Time for more tactical voting.
I suggest that any GOP voter in TX or OH take a Democrat ballot and vote for Hillary.
The fact that this contest is dragging on is harming the Democrats.
The fact that both of them have been struggling to get labor votes in Ohio has led them to say things about NAFTA that will hurt the D nominee in the general election. It even caused Obama to be caught in a lie about his NAFTA position.
Every day these two fight each other weakens the Ds and strengthens the GOP candidate in the Fall, and creates opportunities that can be exploited in the Fall.
Hillary needs these two wins to keep this contest alive.
Just as voting for Obama to weaken Hillary made sense a few weeks ago, the opposite is true now.
Of course you realize that even though Daily Kos advocated doing the same thing in Michigan in the Republican primary run between Romney and McCain, you’ll still be tagged by the left as an evil agent provocateur asking that others do on to them what they did upon us.
Don:
The Democrats chose to have open primaries.
Voters are free to take ballots and vote however they want for whatever reason.
I can understand the temptation to do such a thing, for the (I think) majority of conservatives who, unlike Ann Coulter, would prefer John McCain to either democrat. But if you think the Clintons’ record of corruption* swamps that of Obama or McCain, and that another Clinton candidacy endangers the republic, because it rewards such corruption as well as nepotism, then if you cross the party lines to vote you will instead vote for Obama (as I did).
*(e.g., pardons for family members, pardons for donations, pardons for FLN terrorists for votes, pardons for larcenous community leaders for votes, pardons for $100,000 payments and loans made to two of Hillary Clinton’s brothers, lobbying for Kazakh uranium contracts for $10 million contributions, permitting the perfection of Chinese ICBM launches for Loral contributions, the $100,000 commodities payoff, legal work furthering the Whitewater scam, and evading the anti-nepotism laws and requirement of Senate confirmation for cabinet officers by putting Hillary at the head of health care “reform” — which should have been the job of the HHS Secretary, or someone reporting to her.)
As an Ohio voter, and registered Republican, I get the ballot with McCain; not the Dem choices. I don’t believe I can ask for the Dem ballot if I am registered as a Republican.
This strategy is a two-for-one win for the Republicans. Not only will the mud-slinging continue without McCain getting involved, but the MSM will report outrageously lopsided numbers for Democratic voters vs. Republican voters, which will in fact be true because of the number of cross-overs. But their editorializing on such a disparate number of voters will lead them to believe (and report, ad nauseum) that whoever the Democratic nominee is, they will enjoy a huge advantage in voter numbers over McCain in one of the reddest states in the Union. Such illogical reporting can only help the Republicans in November.
I think that Republicans should view the Democrat race in the same way the US viewed the Iran/Iraq war. You should want to see both sides bleed each other, and help out whichever seems weakest at a given time, in the hopes that they both eventually lose.
Not to imply, of course, that Hillary! and Obama are morally (or in any other way, other than by the above analogy) equivalent to Iran and Iraq.
But if they were, which would be which…? ;-)
In Texas, regardless of one’s party registration, a voter can cross party lines in the primary election. When you enter the polling station, while signing in at the first table, stipulate very clearly which party ballot you want that day to vote. Regardless of one’s party affiliation, so long as you are registered to vote, you can vote whichever party you choose so long as you get that party’s ballot or ticket for the computerized voting machine.
We moved from Hamilton County to Butler County in SW Ohio 15 months ago, and when we re-registered to vote, we became Independent’s. We are going to vote for Hillary. Yeah I know, 3 votes will not mean a thing. McCain is so far ahead our 3 votes wont matter, except to us. Cannot wait to let dad know, he despises “that woman” Going out to lunch yesterday, we did see about a dozen mostly teenagers standing on the corner of Cox Road and Tylersville holding hand-made signs for Obama. They were noisy and was getting a lot of people beeping at them, heck I beeped at them. Their God has apparently has risen and manifested himself as a man named Obama
I agree with DWP above. People should make their vote count by voting for the best person. Voting to help the Clinton crime family get back into the White House is a terrible thing to do for the country. The Clintons are hopelessly corrupt and should be prosecuted under the RICO statutes. Don’t help them; erase them. Dump them on the dung-heap of history where they belong.
John Lynch said “As an Ohio voter, and registered Republican, I get the ballot with McCain; not the Dem choices. I don’t believe I can ask for the Dem ballot if I am registered as a Republican.” I checked with a lawyer friend who is also on the local Board of Elections. In Ohio, you can declare either way at the primary. True, you will not be able to vote in the local Republican primary if you do so. I may vote for Hillary (yuk!!) just because Obama scares the hell out of this Republican.
When you have a chance to kill a vampire . . . you drive the stake into it’s heart.
Letting the SHRillary vampire live is crazy talk . . . kill it NOW!!!!
golly. and no one will figure out this desparate movwe by GOP types who are stuck with a liberal/conservativ e or whatevzer he is next week.
John Lynch,
Obama has radio spots encouraging Republicans to request a Democrat ballot. You can crossover and request a (D) ballot. My problem is that I am a gold star republican, I have never voted for a democrat candidate. I’m not sure if I want to break my streak. Voting for a Clinton might give me a rash.
TO JOHN LYNCH:
From a Fellow Repub, in the State of Ohio
The answer is yes you can get a Democrat ballot, all you have to do is ask for it at the polling location.
If you voted absentee, you could have selected the ballot you would have liked to receive on the application.
Of course then you will be identified as a Democrat until the next Primary. I did this in 2004.
Ohio does NOT have an “open” primary. As John stated above, those of us registered as Republicans get Republican ballots…and NO, I’m not changing my registration just to play spoiler…neither will I be cutting off my nose to spite my face.
John, from the Ohio SOS website:
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/PublicAffairs/VoterInfoGuide.aspx?Section=15
“You may vote the primary ballot of the political party with which you currently wish to be affiliated. If you voted the primary ballot of a different political party in 2005 or 2006, you will complete a statement at your polling place confirming the change in your political party affiliation.”
So, no problem switching, you will just be a registered Democrat until the next election if you can tolerate that ;-).
Craigl
That’s what’s going to happen.
I live in Fairfield, Tx and will be voting for Hillary tomorrow. Most of my family will be doing the same, but for a different reason. With McCain having all but locked up the nomination, I will be voting for the dem that least scares the bejesus out of me. After the protests in Pakistan and near trade war with the Canooks, that leaves me with HRC.
Thanks
My wife and I are both going to vote her in Texas tomorrow for a candidate we hate, Hillary Clinton. We hate Obama as president even more and anything we can do to keep these two kicking, biting, and screaming at each other has got to be good for our country.
I never dreamed the day would come when I would be voting for Hlllary Clinton.
I’m with Ron B. If we _must_ have a Dem for President, I’d rather it be Hill with all her flaws than that limp-dicked gasbag Obama. And I also think she’ll be easier for McCain to beat.
I’m in Texas and have decided to vote for Hillary. The only downside I see to this is it will give the Rush Limbaughs more ammo to use against McCain. They can say “See? A conservative state won’t vote for McCain”. I won’t do it only to cause trouble for the democrat party, but because the thought of Obama as president scares me more than Hillary as President.
There is a long history in the state of Texas of cross over voters looking beyond the immediate candidate to the general election. I can recall my father in the early 1960s taking my Mother to the polls to vote against Ralph Yarbourgh. I had been planning for a long time to vote for Hillary. The only trouble is that she is held in such low esteem by conservative Texans that I suspect that a great many will be voting for Obama just to stomp on her when she is down.
A co-worker who lives in Sugarland in Tom Delay’s old district said that although he voted early ballot in the Republican Primary. (there are number of candidates trying to run for that old seat that was stolen for the Dems) he was surprised at the huge line to vote Dem in a normally heavily Republican district.
Well, beside being kinda tacky and unbecoming there are down ballot candidates that need support and some of those races in parts of Texas are pretty important. In addition, in those Democrat controlled counties a skewed vote by dissaffected Republicans will perpetuate the Democrat power base in those counties.
I’m one registered Republican who certainly won’t be voting for either Obama or Hillary because, for no other reason, I’m terrified that I might wind up with either as president
John Lynch is correct. In Ohio, a registered Republican would have to switch parties in order to obtain a Democrat ballot.
This is a horrible idea. If she wins Texas and/or Ohio she’s still in it and has a solid case for the superdelegates on the grounds of electability. Hillary will be a much stronger candidate in the general and will be practically obliged to pick Barack as her VP (a formidable ticket).
In contrast, Obama will be a disaster for the dems in the general. 5/6ths of the electorate will realize that 1/6 of the electorate has picked an ultra leftist liberal from a corrupt Dem machine with no practical experience. Another 1/6th (the Hillary dems) will scream “I told you so” as the wheels come off in the fall.
In the general, the other 2/3rds will expect Obama to stake out policy positions he has largely been able to avoid because Hillary can’t challenge him on any of them. [Many of the 1/6 that voted for Barack because he’s a rorschach for “he agrees with me” won’t be too happy with the answers either.]
Consider the list of issues she can’t make an issue of:
Corruption: “Paging Mrs. Pot.” Consorting with radical bombers: FLN pardons. Spending: see HillaryCare(tm). Immigration: He’s on the side that brings more votes in the primary. Radical black church: a third rail for dems. Pushing Obama to clarify a time certain withdrawal: “What about your dissembling on a plan, Hillary?” NAFTA blatent pandering: “I voted for it before I was against it.” This is why Obama has gotten a pass.
John McCain will not be so constrained, and you can expect to see more like “They’re called Al Qaeda in Iraq” and brutal CBC call outs, because he’s a lightweight, and the truth will out. By november the bloom will be off the rose and he’ll look like just another scumbag poll who has and will say anything to get elected. McCain may be a jerk, but people won’t wonder about his experience, what he really thinks.
Be smart: Drive a stake through the dread queen while the press still hates her.
Any Republican in Texas’s 14th Congressional District is foregoing an opportunity to choose their next US Representative if they vote in the Democratic primary. Chris Peden is challenging Ron Paul for that seat.
If you want an absentee representative that votes with Nancy Pelosi on the Global War On Terror, and talks controling spending without delivering results, your choice is Paul. In that case, feel free to vote for Clinton or Obama.
If you prefer a representative that will show up, vote with the Republicans on the GWOT, and actually has succeeded in cutting taxes and governmental spending, you want to vote for Peden. Please don’t waste your vote in a Democratic primary where it makes no substative difference anyway.
I suggest that any GOP voter in TX or OH take a Democrat ballot and vote for Hillary.
No! You should NOT suggest that. Sen. Cornyn has a Republican challenger and anything that prevents him from winning the primary and unseating that RINO pinhead would be a disaster. IMHO.
Trader
While I like the idea of watching them bash each other for another 5 months, the thought of Hillary having a chance at getting back into the White House terrifies me.
Finish Hillary now that she’s down and be done with it. I beg you.
While many people are contemplating “jumping ship” to vote for Hillary Rodent Anti-Christ over the Obamanation consider that such an action renders you unable to vote for other Primary candidates in your preferred party.
For example, my Congress-critter has some stiff competition from another Republican. If I were to take a Democrat ballot I wouldn’t be able to help my local candidate win the nomination.
Remember folks, there’s more to this election than just POTUS. We’re also electing 435 Representatives and 33 or 34 Senators. Many of them may need help in the Primaries too.
I’m a Republican who voted for Hillary in the Texas primary last week (early voting) and plan to vote for her again in the caucus on Tuesday evening. I don’t believe that Hillary could ever get anything done if she was elected while Obama might bring expensive change. Sometimes gridlock is good. Also, imagine how crushed Obama supporters would be if he lost. It would be good if a new generation of leftists decided to stay home in November.
E-mails to my friends here in Ohio.
Tomorrow, I intend to go to the polls, ask for a Democrat ballot, and vote for Hillary Clinton. It will be very painful, but my duty to God and Country requires it.
Hillary needs a big win in Ohio to stay in the campaign. If she stays in the campaign, she and ****** will continue to slag each other and will be forced to spend their money on ads attacking each other. Their respective supporters will be more entrenched and more likely to be embittered when their candidate is eliminated at the convention. It also raises the likelihood that the Clintons will resort to divisive tactics and over the top arm twisting to attempt to secure the nomination for her.
Furthermore the entertainment of watching the Clintons whine about the biased media is just too good to miss.
I urge all of you who can vote in Ohio to do likewise.
I should make it clear. I abhor Hillary, and I think that ****** is a hard line anti-American leftist.
I just want to keep the pot boiling.
****** He, whose middle name may not be mentioned.
“Mr. Zug Says: John Lynch is correct.”
All you have to do is ask for a Democrat ballot when you get to the polling place. You will be listed a D on the rolls until the next time. You could probably change at the BoE later, if it bothers you.
This is a repugnant tactic and one that, while technically legit, violates the spirit of democracy.
The problem with voting for Hillary is this: in this year, the circumstances favor the Democratic candidate winning. And Hillary is by far and away the worst candidate. Regardless of policies, her and her husband’s endless corruption are a threat.
And she would rip this country apart. Hillary is a threat that needs to be ended as soon as possible, in any way possible. The risk is too great to attempt to perpetuate her candidacy.
Let’s get real: It is entirely arrogant to believe that you can control circumstances to this degree.
As a lifelong Republican, I am appalled at your suggestion, and if this becomes some sort of installed strategy in the party, I will leave the party for good. Trust me when I say that this tactic turns off a lot of people and you only marginalize yourself.
I’ve really considered voting for Senator Clinton cause Senator Obama is just horrifyingly bad. But at the same time, Senator Clinton is only slightly less horrifying (unless it comes to healthcare, in which case she’s the worst).
I’m terribly torn between voting for Hillary and then going back for the caucus or, because I swing libertarian, voting (grudgingly) for Mr. Ron Paul to send a message to the Republican party that libertarians are indeed an honest to God part of the Republican coalition.
Decisions, decisions, and only four and a half hours to make it.
I won’t ask for a Dem ballot, although I am tempted. If I did, I couldn’t vote for the Republican county office holders and state and Congressional Reps. They have more immediate impact on me and mine than the Prez. If you aren’t a Republican in my county you might as well not run at all, meaning that the winner of the primary in many cases will be the office holder.
Way to go geniuses. Ditto head’s everywhere listened to Rush’s bone-headed idea and helped save a political cockroach team for the general.
If we had beat her tonight it would have been game over for the Clinton comeback forever, and we would have had a total lightweight for an opponent that would have folded like a cheap suit. (See the “8 questions” press conf?) Who would take a chance on Hillary ever again if her campaign ended tonight?
Now she has the momentum, Barack will get more scrutiny, and idiots like Hannity have “educated” the dems on the alarming weakness of Obama RIGHT BEFORE THEY WERE ABOUT TO SEAL THE DEAL. And since Barack will probably NOT be the nominee, he has been spared a humiliating, career-ending loss in November.
AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGG!!!!!
All you instant Hillary voters should pat yourselves on the back, because you saved both of their political careers tonight, and now McCain will actually have to run against a candidate that can win.
Mark: untie the knots in your small clothes. Things are working according to plan.
One of 2 things will happen. Hillbilly may yet snatch the prize from He Who Must Not Be Middle Named, even though HWMNBNM will have more popularly chosen delegates and more popular votes.
In order to take the prize, Hillbilly will have to torture the ex-officio delegates, and conduct inside baseball moves to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations. The most likely result of that would be that HWMNBNM’s supporters will believe that they have been cheated out of their chance to enter the Kingdom. They will p-oed and dispirited. She will face November without being able to count on a large turnout from the Democrat party’s most loyal voters, and the kids will go back to school in the fall and return to their customary drunken stupors.
OTOH, if HWMNBNM is the nominee, he will have to be out in public making speeches and defending himself for months, not weeks. He will look less like the messiah, and more like what he is, an inexperienced hack politician from Chicago. By November, most of the people who fell for him in February will be thinking about chewing off their legs to escape the trap.
Robert…
This “plan” has an eternity to jump the tracks.If there’s one thing I learned in Chess, if you get a chance to take the queen without a checkmate than you take it because it probably won’t come again. Who cares about starting a food fight if you can simply win the game?
1. If Hillary’s campaign ended last night, no one would ever take a future bid by her again because her campaign would rightfully be remembered as a complete trainwreck. Now she is one of the greatest turnaround magicians in political history. (Look at it another way: Who would recommend that Rudy, Fred, or Howard Dean run in 2012?)
2.a. If HWMNBMN were the presumptive nominee, all the dirty laundry would still be coming out, and a massive case of “buyer’s remorse” among the more practical democrats would be setting in AFTER it would be EXTREMELY difficult for the party elites to deny him the superdelegates without sending his less critical followers into a party ending conniption. It is safe to say that nobody in the DNC would be too hot about supporting a loser for a second time in 2012.
(superdelegates which either candidate has mathematically required for weeks, BTW)
2.b. If HWMNBMN was the presumptive nominee, Hillary would eventually be dragged from the spotlight and a news vacuum would set in. What would fill that vacuum over the long slow news weeks of summer? PATRICK FITZGERALD’s Prosecution of the Democratic Candidate’s patron and mentor. Not even the MSM would miss that opportunitity.
3. I think Hillary will now win the nomination. As I understand it, she will do well in PA and will carry Puerto Rico, which as I understand it is a WINNER TAKE ALL primary that has far more delegates than the next several contests combined.
4. People hate Hillary. But about 50% of the people hate the people that hate Hillary. It could have been a blowout between an acceptable candidate and a candidate that a majority of Americans would have seen as an unacceptable one. Now it will probably be a contest between Red & Blue again, and that’s not good considering the mood right now.
5. Even if Barack could win, a twit which reminds Americans of why they hate liberals would be infinitely preferable to a hardcore socialist that would actively pursue an agenda to dismantle capitalism. That alone justifies defeating her when we got the chance. Hillary said it best this morning: “Be careful what you wish for, Rush.”