Political Punch

The Republicans used this strategy against Cynthia McKinney, they all voted in the primary against McKinneys opponet. If you really want to stick to the Republicans, vote Ron Paul. I am a person who voted for Bush in 2000,against the bombing in Yugoslavia, and than voted for Nader because Bush and Kerry were cut from the same cloth.
Dr Paul is Hope for America

Uniblogger - So your voting Republican I guess from your rant, about 'financial responsibility, saving the economy, jobs and the country' since the Libs will not do that!

Lets see the Dems use Voter fraud to the 10th degree, so what is new in MI. And using the Daily kook website as a moral, well that Clinton built blog is nothing but a treasonous site.

But I agree Romney should win!! so go for it!

First of all , MI should turn their backs on the Dem/Lib party because they turned their backs on MI but kicking out your delagates!!

So if MI votes in the General for a DEM then we really will know that Dems don't mind being treated like dirt!

NOOO... Dems, don't throw your vote to Mitt Romney. He's got plenty of cash and even more ego. He'll be in this race until somebody turns out the lights at the convention hall. If you want to stir up the GOP, VOTE for RON PAUL! It will affirm that the majority of the country wants us out of the war! If Ron Paul wins Michigan, John McCain's head may explode in anger! Fox News will look like idiots (well, they already do). And, you'll prove to the world that you can have a realistic idea to help the economy, which is doomed without the help of Dr. Paul. Just think, if Dr. Paul wins Michigan, thanks to a big showing by dems and independents, the GOP will be forced to reconsider their moronic, neo-con philosophy of perpetual war. This election is not about, democrats nor republicans, its about financial responsiblity, saving the economy, jobs and the country!!!

The Daily Kos advice is for nincompoops and will come back to haunt them like teir friends Batrayus ad. If these are the tactics they wish to employ to win at any cost, they need to register with the repub Neocon Party.

If the Democrats cannot win putting forth a socialist and a newbie with virtually no experience and false hope, it is no wonder they would seek additional advantage by messing up the GOP. If Democrats had a brain, they would be republicans, conservatives, federalists or libertarians. I guess it is fashionable for people to be born and depend on the federal government to do everything for all people, all the time. Hell, about half the nation does not pay any taxes. No wonder government is seen as Valhalla for the downtrodden (i.e., victims). With about 33 senators voting AGAINST English as the nation language, including Obama and Hillarycare Clinton, no wonder our country could use someone with a heart AND a brain.

Here in California quite a few people are so frustrated with what Bush has done they are voting Repub and voting for Ron Paul in hopes of getting a Dem elected.

Obama supporters should unite behind Kucinich's recount, I am sure they will see that Obama won, and Hilary was the loser.

The democrats are not only trying to disrupt the election process for just republicans, but are also trying to disenfranchise some union voters in Las Vegas. The democrats pretend to be the party of the people, but they aren't. They are every bit as dirty as any republican,it's just that democrats don't care. Hypocrisy applies only to republicans anyway. Democrats are immune from it no matter how scandalous they are. As a matter of fact,usually a democrat twisted in a scandal of their own creation is usually supported and rallied around.(Gary Condit was an exception.)

Romney your just to conservative, if you weren't so may I would vote for you, but you sound like the rest of them.

I believe the same thing was pulled in California a few years back, supporting one candidate so that the other one they didn't want would lose out and the one they wanted, would win in the general election

THe polls where right in Iowia but did they all come from the state of Iowia? For sure the last one's who came in last did really count, to bad if someone out there was playing there cards wrong. kudo!

No we need a Republican who is half and half or a democratic liberal who is have half and half, And then the receipe is right for the Tea Party.

I’m glad all these liberals will vote for Mitt Romney in the Michigan Primary. McCain and Huckabee are too liberal for the Republican nomination. You can’t out liberal a liberal. McCain and Huckabee need to learn that fact.

I think it is a shame that a party that is always crying "every vote counts" the Democratic party in Michigan will not allow and count write in votes for the canidate of there choice be it Obama, Edwards, or there dog. If they were smart and allowed it, crossing party lines to vote would not be needed, the Republicans have enough unattractive canidates as it is. I just hope Mayor Bloomberg decides to run and gives a MUCH needed third choice to all.

None of the candidates either republican or democrats have any ability for economic prognostication except Ron Paul. None but him give any detailed explanation of market forces or any real insight to economic trends. His policies are well thought out, deliberate and concise. The other candidates spoon feed you platitudinal rhetoric and so many Americans are just too stupid or too lazy to recognize it. So go ahead and capriciously vote for anyone else but Ron Paul--if he's not elected president, you might as well get "Idiot" tattooed on your forehead to forever remind you of the lost chance you had to save this country that you so heedlessly discarded. I'm sick and disgusted with the MSM's vilification and outright calumny of Ron Paul and so I'm done with the niceties. Wake up America.

The people in Michigan most really be ticked off by only having Hillery to vote for if they want to vote for a democrat. Being from Ohio which also has a high unemployment rate I can completely understand voting to keep Mitt Romney in the race. Our states really do need all the help they can get. Any and all canidates can come to Ohio and spend all the money they want in our state. We would treat them real good. Might help our economy.

Hey Dems, vote Huckabee! Then we'll laugh ourselves to death when he wins in the fall.

Jim: Dems and the GOP had not gotten it right in Washington for the last 50 years. Reagan was another one who could not deliver, shame on you - Government became bigger along with the price tag in the Reagan's years. None-the-less, GOP are fools as much as Dems. Both are incompetent and unscrupulous. History is a witness to mass=-market foolishness.

Democrats who are going to waste their vote in the Republican primary should help elect the weakest Republican with a chanch to win the nomination. Mike Huckabee.

ok james danley, i am glad you are comfortable with you decision about the write in. i guess i have just heard so much advertising here in mich DONT WRITE IN-- IT WONT COUNT that i put it into the context of our little ballot problem in mich, and thanks for the vote swapping info, but i am going to stick with my decision of uncommitted.

i am glad folks are passionate about their views, but careful not to get hostile about it, this is america, we should be able to discuss these things in a civilized way. thanks for talking, folks

Oh Sure... I can see it now.. First on the agenda... legalize Polygamy!

Democrats voting in the Republican primary in Michigan will be wasting their vote.

If you favor Obama or Edwards you must vote uncommitted in the democratic primary. Otherwise you are voting for Clinton.

I am a Ron Paul supporter, my sister who is so upset with the Republican party was going to vote for Guiliani to mess with them, but I talked her into voting for Ron Paul to upset them even more.

I am far from naive. I worked in DC for the Reagan adminstration long ago. The hostility that exists today was not there then. It wasn't taken out into the public with a 'win at all costs attitude'.

McCain won't run circles around Obama. And if he did, is that a problem as long as the best possible president has been selected? Or is 'winning' more important than getting things right?

Jim: McCain will do circles around Obama, Politicians have no nobility. you are a either a fool or naive.

It should be obvious to even a 3rd grader why The Daily Kos is urging Michigan liberals to vote for Romney. It's because their worst nightmare is seeing John McCain win in Michigan and SC and then use the momentum from those wins tp wrap up the Republican nomination on Super Tuesday. And that's because McCain is the candidate they most fear having to run against. Republicans everywhere need to wise up, put aside their differences with Senator McCain on individual issues, and vote for him in their states' primaries. He's the only candidate we have that can win in November.

I'm a Republican and I support Obama.

It's not because he's easy to beat--it's because he doesn't sink to that level of thought. He is trying to run a positive campaign, something lacking in most other candidates.

I am hoping for a Obama/McCain campaign so issues can actually be discussed with a sense of dignity so that the extremists (who use terms like 'libtards') can have power yanked away from them and returned to the people.

Why not, the GOP screwed with the Dems primaray vote in IA and NH. They want an easier task in November with Obama, e.g. Experience vs Hope, with the general electorate.

Lori, I stand corrected. I just located an article that mentions that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on August 6, 2007 that the practice of vote-swapping IS, in fact, legal. Just Google or Yahoo: "Nate Anderson," and "Internet vote-swapping."

Lori, I don't consider ANY vote "thrown away." While others may vote for the person they feel is more likely to win or, as discussed in this blog, vote for someone based on an ulterior motive (not a negative criticism, just stating the fact), I am a firm believer in voting for the person I believe in. Regular readers of Political Punch know that I am HOPING for a brokered Republican National Convention; that hopefully the Republican delegates will unite behind Dr. Rice. So for me, and I emphasize for me alone, I am quite satisfied to let Dr. Rice know that there is one person who is willing to write-in her name on a ballot. But if one of the current Republican candidates does emerge with the majority of the delegates and wins the nomination, I will support that person.

jason, i will go with your advice and vote uncommitted here in michigan. but it was fun to dream about mischief while it lasted. some good comments up here, but bottom line, we really don't want to stoop to "repug's" level of operation. kind of scary to read some of these comments.
james danley:i don't know how your write in for rice would give you satisfaction-- it's a vote thrown away-no understand

America need a new civil war just to get all the bad blood between people to go away. You hate one another so much that one day violence will start and you will not be able to stop it.

The Republican Party has also sanctioned Michigan for moving up the primary. But their sanction results in half (30) of the 60 delegates to be seated. Actually the Republicans have sanctioned 5 states: FL, MI, NH, SC and WY. All five states receive just half of their original allotment.

The Democrats have sanctioned only MI and FL. But because they are not going to recognize ANY of these states' delegates, the other delegates will probably end up overriding the sanctions during the convention. That's because of all of the hollaring by Democrats claiming that Republicans caused massive disenfranchisement in the 2000 and 2004 elections. And now the Democrats don't want MI and FL to have ANY representation during the national convention! Well there is little chance that the other delegates will give the Republicans the opportunity to make the case for such an hypocrisy.

since i can't vote for obama, in michigan, i'm going to vote for that ron paul and stick it to the republican party.

I think Romney rocks. Everyone, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, should vote for him.

anything to prevent republicans from further destroying our country and our military is fine by me, as well as all our children, especially since they could possibly join the military and very well be led to their completely unnecessary deaths by another incompetent and ignorant republican president

I'm a Democrat and a frequent poster at Daily Kos...this is bad, Bad, BAD! I have said so on Kos, too! Markos is way out of line on this for two reasons" 1.) We should never stoop to the level of Republicans!

2.) Voting for Romney is dangerous in itself, because this man should not be allowed anywhere near the White House.

3.) If Romney did win the nomination, he'd use his millions of dollars to saturate us day and night with negative ads and do any of us really want to endure that torment!

Markos needs to think before he blogs! As liberals, we take pride in not allowing others--unlike Republicans--how to vote. He needs to remind himself of that, lest his blog lose its relevance!

If Michigan Democrats want to disrupt the Republicans they should vote for Ron Paul because he is the most disruptive of their candidates, no contest. Voting for Romney helps a viable candidate instead of channeling the momentum and media energy into a dead end who can't win. They also get to make a statement about the war, the empire and the national security state by voting for Ron Paul because he agrees with them and brings these up all the time. It allows Democrats to disrupt and embarrass the Republicans without cost.

A message for Scott:

3% of republicans, in Iowa< voted for democrats. Of that 3%, 44% voted for Obama.

I think you misread the results.

Its my belief that this Republic will never function again, way to much hatred between left and right. My generation was raised to believe in individual rights and freedom. And your not very free if a massive overbearing government can oversee and decide your every move. And believe me, in this high tech age with its high speed computers and satellite up-links, its not as hard to monitor 300 million people as you might think. We need to remember who built this country, it was US, the people, not the government. As of matter of fact, its the politicians that have brought us to each others throats with a vengeance. Which of course just happens to benefit them monetarily, as well as politically.

Proving once again that the left is not composed of destructive nihilists. Good. Gotta love it when people become their own caricatures.

"44% of those voting for Obama were Republicans in Iowa"

Where does this information come from please? If you have a reputable source please share it with us.

There is nothing wrong with dems voting for a republican that "best fits their views". That is the essence of an open primary. But to intentionally instruct your left wing foot soldiers to invade the republican primary in order to dilute the republican vote is an abuse of the system.... Which is standard operating practice for left wing democrats. I hope Michigan will reject such overt attempts at voter disenfranchisement.

44% of those voting for Obama were Republicans in Iowa--Exit polls show. What the media did NOT discuss was the reality that Repulicans did this on purpose, because they hate the Clintons and know they can RIP Obama apart in the General election.
-God I wish the media in the US was not owned by Wealthy Republican Elites, as "Media Monopolies" control the dialog and focus our attention/distract us from countless important issues.

LOL, why in the world would a Demo vote for a Republican.I dont even want to hear your reasons why.

We're doing that in California against the libs, the law here allows independent voters to vote in the Dem primary where we will affect the outcome as they are attempting in Michigan.

Lori, uncommitted is the best option if you want edwards to be successful. At the convention those delegates will be seated and by voting uncommitted delegates at the convention will be able to vote for edwards if the vote tops 15 percent.

There is nothing wrong with dems voting for a republican that "best fits their views". That is the essence of an open primary. But to intentionally instruct your left wing foot soldiers to invade the republican primary in order to dilute the republican vote is an abuse of the system.... Which is standard operating practice for left wing democrats. I hope Michigan will reject such overt attempts at voter disenfranchisement.

I think it is unfortunate that all the democrats are using "change" as their major theme for the country but are unwilling to live that message by keeping their names on our Michigan ballot and pushing change for our primaries and caucuses. Michigan is in dire straits and really does need to bring national attention to its woes. We've been ignored. The best option here if we are unable to make an impact voting for our democratic choice is to chose a republican candidate that best fits our beliefs. We may not be able to choose our democratic candidate, yet we can ensure our republican choice is somewhat appealing. I don't appreciate Michigan being written off by democrats and would like the democratic party to feel uncertain and concerned about how our state will vote in November. The best way to do this is to vote your republican choice if Hillary Clinton is not your democratic choice. Voting undecided is a pittance of an option if you are leaning democratic. It's depressing.

brett, Dems have already been voting Ron Paul just to cause mischief, no new story there. It also is not new for liberals to use the "ends justify the means" argument. They consider themselves so morally superior, that election mischief is not even something to be conducted in the shadows .. and the MSN gladly reports it as a straight news story without mentioning that it is an act of voter disenfranchisement.

Huckabe is sending out Robocalls in Mich telling Dems to vote for him. ABC covering that?

"For instance, the group is calling independent and Democratic homes in Michigan, encouraging them to cross over and vote for Huckabee in the Republican primary because "they don't have much of a choice on their ballot," Davis explained. A commenter to yesterday's post, ROSS in Detroit, said he'd received one of these calls, writing"

I do not approve of this garbage on either side and vote we don't go there.

Well, James, there are a lot of "ifs" in there and that's all very well and nice for Mrs. Clinton, but she isn't my first choice and whether she gets all of Michigan's delegates will happen with or without me. I think the national party has a lot of nerve asking for my money and support when they've taken away my say altogether just to protect Iowa's favored status.

It is true that Michigan's delegates are not supposed to be recognized. HOWEVER, once the Democratic National Convention convenes, the other delegates can rescind the sanction by a simple majority vote. And then Sen. Clinton will receive ALL of the states delegates.

Lori, trading one's vote is a felony. You might want to re-think that! My own personal opinion is you should vote for the person you believe in, even if they aren't going to win. I walk the walk not just talk the talk. I wrote in Dr. Condoleezza Rice on my ballot, which is already in the mail.

The national party has already told Michigan Democrats that their delegates won't be recognized and Hillary is the only option on the ballot. A write-in for Edwards or Obama won't even be counted. So, I fully intend to vote Republican, not because I would vote for one of the new breed of Republicans for dog catcher if I had a choice, but because I would like a say as to which Republican if, God forbid, I had to be stuck with another one after Bush and it would be Romney out of a very dismal field. I'd like to vote for Ron Paul because of what he says about Iraq, but his anti-government, anti-tax views are too radical.

On the other side, Republicans are registering Independent and voting for Obama - don't just give half the story now. It's not a tightly held secret at all. Just talk to Republicans you know. If you look at the NH results, Clinton clobbered Obama among Democrats (by 10 points.) Republicans - especially in states Guiliani doesn't care to compete in - are voting Obama - yes, even out here in CA. And I don't mean a few poor outcasts - I'm talking the rich gated community crowd. And they are doing it because they think he'll be easier to beat.

I am not so sure the GOP voters didn't already play mischief in Iowa ... all those independents voting for Obama? ... too interesting.

There hasn't been a brokered convention in so long that nobody would know how to really do it. It would just end up in a total mess.

I think it is a shame so many citizens of this great country of ours are resorting to this type of language, thinking and behavior. Everyone is entitled to believe as they want without being treated as disgracefully as I have seen by these comments. Shame on those "civilized" (citizens?).

spam i dont think so

hey i wonder if i could trade my vote with someone in sc who is voting republican-- they can vote edwards for me and i will vote for the repub of their choice here in mich/ tuesday!

so i am looking for advice here, should i go with mitt? michigan vote up for grabs! help me fellow edwards dems!

If the dems really want to mess with the GOP vote for Ron Paul that would really blow their minds.

this is just another sign of the huge vulnerability the entire republican party is living in, due to the fiasco of the bush administration over the past 7 years... the republicans are already easy to disrupt due to no unity and no support and no respect... they deserve much worse than they are getting so far, they deserve things like jail and impeachment, but the truth is not yet all exposed and the tide is still turning away from the facist regime running the republican party... as for this backfiring and the republican party uniting behind Rice, well she is isn't running, and her ratings are almost as low as Bush's, so her appeal is nill as well

i agree with james danley, it might backfire, but i am a michigan edwards dem and wondering what to do-- i want to make an impact somehow-- uncommitted or mitt or ron paul?????

Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos and the Democrats should be careful what they ask for. A brokered Republican National Convention could bring about a united Republican Party. A Republican Party united behind someone like Dr. Condolezza Rice.

Sounds more like a strategy than mischief to me.