California:
Eligible Voters in CA 22,948,059
Registered Voters 15,712,753
Registered Republicans
as of Feb 5 5,229,425
who Voted on Feb 5 2,350,924
who Voted for J McCain Feb 5 985,900
On Feb 5
18.9% of Republicans voted for McCain
6.3% of Registered Voters voted for McCain
4.3% of Eligible Voters voted for McCain
81% of Republicans DID NOT VOTE for John McCain
More than 16 MILLION eligible voters in California DID NOT VOTE
More than 9 MILLION registered voters in California DID NOT VOTE
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Basically, we are getting what we deserve.
I think the Democrats and GovernMental/EnvironMental leftists should be getting what THEY DESERVE!!! (hind teat!)
I think it depends on your definition of "We." Do you mean the voters, the GOP activists, or the GOP leadership?
I can only mildly criticize voters for not showing up when there are such miserable choices put before them and such nasty tactics employed that their votes are largely negated anyway. In California, we've had truly exceptional conservative candidates run for office and the GOP leadership actually work to undermine their campaign. If a football team loses because their quarterback is playing for the other team (throws the game), do you blame the team?
Can you expect GOP activists to get fired up about candidates who do not share their values? Do you expect them to be successful in recruiting others and creating a sense of enthusiasm? Ain't gonna happen. (I think you know and agree with this--I'm just trying to make my point).
But, I think tubebender's question had to do with a recent change in GOP rules that might have worked to further depress the Republican vote in California. In prior years, for Primary elections, those registered as DTS were allowed to vote either an (R) or (D) ballot. This year, no DTS voters were allowed to cast a vote on the (R) ballot while the Dems did allow it. Now, smart conservative freepers like SierraWasp knew this and changed their registration from DTS to Republican before the election so he could vote. I would guess that the majority of California DTSers were unaware of this and were given the choices of a) not voting for the presidential nominee or b) voting a Democrat ticket.
I don't know if the current rules are good or bad--I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I think if the Republican Party is to choose a nominee, that candidate should be chosen by Republicans. On the flip-side, Republicans have become so disenchanted with the leadership in the GOP working against the Party platform that they have left in droves. 20% of voters are registered as DTS--a good portion of those are conservatives.