Everybody's favorite pill-popping right wing radio gasbag has initiated what he calls the "Doomsday Phase" of Operation Chaos, his effort to undermine the Democratic primary process by convincing Republicans to register as Democrats and vote for Hillary Clinton so as to prolong the infighting.
"Operation Chaos" is nothing new, of course. Our good buddy Rush has been helping Clinton out for a while now. Some credit her victory in Ohio and her primary win in Texas to him mobilizing people on her behalf. According to Al Giordano's analysis over at The Field, she actually got a 4-8% bump in Texas just because of this. And in Ohio, there's even been some investigation into whether these activities amount to voter fraud. Truthout explains:
While this all makes for great talk radio and sounds like fun, there is one catch: What Limbaugh encouraged Republican voters to do in Ohio was a fifth-degree felony in that state, punishable with a $2,500 fine and six to 12 months in jail. That is because in order to change party affiliation in Ohio, voters have to fill out a form swearing allegiance to that party's principles "under penalty of election falsification."
And yet, even with possible legal repercussions on the horizon, Rush drunkenly stumbles forward looking for his next fix of relevance.
Keep working, people, and stay focused. Even with recent polling showing Obama only an average of roughly 6% down in Pennsylvania, it's entirely possible that Rush Limbaugh's little experiment will continue to have effects and that it could hand Clinton the double-digit win she needs to continue the illusion that her campaign isn't just a spoiler. As has been said countless times in these pages, regardless of polling we must act as though we are 30% down and never let up.
Yes.
We.
Can.
UPDATE: Since there seems to be some confusion in the comments over the fact that Pennsylvania is a closed primary, let me clarify: Limbaugh was encouraging his listeners to re-register as Democrats before the deadline. I'm aware that Republicans can't just walk in and vote.