I'm sure Kos' idea looked good on the cocktail napkin, and I know I was tempted to jump at it since I was so disgusted by the state party and this whole primary fiasco. So I blogged about it and asked for feedback here in MI, and got an immediate response about the harmful blowback for MI residents...
Romney on the ballot this fall will help Republicans downticket and could tip the MI House back to the GOP and bolster their Senate lead. [plus other issues as well. See update]
UPDATE ADDED AT END
I laid out Kos' "Democrats for Mitt" plan [see post] and then came to this conclusion:
I'm intrigued. I fully intended to vote "uncommited" on Tuesday, and urge others to do the same, but this might actually be a more valuable/useful way to use my vote. Thoughts? Especially you, Smitty...
In theory, hurting McCain is a good thing, as I feel he is the GOP's strongest candidate, but who the hell knows? This could backfire...but without looking at it as helping or hurting particular guys, I agree with Kos' assessment that keeping the field open on the other side is to our benefit, no matter who emerges.
One of my astute commenters—a guy very hooked-in in Lansing—brought me up short with this:
[...] it makes some sense on a larger sale. But in Michigan politics, Romney is the worst we can expect. He polls the best and will run the best.
[...] every single Oakland County and Kent County Republican State Rep and Senator has endorsed Romney. Part of why Saul Anuzis wanted to change the primary was for Romney. If he wins here, the Republican base is absolutely energized and turns out like mad for the "native son." Some EPIC MRA polls substantiate that Michigan Independents may choose to go his way if he wins too.
On the national scene, that may not make a bit of difference; Romney may still lose to whatever Dem. But on the state level, ... enough Republicans turn out in Michigan to jeopardize the Dems' slim control of the House (43 of our 110 Reps are term-limited and the Republicans could take the swing seats if they turn out enough) and definitely jeopardize the 7 heavily-targeted House Dems. It also may mean the Republicans not only maintain their hold on the State Senate but also gain an extra seat.
Romney is Michigan Dems' nightmare, even if that makes no difference nationally.
That's a good enough reason for me to oppose Kos' plan without even considering the "uncommited delegates" half of the fiasco. Plenty of commenters have made good arguments about the delegates, but I haven't seen anybody point this out.
The risk for those of us in Michigan that actually have to live with the results/unintended consequences is far too great. Romney could still get his ass kicked in the general election if he's the nominee, but he could really fuck things up in Michigan, and we really can't afford for things to get any worse 'round here.
I appreciate the outside-the-box thinking here, and it looked like a good idea at first glance, but this experiment stands a much better chance of costing us the MI House than having an impact in the Presidential general election.
DON'T DO IT! STICK WITH THE "UNCOMMITTED" PLAN!
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Please recommend this, it's important.
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UPDATE: The stalwart Smitty reminds us of some of the other things at stake in MI:
This has even more implications than losing targeted Dem seats, losing some of the new seats vacated by term limits and setting the Senate up in 2 years for a wider margin. There are a number of ballot initiatives very important to core Democratic issues that are in jeopardy. Health care coverage of the nearly-universal sort could fail. Stem cells could fail. Part-time legislature could pass. Right-to-work could pass. Etc.
So that's the long and short of it. For those of you arguing this from somewhere other than Michigan, please give me a break. You don't understand how tight things are here. A few years back we lost a draconian anti-gay marriage initiative, and as Smitty mentioned there are a host of close issues on the table right now—stem cell research being a BIG one. Our economy is in the tank and the GOP does nothing but make that worse. Try getting cute somewhere else—NOT HERE.
Fellow Michiganders, is losing all of the issues mentioned above worth a shot in the dark attempt to swing the other side's nomination? Or attempting to teach some party or state officials a lesson? No. This primary was a fucking fiasco and it will never be repeated, don't compound the damage.
And everyone, none of this even addresses the fact that this would also help Hillary.
VOTE UNCOMMITTED!