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  This past Monday in Iowa, the 2016 election season finally began in earnest with actual voters casting actual votes.  As my son and I watched the whole thing unfold from our home in Maryland, we felt like we were missing the Main Event. As I’ve mentioned with monotonous regularity on this podcast, Caleb and I spent a week in Iowa last August just outside Cedar Rapids, where we volunteered in one of Bernie’s field offices. We made phone calls. We knocked on doors. We did what we could to help the full-time campaign staffers get the word out about Bernie. And now the time had finally come... but we weren’t there to see what actually happens at a precinct caucus. So, I called up a few people who were there: Kathryn Stack, Rhonda Shouse, and Jennifer Herrington. They provide some vivid snapshots of what happened on Monday night... what’s wonderful about Iowa’s caucuses... and what needs to be fixed, too.P.S. There’s also tiny bit of Springsteen in this episode — a clip that’s long enough to make my editorial point, but short enough so I won’t violate Fair Use. Or so I hope!   Show notesIowa Democratic PartyResults from the 2016 Democratic caucuses [interactive map]Linn County, IowaPage County, IowaCornel West introduces Bernie Sanders at Cedar Rapids rally, January 31, 2016 [VIDEO]Bruce Springsteen’s We Take Care of Our Own [VIDEO]our iTunes page