I'm told that Rush has more listeners in Texas than in any other state and I find that believable, having lived here for over thirty years and seen this state deteriorate steadily since then. We once had among the strongest consumer protection laws in the nation and we've had some prominent Democratic senators and congressmen and women over the years. But I digress.
I had my own experiences at the polls and caucuses Tuesday night. Now I am getting reports from diverse people all over the state about what happened at their local polling places and caucuses.
It is clear to me that the talk radio crowd crossed over for Hillary Clinton, because in part they know that Barack Obama is the kind of candidate who not only could win the Presidency for the Democrats. They also realize that this is a candidate who could win Texas for the Democratic party for the first time since 1976. Yes he can!
I reported my experience as a poll watcher here on Tuesday, where I was assigned to one of the most affluent areas in Houston--we are talking really affluent, and we had two precincts voting at a Democratic-only site that still had high turnout. There is no doubt that we had Rush voters there; many admitted it. I was there for about six hours and I would estimate that we saw at least 15% GOP voters there.
As poll-watchers, we were trained and told that we should not talk to voters about substantive issues or questions, but we got some questions like this: "If I vote in this Democratic primary, will it go on my record?"
I even had a few questions like this: "If I vote in this Democratic primary, do I have to vote for the Democrats in November?"
Is it possible that some of these Republican-looking voters were sincerely for the Democratic candidate? Maybe. If they were, they voted for Barack.
But I am getting anecdotal reports from all over Texas that there was a HUGE crossover for HRC among insincere voters. Are anecdotal reports reliable? Consider:
Item: Affluent Arlington (suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth) where a friend presided over the Democratic caucus. The large turnout at the caucus subsided after sign-in began and some people became nervous and walked away when asked to sign in and vote in what is not a secret ballot system (you have to state your name, address, and phone number at minimum, along with your choice).
Item: Another precinct where I got reports that HRC supporters were actively engaging crossover GOP voters for HRC at the caucus and reassuring them that their participation in Democratic caucuses would not affect their voting in the future.
Item: A friend who has a small shop in the D/FW area called me to say that the shop's customers were all talking about how they crossed over to vote for Clinton, following Limbaugh's suggestions, and that all their friends had done the same. No, my friend does not run a Bible store. He did say that most of the customers assume that he is a Republican. Most said that they considered voting for McCain a waste of time.
Item: At my caucus, another affluent Houston area, not the precincts where I was a poll watcher, we had smooth and cordial relations but I spotted at least one known GOP voter, a neighbor, and a lot of probable GOP voters. My neighbor is the type of activist who has bumper stickers on his car for all the GOP candidates. He knows all about my Obama sticker; it's right next to his car in our parking lot. He was there to vote for Clinton and did, then left.
Voters in Texas are not stupid in circumstances like these. They know how to make their votes count. How do I know that? Back in the '90s, I voted in the Republican primary for Pat Buchanan.
Finally, if anyone is following the Rick Noriega campaign, Noriega is a veteran of the Afghanistan war and his opponent, incumbent Senator John Cornyn is vulnerable, I think. Cornyn is a Bush clone and a stooge of big insurance; when he was on the Texas Supreme Court, he led the charge in gutting consumers' rights. He is a disgrace to a state that once had senators like Lyndon Johnson, Ralph Yarborough, and Lloyd Bentsen. But Friday's New York Times did not list the Texas race as being competitive in an article about seats the Dems might pick up.
Most of the candidates I have followed here are wanting Obama at the top of the ticket. These include candidates for Harris County (Houston) judicial posts, where this year for the first time in years we have Democratic challengers to what is now an all-GOP judiciary, about two dozen judges. SUSA has Obama close to McCain here. No way that Hillary can win this state. I think Obama can. And I'd like to see him come down here and campaign against Cornyn.