Even for Mickey Kaus, I won’t change my Republican registration
Only once is my life have I voted in a Democratic primary. I did that back in 1994, largely because I realized that if the Democrat I backed had won his primary, I would have voted for him in the general. That year, while leaving in Charlottesville, Virginia, I (quite literally) pulled the level for Virgil Goode (then a Democrat) challenging Chuck Robb for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. I balked at supporting the GOP nominee Oliver North (against whom I had voted at the state GOP convention).
When I learned that blogger Mickey Kaus was tossing his hat into the ring against California’s ineffective and hyperpartisan junior Senator, Ma’am Barbara Boxer, in their party’s primary, I briefly thought of changing my registration so I could vote for this laconic liberal. I appreciate his terse and and witty blog posts and have enjoyed chatting with him at various blogger shindigs in LA.
Were Kaus to win the Democratic primary, he would retire a big-spending, mean-spirited embarrassment from the Senate. And he would make a far better Senator than she. Even given her absence of accomplishment, she still would be the favorite should she win her party’s nomination–given Democrats’ registration edge in the Golden State. A vote for Mickey would thus secure the end of her career.
All that said, I won’t be changing my registration. It would only be honorable to do so if I were certain to vote for Mickey in the fall. And while I like him, I disagree with him on too many issues to be able to support him against a Ronald Reagan conservative like Carly Fiorina (though if Mickey were up against Tom Campbell, I’d probably vote Democratic given that former California State Finance Director’s record on Israel and his big-spending ways in state government).
That said, the only reason you should vote in the opposing party’s primary is if you’re certain to support that candidate in the general. And since I’m not certain I’d be voting for Mickey Kaus should he prevail in June, I’ll keep my Republican registration.
But, I’ll still be rooting for him–and won’t rule out supporting him come November if he emerges victorious this June.
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This all seems a bit academic. Boxer is unlikely to be primaried out (she’s polling well against potential Republican challengers) and indications are that if Boxer faced Fiorina rather than Tom Campbell, Boxer would just win by an even bigger margin.
You may want to brace yourself for another six years of Barbara Boxer. Well, either that or just leave California…
Comment by Serenity — March 15, 2010 @ 5:00 pm - March 15, 2010
Yes. And the Democrats are always so very concerned with honor.
Sorry to hear this, Dan. Truly. Not voting for a particular candidate from the GOP (or any other party) is one thing; voting for a Democrat is another thing entirely. And it’s not good.
On an earlier post, Serenity made this point:
You can replace “libertarians” with “conservatives” and get an equally true statement.
Voting for a Democrat to be a senator only helps to make the Democratic leadership in the Senate more powerful. This should never be acceptable — except to a leftist.
Comment by Classical Liberal Dave — March 15, 2010 @ 10:08 pm - March 15, 2010
hate the bastard
Comment by arturo fernandez — March 16, 2010 @ 12:23 am - March 16, 2010
CLD,
I’ll disagree. The Ohio Republicans, as a whole, are so frakked up, that I voted for Brown under the logic that “If I have to have a whiny mealy-mouthed liberal crybaby, I at least want one with a D behind his name.”
Comment by The_Livewire — March 16, 2010 @ 6:43 am - March 16, 2010
Livewire,
How “frakked up” the Ohio Republicans are shouldn’t matter. If you’re not a left-winger, there’s no excuse for helping to make Harry Reid (or any other Democrat) majority leader.
It’s really that simple. If you don’t like the Republican or any third party candidate, then don’t cast a vote in that race.
Comment by Classical Liberal Dave — March 16, 2010 @ 7:07 am - March 16, 2010
Yeah, in hindsight that would likely have been a smarter move. But I’ll admit, I didn’t expect the Republicans to mess up nationally on the level they did.
Comment by The_Livewire — March 16, 2010 @ 10:24 am - March 16, 2010