posted March 12, 2008 10:04 PM              

Republicans are taking advantage of one of the quirks of the US presidential process to influence the Democratic nomination.

The Daily Telegraph has learnt that in the "open" Democratic primary in Texas last week Republicans turned out in numbers to back Hillary Clinton - their favoured opponent in November for the Republican candidate John McCain.

Republicans think Clinton would be an easier opponent for Mr McCain
Some primaries are open to all voters, regardless of their party allegiance, and this is being used as a tactical weapon by Republican activists.

Democrats in Texas say that a campaign by the talk show host Rush Limbaugh urging fellow Republicans to vote for Mrs Clinton helped to keep her in the presidential race.

Exit polls support the contention that thousands of Republicans contributed to the former first lady's narrow victory over Barack Obama in the state.

Coupled with her triumph in Ohio, Texas saved Mrs Clinton's White House bid after 11 straight losses and guaranteed the battle for the party's presidential nomination will last several more weeks if not months.

Although Mrs Clinton is a hate figure for Right-wingers, Mr Limbaugh agrees with most opinion polls that she would be an easier opponent for Mr McCain. Even if Mr Obama eventually wins the nomination, the broadcaster hopes a prolonged struggle will weaken him and his party.

Speaking to Fox News before the vote, Mr Limbaugh said: "I want Hillary to stay in this. We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically, they are in the midst of tearing themselves apart."

Starting with Mississippi on Tuesday, five of the 12 states left to vote operate the open primary system.

Now that their nomination race is over, Republicans will feel freed up to vote in Democrat contests, meaning that the summons to cross party lines by Mr Limbaugh, who has a weekly audience of at least 14 million, could play a significant part in deciding the next US president.

Exit polls in Texas and Ohio show that nine per cent of voters in both were self-declared Republicans.

Last week Mrs Clinton's share of that vote more than doubled. In nine previous open primaries, no more than six per cent of voters were Republicans, and Mr Obama won overwhelmingly each time, with one exception.

Laura Kreissl, an accounting professor who was volunteering at precinct 307 in Canyon, a town 20 miles south of Amarillo, said she was "stunned" when the first person she checked in said "Rush Limbaugh sent me".

"He said: 'I am voting for Hillary Clinton but I want to see the Democrats implode'. As I sat there for 12 hours you hear people rattling on, and a great many mentioned Rush Limbaugh," she said.

"We didn't ask them anything. All we would say is 'are you aware this is the Democratic primary?', because we were sitting near the Republican section."

An Obama supporter, she said that another volunteer who favoured Mrs Clinton was also upset by the appearance of so many interlopers.

"They wanted to win fair and square," she said. Several Limbaugh listeners have called the show to say they had followed his lead and voted for Mrs Clinton.

Retired schoolteacher Anne Thomason, who was working at the same polling station, said: "It was disrespectful. I don't like to think that our country could be influenced by one person like that. The foundation of democracy is that you vote in what you believe."

A spokesman for the Clinton campaign dismissed the evidence that Republicans had influenced the polls, pointing out that Mrs Clinton won among Democrat voters.

posted March 12, 2008 10:09 PM              

Butler County in southwest Ohio is the most Republican county of all Ohio's 88 counties. 26 county offices and none of them are held by Democrats. Yet, the strangest thing happened on Tuesday... the Butler County Democratic Party increased in registered members by over 200% and now has more registered members than the Republican Party. Hillary Clinton won this county in the Democratic Primary by 10%.

Barack Obama won only 5 out of 88 counties in Ohio and those counties were the ones where Democrats are abundant. Yet Hillary Clinton won the state by only 10%. I have been told directly by Republicans here in Ohio that they voted for Hillary for the express purpose to either cause a split convention or to get her nominated because they know she is the weakest candidate against John McCain. To a person they will all be returning to voting Republican in the general election. To a judge monitoring the elections, Marilyn Hatfield, numerous Republicans taking a Democratic ballot said they were voting for Hillary "because of that thing Rush said." (Source: Hamilton Journal News, 3-6-08)

If one knows Butler County as I do, having run a campaign here and worked on campaigns my entire life, they will know that the city of Fairfield and West Chester and those surrounding areas are the staunchest strongholds of Republican voters in the county. This is where the farce of Republicans destroying a Democratic primary becomes obvious. These Republican strongholds are colored nearly totally blue, indicating that more voters took Democratic ballots than Republican ones. Since Clinton won Butler County by 10% it can safely be concluded that the majority of Republicans voted for her.

One has to ask himself "Why would a Republican, someone that hates Hillary Clinton from her years as First Lady to perhaps the most polarizing president of the modern era, vote for her?" You needn't wait long for an answer. Republicans have supplied plenty. She is the weakest candidate, they want to vote against her in the general election and need to make sure she'll be there and conservative media moguls told them to.

The law in Ohio, the Ohio Revised Code, is very clear on what Republicans have done. ORC 3513.20 says:
Before any challenged person shall be allowed to vote at a primary election , the person shall make a statement, under penalty of election falsification, before one of the precinct officials, blanks for which shall be furnished by the board of elections, giving name, age, residence, length of residence in the precinct, county, and state; stating that the person desires to be affiliated with and supports the principles of the political party whose ballot the person desires to vote; and giving all other facts necessary to determine whether the person is entitled to vote in that primary election. The statement shall be returned to the office of the board with the pollbooks and tally sheets . . . .

3599.36 Election falsification reads:
No person, either orally or in writing, on oath lawfully administered or in a statement made under penalty of election falsification, shall knowingly state a falsehood as to a material matter relating to an election in a proceeding before a court, tribunal, or election official, or in a matter in relation to which an oath or statement under penalty of election falsification is authorized by law, including a statement required for verifying or filing any declaration of candidacy, declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, nominating petition, or other petition presented to or filed with the secretary of state, a board of elections, or any other public office for the purpose of becoming a candidate for any elective office, including the office of a political party, for the purpose of submitting a question or issue to the electors at an election, or for the purpose of forming a political party.
Whoever violates this section is guilty of election falsification, a felony of the fifth degree.

A person that commits election falsification can face six to twelve months in prison as well as a $2,500 fine according to Ohio sentencing guidelines (Source: http://www.clelaw.lib.oh.us/Public/Misc/FAQs/Sentencing.html)

The greater question is, what are we as Democrats going to do about this? Are we going to prevent Republicans from flooding the last few primaries and trying to nominate our weakest candidate? Are we going to tolerate Republicans disenfranchising voters of Barack Obama and openly admitting to committing election fraud in Ohio? Are we going to allow the Republicans to game our system and stack the deck in their own favor politically by choosing the Democratic nominee? The answers to these questions will answer whether this party is able, whether it is even fit, to win the White House this year. A party that allows its opponents to choose its nominee and openly laugh about it cannot be an effective governing party.

Late addition: Here is the place where at least three Ohio Republicans admitted to crossing party lines to vote for Hillary just to cause chaos in the primary and at the convention.

Further Republicans talking about jumping party lines to sabotage the Democratic primary in Ohio.

posted March 12, 2008 10:44 PM            

In fact, this happens all the time and it seems only fair to me that since the NY Times endorsed John McCain...knowing they would not endorse him in the general election against any democrat candidate...it seems entirely fair that if democrats want to choose the Republican candidate against which their real candidate will run then Republicans have the perfect right to attempt to influence the democrat primary races.

The Times did this even though they were sitting on a story about McCain...a story which proved to be false...all the way back in December...before they endorsed McCain in print.

Meddling in the primary process works both ways.

posted March 13, 2008 07:31 AM            

Most republicans are not thrilled to have McCain as their presidential candidate.

posted March 13, 2008 11:22 AM            

quote:

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Some primaries are open to all voters, regardless of their party allegiance ...

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posted March 13, 2008 11:35 AM            

Indeed Eleanore, people do love to grip about others doing what they themselves do or have done.

In this case it's a matter of whose ox is being gored in the moment.

Some of us were ticked that democrats and their press proxies attempted to choose the republican candidate for us.

posted March 13, 2008 12:32 PM            

Welcome to politics

And me personally thinks that Hillary will chose to be McCain's running mate rather than Obama's for his lack of experience

This is the most ugly turn in American politics.

posted March 13, 2008 02:09 PM              

If Hillary Clinton does remain in the race and drags the primaries out to June or even to the Democratic Convention in August, Democrats may end up spending $200 million to $300 million more in attacking each other.

The prospect makes the Republican-leaning Limbaugh giddy.

As Newsmax reported earlier, the influential conservative has urged Republicans in Texas and Ohio to “pimp themselves” for just one day vote by voting for Hillary to keep the Democratic Party “at war with itself.”

On Friday night he told Laura Ingraham, who was filling in for Bill O’Reilly, “I want Hillary to stay in this, Laura. This is too good a soap opera. We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically, and it's obvious that the Republicans are not going to do it and don't have the stomach for it.

“As you probably know, we're getting all kinds of memos from the [Republican National Committee], saying not to be critical there. Mark MacKinnon of McCain's campaign says he'll quit if they get critical over Obama.

“This is the presidency of the United States you're talking about. I want our party to win. I want the Democrats to lose. They're in the midst of tearing themselves apart right now. It is fascinating to watch. And it's all going to stop if Hillary loses. So yes, I'm asking to cross over, if they can stomach it. I know it's a difficult thing to do to vote for a Clinton, but it will sustain this soap opera, and it's something I think we need. It would be fun, too.”

Ingraham noted that Rush and Hillary and Bill Clinton make “very strange bedfellows.”

Limbaugh declared: “I want the funeral music to play at some point to the Clintons, but not this early.” He said Hillary and her supporters can do what Republicans so far have been unwilling or afraid to do — “be critical of Obama on the serious things he deserves to be criticized for, such as his absolute ineptitude and danger on foreign policy.”

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/limbaugh_hillary_push/2008/03/03/77428.html

posted March 13, 2008 02:20 PM              

quote:

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The law in Ohio, the Ohio Revised Code, is very clear on what Republicans have done.

The law in Ohio, the Ohio Revised Code, is very clear on what Republicans have done. ORC 3513.20 says:

Before any challenged person shall be allowed to vote at a primary election , the person shall make a statement, under penalty of election falsification, before one of the precinct officials, blanks for which shall be furnished by the board of elections, giving name, age, residence, length of residence in the precinct, county, and state; stating that the person desires to be affiliated with and supports the principles of the political party whose ballot the person desires to vote; and giving all other facts necessary to determine whether the person is entitled to vote in that primary election. The statement shall be returned to the office of the board with the pollbooks and tally sheets . . . .

3599.36 Election falsification reads:

No person, either orally or in writing, on oath lawfully administered or in a statement made under penalty of election falsification, shall knowingly state a falsehood as to a material matter relating to an election in a proceeding before a court, tribunal, or election official, or in a matter in relation to which an oath or statement under penalty of election falsification is authorized by law, including a statement required for verifying or filing any declaration of candidacy, declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, nominating petition, or other petition presented to or filed with the secretary of state, a board of elections, or any other public office for the purpose of becoming a candidate for any elective office, including the office of a political party, for the purpose of submitting a question or issue to the electors at an election, or for the purpose of forming a political party.
Whoever violates this section is guilty of election falsification, a felony of the fifth degree.

A person that commits election falsification can face six to twelve months in prison as well as a $2,500 fine according to Ohio sentencing guidelines (Source: ]http://www.clelaw.lib.oh.us/Public/Misc/FAQs/Sentencing.html)

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i suppose it's just "a stretch" to justify what the law states is falsification, as "opportunistic", especially when it's just another aspect of politics that people enjoy dismissing under the guise of supporting fraud, when it's for their beneift, that is.

posted March 13, 2008 02:24 PM            

Right now, Bill and Hill are drawing up war plans to steal the primary from Obama.

But, on a different note, why shouldn't republicans want to keep the democrat infighting going? This isn't a game of beanbags you know.

If democrat candidates want to draw and quarter each other, why not give them every assistance?