"Caucus Iowa"

By: Tamra

Seeing the “Caucus Iowa” exhibit immediately made me think of my first Iowa caucus. I attended the democratic caucus in 2008 it was a chaotic mess that took several hours. It was hard to believe that a group of adults had come up with this process. We began by getting into groups based on candidates. After each group was counted if your candidate did not have the most people you had to then join another candidate’s group. This process was repeated until it was narrowed down to the top candidate.

This was the memory that came to mind when I saw the “Caucus Iowa” exhibit. I found it interesting that this exhibit focused on the national attention that Iowa gets when the caucus comes around every four years. When you first walk into the exhibit you are greeted with cardboard-cut-outs of people portraying each critical member of the campaign. You move from a diner, to a porch, to someone’s living room each one filled with people of different ethnicities, careers, and families. These different scenarios demonstrate the “small town” one-on-one contact Iowan’s get with candidates trying to win over our votes.

As you progress through the exhibit it turns into a news room, this is the point in the exhibit that focuses on the national attention Iowa receives during this crucial time in the election process. As the opening billboard to the exhibit states “Iowa voters shape the race for the White House.” All eyes are on Iowa weeks even months before the caucuses begin. As Iowans we know this is our time to shine, we invite the national media into our diners, onto our porches, and into our homes. We bask in the spotlight because we know once that fateful day is over; it will be another four years until we shine again.

The Iowa caucuses create a culture of recognition for Iowa. It brings, for a small moment in time, recognition to the hardworking people of a state that otherwise goes unnoticed. It calls to attention the different problems we face in Iowa and the day to day struggles of the common Midwesterner. The national attention brought by the caucuses if nothing else gives Iowa a name, at least every four years.