The results are in. Democratic registration numbers have surged to a record four million, and an equally impressive record of an 800,000-vote advantage over Republicans in the state. Have things gotten so bad for the GOP in Pennsylvania that a stampede has begun?
Admittedly, most of these party switchers are part of the normal ebb and flow of the political waves. Republican voters have become either disenchanted with their party or find themselves more aligned with the Democrats. That's fair.
I suspect, however, that something bigger is at work here. Last week, when I was on the Dennis Prager radio show, a call came in from a Philadelphia-area Republican. At least he had been a Republican. He called in to announce proudly that he had switched parties to vote in the Democratic presidential primary. He was going to vote for the candidate who opinion polls say would be the weakest Democrat in the November election. That's a foul!
After the interview, I wanted to find this man and yell: "Don't vote!"
Having devoted almost all of my adult life to encouraging people to vote, it truly pains me to write that phrase. Every fiber of my political being recoils at the idea of discouraging any American, any Pennsylvanian, from voting. I've always believed that when it comes to civic participation, the higher the voter turnout the better on Election Day. It doesn't matter if it's higher Republican turnout, Democratic turnout, or Green Cheese Party turnout. It didn't even matter to me if increased turnout hurt my own election prospects. Representative democracy isn't a spectator sport, and participating means voting.
However, Republicans and independents voting in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary is a terrible idea. Republicans and Democrats, people who actually believe what their party stands for, should have the right to choose their own nominees.
At its best, politics should be about competing ideas for the common good and choosing between the candidates each party believes to be its best. Monkeying around in the other party's nominating process corrupts all of this. It robs voters of a clear choice between the best candidate each party wants to offer. It is manipulative and will breed cynicism if it catches on.
