On the Ground in a Kansas CaucusJonathan Nathanbyline‚ Feb. 07‚ 2008Through sheets of snow and icy roads, we headed to the Red Coach Inn for the caucus. On February 9, the Republicans are having their primary down at the county courthouse, in an orderly fashion. On February 5, the Democrats are having a circus at a two-bit motel. In 2004, 30 Democrats showed up for the Harvey County caucus. On this frigid Tuesday night, it seems like everybody in the county is trying to get in. The parking lot at the motel has been full for so long, most of the cars are covered with snow already. Several drivers ahead of us pull into the cemetery across the street. A bunch of cars are parked at the local Braum's Ice Cream. Later, we'll hear that the manager is threatening to tow any vehicle that isn't owned by a paying customer. We park in an abandoned gas station lot between Braum's and a steakhouse. Trudging a quarter-mile through the drifting snow, I'm struck by the diversity around me. Up ahead, an old man with a walker hops a cement barrier. Later, I'll see him in the lonely Kucinich corner. A cadre of voters from the low-income east side of town comes up alongside me. I ask them who they're coming out for, and they declare for Barack Obama. On my way in, I hold the door for a family straight out of suburbia. They're here for Hillary Clinton. |