Via TPM's Political Wire comes this from CNN (emph. added):
There were concerns that Republican voters would participate in large numbers in the Democratic primaries in Ohio and Texas Tuesday and cause mischief, following a call by Rush Limbaugh for listeners to vote for Hillary Clinton.
Early exit polling shows 10 percent of the voters in Ohio's Democratic Primary identified themselves as Republican, along with 22 percent who said they were independents. It was the same story in Texas: 10 percent of the voters in the Democratic primary identified themselves as Republican, along with 25 percent who said they were independents.
The November cranial explosion of the Dittohead-in-Chief would be something to see.
2 comments:
Pleaeeeease, Brendan!
If Republicans vote for HRC or Obama, it's because they despise McCain or just like being in on an historic event that doesn't involve another executive officer with chronic health issues.
Granted, my vote in the generals is now predicated solely on keeping my voter registration in view to remind me of my choice to join the Democratic party. But, it seems that people (including indies and GOP'ers, as well as Dems) are getting a cherished chance to make their votes count with every disputed election before the convention makes a decision. Only a cynic would pounce on a chance to deride a brokered convention.
It also seems, with Obama taking mostly small states, that the little guys are getting more play, too. So, popularly and electoral college-wise, Dems are giving their members more bang for their bet on a party to win the WH.
I'm more concerned about the likelihood of getting a good healthcare plan, so I don't care right now. my first choice got bounced early, and I was disenfranchised in Florida. Considering also the free trade debate from the pre-Ohio and Texas contests, I seriously doubt I belong in the Democratic party. really, I've lost the love! I want electoral reform, so another viable third party can realign the parties. I will zombie-crawl to November. I joined the Dems. I made the mistake, but I hate both parties as a whole. I like certain factions and certain pols.
It's time for change...ANY change!
You're probably right that some crossover Republicans voted for more pure motives than I suspect. But I remain sure that at least some of them were there exactly for the reasons outlined in the original post.
It's not like there isn't precedent; see, for example, Michigan 1972 (and that was before Lee Atwater and Karl Rove.) And there really are a lot of people who believe whatever Rush tells them -- the word "Dittohead" is not for nothing.
Good thoughts (well-expressed, I mean) about the general state of the parties. I felt exactly the same way, and back when Hillary was "inevitable," I was completely discouraged.
I don't really care about health care as an issue -- intellectually, I think national health care makes sense, but it's not emotionally important to me. Perhaps more to the point, I have no illusions that it can be implemented even if the Dems run the table in 2008.
I do care about the Democrats running someone who isn't going to be Republican-lite, especially in matters of foreign policy. I see Obama as giving a real shot in the arm to the young people in the party, or on the fence. I think he's the best hope that's come along in decades, and might be the last for one for just as long, if he doesn't win.
The fact that the demographic group that he has the least success with is the less educated just adds to my angst.
So you'll understand my tendency to see every little glitch of the campaign in the worst possible light.
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