It looks like Republicans in Pennsylvania are switching party registration in record numbers:
Sandra Reed of Gettysburg has been a Republican since she was old enough to vote.
But, Tuesday, she and her husband, Vernon, went to the Adams County Courthouse and became Democrats.
“We were registered Republicans, and we will always be Republicans, but we want to help Hillary get the No. 1 position for the Democrats,” said Reed, 70. “So, we are switching for the primary to vote for Hillary, then we will switch back and vote for McCain.”
With last week’s primaries in Ohio and Texas creating a more-heated race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, local election officials are seeing not only more new voters, but they are also seeing more people switching their party affiliations - mainly from Republican to Democrat.
Some think this is because votes in Pennsylvania’s April 22 Democratic primary will likely have national implications, and may even choose a winner.
Others say Republicans want to have a say in who their candidate, Sen. John McCain, will face in November.
That’s what the Reeds did. They got the idea to influence the Democratic race from conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, she said. Limbaugh recommended his listeners temporarily switch party affiliation to give Clinton a boost, and vote out Obama.
Monica Dutko, Adams County elections director, has seen a steady stream of Republicans switching over to the Democratic Party. While she does not ask why they’re switching, some have told her that they’re switching at the suggestion of Limbaugh.
She does not remember a registration drive ever being this heavy before a primary election.
Limbaugh calls his idea Operation Chaos, the idea being, apparently, that it helps the GOP to keep the Democratic race unresolved for as long as possible. But there’s also this idea that it would be easier for McCain to beat Hillary than Obama. As I’ve said before, I think this is a dangerous idea.
The last thing we need is another Clinton in the White House, and people like the Reeds, and Limbaugh, are making that more likely.
