At the urging of Rush Limbaugh, thousands of conservative Republicans crossed party lines to vote in Ohio and Texas for Hillary Clinton in an effort to sabotage the Democratic Party’s nomination process, in what Limbaugh dubbed “Operation Chaos.” Those were states that held open primaries where Republicans could vote in the Democratic primary if they chose to do so. However, since Pennsylvania is a closed primary state (i.e., only registered Democrats can vote in the primary) it was thought that the Limbaugh Effect would have little bearing on the outcome of the race. Well, that assumption may just be dead wrong:
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. […]
In both Ohio and Texas, Republicans and independents were a higher percentage of the votes than in other states. “Based on past results, you would think that favors Obama, who has done well in ‘open’ Democratic primaries where Republicans can cross over on election day,” [Dave Mann, a political writer for the progressive Texas Observer] said. Obama won among California independents 58-32%; Virginia Republicans went for him 72-23; and he won Missouri Republicans 75-21. But in Texas and Ohio the two Democrats split the Republican/independent vote. It appears “the Hillary Republicans cost Obama Texas,” Mann said, adding that without detailed vote analysis and interviews it is difficult to say for certain. The Mississippi results a week later confirmed the trend. “There was a complete reversal,” Mann said, and Obama was now losing Republicans and independents two to one to Clinton. “Without a doubt, Rush, and to a lesser extent me, had some effect on the Republican turnout,” Ingraham told Fox News. “When you look at those exit polls, it is really quite striking.”
Isn’t this just peachy. Rush Limbaugh is manipulating the Democratic primaries in order to affect the outcome of the general election in favor of McCain and the Republicans. Kos tried to keep Romney in the race in Michigan using a similar call for Democrats to vote in the Republican primary contest, but obviously it wasn’t nearly as successful as Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos campaign. Rush does have the bigger mouthpiece, after all. If Clinton wins Pennsylvania and then goes on to win the nomination will she be sending roses to Rush? We already know her campaign sent Bill out to appear on Limbaugh’s radio show the day of Ohio and Texas primaries. Was that an implicit quid pro quo for the help he was giving their campaign? And what kind of person courts the favor of the man who has consistently demonized Democrats, in general, and both her and her husband, specifically, for decades?
This is what turns off so many people from voting in America. If Clinton wins the Democratic nomination with an assist from Rushbo, how many Obama voters will not show up for the general election? And how many who might have voted for Obama will instead vote for McCain? This is just pure speculation on my part, but I suspect that both numbers easily could be in the tens of millions.
So super-duper delegates, this is my question to you. Is that what you really want? To allow Rush Limbaugh to rig the election by helping keep the Clinton campaign afloat? Well, is it? Because the longer this goes on the more that seems to be the case.