A pro-Republican anti-choice group is bankrolling a robocall campaign urging pro-life Indiana voters to vote against Barack Obama in tomorrow's primary.
The group, the National Right to Life Committee, attacks Obama's pro-choice record, telling voters: "You can vote in either party’s primary. If you vote in the Democratic primary, please do not vote for Barack Obama."
Given that there is no meaningful difference between Clinton and Obama on issues of reproductive freedom, the only reasonable explanation for these calls is that the group, National Right to Life, is trying to boost Clinton's performance in tomorrow's primary in the hopes of extending the Democratic nomination battle, thereby helping John McCain's candidacy.
The Obama campaign has released a statement from former Indiana Rep. Tim Roemer, who is pro-life:
"As a pro-life Catholic Democrat, one of the main reasons I endorsed Barack Obama is because he approaches issues from a non-ideological standpoint, and on issues like abortion, he deeply respects the views of folks on the other side of the argument. He believes that if we focus on what unites us, we can accomplish more than we ever will by retreating into our corners and shouting each other.
"National Right to Life is running these calls because they know that Senator Clinton will be the easier Democrat to run against in the general election—and this is their way of giving her a helping hand in this tough primary battle.
"Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have virtually identical records on the abortion issue. I want Hoosiers to be absolutely clear: These calls we’re getting are nothing more than a ploy. Folks who are going to vote in the Democratic primary tomorrow know that we need real change in Washington."
Here's audio of the robocall:
Here is a transcript of the robocall:
"Hello, this is National Right to Life PAC, asking you to vote against Barack Obama in tomorrow’s primary election.
Barack Obama has said that his first act as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, (not true -- beginning Iraq withdrawal plan would be his first act -- Jed) which would enshrine abortion on demand into federal law and would require tax funding of abortion. This bill would legalize partial birth abortion again.
Barack Obama even voted against saving the lives of babies who survive late term abortion.
You can vote in either party’s primary. If you vote in the Democratic primary, please do not vote for Barack Obama.
Thank you.
This message not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. NRLPAC, NRLPAC.ORG, 202-626-8805 is responsible for the content of this advertising and paid for this call."
Unlike North Carolina, Indiana has an open primary. As poblano has diaried today, Rush Limbaugh is urging Republicans in Indiana to vote for Obama Clinton in order to extend the primary and help McCain's campaign.
NRLC's efforts seem designed to compliment Limbaugh's efforts, although I have not seen how widespread these robocalls are.
Thus far, even though polling indicates that tomorrow's Indiana primary will have an unusually high number of Republicans, I have not yet seen conclusive evidence that pro-McCain Republicans are among these voters.
So far, Suffolk University has provided the best cross-tab data for analyzing these voters, but even their data is silent on whether any of the Republicans who vote tomorrow will vote for McCain even if their preferred candidate wins.