This might be a good tactical move for McCain if Rudy Giuliani wasn't in the race. Independents probably won't support Romney in any great numbers, but they would likely support McCain and Giuliani. Given that Rudy has a strong double-digit lead in California right now, I think it's safe to assume that more of those independents would break his way than McCains.Sen. John McCain's campaign is mounting a stealth effort to change Republican presidential nomination rules in California to allow independents to vote in the Feb. 5 primary, party and campaign officials in the state have told The Washington Times.
The impact could be huge -- and potentially damaging to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, currently the most acceptable to traditional-values voters among the three top-tier Republican presidential candidates.
"If California changes its delegate selection rules to allow independent voters to participate in the Republican primary, it would be very helpful for McCain and for Rudy Giuliani, who historically have done very well among independent voters," Federal Election Commissioner Michael E. Toner said.
An official with the Romney organization in California said McCain supporter Duff Sundheim, the former state Republican Party chairman and an ally of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been trying to line up votes for the rules change. Several other state officials and campaign operatives independently reported receiving phone calls from Mr. Sundheim seeking support for the change.
Of course, all that speculating ignores the reality that McCain's people feel they can't win a straight GOP primary and have to jury-rig the rules to allow non-GOP voters to participate. If it's not going to be a Republican-only primary, then whey bother having a party affiliation at all?
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