I found this through Corrente and maybe others have already seen this, but it appears the Nevada precinct supporter was not the first to use the pitch that Republicans could be Democrats for a day to support Obama. Folks in Florida were way ahead on this starting in April 2007, see http://www.obamaflorida2008.com/plugins/ p2_news/printarticle.php?p2_articleid=17 .
Kind of makes you wonder if it's a national plan. From the obamaflorida2008 website:
Tens of thousands of people in Florida are already supporting Barack Obama for president.But, you know what? You won't be able to vote for him in the all-important Florida Primary next February unless you are a registered Democrat, or unless you re-register as a Democrat.
See, Florida law mandates a "closed primary" for presidential primaries. Even if you're an independent, these archaic laws will not let you vote in either major party primary.
Put another way -- you have been legally disenfranchised.
That's why "Democrat for a Day" was launched this spring by ObamaFlorida2008. Using the official forms provided by all Supervisors of Elections offices, you may re-register as a Democrat for that one day -- when the primary is likely to be held -- on February 5, 2008. You must do so before the end of 2007, to make sure it is done 30 days before the primary.
But this is not about some "hard sell" to recruit voters to become permanent Democrats. Not at all. After the primary, you may re-register back to the Republican or Libertarian parties, or revert to your previous status as an Independent! There will be plenty of time before the general election in November 2008.
*CUT**
And, from the standpoint of the Obama campaign, it is a win-win situation! For example, how many Republicans do you think will re-register to vote for our respected opponent Hillary Clinton? That's right ... virtually no one.
But we're finding that up to 20 percent of Obama supporters are registered Republicans.
Now, given the Florida polls, I don't think this has had much of an impact and, in light of the problems with the DNC, it may be that the Obama people aren't active in Florida. But it does appear that "Be a Democrat for a Day" did not originate with one rogue precinct captain in Nevada.
Update: Based on a comment below, it sounds like this website was done by unaffiliated Obama supporters and not the official Obama campaign. That's helpful, but I still have to wonder about the coincidence of having multiple Obama supporters come up with the same idea. And to be clear, this is not a complaint about Obama using the rules to his advantage. My problem with this pitch is that it doesn't seek to bring people to the Democratic party beyond the primary. By emphasizing folks can go back to being Republicans and independents before the November 2008 election, it's essentially not asking for any commitment that the crossovers at least support Obama in November 2008 (and I know that they still could, but instead of making that pitch it emphasizes the ability to go back to being a Republican the day after the primary). Just as importantly, by separating Obama from the democratic party, it gives absolutely no incentive for these folks to support other Democratic candidates on the ballot in 2008. I've heard a lot about how Obama will help us down ballot. But that's not going to be true if his supporters keep saying that Republicans and Independents can crossover just to vote for him and can remain Republicans and Independents. It seems like an invitation to split ticket voting.|
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