On Voter Crossover In Clinton County, IN

By Meghan Peters and Will Mari

FRANKFORT, Ind. -- While driving down Clinton Avenue in Clinton County, we thought passing a Clinton lawn sign would be the icing on the cake. It'd make for a catchy title to our first post in Indiana, something like "Clinton in Clinton on Clinton."

But no such luck.

The 16,000-person town is the reddest part of the traditionally red state -- and few are concerned with the upcoming Democratic-dominated primary.

"It's such a Republican-dominated county that sometimes there's no Democratic candidate on the (local) ballot," said Janis Thornton, managing editor of The Times, Frankfort's 128-year-old community newspaper, which has a circulation of about 6,000.

Whats more, the campaign signs along Clinton Avenue weren't at all presidential -- they were almost exclusively advertising local candidates for superior court judge (there are four contenders, three of them Republican).

Sidewalks and illegal immigration are the hot issues in town, and many Frankfort residents won't follow the presidential election until the fall, said retired teachers Carla Clemens and Carol Montgomery, who work at a children's clothing store in the historic downtown.

"There aren't many Democrats around here," Montgomery said with a bit of a chuckle.

In "Old Stoney," the renovated high school building that serves as offices for local government, Jim Davis and Bev Bush hold the fort at the Clinton County GOP HQ.

Davis, a self-described "old party man," is a retired state representative and former GOP chair. Bush is the current chair.

"Right now, Obama's fair game with his minister," Davis said. His biggest concern, however, is what he calls "crossover" -- Republicans voting Democratic on purpose, in an attempt to shore up whichever candidate they feel would make a weaker opponent come November.

"If you get too much crossover, you might upset the apple cart" and lose Republican votes in critical primary elections in more contested southern counties, Davis said.

Clinton County, and, by extension, big chunks of Indiana, have traditionally voted Republican since Eisenhower. The state went "blue" briefly under FDR and Truman decades ago, Davis said, but has consistently voted red since.

"The Democrats don't get involved in the primary (in Clinton County)," Bush added.

And even if people voted Democrat, they voted (or rather still vote) for "a more conservative brand of Democrat," Davis said.

The ex-Marine said he wishes he could "de-annex" northwest Indiana (i.e. Gary). That's where all the real Democrats are, he said with a smile.

Comments

[NewtC]

As a middle aged educated woman of Jewish ancestry, I see that Clinton"s election day statement in PA about obliterating Iraq if they attack Israel was designed to grab Jewish votes. It may even have helped capture some white male bubba votes, as it presents her as being tough on the bad guys. That may work well with Democrats, but won't work at all with misogynist Republicans and conservatives who scorn her. They'll laugh at her for trying to look tough, especially compared to POW McCain, the real deal tough guy in their eyes. It"s clear the right wing knows which of our two candidates they can beat. They"re so eager to run against Hillary they"re even registering as Democrats to vote for her over Obama. Conservatives don"t just dislike Hillary, they despise her with a passion. If you thought the Howard Dean scream was used effectively against him, wait until the "Hillary cackle" is played over and over in commercials. Even mainstream Democrats won"t want to vote after they hear all the anti-Hillary baggage in store for us if she wins the nomination.

Remember, whites voting for Clinton in the primaries doesn"t necessarily reflect how they"ll vote in the GE. Let"s move forward and focus on a win in November.

[IslandGyal]

Senator Obama is 33 contributors away from 1,500,000.

[inspectormerlot]

It's intensely depressing how many republicans are committed to Operation Chaos in Indiana.
This was reinforced by a personal post from an `Obamacan` in Indiana who posted in Daily Kos:
"I am proud of being a crossover voter, because I strongly believe that you should vote against your own party when you don't like where it has been heading. On top of that, it is an easy switch for me, because I genuinely admire and respect Sen. Obama. So I am happy to add my vote for Barack tomorrow during the primary. Unfortunately I have heard of seven other Republicans that work within listening range of where I sit that are going to be voting for Hillary Clinton tomorrow, not because they like her, but quite the opposite, because they think she would be easier to beat in the fall, but also because they relish in dragging on the primary process as long as they can. Seven votes... to my one vote. I suspect these kinds of ratios to be present across the rest of my office. "
I checked out the Limbaugh page today and he's going at it hard.
When you add this to the purging of voters in Indiana, it's hard to see how Clinton's not going to get a blow out that's going to give a wholly distorted impression of her support. Check it out:
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/73758.html?1210028134