Shocked, Shocked

Mitt Romney has been hitting Rick Santorum today in Michigan on the revelation that Santorum's campaign has been encouraging Democrats to vote for him in the Michigan primary.  Romney has called the tactic "a new low" and that Democrats and Santorum are "hijacking" the process.  This is interesting when reflecting on the 2008 Democratic primaries during which Rush Limbaugh urged Republicans and conservatives to vote for Hillary Clinton.  Granted, this kind of thing is not exactly the best or most principled way to do things but that's because it reflects the flaws in the system itself. All of the primaries should be closed so as to get a more accurate reading of the electorate.

Another take on Romney's stance is this Politico story on his beliefs on this subject back in 1994:

ABC News’ Jonathan Greenberger Reports: Republican presidential candididate Mitt Romney offered a new explanation today for why he supported a Democrat in 1992.

That year, Romney, then a registered independent, voted for former Sen. Paul Tsongas in the 1992 Democratic presidential primary.  He told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, in an interview that will air Sunday on "This Week," that his vote was meant as a tactical maneuver aimed at finding the weakest opponent for incumbent President George H.W. Bush.

"In Massachusetts, if you register as an independent, you can vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary," said Romney, who until he made an unsuccessful run for Senate in 1994 had spent his adult life as a registered independent. "When there was no real contest in the Republican primary, I’d vote in the Democrat primary, vote for the person who I thought would be the weakest opponent for the Republican."