Rush Limbaugh Is A Bully

Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh believes that by playing the democratic process, voters can propel McCain to victory in November. Limbaugh told his listeners in key swing states such as Ohio and Texas that by voting for Hillary, they are increasing the likelihood that McCain would be the next president. Limbaugh considers Clinton unelectable, and probably fears that Senator Barack Obama has a formidable chance at beating John McCain. He also cites Democratic indecisiveness and party infighting as weakening the Democrats’ cause, saying that prolonging this battle will give McCain an advantage.

But according to some sources, Ohio voters may have broken the law by switching their party affiliations last minute. However, it appears as though the very nature of the law make it hard to enforce. The law states that a voter who is challenged by poll workers to defend the sincerity of their last minute switch of party affiliation must sign an affidavit confirming their allegiance to that party’s principles. How does one enforce sincerity? The crime itself is called election falsification and it carries a hefty fine and imprisonment of up to a year. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that “a staggering 16,000-plus Republicans in Cuyahoga County switched parties when they voted in last week's primary.”

Left-wing website AlterNet reports that the large margin Obama claimed over Clinton in his recent Mississippi victory may have been even larger if there was no crossover voting from republican voters in that state. According to the article, originally published in the Huffington Post, Obama’s “insurmountable pledged delegate lead” of 61-37 may have been as high as 70-30 without the scores of republicans voting for Clinton. About 25% of those who voted for Clinton in Mississippi were Republicans. A spokesman for the Clinton campaign denied that these crossover voters had an effect on her victory, despite exit polls indicating otherwise. Let’s just hope that in Pennsylvania, voters from both sides will play fair.

Limbaugh’s rhetoric in his campaign to persuade Republican voters is notably violent and makes one wonder about the machinery of the imagination that informs his political convictions: “We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically, and it's obvious that the Republicans are not going to do it and don't have the stomach for it, as you probably know,” Limbaugh stated in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. Bloodied up? Rush Limbaugh is officially the political schoolyard bully of the 2008 election.

Image Credit: Flickr user swaters.