I'll be honest: this question is premised by the fact that I am a John Edwards supporter, and I don't think it is any stretch of the imagination (or odd tilt of the tinfoil hat) to conclude that the Democratic Party establishment--as a whole--does not support his candidacy. Edwards has made it very clear that incumbents and lobbyists and, in short, the Establishment (broadly defined), will be a target/the targets of an Edwards' presidency.
(So, slip on your tinfoil hat and join me below the fold (if you dare)).
And I think it is clear that the old-establishment Democratic power brokers -- if not shaking in their boots -- will do what they can to ensure that this does not happen.
BTW, I hope I am wrong. I am open to challenges, below in the comments, if you think I've misread the tea leafs here.
Countering my paranoia, is the reality that the Iowa Caucus is a very open process -- where people will be able to see what's going on, which should act as a factor that prohibits my worst fears from coming to fruition.
Or will it? That's my hope, but ... what happens with the "official count"? Just asking. What process is in place to keep someone in The Establishment from "miscalculating" the tabulations? Just asking. Are there prohibitive safeguards that I am not aware of? Just asking. Are there ways of verifying the results that I am not aware of? Just asking.
I ask these questions. Maybe there are such safeguards, and my fears are overblown by the simple fact that I do not understand the technical process.
Regardless, I thought I would throw these questions out to this community I want to believe and trust the results. I want someone to prove to me that we have nothing to fear but our own ignorance of the nitty-gritty process. But in a time where elections are stolen (Al Gore's 2000 run for the presidency) ... where athletes routinely are caught cheating ... where the traditional media seems to be bought and paid for and a political power-broker in its own right, I wonder.