Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has urged his Republican listeners to vote for Senator Hillary Clinton in today’s Indiana primary, pointing to what he said is a double standard when it comes to cross-over voters, the Boston Globe reports — and another newspaper reports signs of “hardcore” Republicans voting Democratic.
Indiana’s primary is open to Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats. Limbaugh is urging Republicans to cross over and vote for Clinton to extend the Democratic nomination fight and, he hopes, further damage the eventual nominee.
Exit polls suggest that Limbaugh’s soldiers could have made a difference March 4 in Texas, where Clinton pulled out a narrow win in the primary, though Obama won the simultaneous caucuses.
Limbaugh told listeners on Monday that Democratic Party officials in Indiana are trying to intimidate Republican voters with monitors at the polls. So he issued these orders: “Flood these precincts. Vote for Mrs. Clinton as an act of defiance against these police-state tactics as a form of protest.”
Limbaugh also argued that when independents and Democrats vote for John McCain, it is seen as a sign of the presumptive Republican nominee’s broad appeal, but when Republicans vote for Clinton, it is described as “mischief” and “un-American.”“None of that is true,” Limbaugh told listeners. “What is un-American and what is mischievous is attempting to intimidate voters as they approach the polling place.”
He makes a point about cross-over voters. However, the key difference here is that Limbaugh is making it clear he wants GOPers to vote for Clinton to extend the Democratic party’s disarray and/or to weaken Obama if he gets the nomination.
The Indianapolis Start reports that some “hardcore” Republicans are indeed showing up and voting Democratic.
But the questions are a) are these GOP voters really enough to tilt the election and b) how will these voters show up with the election results are analyzed? Limbaugh’s call for cross-overs isn’t illegal — but does reflect the win-at-all-costs mega-partisan mindset of 21st century politics.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.