A Reaganite for VP
Written by Alex on February 8th, 2008So, last night I wrote:
I’ve been told that certain leaders of the conservative movement will begin campaigning tomorrow for McCain to select a movement conservative as the Vice-Presidential nominee.
And it begins with a Pat Toomey op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this morning. He begins the conversation about a McCain runningmate with several suggestions: Mark Sanford, Jim DeMint, Mike Pence, Phil Gramm, and Steve Forbes.
Of course, Pat Toomey himself wouldn’t be a bad name to add to that list either.
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I think Fred Thompson would be a good pick as well. Maybe that’s just a dream though….
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Ill pass on FDT as VP. I dont think two low-key, old-looking men are the way to go.
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I’ll second that. If Fred was 20 years younger then I would be on board, but Dave is correct. Generally, when picking a VP you are also picking a potential successor.
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I’m for Fred for Secretary of State. He’d be an outstanding SOS.
The Veep is going to be Mark Sanford. It seems he is the consensus favorite among conservatives.
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Where the heck are the conservative women in our party? Do you have to be an old white guy to be considered a Reaganite?
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“I’m for Fred for Secretary of State. He’d be an outstanding SOS”
Based on WHAT? He has no foreign policy or diplomacy experience at all!
“Mark Sanford. It seems he is the consensus favorite among conservatives.”
Since when does McCain care what the consensus among conservatives is? I’ve heard rumors he’s considering Charlie Crist- he endorsed him to deliver a big win in Florida, and he seems to be standing behind him in every photo op.
“Pat Toomey himself wouldn’t be a bad name to add to that list either.”
Again, based on WHAT? One doesn’t generally skyrocket straight from losing a Senate campaign to the second-highest office in the land. Particularly with a candidate as old as McCain, it’s important to have someone who would be a GOOD LEADER as VP, not just someone who will appease conservatives to have on the ticket.
I’ve also heard some people discussing Huckabee as VP. McCain wouldn’t be that stupid, would he?
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http://www.state.gov/t/isn/isab/68268.htm
Yeah. Fred also served for years on the Senate Intelligence committee.
Now, granted, I think he would fit better as Attorney General. But saying he has no experience in foreign policy is flat out wrong.
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Regarding David Shiffman’s previous post criticizing the experience of both Thompson and Toomey-
I’d say that both Thompson AND Toomey have more experience than Obama, and Obama may just be your PRESIDENTIAL nominee. As of next January, he’ll have been in the Senate exactly 4 years longer than you have, and I don’t believe you’ve ever served in the U.S. Senate.
“One doesn’t generally skyrocket straight from losing a Senate campaign to the second-highest office in the land.”
Obama is skyrocketing from a back-bencher in the Illinois St. Senate to the HIGHEST office in the land.
I don’t think Hillary’s got such a great resume either, btw…
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Good names being thrown around: Pence, Toomey, Sanford (I LOVE Sanford, but I’m not sure he wants to get back into national politics). And I’m not sure if Watts will be a strong candidate, or if he’d even be interested in running.
I know some of you didn’t like this idea the first time I brought it up, but think about it: McCain-Condi. Condi Rice would be a fantastic draw for both woman and blacks, she’s obviously qualified, and she may be content to simply be VP and not go after the top job, similar to Cheney. If you’re concerned about her conservative cred, you won’t have to worry about her succeeding McCain.
Two other potential choices: Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).
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Condi yes…
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I agree. Obama is horribly, horribly inexperienced. That’s why I’m supporting McCain over him. I think Hillary has some degree of experience- she was a fairly active first lady- but I won’t be supporting her either (more because she’s evil).
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McCain/Gramm???? They probably have over 150 years between the two of them!
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Of all the possibilities listed by Pat Toomey in the WSJ op-ed, I think Steve Forbes is the most interesting. But, I wonder if he’d be able to help McCain pick up his home state of New Jersey.
I think the Condi suggestion expressed here is also interesting — although she carries a lot of George W. Bush baggage and Iraq War baggage.
But, if the Democrats put up Obama, she’d certainly help steal some of that thunder.
But, she’s untested on the campaign trail — and this may not be the best place for her to get her first taste of it.
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One thing that has to be said as a former Jersey resident…in no scenario is New Jersey in play…it is a solidly Democratic state now and even with Romney would not be in play. The GOP always makes the mistake of wasting money on it thinking that it is a swing state…it isn’t….just as the Democrats have the illusion that Virginia is in play and isn’t.
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I don’t know why you think McCain is obligated, or would even be inclined to pick a VP from among your ranks after you spent the last year shitting on his campaign, and many of you making it clear now that you will not support him under any circumstances. You lost and you have no influence left.
I find it more likely that he picks someone even more centrist than he is. The votes he wins from moderates and conservative democrats, at least against Hillary, will more than propel him to victory — even with the revolt of the lunatic fringe.
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Condi Rice! What planet am I on that conservatives would want her as VP? Not a good choice for a great many reasons, but mostly because her policy thinking regarding international affairs is decidedly not conservative.
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What is going to be funny is that when McCain loses to Hillary by double digits because half the conservatives stayed home, the party will come with hat in hand back to conservatives begging them to rejoin and become active again.
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I’ll ask Mike’s question to Gceres: What planet are you living on? McCain beats Hillary by significant margins in every poll. This is while 62% of voters said that they would not vote for Romney under any circumstances.
The number of moderates that McCain can appeal to far outweighs the number of loons like you. And believe it or not, you only get one vote, even if you show up with the biggest gun in the back of your pickup truck.
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On the subject of this post: Given how much you pine for the guy, perhaps you can run Reagan’s dead carcass. I don’t think the constitution specifies that one needs to be alive to run.
He’d probably wet himself on the white house furniture less frequently this time around, too.
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“I’ll ask Mike’s question to Gceres: What planet are you living on? McCain beats Hillary by significant margins in every poll. This is while 62% of voters said that they would not vote for Romney under any circumstances.”
Has the GOP learned nothing? Polls at this stage of the game had Dole beating Clinton by more than 12 points….we all know how that turned out.
If you honestly think polls at this stage of the game are indicative of anything, you are sorely mistaken.
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Do you have any evidence on Dole’s numbers? I seem to remember that Dole was trailing Clinton the whole time, catching up briefly around the convention.
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Anyway, do you care to make a bet? If the nominee is Hillary, McCain will beat her by at least 5 points. Too bad Commodore Perry wasn’t willing to bet real money on the last one — As I predicted, Thompson couldn’t even win a single state.
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Publius… Dole never had a short against Bill Clinton since Ross Perot was in the race and Clinton had bounced back from his successful budget battle against the Republicans.
I find the comparisons between Dole and McCain to be odd to say the least. Dole is a nice guy, but he was always taken as a party guy getting his shot. McCain will never be looked at by anyone including swing voters as a party hack.