Civics Lesson...Again

It's amazing what lessons you retain and what lessons you forget. Civics was obviously a subject for me that I simply didn't retain. Don't get me wrong, I got straight A's in Civics and American History, but if you would have asked me back in December how you become a representative of the people, I would not have been able to give you a correct answer.

Now that I've relearned this important lesson while watching my husband, I could get excited about politics. (Note that I say "could").

Through the years since high school, I had forgotten how much "we the people" truly do shape our elections and our elected officials. Take the caucuses for instance. Any registered voter living within each district can attend these events. They can choose to attend the Republican or the Democratic caucus. They then are able to help decide the party platform, vote for delegates or become a delegate to help elect party representatives, and discuss politics with other voters.

And then take the conventions. These are also separated by party. Up until the convention, candidates will attempt to contact the delegates that were elected at the caucuses. They will discuss their positions on the issues and explain why they are the candidate to endorse. At the convention, the delegates are given the opportunity to vote for the candidate that they want to bare their party name on the ballot in the primary and/ or the general election.

Over the past months, I've watched my husband spend hours on the phone, hours on the street door knocking, and hours at home strategizing. To me, nothing is more inspiring than listening to him talk to a delegate or hear an amazing story about some one he met at the door step. I believe that the route he's taking to getting elected is the route that was intended when caucuses, conventions, and elections were first started in our country.

Not every candidate goes about this process the "right way." It's up to the voters to determine which candidates are in it for the right reasons and which ones only have their own welfare in mind. I'm beginning to realize while watching my husband's race and other races in the area that finding the "genuine" candidate is harder than I had thought.

Not every voter gets a front row seat to a campaign like I do. I know that my husband is in it for the right reasons, how do I determine which other candidates are as well?