An AP Story written by Julia Silverman tells about the high number of voters who are switching from registered Republican to Democrat. Clinton - Obama Race Spurs Party Switches
Some renegade conservatives, though, will admit to switching in order to drag out the Democratic primary as long as possible in the hope of bruising both candidates along the way.
What I'm thinking is..
Like I said after our March 4th Primary. In my precinct it looked like Republicans just didn't show up in the same numbers as in 2004 and 2000. Of those Republicans who did come out to vote a half dozen or so asked for a Democratic Ballot.
The idea that there is a conspiracy among Republican voters to skew the Democratic vote totals toward Clinton is, I think, a cover story made up by the Republican machine to cover up the fact so many voters are leaving the Republican party.
I think the reason is more like those stated in the AP story: Many voters say they have made the switch to grab the chance to have a voice they never thought they'd have, in a historic race that conventional wisdom had predicted would be decided on Super Tuesday in February.
Why am I so willing to give the party jumpers the benefit of the doubt? Because people who vote take it pretty darn serious. Most of us out here in the real world count voting as a very important civic duty. We don't think of it as a game of gotcha. Yes, maybe we think of it in competitive terms but we are serious about the role we play in our democracy.
