GOP loses 2 more county registration majorities--IN PA!

[Barack_America]

Holy shit! Delaware and Chester have ALSO gone blue. That makes ALL of Philly's surrounding counties! Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester...ALL BLUE!

Folks I can't even BEGIN to tell you what this means for Pennsylvania in the General Election. History shows that the candidate who carries these counties usually wins the state!

Amazing!

Okay, enough of my freak-out, here's the article:

GOP loses 2 more county registration majorities

By Nancy Petersen

Inquirer Staff Writer
For the first time in the history of Chester and Delaware Counties, the Republican Party cannot claim the majority of registered voters, having been supplanted by a combination of Democrats, independents, and other party affiliations.

According to data released this week by the state Bureau of Elections, the number of Republicans on the rolls in Chester County is 147,257. All other registered voters total 158,886; of those, 111,916 are in the Democratic column.

In Delaware County, other parties outnumber the GOP, 193,858 to 189,386. The Democratic tally is 154,707 - cause for jubilation among party leaders.

"The impetus for this whole thing was the primary," said Cliff Wilson, chairman of the Delaware County Democratic Committee. "It is the historic nature of the candidates that has done this."

The changes in the two counties were not as dramatic as those in Montgomery and Bucks Counties, which have gone majority Democrat after decades as Republican bailiwicks.

Still, the shifts are significant. Since the November election, Chester County has added 19,599 Democratic registrants and lost 3,020 Republican voters. Delaware County has gained 21,924 Democrats and lost 7,620 Republicans.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080409_GOP_loses_2_more_county_registration_majorities.html

[suston96]

1. For the primaries. I don't believe that will translate into votes for the Democrats in November...nt

[Barack_America]

4. It will. Trust me. I've run into many registered "Republicans"....

Who are simply done with that party. They didn't vote Republican in 2006 and the Dem Presidential primary was merely the catalyst to make the switch "official".

Ran into that a lot in South Jersey as well.

[democrattotheend]

5. This is especially true in the Philly suburbs

I don't know as much about Delaware and Chester Counties, but I know that Montgomery County has been voting Democratic at the national level for a while. One woman I helped switch in Narberth said she should have done so a long time ago. Kerry carried Montgomery County by 12 points in 2004, and Rendell won it overwhelmingly both times.

[Barack_America]

7. Exactly. I wasn't so surprised about Bucks and Montgomery...

...But Chester and Delaware??? Wow. That was surprising. When I think of "Reagan Democrats" in this area, I think of those counties.

If I recall, Chester even went for Bush in 2004.

[Yael]

13. PA went to Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004

:shrug:

[Barack_America]

16. On the backs of these counties...

To put it bluntly, these people signed up with the Republicans in the 90's. This was a reaction against the Democratic party and the administration at that time. They are "Clinton Republicrats", Democrats who turned Republican under Bill, but they never bought into the Republican party platform.

Chester county is the most interesting as it actually went for Bush in 2004.

[ShaneGR]

26. PA was blue in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004......

The last time it went Red in a presidential election was Bush vs Dukakis in 1988. 20 years ago.

[quantass]

2. Exciting stuff!!

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Wow! Woot!

:woohoo:

[MADem]

6. Ah, but then there's the rest of the story.

No counting of chickens, yet:

Joseph E. "Skip" Brion, chairman of the Chester County Republican Committee, predicted that the numbers would not hold past Pennsylvania's April 22 primary. He noted that Republicans had changed parties for the 2002 primary, in which Ed Rendell and Mike Fisher ran for governor.

"A lot of Republicans switched to vote in that primary, and then they switched back," Brion said, adding that good Republicans were looking to influence the Democratic contest one way or another. The latest voter-registration statistics "are numbers you cannot rely on as you move ahead in this race."

[BumRushDaShow]

8. The "rest of the story" is nothing but the repukes being forced to make some statement.

You would take their nonsense at face value?

There is not going to be all this switching back. People are too lazy. If they still want to vote repuke in the GE for their local people, they'll do it without switching. PA does do cross-over voting, which is why Specter is still in there, thanks to the Dems of Philadelphia.

[MADem]

18. Go ahead and call it nonsense. And while you're at it, do what some other idiots do, too

and accuse me of being a Republican. I really don't care. It seems to be the last refuge of those who can't engage on the actual issues.

My only point is that "chicken counting" is ill advised. This isn't the first time--Limbaugh or no Limbaugh--that this sort of nefarious mischief making has happened, in PA as well as elsewhere.

Here, a few examples:

http://www.mlive.com/elections/index.ssf/2008/04/partyswitching_picks_up_in_lat.html

Many voters say they have made the switch to have a voice they never thought they'd have, in a historic race that conventional wisdom had predicted would be decided on Super Tuesday in February.


Some renegade conservatives, though, will admit to switching in order to drag out the Democratic nomination process in the hope of bruising both candidates.

Talk radio hostess Victoria Taft, a familiar Republican voice in the Democratic-leaning Pacific Northwest, said even in her wildest dreams, she never imagined urging her listeners to vote for Hillary Clinton.

But these days, Taft is firmly on her bandwagon, along with national conservative talk radio heavyweights like Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham.

"I want to vet Barack Obama more than Hillary," said Taft, whose evening drive-time show reaches about 30,000 people. "We know what she is all about, but we don't know a stinking thing about him."

Her urging has resonated with listeners like Deborah Whisler, a retiree, who changed her registration from nonaffiliated to Democratic after hearing Taft.

Closer to the primary in question: http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19467772&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=614635&rfi=6

The party plans a drive to welcome those voters back to the fold as soon as they have cast a ballot for Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, said Robert Gleason, the state GOP party chairman.

The campaign will start at polling places on election day. Party volunteers will hand out voter registration cards so voters can switch their registration back to the GOP. The party will send mailers to remind these voters why they were Republicans in the first place, Mr. Gleason said at a Capitol press conference.




http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20080408_Another_GOP_bastion_falls_Bucks_County__for_the_first_time_since_1978__has_more_Democrats_than_Republicans__It_might_be_temporary_.html

Another GOP bastion falls
Bucks County, for the first time since 1978, has more Democrats than Republicans. It might be temporary.


Such figures are "the most concrete indicator of the interest and intent to participate on April 22," said Rebecca Halton, deputy press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of State, which includes the elections board. "It is a very exciting election year, and we are seeing some record-setting numbers."

Whether it is a harbinger of local electoral control is another matter. While Bucks and Montgomery have gone Democratic in recent national elections, county-level offices are still dominated by Republicans.

"One has to wonder how much of it is long-lasting," Warren said of the Democrats' registration surge. "I don't know if you could say it was as much a race between the two parties for registrations as it was an intra-squad match between Democrats for Obama or Clinton."

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

21. I'm in total agreement...

The registration numbers alone are not going to tell the whole story. Granted, I think there are some significant numbers of people who are legitimately changing parties -- for chrissakes, look at the results of the last eight years -- and changing their allegiance. I know some of these people (in Wisconsin) personally. But under the current dynamic of the primaries, where Republicans get a "free vote" if they switch for the primaries, I'd say the verdict is still out on just how many of these "new" Democrats plan to stay with us in the GE.

[JimGinPA]

9. What Else Would You Expect "Skip" To Say?

"We know they hate Bu$h, but they'll surely want McSame, same old policies but he's older."

[Barack_America]

10. What is "ignored" getting all upset about?

That I didn't violate DU rules and post the entire article?

Perhaps "ignored" is a little upset about Dem successes in Pennsylvania? Now why would that be?

[Yael]

14. Ignored just wanted to post the Republican response

about how they will get them all back after 4/22.

You know, the REAL newsworthy portion of the report. :P

[AllentownJake]

22. My Mom

Switched for Barack and she ain't going back unless Hillary is the nominee.

[usregimechange]

11. This guy, ehem, and us, we will change the political landscape of this county.

[newmajority]

12. I just hope that these crossovers are truly fed-up Republicans crossing over to vote for a Democrat.

And not Dildoheads doing the bidding of the drug-addled gasbag Nazi Limpdick, to manipulate the primary.

Even an ex-Repuke honestly (though mistakenly) voting for Hillary now would be unlikely to vote for Grandpa McLoony in November.

[hogwyld]

15. I think I can honestly say thank you to GWB!

He has done something that the Democratic party has been unable to do for a long time. He has effectively destroyed the rethuglican party for generations to come. He's helped to relegate the GOP to super-minority status for the next 100 years.

[BootinUp]

17. an exciting trend, hope it translates to victories in 08. nt

[Barack_America]

19. Kicking the good news for the evening folks!

:bounce:

[Penndems]

20. Kristi, this is for all the Chesco and Delco DUers who registered this historic influx of new Dems:

A Philly cheesesteak with fries for everyone - love ya, PA! :) :hi:

[uponit7771]

23. This is the reason why the Dem primary wont end...that's a good thing

[Condem]

24. I was raised in Bucks County

So this is truly great news! Gobama!

[ShaneGR]

25. Are we really worried about carrying PA in the general election?

News flash: Pennsylvania has gone blue in the last 4 elections. 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. If we're getting excited about registering Democrats in a state WE ALWAYS WIN, we're in trouble. lol

[Barack_America]

27. Newsflash! We still have one Republican Senator and just got rid of another one.

So yes, there is a danger of PA going red in national elections.

And, FYI, Kerry didn't exactly blow out this state in 2004.

[Skip Intro]

28. We should be thankful that Hillary didn't heed the anti-Democratic calls for her to drop out.

:shrug:

[Condem]

29. Come on, Pennsylvania, end this thing!

[quakerboy]

30. I think thats good news

no matter which side of the intercene squabble you are on.