I may never attend a caucus in Utah, as I have not registered with the Republican party. I’m not even an independent – my voter’s card actually sent back a null point error. I don’t like having the heart of my beliefs lumped into a category.

Sounds like you ran into a similar situation. You’re probably more in tune with Conservative ideals than the Conservatives themselves, but the incumbent dismissed you on a technicality.

There are more and more who don’t feel like they belong. My precinct was pretty well attended (50-60), but there were groups of us that were really annoyed with some things that were said.

Funny thing is, I didn’t really find any blaring inconsistencies in the stated party platform.

I don’t know who is more out of touch – the party members, or the party itself.

Are people embarrassed to identify as Republicans these days? The latest Pew Report says Republican self-identification is down quite a bit nationwide.

I suppose it could be simple complacency — nobody showing up. But how could you blame anyone for not wanting to be in the Party of Bush/Cheney?

I attended the caucus for the Constitution Party. There were only 11 people in attendance.

I pictured Connor at a Constitution caucus, not a Republican!

Somehow I wonder about the desire to try to turn the Republican Party into what the Constitution Party already is. Care to comment a bit, Connor?

Sadly, I would have to guess that your poor attendance at the caucus was the result of a countrywide syndrome called “fatdumbandhappy-itis”, a.k.a apathy. I have found, as I talk to those in my circle of influence that not only do many not understand the constitution nor the importance of their defending it, but they flat don’t care. They see no farther than the tip of their nose, thinking that as long as they and their families are good to go, everything’s gravy. I applaude people like Connor and other’s (whose comments I’ve read) for taking a stand and being “doers of the word.”

I agree with Mike. We had about 30 at my caucus meeting. That was about 10 fewer than last time. Almost half of the attendees were UEA operatives, and they were angry. They intended to take over the Utah GOP to punish those that had the audacity to vote for vouchers. Many had switched from Democrat for that purpose. Most of them wanted to be delegates. None of them won. But even with 30 present, I had to wonder where the heck all of the other hundreds of registered Republicans in the precinct were.

Could it have been that the fewer numbers at the Repub caucuses is a result of more people who were in attendance at the Constitution caucuses?

A few of the attendees at the Constitution caucus I attended were previous Republican attenders who expressed dismay at what the Republican Party had evolved into.

We had at least 30 at our precinct meeting which is more than triple what we had two years ago. Most of the Spanish Fork Republican meetings that I walked by (at the High School where we met) seemed similarly well-attended which really surprised me.

I was heartened, however, by the number people who had the guts to say in their ‘candidacy speech’ (we had lots of nominations for the various delegates – 2 state, 4 county, etc.) that they were basically ready to leave the party because — although they were able to agree with most of the “stated party platform” — they didn’t feel that local GOP office-holders were upholding those ideals.

I ran for vice-Chair early [on the mistaken understanding that it was a 'state', not a 'county' delegate position] and wasn’t nearly so open in my short speech (since I hadn’t expected to find like-minded people attending our meeting). I was just happy to get elected to something where I can learn more about how our local government works.

I’m interested in the Constitution party (and very thankful it exists) but for now I’m staying with the Republican party out of sheer pragmatism. Similar to Connor’s statement, I don’t believe that specific party affiliation is nearly as important as principle-based action. In my area, at least, the Constitution party hasn’t gained enough traction to be viable and reform from within the dominant party seems the most effective for gaining a voice. Already my state senator has called my house claiming that he wants to get to know me, lol.