Florida’s primary is not closed
Earlier I had wondered why the “Republican vote” in Florida (which was Romney over McCain by 33 to 31) was being toted up separately. Isn’t Florida a closed primary, I asked. It turns out that it is not.
David B. writes:
When it comes down to it, the primaries are not “closed.” In Florida (and Tennessee), you can declare what primary you want to vote in when you show up at the polls. A lot of McCain’s vote came this way.
Still, I wrote you several months ago about the voters of Samuel Francis’ Stupid Party who seem to pay no attention to what the candidates stand for. Vdare reported recently that many GOP-type voters know McCain only as a “war hero.” It is a combination of stupid complacency and to put it bluntly, Romney isn’t selling.
LA replies:
You point out that Florida is not a truly closed primary, then you say that Mitt is not selling.
ROMNEY WON AMONG REPUBLICANS IN FLORIDA by 33 to 31.
Without that last minute party switch, enabling Independents to vote for McCain (and they weren’t switching their registration to the GOP because they were suddenly seized with a belief in the Republican party), Romney would have won Florida.
Among Republican voters, Romney beat McCain (narrowly) in N.H.
Remove the inappropriate voting rules, and Romney would now be the front runner. So don’t tell me he’s not selling.
The fact is, the man can’t catch a break. Everyone is unfair to him. Like Sailer said, does this guy have some hidden disease that keeps people from recognizing his excellent qualities?
Circumstances, events, and people keep conspiring against him. Even Giuliani’s precipitous drop ended up hurting Romney, because it meant that Giuliani’s votes in Florida went to McCain. If Giuliani had not dropped so badly, if Giuliani had gotten, say 23 percent instead of 15 percent, Romney would have won Florida.
And now the Huckster is staying in, the only result of which is to keep votes away from Romney and assure the McCain wins in the South on Super Tuesday.
David replies:
What I meant is that around 25-27 percent, according to an analysis I heard, of self-described “conservatives” voted for McCain. He shouldn’t have gotten .001 percent. Without this vote, he would not be winning primaries.
LA replies:
That’s correct. And that’s the worst part of it.
But then the question is, what do people actually mean when they call themselves conservatives?
Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 30, 2008 03:33 PM | Send