A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral The exact definition varies among political cultures.

In the United States

Main article: Congressional caucus

Precincts from Washington State's 46th Legislative District caucus in a school lunchroom (2008). A Congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meets to pursue common legislative objectives

In United States politics and government, caucus has several distinct but related meanings. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the One meaning is a meeting of members of a political party or subgroup to coordinate members' actions, choose group policy, or nominate candidates for various offices. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral The term is frequently used to discuss the procedures used by some states to select presidential nominees such as the Iowa caucuses, the first and largest in the modern presidential election cycle, and the only occasionally relevant Texas caucuses. In United States politics and government the phrase presidential nominee has two distinct meanings The Iowa caucuses are an electoral event in which residents of the U Elections for President and Vice President of the United States are The Texas caucuses are a political event associated with primaries, the process by which Voters in the U ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} Since 1980 such caucuses have become, in the aggregate, an important component of the nomination process. Because such caucuses are infrequent and complex to organize, there is a practice version called a maucus, a portmanteau of mock caucus. ^[5][6]

In early American history, the Congressional nominating caucus and legislative caucus were influential meetings of congressmen to decide the party's nominee for President and party platforms. The Congressional nominating caucus is the name for informal meetings in which American Congressmen would agree on who to nominate for the Presidency and Vice Similar caucuses were held by the parties at state level.

Another meaning is a subgrouping 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"). The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ^[7] There can be smaller caucuses in a legislative body, including those which are multi-partisan or even bicameral. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral Of the many Congressional caucuses, one of the best-known is the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of African-American members of Congress. A Congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meets to pursue common legislative objectives The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the African American members of the Congress of the United States. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Another prominent example is the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose members voice and advance issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, including Puerto Rico. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC comprises 21 Democratic Members of the United States Congress of Hispanic descent Hispanic (hispano hispánico hispânico Hispānus adjective from ''Hispānia'', the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of 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. The Out of Iraq Caucus is a Congressional caucus in the United States House of Representatives, created in June 2005. WikipediaManual of Style#National varieties of English.-->A political faction The House Democratic Caucus nominates and elects the Democratic Party leadership in the United States House of Representatives. Platforms, in European politics are openly organized Political factions within Left-wing political parties.

Among American left-wing groups, a caucus may be an openly organized tendency or political faction within the group, equivalent to a European "platform". WikipediaManual of Style#National varieties of English.-->A political faction Platforms, in European politics are openly organized Political factions within Left-wing political parties. Examples would include the "Debs," "Coalition" and "Unity" Caucuses of the Socialist Party of America in its last years. The Socialist Party of America (SPA was a socialist Political party in the United States.

In Washington State, the caucus has become controversial. ^[8] According to the Web site for Washington Democrats, even though the Washington State Legislature decided the state would hold a primary, the Washington State Democratic Party decided to continue choosing its delegates through the traditional caucuses. As a result, votes for a Democratic candidate in the State Primary do not count toward delegate selection, although the state will spend $9 to $10 million on it. ^[9]

Despite a rule in the Democratic Party that delegates are to be allocated proportionally rather than winner take all, some individual caucus groups decide for themselves how to allocate their group's delegates — 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. And, in the winner-take-all scenario, a group's delegate allocation may be reported as unanimous, with the minority votes ignored. Depending on how the caucus. is organized, the caucus system may require public announcement of which candidate a voter supports. Voters have the option to draft resolutions, and those are introduced by delegates at later divisional caucuses or conventions.

In Commonwealth nations

In some Commonwealth nations, a caucus is a regular meeting of all Members of Parliament who belong to a political party. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. In a Westminster System, a party caucus can be quite powerful, as it can elect or dismiss the party's parliamentary leader. The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United 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 (ALP) and the New Zealand Labour Party. The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party The term is rarely used in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

Since Kevin Rudd was elected Prime Minister of Australia on November 24, 2007, he instead of the ALP caucus will choose the cabinet. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[10]

In New Zealand and in ALP, caucus can refer to the group of the MPs themselves, rather than their meeting. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Thus, the Australian Federal Parliamentary Labor Party is commonly called "the Labor Caucus. " 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. King O'Malley (July 1858 – 20 December 1953) was an Australian politician In New Zealand, the term is used by all political parties, but in Australia, it is restricted to the Labor Party. For the Australian Liberal and National parties, and for all parties in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (not a Commonwealth country), the usual term is "parliamentary party". The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe.

As in New Zealand, in Canada caucus refers to all members of a particular party in Parliament, including senators, or a provincial legislature. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division. These members elect among themselves a caucus chair who presides over their meetings and 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. A caucus chair is a person who chairs the meetings of a Caucus. Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government particularly in a Westminster -based Parliamentary system A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. For other meanings see Backbench A backbencher is a Member of Parliament (MP or a legislator who does not hold governmental For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government.

The word can also be used to mean all the deputies in an assembly who come from a certain geographical or other background, for example "the Antarctic caucus. "

In alternative dispute resolution

The term caucus is also used in mediation, facilitation and other forms of alternate dispute resolution to describe circumstances when, 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. Mediation, a form of Alternative dispute resolution (ADR or "appropriate Dispute resolution " aims to assist two (or more disputants in reaching A facilitator is someone who helps a group of people understand their common objectives and assists them to plan to achieve them without taking a particular position in the discussion Alternative dispute resolution (ADR includes Dispute resolution processes and techniques that fall outside of the government judicial process 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.

Origin of the term

Lewis Carroll mocked the complexity of caucuses in Chapter 3, "A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale", of Alice in Wonderland. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (ˈdɒdsən (27 January 1832 &ndash 14 January 1898 better known by the Pen name Lewis Carroll (/ˈkærəl/ was an English Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865 is a novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known under the Pseudonym Lewis After handing out prizes to others, Alice receives a thimble (her own) from a Dodo as her prize from the caucus race. A prize is an Award given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements The dodo ( Raphus cucullatus) was a Flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

The origin of the word caucus is debated, but it is generally agreed that it came into use in English in the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the According to some sources, it comes from the Algonquian word for "counsel," 'cau´-cau-as´u', and was probably introduced into American politics through the Democratic Party in New York known as Tammany Hall, which liked to use Native American terms. The Algonquian (also Algonkian, and pronounced both and) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Tammany Hall was the Democratic Party Political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants (most notably Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Other sources claim that it derived from Medieval Latin caucus, meaning "drinking vessel", and link it to the Caucus Club of colonial Boston. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It may also be derived from the Arabic word qawqaʿah, "قوقعه", which means shell or enclosed area. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language

References

1. ^ Our View: Caucus turnout suggests change in Idaho politics | Editorial | Idaho Statesman
2. ^ Final Caucus Results
3. ^ http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/286707.html
4. ^ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_id_idaho_caucus_overflow.html
5. ^ MileHighGayGuy: Colorado Stonewall Dems Maucus
6. ^ skepticalcommunity.com :: View topic - Maucus
7. ^ See, e. g. , U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Conference; U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus; U.S. Senate Republican Conference; California State Senate Democratic Caucus
8. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
9. ^ Caucus Potus | Slog | The Stranger | Seattle's Only Newspaper
10. ^ "Rudd will wield new power carefully, experts say", ABC News, November 24, 2007. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Retrieved on 2008-01-03. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon.