After months of advising his listeners to vote for Hillary Clinton in open Democratic primaries, ultra-conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is changing his tune by urging Democratic superdelegates to force the issue and make Barack Obama their nominee. From CNN:

"I now believe he would be the weakest of the Democrat nominees," Limbaugh, among the most powerful voices in conservative radio, said on his program. "I now urge the Democrat superdelegates to make your mind up and publicly go for Obama."

"Barack Obama has shown he cannot get the votes Democrats need to win -- blue-collar, working-class people," Limbaugh said. "He can get effete snobs, he can get wealthy academics, he can get the young, and he can get the black vote, but Democrats do not win with that."

But Jamal Simmons, a Democratic strategist and Obama supporter, disagreed, saying the Democratic Party has "the best coalition to go out and talk to people across racial lines, which are the unions."

Limbaugh's plan to interfere in the Democratic Primary process, dubbed "Operation Chaos," was given legitimacy yesterday when Obama supporter John Kerry attributed Hillary Clinton's victory in Indiana to the gabber's tactic. What is behind this reversal? Is Rush being sincere? Is he mad at Bill Clinton for "hitting on" his "date?" Or is it all some kind of triple-reverse psychology?

As I reported here last week, Rush Limbaugh has instituted something called "Operation Chaos," wherein he urges Dittoheads (a pet name Limbaugh uses for his fans) to vote for Hillary Clinton in open Democratic Primaries in order to prolong the party's nominating process. Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton sent this out last night via email:

According to the latest exit polling data, 17% of voters in the Indiana primary today said they would vote for John McCain in a Clinton/McCain matchup.

41% of that number is constituted by people who voted Clinton in the primary but also indicated they will vote for McCain in the general election.

That comes out to just under 7% of the primary electorate the number that may be attributed to a "Limbaugh Effect."

I checked it with a calculator and everything. On today's Obama campaign conference call, Senator John Kerry brought it up, too:

If it hadn't been for republicans taking democratic ballots, he likely would have won Indiana. Rush Limbaugh was tampering with the primary and the GOP has clearly delcared that they want Hillary Clinton as a candidate.

With only a 2 point margin in Indiana, it makes sense for the Obama campaign to point this out, but it begs the question of whether or not they are legitimizing Limbaugh's tactic. I contacted both campaigns for this story, but, as yet, have not received a response.

While John McCain clearly moves to the center. Actually, scratch that. He's always been at the center, there's not much movement necessary. There is a gaping ideological hole on the right side of the political spectrum in 2008. Bob Barr wants to fill that hole. And at this point, given that I can't stand either of the two Democrats or John McCain, I have to say that voting for the Libertarian or the Constitution party is very, very tempting:

Bob Barr, former GOP congressman from Georgia, is an all-but-announced presidential candidate - as a Libertarian.

...

A run by Barr could be to John McCain "what Ralph Nader was to Al Gore - ruinous," wrote George Will in Newsweek. Some party experts believe Barr could siphon off essential conservative votes from Sen. John McCain, about whom many rightward voters have been less than enthusiastic.

I don't think that Barr will get the support of Limbaugh, other talk radio or mainstream conservative venues. While these are more or less dismayed by the outcome of the 2008 Republican nomination race, I don't think they are ready to chuck the GOP. Not yet. Maybe after four years of John McCain. Still, in a 50-50 nation. John McCain cannot afford to lose two or three percentage points from his base. And if he doesn't remember this, he should talk to Al Gore.

Perhaps, in the best case scenario, Mr. Barr will keep McCain from straying too far from the conservative roots of the GOP. When McCain asks the conservatives who else they might vote for, they might have an answer.

What do you expect from guys who don't even know where to put the steering wheel?

The UK Telegraph, today, unveiled the final 10 names on its 50 Most Influential Pundits list, and the erstwhile MC landed in the #1 spot.

Dubbed the "architect" and "Bush's brain", Rove plotted to rise of George W Bush and departed the White House after the disastrous 2006 mid-term elections. Successful punditry is a combination of real political experience, intellectual nimbleness, a provocative turn of phrase and a coherent point of view. Rove, a Fox News commentator and contributor to Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal, has all these qualities.

Isn't being called "Bush's Brain" is a bit like being called "Lou Dobb's Sexual Magnetism?"

Rove is unquestionably influential as a strategist, but I don't see that he's really made his bones yet as a pundit.

The balance of the Top 10 leans heavily on size and loyalty of the respective pundits' audience. With the exceptions of perhaps #8 Jon Stewart, #9 David Brooks, and #5 Politico, the Top 10 may be recognizable, but they don't have a big influence on political thought. Matt Drudge at #6 is less a pundit than a pundit birdfeeder.

#4 Rush Limbaugh has a huge and loyal audience, but his influence begins and ends with them. #3 Sean Hannity and #2 Chris Matthews both have brash personae, but don't go much deeper than the surface.

After the jump, the full list and coverage up to date.

Yesterday, on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, the self-described Commander-in-Chief, US, Operation Chaos, issued new orders to his army of Dittoheads:

Ladies and gentlemen, I am calling an operational pause in Operation Chaos. We have a week to figure out now what's best to do...My gut reaction here, after hearing Obama, was to issue orders changing directives, i.e., vote Obama in remaining primaries. But I'm holding back.

He went on to explain that he wants to see how the mainstream media covered Barack Obama's reaction to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's fresh gems from the National Press Club meeting.

Still, coming as it does on the heels of the commencement of Operation RonDemption, the plan to give Ron Paul a state primary victory while damaging John McCain's campaign, one has to wonder if the Dittoheads are quaking in the face of the combined might of the Ron Paul Revolution and Idaho Democrats Who Didn't Caucus.

Being a liberal, I'm more comfortable with Head of the Operation RonDemption Steering Committee, and I have some new plans, too. After the jump, a little more on both "Operations," and Limbaugh's assessment of the Democratic race.

Rush Limbaugh is at it again, trying to wreak havoc on the Democratic Primary race. From Buzzfeed:

Rush Limbaugh urges his conservative fans to vote for Hillary so that neither Democrat can win the primaries. In Limbaugh's own words: "The endgame is to see that neither of these candidates can win by virtue of the primaries" assuring that Hillary and Barack "will be so bloodied and brought down to earth that neither can win in the general." A few outside observers think that Operation Chaos is actually working while others are skeptical. Of course, Rush is happy to take full credit for the current Obama Clinton fatigue.

Unfortunately, Rush Limbaugh has met his match. Welcome to "Tommy Christopher's Operation RonDemption."

The plan is simple. Any Democrats or Independents who didn't vote in February's Idaho Democratic Caucuses are eligible to vote in the Republican Primary on 5/27/08. Idaho is one of only a few open nominating contests left.

It wouldn't take much for the Democrats, aided by the Ron Paul Army, to put a serious dent in John McCain, especially considering the low turnout for the Dem caucus. Since the GOP already has its nominee, their turnout should be low, too, inflating the percentage of Paul votes. Who knows, maybe Dr. Paul can deal McCain a defeat. Just forward and post this link wherever you can, especially to people in Idaho. Let's see how the Paul-ites do against the Dittoheads.

OK, going on FOX News Sunday is one thing. But Hillary Clinton appearing on the O'Reilly Factor tomorrow night? No doubt they'll be comparing notes on the Jeremiah Wright debacle.

Of course, this is not the first time that Hillary's campaign has cuddled up to the people she once lumped together under the legendary moniker the "vast right wing conspiracy." Her husband did a cameo on Rush Limbaugh's program right before the Texas primary. Her advisers have been feeding Matt Drudge a steady stream of scoops, and Hillary herself courted and obtained the endorsement of another former inquisitor, Richard Mellon Scaife.

It all reads rather like a Faustian bargain, no? In her bid to topple Barack Obama, Hillary has decided to join forces with the VRWC. If she gets the nomination, no doubt she'll get back to bashing them like the Clinton of old.

Poor Rush Limbaugh. Sometimes he just gets ahead of himself. With all that empty airtime to fill, his mouth gets to flapping, and, well, before you know it, he has potentially committed a crime. Another crime, I should say.

Today's legal infraction? Inciting a Riot. That's a Class A Misdemeanor and it carries a potential sentence of 5 years in prison. Of course, the riot in question hasn't happened just yet. But now that orders have been sent out to the "Dittoheads" I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

From the ABC News affiliate in Denver:

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is sparking controversy again after he made comments calling for riots in Denver during the Democratic National Convention this summer.

He said the riots would ensure a Democrat is not elected as president, and his listeners have a responsibility to make sure it happens.

"Riots in Denver, the Democrat Convention would see to it that we don't elect Democrats."

Three out of the four members of Cuyahoga County Board of Elections decided not to engage in an expensive, time consuming and doubtful investigation (Cuyahoga is Cleveland, Ohio). This all started when it became obvious that quite a few Republicans decided to become Democrats for a day. The day of the Ohio primary. Add in Rush's operation chaos, and one of the BOE members wanted to go hammer and tongs:

Democratic board member Sandy McNair, who initiated the investigation, asked the board at Monday's meeting to subpoena a Westlake Republican who wrote "Today Only" on his pledge card when he took a Democratic ballot. The three other board members, two Republicans and a Democrat, said they didn't want to force public testimony from the voter.

Voters who switch parties in Ohio primaries must sign affidavits pledging allegiance to their new party. Lying on the forms is a fifth-degree felony punishable by six to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

"We have so many other things we need to focus on," said Inajo Davis Chappell, the board's other Democrat. "I don't want to second-guess voters."

And that's that. Doubtless the other three were thinking ahead to where this could possibly lead. An enterprising defense lawyer could merely point out that the Ohio statute doesn't require any particular length of time that the "allegiance" should last. Did the crossovers violate the spirit of the law? Yes, maybe, probably. But prosecuting your own voters is a tough call. I'm not surprised by this at all. I am only surprised it got this far.