precincts to just three persons in a combined caucus ofprecincts 27, 34, 36, and 37. The paper reported partial results of straw polls taken in Polk County (with Rockefeller favored by 344 participants, Nixon by 321, and Reagan by 64) and listed some of the resolutions passed in the precinct meetings (DMR Mar. 5, 1968, 1, 6). The national media paid no attention to the Iowa Republican precinct caucuses. The local nature of the process and the almost complete absence of systematic information about the candidate preference of caucus participants are further illustrated by a Register editorial printed shortly after the meetings, which concluded that "Republican precinct cau- The Emergence of aNational Event 37 cuses in Iowa last week showed no clear trend for either of the major presidential prospects. Figures on straw polls (where taken) and elected countydelegateswho declaredthemselves (most didn't) are so scattered that nobody can read too much into them" (DMR Mar. 12, 1968, 6). The Democratic Caucuses The Iowa Democrats held their 1968 precinct caucuses on March 25, their county conventions on April 19, and their combined district and state conventions on May 24 and 25. The Vietnam War was the...