Explaining the difference between how Republican and Democratic caucuses are conducted in Iowa, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow noted that while Republicans tally votes statewide on a one person/one vote system, Democratic caucuses are more complicated and involve physically moving caucus-goers around the caucus room.
"In herds," NBC's Brian Williams helpfully offered by way of analogy.
Yes, agreed the host of The Rachel Maddow Show, exactly, "in herds."
So there you have it, in a roundabout way at least: liberal journalists with NBC News admit that Democrats operate with a herd mentality.
Watch the video and read the transcript belong:
MSNBC
The Place for Politics 2016 (Iowa Caucus coverage)
February 1, 2016; 9:04 p.m. EasternRACHEL MADDOW: I should be clear when you’re looking at those little numbers below the pictures of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton there, those are not vote equivalents.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Of course not.
MADDOW: They’re not votes in the same way that they do actually represent votes in the Republican side. The Democrats count differently. What we’re watching here is a Republican caucus. And they’re tallying up these paper ballots that were cast by every participant at this particular Republican caucus site in Des Moines.
On the Democratic side, you don't count folded pieces of paper. You count heads. You count human beings that moved themselves [sic] to a specific part of the room.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: In herds.
MADDOW: In herds, yes, to indicate who they supported, and then what’s reported out of that caucus is state delegate equivalents, which is something that is too boring to understand at this point in the race. We won’t need to understand it unless we get really, really, really arcane in the closeness of this race.
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