Crush Liberalism

Liberalism: Why think when you can “feel”?

FL had a “closed” primary?

In my state, you are only allowed to vote in party primaries if you are a registered voter of that party.  I used to be registered as an independent and then a Libertarian, until the election of 1996.  I wanted to vote for Steve Forbes in the primary, but Bob Dole was selected.  It was at that time I registered as a Republican, just so I could vote in primaries.

Yesterday, Juan McAmnesty won in FL’s primary, which is supposed to be a closed primary.  I have to wonder just how “closed” it really is, after seeing this…

In northern Coral Springs, near the Sawgrass Expressway and Coral Ridge Drive, David Nirenberg arrived to vote as an independent. Nevertheless, he said poll workers insisted he choose a party ballot.

“He said to me, ‘Are you Democrat or Republican?’ I said, ‘Neither, I am independent.’ He said, ‘Well, you have to pick one,”’ Nirenberg said.

In Florida, only those who declare a party are allowed to cast a vote in that party’s presidential primary.

Nirenberg said he tried to explain to the poll worker that he should not vote on a party ballot because of his “no party affiliation” status.

Nirenberg said a second poll worker was called over who agreed that independents should not use party ballots, but said they had received instructions to the contrary.

“He said, ‘Ya know, that is kind of funny, but it was what we were told.’ … I was shocked when they told me that.” Nirenberg said he went ahead and voted for John McCain. 

…and this:

One breakout that puzzles me though is the vote share by party identification.  Romney and McCain were tied among Republicans at 33-33, while McCain won independents 44-23.  (See page 4 of the exit poll.)

FlexitpollIf I’m reading the poll correctly, it suggests 17% of Republican primary voters identified themselves as having no major party affiliation, while 3% identified themselves as registered Democrats. 

I’m not much on conspiracy theories, so I won’t dwell on this.  I do wonder, though, that if all the polls that show how the base is p#ssed at McLame are true, how did he win in a “closed” primary?  I mean, NH and SC are both open primaries, meaning that “indepedents” can vote in them (and indies love themselves some Johnny Mac).  But FL?  I’m still trying to figure that one out.

Anywho, pardon my pessimism, but I think Juan’s got the nomination wrapped up.  Schmuckabee’s done, but he probably won’t throw in the towel like Rudy did this morning.  Rudy seems to be backing McAmnesty.  Super Tuesday will feature a lot of Southern states, and the South by and large doesn’t seem too keen on Romney (from MA).  Delegate-heavy California also votes next Tuesday, and Juan’s doing quite well out there, too.  Ugh…I need a drink.

January 30, 2008 - Posted by | Florida, Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Rudy

9 Comments »

  1. There were several Democrats in my office that went down and registered to vote Republican so they could vote in the Republican primary.
    I think the press is largely culpable for the McCain train. They have hammered that McCain has the nomination wrapped up, so several people that I know who would have voted for another candidate, voted for McCain instead because they figured he was going to win anyway.
    Of course the Dems and the press want McCain to get the nomination because they know a lot of Conservatives will stay home on election day.
    It’s insidious!

    Comment by Kanaka Girl | January 30, 2008

  2. Im getting tired of the state by state primary system. Just put everyone one Super Tuesday and let the real winner win. All of the candidates would be in pretty much regardless of how much money they had and the MSM wouldnt have the power of picking their fav to focus on for 6 months and ignore the ones they dont want. They will still pick their fav and ignore the others but it wont be 6 months of indoctrination of the sheeple.

    Comment by WMD_Maker | January 30, 2008

  3. This is from today’s L.A. Times:

    “John McCain now has a pathway to the Republican presidential nomination. The question is whether he can put his fractured party back together.

    The Arizona senator, long the bane of the GOP establishment, showed in Florida that he could begin cobbling together a new Republican coalition — attracting enough support from all corners of the party base to give him a plurality in the biggest and most diverse state to vote so far in the 2008 campaign.

    He took about a quarter of conservatives, secured nearly a third of evangelicals, dominated among his typical base of self-described moderates, and won easily among voters who care about authenticity, experience and electability.

    In winning Florida, McCain threw off a major critique of his candidacy: He prevailed in an all-Republican primary that excluded the more moderate independents who had ensured McCain’s wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina.”

    I hope conservatives will be able to pull together. I doubt Romney has much chance on Super Tuesday. McCain will probably wrap up.

    Then we’ll need to unite, start healing the party, and get ready to defeat the Democrats in November.

    Comment by Americaneocon | January 30, 2008

  4. If McCain wins the nomination it is going to be very VERY difficult for me to pull that switch.

    Comment by Fargin Bastiges | January 30, 2008

  5. I guess I will not have any trouble casting my vote for McCain, should he become the nominee. He is certainly not my favorite, but he is still leaps and bounds better than the democrat alternative.

    Comment by TheBad | January 30, 2008

  6. Well the media has pulled it off in Fla it seems. They got the “moderate” (another term for liberal just like progressive) elected. I’m still hoping that the other real red states coming up will find their courage to vote for the more conservative candidate. I think WMD is right. Just have one super tuesday for ALL states to vote and take away the power or influence of the press over the next 7-8 months.
    If this pattern holds true I’m afraid I’ll still vote for Shrillary over McCain because I’d rather see her defeat the Republican party than have McCain defeat us.

    Comment by tnjack | January 30, 2008

  7. For the February primary in California, only the Democrats and the American Independents have opened their ballots to the decline-to-states (ie, unaffiliated). The Dems, the AIs AND the Republicans are allowing decline-to-states to vote using their ballots in the other California primary (for all the other, non-presidential offices) in June. This means all the “independents” that might go for McCain cannot participate.

    I, in the biggest screw-up in my voting career, stupidly looked at the June info and not the February, and am thus still ‘decline-to-state,’ and cannot change at this late date. So it looks like I’m actually in a situation where I have little to do other than vote on propositions and choose between Billary and Omoron.

    But, considering how loose they were in Florida, maybe I’ll try to snag a Republican ballot anyway.

    Comment by jsingood | January 30, 2008

  8. “If this pattern holds true I’m afraid I’ll still vote for Shrillary over McCain”

    Please dont if she ( and I use the term loosly) gets in there may never be another national vote.

    Comment by WMD_Maker | January 30, 2008

  9. I heard one of the talking heads today say the McCain would get the “Conservative White Democrat” vote in the fall. Does anyone know who he or she is???

    Can’t be more than one (maybe two at the most) of them.

    Comment by Lee | January 30, 2008


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