Rush strategy is working

What's amazing is the people they sampled in that article were almost all crossing over to vote for Clinton. Huh??

Well, there is Rush's strategy at work. There is no way in hell more than a handful of Republicans would cross over to vote for Hillary because they prefer her.

Forget Ohio. What are they doing in Texas?

Great. This. The weather. New voting rules. Extended early voting. How much more noise can we add to the voting process?

Could there be so many confounding factors, that no single trend emerges by which to assess tonight's results, aside from declaring a winner and a loser? I am reluctant to believe that the ill intentions of cross-overs will decide this. I remember the same thing being said when we were looking at WI. But I'm open to evidence on the contrary.

Easy there. This is a reporter accosting people exiting the polls, not a well thought out exit polling operation. What we're witnessing here is selection bias - those voters most willing to confess crossing over are also likely to be those with the most adamant views.

We know from countless primaries that genuine instances of strategic voting are always too rare to have any meaningful impact on the outcome. So I discount the anecdotal evidence in the story out of hand - if they're finding strategic voters, we know to a moral certainty that their sample is worthless.

It's possible that the dynamics in Ohio are different than states we've already seen - that Hillary will fare better among crossover voters, for the same reason she fares better among the electorate as a whole. But I strongly doubt it. The published polls in the runup to the election gave quite the contrary impression. Obama has topped Hillary among independents and republicans in every poll that breaks out the numbers.

If there's really record crossover turnout, it almost certainly benefits Obama. Perhaps not enough to put him in the lead, but it should certainly erode Hillary's margin.

Shit. Looks like Limbaugh's strategy is working. Wonderful.

I hope that all the Republicans have given up on McCain and voted in the Dem side, only to have Huckabee and Ron Paul each win 40% of the vote to McCain's 20%.

As much as I hate what it may portend, we have to take those anecdotal evidence for what they are but still prepare ourselves for the possibility it might be a factor.
Let's not shoot the messenger.

Yep, pretty much.....

I think Rush and the GOP want an extended bloody Democratic race.

The DNC should respond by coming together on March 5th around the leader.

Then Rush's strategy won't work.

The power is in the DNC's hands ..... be stupid and drag this out to help the GOP, or end this sooner, regardless of Reep shenanigans.

Come on people, all we have is the word of a journo who basically accosted people outside of a voting place. This does not an exit poll make.

I agree that primaries should be reserved for party members.

Let the independents and those who refuse to state find their own candidates; let them support candidates with their money and time instead of selecting from the blue plate special the rest of us provide.

We are in the age of Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove where nothing is sacred, certainly not the ballot box.

RUSH LIMBAUGH actually has been urging republicans to vote for in the democratic primaries for Clinton in order to keep this race alive for a possible split in the Democratic party. So I will not be surprised if the rebublicans actually keep Hillary in the race beyond today. I was monitoring The EIB network which is Rush Limbaugh's radio station and there were many callers who called in to confirm they have applied the Rush strategy.

According to this article, some dirty, some authentic. http://liberalvoices.typepad.com/progressive_nashville/2008/03/gop-crossing-li.html

It doesn'tIt doesn't matter whether it's called an endorsement, or "choosing McCain," or whatever. The indisputable fact is that Hillary is saying that she and McCain has the experience to be President but Obama does not. It's irrelevant that she's clumsily trying to hide the statement by couching it in terms of what McCain himself will say.

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton!

And I should add, in reference to Clinton's claims that she's not being given a fair shake by the press (somewhat true, but Edwards sure got worse treatment - and in reality, the press, with it's horserace mentality and quest for ratings, isn't particularly fair to anyone), that when she makes gaffes like this or the earlier racial stuff, she starts to bring some of that down on herself, imho.

And judging by the folks who talked to the Plain Dealer and indicated who they'd voted for, they were breaking mostly for Hillary Clinton.

I should have read the stupid story before I commented. The reporter interviewed all of seven Republicans, hardly a statistically valid sample size. Eric, I'm disappointed. While technically accurate, that was a misleading writeup.

You have to re-register to cross over, you can just do it at the time you pick your ballot the day of voting.

As to Chagrin Falls, its about as an upscale white population as you can get.

I'm glad the math is in my candidate's favor.

Everyone advocating closed primaries is unbelievably obtuse and knee-jerk.

We have a two-party system, not only de facto but explicitly institutionalized in the election process. Until:

a) Every last trace, and I mean last trace, of that is abolished;
b) No party affiliation has anything to do with any election at any level in this country, including who can be on a ballot;

and etc, then closed primaries amount to nothing more than saying "because you aren't willing to march in lock-step with a party in every election, you get no voice in who can be on a ballot".

It is utterly repugnant to anything but a crony fascist state. I hope everyone suggesting it has just not thought through the implications, rather than being closet fascists.

I find this incredibly disturbing. Now that McCain is the Republican nominee, what meaningful vote can republicans cast moving forward?

Since Rush (the big fat idiot) is telling his listeners to vote for Hillary, its clear that the Republican party does not want to run Against Obama. And Hillary (the wedge issue) Clinton would raise astronomical dollars for the republican side, not to mention serious Republican Turnout in the general election.

What this says to me, is that Obama had better win Texas or the republicans will give us Hillary as our Nominee.

God help us.