Hillary Clinton took the Ohio primary handily and is predicted to take Texas by a narrower margin, but did she really win, or is her success the result of Republicans trying to prolong the fight within the Democratic ranks?

We all heard about how Rush Limbaugh called for Republicans to go vote for Hillary in the Texas and Ohio primaries. Since McCain was a virtual lock on the nomination and he felt the Republican party wasn't going to strike hard at Obama, he told Republicans to make their votes count and vote for Hillary, because she'd do the GOP's dirty work for them.

CNN reports they asked the question in their exit polls and 10% of people voting in the Democratic Party primaries in both Texas openly identified themselves as Republicans. On top of that, another 22% in Ohio and 25% in Texas identified themselves as independents.

Now, to be fair, some of those could be the Republicans who, disgusted with McCain, defected to Obama. There is a small, but vocal group of those. But are there enough to make up 10% of the Democratic Party's turnout?

While Ohio has been a key battleground state in presidential elections, the number of votes cast in the democratic primary was more than twice that cast in the Republican party. Some of this could be due to the fact that the Democratic primary is seen as competitive while the Republican primary was seen as a lock for McCain. Considering how the Democrats and Republicans are normally somewhat evenly matched, the combination of a two-to-one turnout, with 10% of the Democratic Primary voters self-identifying as Republican, it's just really fishy.

In Hillary's eyes, this manna is a mandate, and she'll use it as an excuse to push forward. Her eyes are so bright with avarice, she'll refuse to see that she's being used to help divide and fracture the party, to beat up Obama by proxy for the Republicans. She will fight this quixotic battle with every ounce of strength and penny of funds she can muster, and she'll only too gladly help the Republicans "bloody" Obama long before he has to face McCain in the general election.

If Hillary truly believes she won today, we -- as a party and as a nation -- have lost. The Republicans outstrategized us again, and Hillary will only be too glad to take the Democratic Party down with her.

Accusing Obama of plagiarism, saying he's "just in the speeches business," claiming he's inexperienced... no, it's not the Republicans, it's Hillary. After 10 straight primary losses (okay, 9, but they'll call Hawaii in a few hours and it's almost a gimme for Obama), Hillary is fighting tooth and nail and venom to save her faltering campaign.

My wife put it in a great perspective. Don't recall if she was quoting someone or making her own observation, but she said Hillary really reminded her of the character Tracy Flick from Election.

Like the photo of Tracy Flick and Hillary Clinton? I made it with a press kit shot from Election and a public domain photo of Hillary from Wikimedia Commons. A little manipulation and some hope that you won't notice all the boxes have backward lettering, and voila.

Some choice Tracy Flick quotes I could imagine coming out of Hillary's mouth (with names changed, of course)...

"Dear Lord Jesus, I do not often speak with you and ask for things, but now, I really must insist that you help me win the election tomorrow because I deserve it and Barack Obama doesn't, as you well know."

"He should have just accepted things as they are instead of trying to interfere with destiny. You see, you can't interfere with destiny. That's why it's destiny. And if you try to interfere, the same thing's going to happen anyway, and you'll just suffer."

"I believe in the voters; they understand that elections aren't just popularity contests, they know this country was built by people just like me who work very hard."

Sigh. Hopefully she'll come to her senses soon and let Obama get working on beating McCain instead of having to waste money and energy on a mercy killing for her faltering campaign.

Ever heard of Jim Cooper's health plan? Back in 1993, it was one that would have provided a lot of relief to a lot of Americans and had broad bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Hillary torpedoed it and tried to ruin Cooper for spite.

Read the story of how Hillary Clinton killed a health care reform bill. I've long disliked her because she represents the worst of the Democratic party... the limousine liberalism, the power brokering, the backroom deals... But then, in this story, she shows she is as petty, vindictive, and capable of tunnel vision as Bush/Cheney ever were.

It's not a question of her sex or her politics for me. It's a question of her integrity. After reading stories like this and watching the Clinton attack machine go after Obama, I just cannot support Hillary. The politics of division, the politics of pettiness, the politics of revenge... I've been waiting 8 years to get that OUT of the white house.

I just can't do it. Hillary is Dick Cheney in heels. If she wins the Democratic nomination, I'll back Ron Paul as an independent or take a new look at McCain. I can vote for a woman, but I can't vote for Hillary.