Origin of the term[edit]
Lewis Carroll mocked the futility of the UK's caucuses in "A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale", Chapter 3 of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: when the "Caucus-race" of running in a circle stops, everyone is declared a winner by the
Dodo and Alice is told to hand out
prizes to all others, receiving her own thimble as her prize.
The origin of the word caucus is debated, but it is generally agreed that it first came into use in the English colonies of North America.
This day learned that the Caucas Clubb meets at certain Times in the Garret of Tom Daws, the Adjutant of the Boston Regiment. He has a large House, and he has a moveable Partition in his Garrett, which he takes down and the whole Clubb meets in one Room. There they smoke tobacco till you cannot see from one End of the Garrett to the other. There they drinkPhlip I suppose, and there they choose a Moderator, who puts Questions to the Vote regularly, and select Men, Assessors, Collectors, Wardens, Fire Wards, and Representatives are Regularly chosen before they are chosen in the Town...
An article in
Great Leaders and National Issues of 1896[1] surveying famous presidential campaigns of the past, begins with an unsourced popular etymology of the origin of the caucus:
- The Origin of the "Caucus"
The presidential nominating convention is a modern institution. In the early days of the Republic a very different method was pursued in order to place the candidates for the highest office in the land before the people.
In the first place, as to the origin of the "caucus." In the early part of the eighteenth century a number of caulkers connected with the shipping business in the North End of Boston held a meeting for consultation. That meeting was the germ of the political caucuses which have formed so prominent a feature of our government ever since its organization.
In alternative dispute resolution[edit]
The term
caucus is also used in
mediation,
facilitation and other forms of
alternate dispute resolution to describe circumstances wherein, rather than meeting at a common table, the disputants retreat to a more private setting to process information, agree on negotiation strategy, confer privately with counsel and/or with the mediator, or simply gain "breathing room" after the often emotionally difficult interactions that can occur in the common area where all parties are present. The degree to which caucuses are used can be a key defining element, and often an identifier, of the mediation model being used. For example, "facilitative mediation" tends to discourage the use of caucuses and tries to keep the parties talking at a single table, while "evaluative mediation" may allow parties to separate more often and rely on the mediator to shuttle information and offers back and forth.
[6]
In the United States[edit]
Precincts from Washington State's 46th Legislative District caucus in a school lunchroom (2008).
In United States politics and government,
caucus has several distinct but related meanings. Members of a
political party or subgroup may meet to coordinate members' actions, choose group policy, or nominate candidates for various offices.
Caucuses to select election candidates[edit]
Despite a rule in the Democratic Party that delegates are to be allocated proportionally rather than
winner takes all, some individual caucus groups decide for themselves how to allocate their group's delegates
[citation needed] — for instance, by using a majority vote to determine which of the two methods to select. Discussion of party rules is not necessarily part of the caucus experience, and few rules govern the actual process
[citation needed]. And, in the winner-take-all scenario, a group's delegate allocation may be reported as unanimous, with the minority votes ignored
[citation needed]. Depending on how the caucus is organized, the caucus system may require voters to publicly announce the candidates they support. Voters have the option to draft resolutions, and those are introduced by delegates at later divisional caucuses or conventions
[citation needed].
Affinity groups[edit]
Congressional caucuses[edit]
Another meaning is a sub grouping of officials with shared affinities or ethnicities who convene, often but not always to advocate, agitate, lobby or to vote collectively, on policy. At the highest level, in
Congress and many state legislatures,
Democratic and
Republican members organize themselves into a caucus (occasionally called a "conference").
[13]There can be smaller caucuses in a legislative body, including those that are multi-
partisan or even
bicameral. Of the many
Congressional caucuses, one of the best-known is the
Congressional Black Caucus, a group of
African-American members of Congress. Another prominent example is the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose members voice and advance issues affecting
Hispanics in the United States, including
Puerto Rico. In a different vein, the Congressional Internet Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members who wish to promote the growth and advancement of the Internet. Other congressional caucuses such as the
Out of Iraq Caucus, are openly organized tendencies or
political factions(within the
House Democratic Caucus, in this case), and strive to achieve political goals, similar to a European "
platform", but generally organized around a single issue.
Caucuses within liberal organizations[edit]
In Commonwealth nations[edit]
The word was introduced to Australia by
King O'Malley, an American-born Labor member of the first federal Parliament in 1901; it presumably entered New Zealand politics at a similar time. In New Zealand, the term is used by all political parties, but in Australia, the term is used only by the
Australian Labor Party. For the Australian
Liberal,
National and
Green parties, the usual term is "party room", and for all parties in
Ireland (not a
Commonwealth country) and the UK, the usual term is "parliamentary party". In
South Africa all parties use the term
caucus.
In Canada,
caucus refers to all members of a particular party in Parliament, including senators, or a
provincial legislature. These members elect among themselves a
caucus chair who presides over their meetings. This person is an important figure when the party is in
opposition and an important link between
cabinet and the
backbench when the party is in
government.
In a
Westminster System, a party caucus can be quite powerful, as it can elect or dismiss the party's parliamentary leader. The caucus also determines some matters of policy, parliamentary tactics, and disciplinary measures against disobedient MPs. In some parties, the caucus also has the power to elect MPs to Cabinet when the party is in government. For example, this is traditionally so in the
Australian Labor Party and the
New Zealand Labour Party.
In organizations[edit]
In
conventions, where the membership from different parts of the organization may gather, each separate group within the organization may meet prior to the convention as a caucus.
[14] Each caucus may decide how the group would vote on various issues that may come up at the convention.
[14] Unless the votes are made binding, however, each
delegate is still free to vote in any fashion.
[14]
