Operation Chaos[edit]
In late February 2008, Limbaugh announced "Operation Chaos," a political call to action with the initial plan to have voters of the
Republican Party temporarily
cross over to vote in the
Democratic primary and vote for
Hillary Clinton, who at the time was in the midst of losing eleven straight primary contests to
Barack Obama.
[106]
At the point in which Limbaugh announced his gambit, Obama had seemed on the verge of clinching the
Democratic nomination.
[107] However, Clinton subsequently won the
Ohio primary and the
Texas primary (while losing the Texas caucus and the overall delegate split) with large pluralities from rural counties; thus reemerging as a competitive opponent in the race.
[108]
On April 29, 2008, Limbaugh declared an "operational pause" in Operation Chaos, saying that Obama's defeat in the
2008 Pennsylvania primary and fallout from statements from Obama ally Reverend
Jeremiah Wright could have damaged his campaign to the extent
superdelegates would shift to Clinton's side.
[109] Determining Obama had weathered that storm, Limbaugh lifted the pause the next day and renewed his call for his listeners to vote for Clinton in the upcoming
Indiana and
North Carolina primaries.
[110] Obama won the North Carolina primary
[111] but was narrowly defeated in Indiana, where Clinton won decisively in rural counties that normally vote Republican in presidential elections.
[112]
The overall legality of Operation Chaos in several states, including
Ohio and
Indiana, is disputed. In Ohio, new party members are required to sign a pledge of loyalty to the party they join for a minimum of one year, making participation in "Operation Chaos" a possible
felony (election falsification) in that state. However, Ohio Attorney General
Marc Dann refused to press charges on anyone, saying that it would be nearly impossible to enforce because of difficulties proving voter intent and concerns that a loyalty oath would violate
freedom of association.
[113]
By
2020, the name "Operation Chaos" had become associated enough with presidential
party raiding that
South Carolina Republicans seeking to disrupt that state's
Democratic presidential primary recycled the name for their own efforts. Limbaugh did not endorse or address the South Carolina efforts.
[114]
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