In Cleveland and its suburbs, in Ohio's Cuyahoga County alone, 16,000 Republicans crossed party lines to vote in the Democratic primary.
Good news for us? Are these Republicans fed up with Bush who will vote for the Democratic candidate in the General election?
Probably not. To cross over, they had to sign a card pledging they are Democrats. Many added editorial comments, like "For one day only" and "I don't believe in abortion."
The story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Clearly, not all of these cross-over voters will vote Democratic in the General Election.
In the days following the election, The Plain Dealer interviewed more than two dozen voters - most of them Republicans who crossed over to Democrats last week.
None - including five who acknowledged lying about supporting the Democrats - were challenged. And several said poll workers never asked them to sign a pledge but gave them a Democratic ticket.
Why cross over, then? To saddle the Democratic Party with the one candidate who can't win in the General. The candidate Rush Limbaugh told them to cross Party lines and vote for, the candidate endorsed by Ann Coulter: Hillary Clinton.
It started a few weeks ago when conservative radio powerhouse Rush Limbaugh suggested that his Republican following cross over during the primary to vote for Clinton. Clinton, Limbaugh argued, would be easier for McCain to beat in November than Obama.
Yes, a few of these Republicans voted for Obama. And yes, Hillary got legitimate votes from real Democrats in Ohio. No denying that.
But Hillary also got Republican spoiler votes, and not just a few of those, votes designed to damage the Democratic Party's chances by helping Hillary win the Party's nomination.
One thing is clear: if Hillary is our nominee, she won't be getting those Republicans to vote for her in November, even in a "big state" like Ohio.
And this in one of the few states that the Hillary camp will admit "counts".
