Think twice, Dems, before voting for Newt Gringich in the primary

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:26AM

Northfield Township Democratic Committeeman Michael Kreloff was still one of those lakefront independent types who occasionally found a Republican candidate to his liking when he ran for 49th Ward committeeman back in 1980.

His opponent was Mike Brady, a young hotshot in Mayor Jane Byrne’s administration, but Kreloff thought his own prospects were strong, with then-Ald. David Orr and state Rep. Woods Bowman backing him.

Unfortunately for Kreloff, a peculiar dynamic was at work that year. Many Democratic voters of a liberal persuasion chose to take Republican ballots in the primary to vote for independent-minded Illinois Congressman John Anderson for president.

To this day, Kreloff blames those defections for his own defeat, and that’s why he couldn’t let pass my Thursday column suggesting Illinois Democrats may want to consider straying in the March 20 primary to have some say about who Republicans nominate for president this year.

“Down ballot races matter,” Kreloff wrote.

“Whether it is people like Deb Shore or Mary Jane Theis [candidates for Water Reclamation District and Illinois Supreme Court, respectively], or the local battles we have up in my turf, all these elections matter,” added Kreloff, who says his current philosophy is: “I vote for the person, not the party — so long as that person’s a Democrat.”

Partisanship aside, his point is well-taken. Democrats who dare to dabble as Republicans must recognize there is a trade-off — losing their voice in key state and local races. Topping that list this year is the Supreme Court race, with four Democrats vying for the 10-year term: Theis, Aurelia Pucinski, Joy Cunningham and Thomas Flannigan.

Still, if Newt Gingrich is president a year from now, some Democrats here will be kicking themselves for not trying to head him off when they may have had a chance.

Jack Lydon of Ravenswood has the opposite concern: He’s worried that by voting in the Republican primary he’d somehow help Gingrich get elected. “How could I live with myself? How could I face my kids?” he asked. “My wife would shake her head and leave the room.

“Plus, everyone would know I took a Republican ballot. I would start getting RNC direct mail. Al Salvi would leave messages on my answering machine. Who knows what else might happen?

“Let’s let the Republicans pick their poison and deal with it in November.”

Lydon makes some sense, too, but that’s why the idea would be to vote against Gingrich.

Larry McCarthy of Old Irving Park also wrote to say he couldn’t stomach the idea:

“There are multiple issues I face if I request a Republican ballot in the primary,” he wrote. “First is that I have never done so in the past and fear I might next start investing in tax shelters, acting pompous or homophobic or just plain nutty.

“Second is that I live in Chicago and enjoy having my garbage picked up.

“Third and most important is that I would vote for the candidate I least would like to see as president.”

Perhaps the new grid system will eventually alleviate the perennial garbage pickup concern for city voters. Perhaps.

Many readers, though, tell me primary crossover voting is routine for them, some taking it to an extreme.

“My sweet Irish mother was so in love with this country, and she instilled in me from childhood how important my vote was,” wrote Steve Siler, of Crystal Lake. “She did however love the subversion of voting in the enemy’s primary! She just loved the idea of voting for the candidate she was sure we could beat. To this day, I take a Republican ballot to vote in her honor.”

Lest the Republicans feel we are picking on them unfairly, please note that several letters came from Republican-leaning voters who typically take a Democratic ballot for the very sensible reason: That’s usually where the action is in a Cook County primary.

As to my question about possible side effects of crossover voting, several readers noted that after having done so in the past, they started receiving that party’s campaign mailings the next time around.

Good point. For those who don’t know, a voter’s selection of a primary ballot is public record, and political operatives routinely mine the information to target supporters.

That’s one way to fool them.