Illinois Democrats might be tempted to cross over in March

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Updated: February 27, 2012 9:57AM

As someone who normally votes for Democrats, I’ve been following the battle for the Republican presidential nomination with a mixture of detachment and indifference.

I figured I didn’t have any say in the matter, so until it’s over, why worry about whether Republicans pick Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, Paul, Tweedledee or Tweedledeedee.

We’d know soon enough, it seemed, and probably well before the campaign trail reached Illinois on March 20. In recent days, though, I’ve started having second thoughts.

Depending on what happens in Florida on Tuesday, there’s now a growing possibility the GOP nomination will still be in doubt by the Illinois primary. That raises an interesting question: What if Illinois Democrats, looking at a scarcity of interesting races in their own primary, were to pull a Republican ballot instead and help their neighbors across the political divide settle on a candidate to run against Barack Obama?

Yes, I know, that would be wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. But would it be SO wrong? I’m not so sure.

If you’re a Democrat, it’s at least worth rolling around in your head for a while, although as I say, perhaps a bit premature before we get the results from Florida.

My first clue it’s a bad idea ought to be the reminder that four years ago it was Rush Limbaugh who urged Republicans to cross over in states like Ohio and Texas to vote in Democratic primaries for Hillary Clinton — for the sole purpose of keeping Democrats at each other’s throats a while longer.

Certainly, that might be one reason for an Illinois Democrat to meddle in the Republican primary this time, too — to cause trouble. The longer the race goes the greater the chance of the eventual nominee being politically wounded along the way, I imagine.

Democrats might also pick the GOP candidate they think would make the weakest challenger to Obama. Rick Santorum comes to mind in that regard, although I’m really trying not to underestimate any of them.

But I see more legitimate reasons for a Democrat to cross over as well.

For instance, maybe you honestly believe Mitt Romney would make a better president than any of his more conservative alternatives. Although you might prefer Obama in the final analysis, you know there’s a chance a majority of your fellow Americans will not.

In that case, you could almost see it as your responsibility to help the Republicans advance a candidate who you could stomach if the November voting didn’t go your way.

One might make the same argument for any of the other surviving GOP candidates, I suppose, although I probably wouldn’t.

I’m expecting an ugly general election campaign no matter who gets the Republican nomination with smearing that will undoubtedly emanate from both sides.

But I have particular concern about how divisive it could get if Newt Gingrich is the party’s standard-bearer. In that case, would it be so wrong for a Democrat to cast a vote to avoid an election fight that could get as over-the-top as Newt himself?

I asked Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady if he has any concerns about Democrats interfering in the GOP primary.

“Anything’s possible,” Brady said, but he noted the whole notion of primary crossover voting is something “that gets ginned up more than it actually occurs.”

As Brady, a Romney supporter, points out, not many Cook County Democrats, especially in the city, would be comfortable asking for a Republican ballot.

While I have voted for many Illinois Republicans through the years, although admittedly fewer since the moderate wing of the party lost favor, I concede I’ve never taken a Republican primary ballot.

The strongest reason for a local Democratic voter to stay in the fold this March is an important battle for an opening on the Illinois Supreme Court. There are also a couple of primary contests for congressional seats, plus some county-elected officials and state legislative seats at stake. Overall, though, this year’s Democratic primary is a real yawner.

I welcome your thoughts on this, signed emails always being preferable to anonymous graffiti scrawled in the comments section, although both allowed.

Maybe somebody can tell me: If you take a Republican ballot, are there any lasting side effects?