The Limbaugh Effect on Clinton’s Texas Win

WSJ ^ | March 6, 2008 | Susan Davis

[fightinJAG]

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh led a campaign to have his Republican followers in Texas cross party lines and vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the state’s open primary last Tuesday. Why? Because Limbaugh thinks Republicans can defeat Clinton in a general election. Plus, watching Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama bloody each other in a nomination fight is pure sport for Limbaugh conservatives.

According to exit polls, Clinton won a notably higher number of Republican voters than she has in past open primary contests. Of the 9% of voters who identified themselves as Republicans in the Democratic Primary, Obama still edged Clinton 53%-46%. However, that margin is significantly slimmer than earlier contests. In Wisconsin’s open primary, for instance, Republicans broke 72%-28% for Obama. Similarly, in Virginia’s open primary, Obama was favored 72%-23%.

Clinton unquestionably secured a Texas victory, but some locals are convinced it was a false win bolstered by dirty politics. Laura Jean Kreissl, an accounting professor at West Texas A&M University, served as an election official in Canyon, Texas on Tuesday. She contacted the Wall Street Journal to report the hijinks she observed at the four precincts that voted at her polling location.

Of the 181 voters she personally dealt with, 70 offered that they were “Rush Limbaugh voters” who were there to cast ballots for Clinton. “I’m here to vote for Hillary Clinton, I want to see the Democratic Party implode,” one voter told Kreissl, she recounted in an interview. “I was just stunned,” she said. “As an election official we can’t say anything. We just jot them down and let them vote.”

[fightinJAG]

P.S. Rushing to Reason?

Some numbers.

[Charles Henrickson]

CRY (If your Dem votes)
By Johnnie Ray-of-Sunshine
Tune: "Cry" (If your sweetheart)

If your Dem votes seem a little bit too high
It's just Limbaugh, you'll feel better if you cry
We're coming to your party
Don't you sometimes think it's real
But it's only your elections that we steal

If Rush Limbaugh seems to hang around and gloat
And your dim hopes keep getting dimmer with each vote
November storm clouds can be found
Behind the sunny skies
So get your hopes down and go on and cry

If Rush Limbaugh seems to hang around and gloat
And your dim hopes keep getting dimmer with each vote
Well now, November storm clouds can be found
Behind a sunny sky
So get your hopes down and go right on baby and cry!

[LucyJo]

Most conservatives doubted that McCain had a prayer of winning the general election. If he does win the general, it will be because chaos reigned in the Dem primary and both candidates were weakened.

We were going to have Hillary and/or Obama anyway. What Rush, and others, are doing is giving McCain the opportunity to take advantage of his nomination victory, go out and make the most of the money on which he has to campaign, get out his message, and gain support while Hillary and Obama are each spending their money fighting one another and trying to win their primary nomination.

If the strategy works, we’ll have President McCain. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have a socialist Dem doing all of the things you mentioned, just as we would have gotten had the strategy never been tried.

If Hillary and/or Obama is elected it would tend to be more despite the strategy than because of it. OTOH, if McCain manages to win the presidency, he would owe a debt of gratitude to the conservatives who helped him achieve it...not that he would feel indebted or do anything to thank them, of course.

I think it is fruitless for conservatives to allow the frustration we feel to turn us against one another because of differing opinions on how to make the best of a bad situation.

[Matchett-PI]

"..this strategy was still too risky. Therefore, stupid."

I wonder how often America's bold Founders heard that phrase.

Look - we were on the way to losing in a landslide in November with our "Bob Dole" candidate who takes great pride in how well he gets along with his friends on "the other side of the aisle". He only has the balls to diss his own party.

We are taking the steps necessary for our side to win in November in spite of our nominee. I don't agree that the steps are "risky" - quite the opposite - but even if they are, it's worth the risk because unless we encourage the 'RAT party to fracture and destroy itself from within between now and November, we will lose anyway.

This is a win-win for us.

[mimaw]

Rush and others made a serious mistake and I’ll give them no reprieve for the damage they’ve done. We could have been done with her.

[mimaw]

Rush and others made a serious mistake and I’ll give them no reprieve for the damage they’ve done. We could have been done with her.

[Sig Sauer P220]

“You are 100% wrong...Almost EVERY poll shows that Hillary Clinton has the highest negatives of almost anyone in the WORLD...these polls suggest that she is IN FACT the more defeatable. 50% say they CAN’T wait to VOTE AGAINST her”

However, if the Messiah is on the ticket as well, that may be all it takes.

[Jane Austen]

I hesitate to suggest it and don’t want to believe it, but could it be that Horrible Hillary had something on Rush?

[MNJohnnie]

Well I see two or our closet Leftist posters are upset by this.

Good, that is the whole point.

[MNJohnnie]

Maybe Rush, unlike our resident Leftist hysterics, understands how American politics actually works.

[Jane Austen]

That is one explanation. I would have breathed easier if we had gotten rid of Horrible Hillary.

[MNJohnnie]

Do the math on the delegates. Rush just made sure the Democrats are going to be spending money and fighting each other all the way to the Convention in August. Neither of them can win without the Supers now.

Instead of going into knee jerk hysterics, try thinking tactically.

[Non-Sequitur]

And the ann-droids are out in force as well.

[LucyJo]

Disagreeing with a person's decision is in no way an accusation that the person "lacks . . . ability to make [his] own decisions."

That's correct. But, some here are accusing Rush of telling someone to vote a certain way, and accusing the voter of voting that way because Rush said to do it. That is intimating that those who agree with Rush lack the ability to think for themselves.

[rolling_stone]

“If they did every Republican in the state would cross over and vote,”

Only those who did not vote in the already held GOP primaries or risk voter fraud and jail time.

I think if the dems revote, the repubs should be allowed to reregister and revote...I imagine many dems crossed over when they heard their votes would not count for the democrat primary-many might have voted for the most liberal GOP-McCain in Florida...the dems will be opening a can of worms.

[MNJohnnie]

Neither Democrat can win now. It will have to go to the convention in Aug. to determine their nominee. Thus the Democrats are going to be spending million of dollars fight each other instead of going after McCain.

Try actually thinking for a change.

[Scythian]

Unfortunately he gave us 8 years of Hillary, and I hate him for it. We almost had rid ourselves of the clintons, now, they will never be out of our lives. I don’t care how bad Obama is ...

[MNJohnnie]

Consult your posting history. You are a reliably Left of Center voice. If this pisses you off, as it apparently does, that is the point.

Instead of using their money advantage to crush McCain, the Democrats are going to have to fight each other all the way to the Convention now.

And that really what is pissing your off now isn’t it?

[Non-Sequitur]

Consult your posting history. You are a reliably Left of Center voice. If this pisses you off, as it apparently does, that is the point.

Reliably left of center because you say I am? Why should that piss me off? I just consider the source.

[LucyJo]

Rush has only one vote. He can suggest all day long. Some will agree with him...some will not. His suggestion has not been given in a vacuum. Many other opinions have been aired, even on Rush’s program. When all is said and done, we each make our own decisions about how we vote. That can hardly be blamed on Rush, or anyone else.