Incredible results from NH republican primary

[Cocoa]

imagine all these people going out in the freezing cold to vote a protest vote against Bush. This is looking good...

http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/nichols/66477.php

<snip>

One in seven Republican primary voters cast ballots for candidates other than Bush, holding the president to just 85 percent of the 62,927 ballots cast. In some parts of the state, such as southwest New Hampshire's Monadnock Region, a historic bastion of moderate Republicanism, Bush did even worse. In Swanzey, for instance, 37 percent of GOP primary voters rejected Bush. In nearby Surry, almost 29 percent of the people who took Republican ballots voted against the Republican president, while a number of other towns across the region saw anti-Bush votes of more than 20 percent in the GOP primary.

Few of the anti-Bush votes went to the 13 unknown Republicans whose names appeared on GOP ballots along with the president's. Instead, top Democratic contenders reaped write-in votes.

<snip>

In all, 8,279 primary voters wrote in the names of Democratic challengers to Bush on their Republican ballots.

That's a significant number. In the 2000 general election, Bush beat Democrat Al Gore in New Hampshire by just 7,212 votes. Had Gore won New Hampshire, he would have become president, regardless of how the disputed Florida recount was resolved.

more...

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. the fact that Republicans would go out in the cold

To vote against Bush, just to make a statement, should be the biggest story of the week.

[unblock]

2. republicans voting for dems in the primary

is a clear protest vote.

while this is not "good" for bush, it's unclear how "bad" it is.

these protesters have gotten in their protest in the primary, so they very well might "hold their nose" and vote republican in the general election.

then again, they might stay home, or even vote for the democrat....

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Rove can't say its just Dems who are angry.

This paragraph from the story really hit home:

Exit polls conducted on Tuesday in New Hampshire did not merely sample the opinions of Democrats. They also questioned independent voters, who make up almost 40 percent of the New Hampshire electorate. A Democratic primary exit poll conducted for the Associated Press and various television networks found that nine in 10 independents were worried about the direction of the U.S. economy. Eight in 10 told the pollsters that some or all of the tax cuts pushed by the Bush administration should be canceled. Forty percent of the independents questioned in the poll said they were angry with Bush, while another 40 percent said they were simply dissatisfied with the president

If I'm reading this right, 80% of Independents are either mad at Bush or dissatisfied! Do you realize what this means? If our candidates keep on telling the truth about the Shrub, it could mean a Democratic landslide!

[Cocoa]

4. and this was before the new Medicare numbers

and before the Kay report.

Aside from independents and disgruntled republicans, there's also the highly energized dems, plus the Greens who will likely form a temporary alliance with the dems to boot Bush.

Landslide is not out of the question. Bush could even drag a lot of his enablers in Congress down with him.