Time Magazine: 500,000 Texas Republicans Crossed Over to Vote for Obama..MORE TROUBLE

[ElsewheresDaughter]

RUT ROH could Obama be in trouble with his PA ad telling PA Repulicans to switch over and register in order to vote Dem for a day?

THANK GOD FOR THE SUPER DELEGATES...THEY WERE CREATED FOR JUST THIS REASON!


http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1723756,00.html

As if Democrats didn't have enough problems deciding upon their presidential nominee this year, now they must contend with the possibility that Republicans are deliberately crossing party lines to prolong the bitterly contested race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In recent weeks, conservative talk radio stars Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham have urged loyal listeners to vote for the much-despised Clinton in open Democratic primaries so as to prevent Obama from sealing the nomination, and there are some indications that their calls have already been heeded in states like Texas and Mississippi.
Related Articles

Even in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, where the April 22 primary is closed to independents and Republicans, there are signs that some Republicans are going so far as to switch their party registration by the March 24 deadline to participate in what Limbaugh has dubbed "Operation Chaos." In the last five months, there has been a 2.2% increase in the number of registered Democrats in Pennsylvania versus a tiny dip of 0.12% in Republican numbers. Veteran Pennsylvania pollster Terry Madonna expects some 100,000 new Democrats to vote on April 22, about 5% of the total expected to vote. In historic Gettysburg, Adams County Elections Supervisor Monica Dutko told the local newspaper, The York Daily Record, she was a seeing an unprecedented steady stream of switchers, some of whom volunteered they were changing registration from Republican to Democrat at the urging of Limbaugh.

Madonna, however, believes most of those new Dems will go for Obama, which goes against the Limbaugh conspiracy theory. It is also exactly what the upstart candidate himself has been working toward. Obama, who until recently was winning the lion's share of Republican votes in open Democratic primaries, is running radio ads in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia calling on voters to register as Democrats this week.

more....http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1723756,00.html


Also

Cuyahoga County Board of Elections begins investigation of (Ohio)primary crossover voters

http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1206001848245730.xml&coll=2

The investigation comes 10 days after The Plain Dealer reported that more than 16,000 Cuyahoga County Republicans changed parties before voting March 4.

After the election, some local Republicans admitted they changed parties only to influence which Democrat would face presumed Republican nominee John McCain in November. One voter scribbled the following addendum to his pledge as a new Democrat: "For one day only."

Such an admission amounts to voter fraud, said McNair, who pushed for the investigation.

"I'm looking for evidence," McNair said. "I'm not interested in a witch hunt. But I am interested in holding people accountable, whether they're Democrat or Republican."

Lying on the signed statement is a fifth-degree felony, punishable by six to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Board members expect a report on the county's crossover voters on March 31. The board has the power to issue subpoenas, forcing voters to testify about their intent on election day, McNair said.

Board Chairman Jeff Hastings said the board would have to vote on whether to issue subpoenas.

more...http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1206001848245730.xml&coll=2

[AX10]

1. Republicans for Obama is a good thing...

but Republicans for Hillary is a bad thing. That is the Obamite/moveon.org "logic".

[Horse with no Name]

20. OT do you KNOW how hard it is to make Move On crap

go to your spam folder?
It took me a month to get rid of all of that shit.

[buff2]

2. This is what I've been afraid of all along

Republicans supporting him in the tens of thousands to help him win the nomination,then vote for McCain in the fall. Repukes are always manipulating our primaries and elections.This is why he draws such huge crowds. Half of them are republicans.

[roguevalley]

9. they don't outnumber us and they can't outspend us. let them have

their idiot moments for both candidates. in the end, they are toast. I work with a guy who is 'republican all my life' and he hates bush. He says he's going to register and vote this time because he's tired of it and wants health insurance for his kids. It won't take much to make him vote dem. could be a lot of those repugs are going to vote dem.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. # of Repub.. participating in the Tex primary this year was similar to past primary"

don't trust the op writer, read the article and you will see they
are deliberately misleading DUers.

[anamandujano]

3. I was complaining about this to my Repuke sister in law (Texas.)

She smiled knowingly and said, "There is definitely some strategy going on." (She knows I'm for Hillary and really likes sticking it to her.)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. these shenanigans have been going on since NE with the Obama campaign.......

Thank God for the super delegates!!!!

[Megahurtz]

5. Yeah AND one of them is Hillary's HUSBAND!

Sounds like a conflict of interest to me! :think:

[MonkeyFunk]

28. Obama's a superdelegate, too

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. you problem is - Limpball's scheme is to get Repugs to vote for Hillary

not Obama.

And exit polls showed that those republicans voting for Hillary did
so in spite of the fact that they cannot stand her and have no
intention of voting for her in the GE.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

7. read the entire article...both of them

[fedupinBushcountry]

24. Exactly

But you know the HRC supporters will spin this beyond reality.

[Celebration]

8. Wrong headline!! They said the Republican vote split 50/50 in Texas

Not to vote for Obama. And, it was a guess. Everyone was guessing different.

From Time

But the next day, after examining the exit polls from Texas and earlier states, he changed his mind. "As Republican participation increased, Hillary got more votes," Mann said. Some of them came from Allison Cavey's family. "My whole family actually voted for Hillary in the Texas primaries and we are all McCain supporters," said Cavey, 32, a Dallas resident who works for a medical software company. "We all thought it would be easier to beat Hillary in the fall. Also, we all agreed that if for some reason a Democrat won the election we would be better off with Hillary than Obama... scary thought!"

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. you know the Clintonistas hope no one will read the article

but we did. The OP title is a lie.

Hillary Clinton is a FAKE FAKE FAKE.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

10. WHY USE A LIE FOR THE TITLE OF YOUR OP? DON'T THINK PEOPLE WILL READ THE ARTICLE?

If you constantly lie and twist facts, you gain a reputation.

Your OP title is a LIE.

"Those 500,000 Republicans who voted in the Democratic party couldn't even bring themselves to vote for a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator," Masset said.
He believes some crossed over at the urging of talk radio, but more crossed over to vote for Obama, caught up in the excitement of a horse race; still, only detailed follow-up polling might provide more insight into the Republican crossover votes.

THE REPUG, MASSET DOESN'T HAVE EXIT POLLS OR ANYTHING ELSE, JUST HIS OPINION.

AND THIS REPUBLICAN POLLSTER DISAGREES WITH CLINTONISTA'S CLAIM:

Not all pollsters agree with Masset's analysis. Citing his respect for both Masset and Limbaugh,

Republican pollster Michael Baselice said his examination of the numbers leads him to believe the number of Republicans participating in the Texas primary this year was similar to past primary elections.

"The bigger story," Baselice said, "is how many people came out and voted in a primary for the first time."
In Dallas County 58% of the voters had never voted in either party's primary, while in Harris County, home to Houston, an astounding 64% of the primary voters had no primary voting history record. Obama won in those two large urban areas.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

17. excuse me that is the title that Time used instead of attacking READ assclown

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

27. The title to the Time article is "Can GOP Voters Spoil the Dem Race? "

and you misled as many people as you could.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

30. you're right..the title is still correct....Obama did get 57% of "registered" Texas Republican vote

[Catherina]

13. Here's a little something to help you out with the Clinton/Limbaugh link

they mentioned in the article

[VolcanoJen]

23. Bill Clinton went on Rush's show, the same day that screenshot was taken...

.... the day of the OH, TX, VT and RI primaries took place. The same day Rush featured a photoshop of Bill and Hillary with cockroach bodies on the same homepage.

It boggles the mind.

[pointsoflight]

14. PA is not an open primary

[ElsewheresDaughter]

26. That's why Obama in his ad told them they have until the 24 to switch over & register

[TheDoorbellRang]

15. That guy is all hat no calculator

And even your OP headline is a distortion of the distortion.

from your link:

...After looking over the election day numbers in detail, Masset concluded that half a million Republicans had voted in the Democratic primary, but that many had done it not to support Clinton, as urged to by Limbaugh, but for Obama...

"Those 500,000 Republicans who voted in the Democratic party couldn't even bring themselves to vote for a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator," Masset said. He believes some crossed over at the urging of talk radio, but more crossed over to vote for Obama, caught up in the excitement of a horse race; still, only detailed follow-up polling might provide more insight into the Republican crossover votes.

Nowhere does it say that his guess of 500,000 crossover voters all voted for Obama.

Here's those pesky details, from: CNN exit polls

TX C = 1,459,814; O = 1,358,785
Total vote = 2,818,599

Republicans are 9% of voters
.09 x 2818599 = 253,674 republican votes

46% voted for Clinton
.46 x 253,674 = 116,690 republican votes for Hillary

53% voted for Obama
.53 x 253,674 = 134,447 republican votes for Obama

(They don't say who the remaining 2% -- 5,073 -- voted for)

[Snarkoleptic]

16. The repukes are pulling hard for Hillary.

They know how to run against her and feel that they can't beat Obama.
Here's another snip from the Yahoo-Time piece...

The first clue that Republicans might be making this kind of mischief came in the crucial Texas primary on March 4, a contest that most observers claimed Clinton had to win - along with Ohio - to keep alive her hopes for the nomination. Dave Mann, a political writer for the progressive Texas Observer, was driving to Fort Worth on that primary day when he heard various callers to the Laura Ingraham radio show claiming they had followed her and Limbaugh's call. One even admitted he would now have to go to confession and repent his sins. As he listened, Mann dismissed the idea that Republicans would have a significant impact on the Democratic outcome in Texas.


But the next day, after examining the exit polls from Texas and earlier states, he changed his mind. "As Republican participation increased, Hillary got more votes," Mann said. Some of them came from Allison Cavey's family. "My whole family actually voted for Hillary in the Texas primaries and we are all McCain supporters," said Cavey, 32, a Dallas resident who works for a medical software company. "We all thought it would be easier to beat Hillary in the fall. Also, we all agreed that if for some reason a Democrat won the election we would be better off with Hillary than Obama...scary thought!"

Other talk radio hosts have taken up the cause. In Oregon, where voters must register by party by April 29 to vote in the May 20 primary. Conservative talk radio host Victoria Taft has been pushing Republicans to re-register as "dummocrats." Elections officials are seeing an increase in switchers, but voters' motives may not be divined until the Oregon exit polls are released. Meanwhile, Limbaugh opened his program Wednesday with a victory cry: "Operation Chaos is exceeding all objectives...this is just fabulous." Dubbing the Obama-Clinton face-off a "soap opera," Limbaugh says he will carry his campaign through to the final primaries in early June.


"I want our party to win. I want the Democrats to lose," Limbaugh said. "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."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080320/us_time/cangopvotersspoilthedemrace

[Dinger]

18. Primaries Should Be Closed, General Elections Open

There, I said it.

[Straight Shooter]

29. I agree. With a 4-week deadline to switch party registration before the primary if so inclined. n/t

[Umbram]

19. Yet another HRC supporter posting lies debunked by their own link. (nt)

[Radical Activist]

21. The articles don't support your headline.

Work on reading comprehension and come back later.

[OzarkDem]

22. Sandy McNair going after GOP crossover voters in Cuy Co

He's one guy they really don't want to mess with, a great trial lawyer and loyal Dem. Go Sandy!

[Barack_America]

25. 24% of Hillary's Votes in MS were Republicans.

FYI.

[BenDavid]

31. Obigot 08 will soon be over.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

32. I "Hope" so

[NNN0LHI]

33. Why would Obama run radio ads calling on Repig voters to register as Dems for a week?

Knowing full well they won't vote for him in November?

Something is funny here.

Don

[meow mix]

34. get ready for more of the same.. its going to be a Obama blowout

woot

[democrattotheend]

35. PA Voter Registration is completely out of touch with voting patterns

In 2004, Montgomery County, which has more registered Republicans than Democrats and has a lot of independents, voted for Kerry by a 12-point margin. Westmoreland County, near Pittsburgh, has a 2-1 Democratic registration advantage, but went for Bush by 12 points. So it makes sense for Obama to try to get some of the people who have voted Democratic in recent years but have not registered as Democrats to register as Democrats. There's nothing wrong with that.

A lot of the current registered Democrats in PA in places like Westmoreland County are Reagan Democrats. They didn't vote for Kerry. They didn't vote for Gore. Maybe they voted for Bill Clinton in 1996. Why is it ok for them to participate in our primary but it's not ok for people who are currently registered as independents or Republicans but may have voted for Kerry to switch their registration?

[bevoette]

36. i've been trying to find a good place to put my first post...

...and i think this will do :)

i was a 'crossover' in Texas. in fact...that was my first primary vote EVER. i usually vote for people like Perot (twice - i KNOW, right?? LOL), Badnarik (2004)...and Kinky Friedman, heh.

i don't actually consider myself a republican, more of a...right-leaning libertarian. or more accurately...a political cynic living in a state where my individual protest vote could never have an impact, so i was safe in making it. i admit this.

anyways...yeah, i 'crossed over'.

i want this man as president so badly.


and here's more antecdotal fodder: my mom is what you might call a "yellow dog" Republican. the last Democrat she voted for was frickin' Kennedy! she's fond of spouting party talking points, rarely giving much real thought to the positions. nothing about her fits the Republican 'model' at ALL...but nevertheless, she is one.

she didn't vote in the TX primary (the red 'Democrat' stamp would have given her a heart attack, lol), but she was PISSED when it looked like Hillary won - she called that night and said "leave it to the Democrats to mess it up!!"

why? because she likes Obama and hopes to be able to vote for him in November. and i didn't even talk her into it!! :)