This recent report in the Review Journal makes the case that it’s not the state parties’ responsibility to drive turnout to their Jan. 19 caucuses, saying it’s the candidates and issue groups who will do so.

“After all, it’s the candidates and issue advocates who have something at stake,” says the piece.

The issue of turnout came up recently when Sen. Harry Reid predicted 100,000 Democrats would caucus, which was 2.5 times the number the state party has been floating. The Reid imbroglio drew notice because the Democratic Party, contrary to the
RJ assertion, says it has a lot at stake, which is why half its Jan. 19 caucus budget is for turnout.

Jean Hessburg, who’s a consultant to the state Democratic Party on the caucus, said simply, “”We want to get as many people to the caucus as possible.”

The reasons are clear. As Hessburg noted, the party wants to drive caucus turnout because it will give it a leg-up in organizing for the November 2008 election.

More important, though: Nevada Democrats were given a gift in the form of an early place on the presidential selection calendar. If no one shows up, don’t expect the Democratic National Committee to come playing here ever again.

Although true that candidates and issue groups will spend on advertising and field operations to get people out, their chief concern, as Hessburg noted, is getting their own people out. Not the total number of people.