Although much of the caucus hype is centered around the nine Democratic candidates, other campus political groups have plans for Monday as well.

The Democratic and Republican parties will attend their respective caucuses Monday. Third-party organizations such as the ISU Campus Greens and Iowa State Libertarians, which have no local caucuses, will participate as well. Third-party members will likely register with a major party, joining in either the Democratic or Republican caucuses, or not participate at all.

Though there are Green Party caucuses in Iowa, the ISU Campus Greens will not take part in them, said club president Matt Denner, senior in political science and Daily columnist.

“We haven’t had any Green candidates here in Story County. At this point, we know who runs for the Democratic Party a lot better,” he said.

Denner said he and other members of the ISU Campus Greens, who are not officially affiliated with the Green Party, had no problem registering as Democrats to participate in the caucuses and did not see the lack of a Green Party caucus as a detriment.

“I want to vote for the best candidate,” he said, “and right now the best candidates are Democrats.”

While Democratic candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, comes closest to sharing the ISU Campus Greens’ values, the club does not endorse candidates and would look at each individually, Denner said.

The Iowa State Libertarians have no organized plans for participation in the local Democratic or Republican caucuses, said David Faden, club president and senior in computer science. Faden said Libertarians’ views often side with both major parties, making it difficult to choose one or the other to caucus for.

“On social issues, we’re more like the Democrats, but in economic issues, we agree with the Republicans,” he said.

Iowa Republicans, with only one candidate to choose from, may not have as exciting a task as their Democratic counterparts, but they will have business to attend to in their caucus.

Rep. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, will deliver a keynote address on President Bush’s behalf to open the caucus proceedings.

The participants will then appoint committee members and delegates for the county Republican conventions that will take place in March, and then to discuss the planks of the party’s platform to be brought up at the county convention and beyond.

As in the Democratic caucus, Monday is just the first step in a series of gradually broadening Iowa Republican conventions, which express the concerns of party members and build the party platform.

“The conventions are a winnowing process in terms of delegates,” said Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center.

“Delegates elected at the precinct caucuses move on to the county convention, and fewer and fewer from each precinct are selected to move on to state and national conventions.”

Moving with delegates through these junctures will be the issues their peers feel are most important, said Josh Reicks, president of the ISU College Republicans and senior in political science.

“We’ll debate any issues brought up at our caucus and decide on eight to 10 that we feel are most important,” Reicks said. “The delegates we choose will argue for those issues to be added to the platform at the county convention. The hope is that the planks will stay on the platform all the way to the national convention.”

He said issues he foresaw coming up in the ISU precincts involved President Bush’s new immigration law proposal, recent Medicare bills and the president’s direction for the GOP.

“Changes the administration has made within the last year seem to be getting away from the ideas of fiscal conservatism that the party is based on,” Reicks said. “I expect more conservative planks to be added to the Republican platform — not just here, but across the country.”

Even without candidates to choose, Reicks anticipated a crowd to turn out for the caucus. For the combined student precincts, he said he expects 20 to 40 Republican participants. Republicans will caucus in all 1,993 Iowa precincts, including the 17 Ames precincts, next Monday. All Ames precincts will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Democrats will caucus at locations all over Ames. A map of Ames precincts and caucusing locations is located at www.storycounty.com.

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