How did Senator Clinton pull out primary victories in Ohio and Texas? Well, the “kitchen sink” strategy of going negative on Obama all the time with any and every thing imaginable (NAFTA lies, 3 am ads, etc.) obviously had something to do with it, but an additional source of support came from people who crossed over from the Republican party solely to vote for her in the hopes of hurting Obama’s chances. Call it the Limbaugh Effect. Spurred on by conservative radio talk show hosts led by Mr. Oxycontin himself, many thousands of GOP voters are casting votes for Hillary, not because they like her, but because they think she is the more beatable Democrat in the Fall:
“It’s as simple as, I don’t think McCain can beat Obama if Obama is the Democratic choice,” said Kyle Britt, 49, a Republican-leaning independent from Huntsville, Texas, who voted for Clinton in the March 4 primary. “I do believe Hillary can mobilize enough [anti-Clinton] people to keep her out of office.”
Britt, who works in financial services, said he is certain he will vote for McCain in November.
About 1,100 miles north, in Granville, Ohio, Ben Rader, a 66-year-old retired entrepreneur, said he voted for Clinton in Ohio’s primary to further confuse the Democratic race. “I’m pretty much tired of the Clintons, and to see her squirm for three or four months with Obama beating her up, it’s great, it’s wonderful,” he said. “It broke my heart, but I had to.”
How many Republicans crossed over to vote for Senator Clinton at the urging of Rush Limbaugh and other talk show hosts? Well, the Boston Globe reports that according to exit polls about 119,000 Republicans voted for Clinton in the Texas primary, a state where her margin of victory in the primary was only 101,000. And in Mississippi, GOP voters held down Obama’s margin of victory by going for Clinton over Obama by a 3:1 margin.
Whereas Obama’s appeal is primarily among moderate Republicans who were attracted to his campaign and his personality, the opposite can be said of Hillary’s Republican supporters. Just like Senator Clinton, they’re in it to win, and if that requires them to vote for her in the primary to insure a Clinton vs. McCain contest this Fall, they are more than willing to vote for her now so they can vote against her later. And I imagine in states which hold open primaries, like North Carolina, the Limbaugh effect could influence the outcome or limit the margin of victory for Obama significantly.
Something to keep in mind in the weeks ahead. If Republicans are voting for her because they think she is the candidate most likely to lose to McCain, why should Democratic super delegates support her over Obama? Unless they have a suicide wish, of course.
