Veepstakes: Should Romney Stay Away from Someone Too 2008?
If I had to make one prediction about this year’s GOP veepstakes, it will be that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will not ask former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate.
The reasons for this are many, never mind Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wryly quipping last month on CBS that Romney should pick Palin.
Simply put, no presidential candidate wants to align himself with a campaign that went oh-so-awry four years ago as Barack Obama sailed through on his wildly successful hope-n-change train.
Obama, however, is saying at every campaign stop that it ain’t 2008 anymore — in an effort to rally his faithful into the same frenzy as four years ago.
Even George Clooney and pals got the treatment at last night’s Studio City fundraiser. “2008 in some ways was lightning in a bottle,” Obama said. “That’s not going to be replicated. …That passion that we brought to bear in 2008 is going to have to express itself maybe not in such flashy form, it’s going to have to be steady, but we’re going to have to keep those fires burning all the way through November and beyond.”
The Republican Party won’t be able to fully escape the brand of 2008 rehash considering that the nominee will be Romney, who unsuccessfully battled McCain for the nod. But talk of Romney potentially picking former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who finished in the 2008 delegate count between McCain and Romney before the senator’s challengers dropped out, is very 2008.
The reasons for a Huckabee pick range from wooing social conservatives (the HuckPAC quickly jumped on Obama’s gay-marriage evolutionary revelation) and mobilizing the grass-roots Tea Party to winning the South. And, to be on the safe side, he was already vetted in 2008, not just by campaign staffers but by the media. And we’ve learned what a distraction to a campaign anything less than thorough vetting can be.
But would picking an also-ran in the veepstakes be molding a powerful ticket or sinking voters’ minds back to that not-very-good year? Do you signal to the electorate that it’s time to try again, or time to move forward with new faces and maybe, just maybe, that future Reagan dreamed of by everyone on the right?
Moving forward would be Romney’s best option, not giving Obama a chance to cast the election as 2008 all over.
But what other variables are going to figure in to finding that perfect VP nominee?
Superstar or not too shiny?
Remember the movie My Fellow Americans with Jack Lemmon and James Garner, where the vice president was a dolt No. 2 to Dan Akroyd’s president? That fiction was based on a lot of fact, and not an accidental one. When you want to be president, you don’t want the country sobbing that your veep isn’t really the guy in the Oval Office.
Walter Mondale to Jimmy Carter — failed miserably at his own presidential bid. George H.W. Bush to Ronald Reagan — nice, smart guy, but couldn’t keep the Reagan fervor going for more than one term on his own. Dan Quayle to George H.W. Bush — everyone knew there was no bloody way he’d be president. Al Gore to Bill Clinton (who, I’m guessing, laughs harder at the “Manbearpig” episode of South Park than anyone else).
They picked veeps who were capable, who contributed to the ticket in some way, but who would never eclipse the first name on the campaign signage.
And, well, Joe Biden. You knew that Obama was not going to pick anyone who could remotely outshine the Obamagod.
You could also sense, especially in the waning days of the last campaign, that McCain and Palin were in a tussle for that spotlight, with very different fan bases — a tussle highlighted by nothing else like McCain’s SNL appearance with Tina Fey days before the vote.
But some have asserted that Romney needs star power to get him over the hump in November.
Those stars are Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been giving presidential-style addresses and leads the race on Intrade; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who would provide entertainment in debating Biden (shooting fish in a barrel) but everyone really wants to see him debate Obama; and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), whose baby blues and Path to Prosperity excite the base without abandoning the middle wherever he goes.
He should definitely avoid Huckabee. In my opinion he’s the worst of both worlds – a big government social conservative.
+1 e 10
Exactly. If Romney were to pick Huckabee as his running mate, the only ethical choice would be to throw my vote on a write-in with more intellectual integrity. Maybe SpongeBob SquarePants.
Me four on that.
Very few things would sour me faster on Romney at this point than him picking Huckabee.
Huckabee is an instant loser. We plugged our noses and voted for Palin in ’08 (ignoring the unhinged RINO at the top of the ticket). We won’t do it again. If Romney is as stupid as to put a social totalitarianist on the ticket, America deserves to go down in flames. I’ll gladly pull the trigger and vote for Obama, calling in the strike on our position, hoping that future societies aren’t as damn stupid.
No pasty white male “moderate” socially-reactionary, fiscally liberal losers. No sitzpinkler (men who pee sitting down because they are fearful of being told that peeing standing is an act of aggression).
Leadership. Put a real financial alpha in as VP and dispatch them to conquer Congress by imposing real financial reform this term. Understand you probably won’t get a second unless there is major reform.
its the voters fault for listening to the media and the establishment GOP in the first place, by going for the flip flop rhino Mr Colegate smile Mc Romney. now we are stuck with it. the only chance he has to win is by talking Marco Rubio into being the VP, or picking Allen West. a West pick would upset the left media, how would the play the race card?
This + 1,000,000.
I’m afraid milquetoast Romney will pick an even more vanilla Veep: Bob McDonnell, Governor of Virginia.
McDonnell would not out shine the Rominator, and he is a competent if dull fiscal conservative. More distressing, his selection would take a good Guv, and leave his Lieutenant,Bill Bolling behind. Bolling is a party machine politician who lacks the charisma to manage the Old Dominion. The consequence of a Romney McDonnell ticket would be Virginia reverting to blue in 2014.
I’d love to see him pick Condoleezza Rice if for no other reason than to give her the chance for some pay-back for the awful campaign of personal vilification that she was subjected to during the Bush years. (Imagine the VP debate with Condi Rice and Biden.) However that is probably not a politically viable option. My second choice whould be Bobby Jindal. He’s proven himself to be tough, smart and the sort of guy who can think on his feet.
Whoever it is will have to face the wrath of the MSM and be prepared to be “vetted” down to their basic atomic structure. If they ever made a little girl cry in the first grade it will be dredged up by the media. They must also be articulate and constantly aware that 90% of the questions that they receive fromt he press will be intended to trap or humiliate them. A self-deprecating sense of humor will help.
I’m sure that Condi is a very smart, attractive and nice woman. That being said, listening to her over the years I’ve always gotten the impression that she is a bigger RINO than Romney- but, maybe that’s what all her supporters on this blog like about her. Thanks anyway, I’m not interested. I would be happy with Rubio or Jindal, but whoever it is, just pick a real conservative. If you think we’re to the point where we need a black woman on the ticket to somehow make us look more attractive then it’s a lost cause anyway.
Nice analysis, Bridget.
That said, Romney needs to find a VP who’s not like him, who could actually serve as president (unlike Biden), and who brings complementary strengths. That effectively eliminates Portman and several others.
For pure optics, it would be great to have Condi Rice.
With Romney and Rice, the R-ticket could check a lot of boxes:
White. Male. Successful. Business experience. Government executive experience.
PLUS: Black. Female. Successful. Experienced. Foreign policy expert.
In a run against a half-white president with a deplorable record of failure on nearly every front, backed by his sidekick, Bumbling Biden, it has potential.
Plus, I’d love to see Condi use her brains and class to totally clean Biden’s clock in a debate.
Heh, I would like to see Ms Rice debate the President.
Huck would be a very bad choice … for a lot of reasons.
I like Rubio. He’s very smart and likeable … dynamic personality and energetic, looks good (Americans do like politicians who look good), is great on policy in every area, speaks and debates very, very well, fights well … I don’t think the MSM will be able to demonize him very successfully, and he would learn a lot in 8 years, getting him ready for the presidency in ’20.
(Btw, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t be able to defeat Ole Joe B. in a debate.)
1) Allen West
2) J.C. Watts
Yes, I’m trying to get a conservative who can split the black vote some. Too bad that Jennifer Carroll was born in Trinidad.
We really, really need to go with experienced people. Al West, Rubio, Christie just do not have the experience AKA Palin situation. Please no Huckabee, he would help in the south where the states are probably already Red, but would he seal the deal in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Penn, not a chance.
I like the idea of J.c Watts, Condi, Bobby Jindal (just enough experience) with Condi being very good in my book, he only drawback is it brings back Bush. However, to me I miss how well I did under Bush.
Perry would look good right now as VP IF he hadn’t done the double face plant in the debates. Consider that vetting.
P.S. Christie … as much fun as he’d be, and he would … he’s a very, very bad choice. He has no idea of the international threats facing us … is totally blind about them … and attacks those to do understand. Oddly, about this topic, he’s very P.C. Not good for a V.P. Better for him to make speeches supporting Romney on the trail.
Ryan … he’d make a great V.P. … but … the MSM has already got a head start demonizing him. Besides, he’s really helping in Congress … working so hard and coming up with all those complicated budgets. I’m not sure anyone else there can really count.
The worst disaster that could befall Romney would to have the Huckster as Veep. A close second would be Daniels.
I also like Marco Rubio, but if I were him, I wouldn’t be going after the VP slot either. He’s still got decades ahead of himself to chase the dream of occupying 1600 Pennsylvania.
For me it’s a tie for first choice. Either Col. Alan West or Condi Rice. I want someone with experience in facing the threats coming at us from a Military standpoint. Someone that understands what is happening in the Middle East and Russia and would be able to handle whatever they throw at us.
That they are both black means little to me but it would to a whole lot of voters that otherwise might go with Obambi just because of that. Ms. Rice might have an advantage over Col. West, being a woman, in that it might bring in more women voters. They both are experienced and would hopefully have eight years as VP to gain even more. They seem like excellent choices. And either one would be able to wipe Biden and even Obambi off the stage in a debate!
You’re right. Both West and Rice bring significant, much-needed international experience to the Romney ticket. They’re smart, capable and articulate.
West’s military experience and natural leadership abilities are additional advantages. Plus, they both seem unshakably committed to a strong, secure America, which as we’ve all learned so painfully, may be the most important qualification of all.
Under Virginia law, McDonnell can’t run again anyhow, so what’s the difference? Bolling is likely to face Ken Cuccinelli in a primary and is not a shoe-in.
I don’t think Sarah Palin would be willing to play second fiddle again. And considering the savage media campaign of lies and smears against her I don’t blame her. If she runs it should be as her own woman.
For a second, I thought “Why not Palin?”
She’s far more polished and seasoned than 4 years ago. She’s taken the worst her enemies can throw at her, with class, and not just survived, but flourished. It would completely discombobulate the left.
And be most, most amusing.
Why not Palin? Because she never wants to hear the name Glenn Rice again.
Palin lost it when she decided not to run this year. She’ll never be a serious contender again. I believe her unfathomable decision not to run will go down in history as one of the worst political decisions ever made. She had it locked up, every move she made was big news, everything she did was a happening. The support and money would have followed in due time as the primaries progressed. But she walked away; not once, but TWICE! And just look how the Republican race devolved into a farce after she buggered out. But now, she’ll never live down the ignominy of leaving her troops with their asses hanging in the breeze at the moment of their greatest need in the biggest political battle of our time. Such complete and utter fecklessness is hard to rationalize!
If Romney picks Rand Paul for the VP slot, he’ll win the election. If Romney does that, he’ll get the recalcitrant libertarian types and the independents that he’ll need, just like McCain could have gotten them with his Palin pick. Except McCain turned out to be a complete ass in every other decision he ever made.
Then I read the rest of the article. Who helps?
Rice, with women and foreign affairs. Not at all sure she wants the job. Could turn an ugly race into a dangerously ugly race.
Rubio, with Hispanics and youth. And he is superb at arguing the conservative viewpoint (assuming Romney wants his VP to make that argument).
Thune just looks too much like Romney. Too bad he’s not in Romney’s place.
Aside, Ryan is a key man in a key position. Who would his replacement be?
Rubio is Constitutionally ineligible. Christi is in bed with Islamists.
Here’s a clue for you, the shiny side of the tin foil goes to the outside.
Mayberry RFD please give us a break
Condi Rice has always been way over her head. Being anything but the schoolmarm she is has been fortunate for her.
Huckleberry is a tired showman and is too open to criticism given some of his screwy positions. Plus, been there done that.
Marco is NOT eligible to be V.P. or P.
Allen West is great but green. Plus, way too hawkish.
Christie has an Islam problem, no damn good.
Generically a conservative woman no matter how good she is will be demolished like Sarah. Not a good year for this try again.
The choice needs to be someone new a refreshing. Romney should look to the states for a tried and proven Governor (not Rick P or Jindal).
Tough choice, glad I don’t have to make it.
Willie, I disagree on virtually every point.
- Your criticism of Rice as a “schoolmarm” is ad-hominem-insulting and graceless. Beyond that, since Rice has already stated repeatedly that she has no interest in the Presidency or the Vice Presidency, discussion of her as a possibility is moot;
- You’ll get no quarrel on Huckabee, though there’s a far more valid argument to be made against him than a pointless alteration of his name;
- Agreed, though Rubio would make a fine Veep, this choice **must** be not only for 2012 VP candidate but also for 2020 Presidential candidate. The GOP can’t afford another Cheney or GHW Bush;
- As I mentioned in another post, the charge that West is inexperienced is baseless. This discussion is about the VP position, not the Presidency, yet if West were elected as President in November, by the time of his January 2013 Inauguration, he would have amassed almost exactly the same length of Congressional experience as Obama had at his Inauguration. I personally asked Lt. Col. West about considering the Presidency before a speech in Westwood, CA last fall, and he himself said that he wouldn’t feel comfortable in the Presidency without what he felt was appropriate experience – which speaks volumes about his respect for the office, and conversely, Obama’s lack of it. But we’re talking about the Vice Presidency here, which is largely ceremonial and the best possible position for gaining direct experience for the Presidency.
The charge that West is “way too hawkish” is literally inexplicable. Compared with **what**? The jelly-spined and borderline-treasonous Obama Administration? The UN totalitarianism heel-clicker and sovereignty-sellout Hillary Clinton? The retro-hippie-dippy Kantian categorical-imperative-pacifist Ron Paul?
A rational, “hawkish” candidate with direct, recent battlefield experience and a grasp of foreign (and domestic) policy experience we’ve not seen since President Reagan, is **precisely** what America needs and must have at this point in history. We are surrounded – and infiltrated – by a pack of collectivist predators on every front. They’re not particularly formidable in in historic sense, but have been granted a position of near-dominance that is profoundly dangerous to America and the rest of the semi-free world, in the way gutter predators are always granted unwarranted prominence: By default. Precisely the kind of “non-hawkish” juvenile complacency that’s taken hold in the current Administration and in certain swaths of our culture.
The world is arguably orders-of-magnitude more dangerous now than during the height of the Cold War – precisely because we haven’t had enough responsible adults who are “way too hawkish,” keeping the jackals of the world cowed and respectful of our sovereignty and liberty.
/soapbox
My thanks for asking Col. West. I wish he was top of the ticket.
The only thing that could make Romney look worse to me is Christie. Not a fan of too many of his positions and his people skills quite frankly suck.
Here’s a clue, Republicans: you need a coalition. Without social conservatives, you can’t win. You will not keep social conservatives if you keep bashing us and acting entitled to our votes without producing the results we want. So here’s our ultimatum- either be conservatives (and that means social conservatives as well as fiscal), or lose, your choice.
So, you SoCons prefer the communist to sullying yourselves? You can’t win an election in any Congressional district outside the rural South and West yet you demand it be your way or the highway. Don’t you wonder why people don’t like you?
Not about getting our way. We can live with someone not making a platform of social issues.
What we won’t abide by is being treated like your dirty little secret. We refuse to be to Republicans what blacks are to Democrats.
Votebots used as the butt of jokes.
You mean the way the socons treat the libertarians?
Not our fault Libertarians come across as the guy who showed up to the party with no interest in the people there.
I missed the part where I’m supposed to care. We are going to stand up and say that certain things are right and others are wrong, and you may not like it, but we will not tolerate evil from you any more than from the Marxists. I am an abortion abolitionist, and no compromise with the abortionists is acceptable to me.
I’ll just say five words in reply and if they don’t cause you to vote for Romney then there’s no sense spending time with you:
“Supreme Court Justice Eric Holder”
And without fiscal conservatives/social classical liberal, you social conservatives cannot win. You will not keep us if you keep bashing us and acting entitled to our votes without producing the results we want.
So here is our ultimatum:
Be conservatives, which includes not trying to use government to force your social beliefs on people, or accept the Marxists winning forever, your choice.
Liberals do not always win and even when they do it isn’t always based on social issues.
Where as some of us Will Not Vote for anyone if some issues are not met. For me it’s abortion and to a lesser extent gay marriage. I will not enable these with my vote. If you are pro-choice (literally or by default) then you will not get my vote.
So be it. If you refuse to stand up for human rights: the right not to be murdered and the right to practice one’s religion freely, you deserve to live under a tyrant. We, however, will only get stronger from the persecution.
I know I’m joining a whole lot of people here in wondering what, specifically, makes Ms. Johnson think that the prospect of Romney choosing Mike Huckabee (!) would, how did she put it… “mobilize the grass-roots Tea Party.”
How long has this woman been reporting on American politics? Mike Huckabee is the one possibility that would guarantee the immediate removal of support for Romney by the Tea Party grassroots.
Listen up, because you will be encountering this material again: Mike Huckabee is a confused leftwing Democrat who chooses to wear his religiosity on his sleeve in the hopes it will dupe religious Republicans into ignoring his corrupt leftwing ideology.
Johnson doesn’t get around to mentioning the man’s name, but if Romney wants to transform his near-certain defeat of Obama this November into a landslide to rival that of Reagan’s 49-State trouncing of Mondale in ’84, all he needs to do is make the choice that the Democrat-Socialist Party dreads to its core: Rep. Allen West.
The reason the Axelrod Chicago Smear Machine went full-throttle against Herman Cain (Oh BTW, where’s that paid “harassment” accuser-bimbo gone? ‘Anyone seen her lately?) is because a prominent black conservative Republican, visible consistently in the news and in American culture for 4-8 years, would forever detroy the Demo-Socialist Party’s death-grip on black America. It would be an end to what the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson appropriately calls the “Democrat Plantation.”
When the American people – Republicans, “Independents” and black Democrats alike – get a taste of Allen West as Romney’s VP candidate, the election will effectively be over. Obama would want to be conceding before the fact, just to save face.
The big question is whether Romney is wise enough to see a slam-dunk victory strategy when it’s staring him full in the face.
Why not Herman Cain? The perfect V.P. pick!
>>we’re probably not going to have to wait until the convention to hear it. If it’s the right person, the campaign would obviously want him or her out on the trail ASAP<<
Exactly the wrong strategy. Announce the VP pick at the last possible moment so the Left MSM has less time to react and smear.
I too think that Condi Rice would be the perfect fir, having tremendous foreign policy experience. She is also brilliant and handles herself well during back-and-=forth with the media.
AZ Governor Jan Brewer. She would not handle her self in a debate well but she sure as hell has a spine. Everytime I think of her I think of that photo of her airport confrontation with The One.
Time to End the Fed? The Origin of Central Banking and Possible Alternatives
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Z1H6Q-vhM&feature=player_embedded#!
He should pick a Jim DeMint, Michelle Bachmann, Mike Pence or Rand Paul type of figure not a boring E-RINO.
Rand Paul would make sense, but Mike Pence is busy becoming governor of Indiana. He actively decided to run for governor instead of president this year, and I don’t think he’s the kind of guy to change his mind after announcing.
True, Jeanette. Afterall Mike Pence would be my number one pick (and I personally know Mr. Pence), but Rand Paul does make more sense as he would effectivly bring 2 wings of the party that Mitt Romney hasn’t been in favor with (his dad’s libertarians) and Reagan/JimDeMint conservatives!
The VP slot is where politicians finally become totally irrelevant. Most people cannot name ANY vice president, from any era. Cheney was the exception, but that’s only because he IS exceptional. Palin stole MuhCain’s thunder and excited the base because we were secretly hoping the jerk at the head of the ticket would croak.
This is a media construct because the #2 spot means almost nothing 95% of the time. The last VP who affected a race was LBJ, whose corrupt dhimmicrat machine delivered TX for JFK. Other than that, nobody cares unless the pick is a native son of their state.
Romney won’t make the same mistake as MuhCain and pick someone who people wish was the #1. I predict a Mr. Dull will be Mitt’s choice. The strategy involved will be interesting for a day or two and then Romney will have to knuckle down and make it on his own merits.
And Rubio is NOT eligible for the same reason Obama is not – he isn’t a natural born citizen. Just because dhimmicrats ignore the Constitution doesn’t mean we should also.
Given the Left/MSM’s propensity for smearing and ripping to shreds, perhaps a ‘Mr. Dull’ would be the perfect VP choice for Romney. The press would lose interest in Mr Dull Boring very quickly enabling Romney to more easily stay on message.
“And Rubio is NOT eligible for the same reason Obama is not – he isn’t a natural born citizen. Just because dhimmicrats ignore the Constitution doesn’t mean we should also.”
I’m not going to suggest that this isn’t the case, but the left would NEVER make an issue of it for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, I highly doubt Romney would ever press the issue against Oba-Mao either, regardless of his choice of VP, so the Reps would not lose any votes by running Rubio.
Rubio was born in the United States. That’s all it takes. The claim about the status of his parents is garbage. (The same for Obama, BTW.)
President Chester Alan Arthur’s father was not a citizen when he was born.
Neither were the parents of Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican nominee in 1916.
The issue was actually raised then – by cranks – and dismissed – as it should be now.
Ellis – don’t get me wrong about West, he lives in my town, I’ve had discussions with him over a few beers, we have gone on a few rides (motorcycle).
Looking at it, I agree with 99% of his viewpoint. The only disagreement I have is his “argued opinion” in justifying his vote for the revised NDAA.
Sections 1021 and 1022 of the law are unconstitutional in that they are in direct violation of the 5th, 6th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.
Couldn’t get Allen to see this point.
Considering The One just came out in support of gay marriage, West would siphon off a large proportion of the black vote.
You’ve convinced me. He would make a good V.P. pick.
West or Rand Paul! Condi brings to mind too much Bush, Christie has a horrible record accommodating the ‘muzzies’, Rubio is ineligible, and the rest of the usual suspects all look too much like Mitt ‘Ward Cleaver’ Romney……….maybe Jason Chaffetz???
For whatever it’s worth, I think Romney should focus on the most capable person out there for Vice President, not necessarily the best political choice. My personal favorite is Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. Not only is he a very, very, capable and honest governor, but also very popular in the south. He would make a fine Vice President and he’s very smart. He would make Joe Biden look like an idiot, not that that would be a hard thing to do. But once people got to know Jindal, they would actually feel secure in the knowledge that there was a very capable person waiting in the wings if something happened to Romney.
The other logical person would be Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. He would be another magical pick who would also destroy Biden in a debate. He is tough, brilliant, and would also be a great addition to Romney’s team. Either Jindal or Ryan would be the best choices, although there are many others out there too. With all these choices, why drag up the old timers from 2008?
By National Republican Party Rule 11, Mitt Romney is ineligible to be nominated because Mr Priebus began publically supporting him.
By National Republican Party Rule 38 no delegates are bound, despite state rules (confirmed by case of Utah delegate at the 2008 Republican National Convention by RNC top lawyer).
The true delegate count as of 12 May 2012 is as follows: Romney – 312; Gingrich – 24; Paul – 110; Santorum – 144; caucus or primary held but delegate selection yet to be decided – 750; caucus or primary not yet held – 638.
Delegates are not allocated until the state parties’ conventions.
But isn’t rule #1 that: The one who’s turn it is gets the nod.???
Only if the delegates say so. The delegates might have their own ideas.
Condi Rice is my choice for VP.
She is brilliant. She can deal with a hositle press. She has extensive experience in spite of the fact that she’s never held political office. Her foreign policy credentials are second to none and, although this shouldn’t be as imporetant as it is, she looks great on television.
Critics who say she is too closely associated with The President Whose Name Dare Not Be Mentioned do have a valid point although I would argue that she was the best member of that particular President’s inner circle and everyone knows it.
Critics who say that Rice would be a token who panders to women and African-Americans are totally wrong. She is a good legitimate choice not someone being nominated based on race or gender.
Yes, Rice is my choice for VP. But don’t count on it happening. The GOP hasn’t listened to me in years.
+ 1,000
Condi brings Foreign Policy, Stanford, NASCAR, NFL (her dream was to be commissioner), concert piano player, diplomacy, etc. Romney would have the ‘racist’ and ‘war on women’ both put to bed.
Although her social issue stances are not well known, I think she would help with the minority Catholic and Conservative groups to decide against the Won who tosses them under the bus.
Portman is smart and speaks Spanish.
The reasons for this are many, never mind Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wryly quipping last month on CBS that Romney should pick Palin.
Who in the hell cares what McCain sez? Ain’t he the guy who declined to compete again Barack Hussein? Remember when he castigated the NC Republican Party for running ads attacking then Sen. Obama for his friendly links with terrorism, having called a known terrorist, Billy Ayers, his “political mentor.” In the spirit of “reaching across the aisle,” in other words, in the spirit of RINOism, globo-socialistm lite, McCain felt it was inappropriate to hit Obama on his pro-terrorism and pro-socialism and pro-globalism roots. Btw, Sarah kept mum on that outrage.
Romney should attack Obama on terrorism. And on his socialism, and on several other things. He should campaign on the Constitution and freedom, detailing how much of the federal gubmint is illegal per the enumerated powers and the rest of it. He should constantly remind voters that he’s not just running against Obama, he’s also running against the media, the school teachers, the unions, the judges, the permanent government, and other elements. He should talk about nothing but unsustainability, responsiblity, the moral duty behind every sworn oath to uphold the law (i.e., the Constitution), and then finally go on to his policies on spending and its relationship to lawful government, and of course the bond meltdown that is inevitable sooner or later if the current policies from the socialists and the RINOs continue in place.
Big problems require a big change. After decades of incrementalism, a sudden massive change is unavoidable and necessary. It’s also the intelligent thing to do.
We need someone with brains, guts, executive ability, and strong communication skills, someone people would be comfortable seeing as President in this time when strong leadership will be paramount. We have several candidates like that. I like DeMint myself. Another interesting possibility is Luis Fortuno, governor of P.R., who made some good appearances on Fox this week.
I have stated my preferences before on potential VP picks. Upon reflection it is my earnest hope that Mr Romney select Mr Rubio as his choice for VP.
Nevertheless, as far back as my father’s, father’s memory goes, my family and I have been Republicans.
I believe there is only one answer for VP for Mr Romney. Mr Romney must reach out to the Latinos residing in our country.
I am against blanket Amnesty for this experiment was already passed with the leadership and support of President Reagan and the late Senator Edward Kennedy.
It’s interpretation, however, has been criminally inadequate by progressive elites, leftist media wonks, and Congressional Democrats.
As a graduate student at Johns Hopkins I wrote a paper entitled “Illegal Immigration-Potential Policy Prescriptions.” As a research associate at the Council of the Americas, I was responsible for interviewing the leading experts in the field as well as compiling thorough analyses.
In my opinion, there exist, many avenues for legal access to a foreign work force supply as well as providing paths to citizenship.
I have lived in Mexico for five years, as well as spent two decades living in seven countries in the region and having worked in 20 countries throughout Latin America I can understand the need for jobs to better their life, send remittances to families in the home countries, and the freedom to pass back and forth to visit loved ones here and in their homes of origin.
I believe that the immigration dilema must be resolved with the participation and support of the immigrant residents here in America.
In exchange for a workable immigration status our Latino partners need to understand English is the official language here and that it is of critical importance to the United States of America that a permanent immpassable border be built to stop the illegal flow of immigrants into America who may pose potential security threats against citizens of this country.
Mr Rubio must be the bridge to ending this divisive immigration that is stirred up into a frenzy by Democrat minions interested in maintaining power at any cost even if they sell their collective souls to tear our Constitutional fabric into tatters.
The Founders of the American Republic fought and shed their blood in order to guarantee liberty and justice for all!
Mr Rubio is the only man that has the requisite leadership and charisma to support Mr Romney as Vice President of the United States of America!
Mr.Noth, I read your comment this morning, and am logging back in a few hours later to respond, because I kept thinking about it. I wonder whether Rubio as VP is a prerequisite for coming to a decent compromise on the immigration issue? You might be right that it would take that to bring enough Latinos and Democrats on board. But I completely agree with your larger point that the illegal immigration/border issue can and must be resolved very soon if our republic is to continue as it was founded, and that a Romney administration might be able to make it happen. I’ve tended to regard this problem as a hopeless disaster looming just over the horizon, waiting to give the nation the coupe de grace if we can manage to save free enterprise from the socialists first–but as you point out, there are solutions. An important piece of this too is taking Latin and Central America and Mexico seriously as neighbors and partner economies. How many people know the role that land reform (basically a good and courageous thing) in Mexico in recent decades played in pushing impoverished peasants into Mexican cities and across our borders in search of a living? When will the US get serious about reducing the black market for illegal drugs–whether by enforcement or by legalization–that is corroding Mexican society?
The right choice is Rand Paul. That will likely prevent Ron Paul supporters from disrupting the convention or embarrassing the campaign by trying to put their foreign policy or drug positions in the party platform.
Rand is more moderate than his father, but he is a strong fiscal conservative and has a great deal of appeal to younger voters.
There really is no reason to fear “legitimizing” the Paul movement, as it is pretty much inevitable that they are going to take over the Republican Party anyway. They’ve shown just how good they are at navigating the delegate selection process in this year’s practice run for the future Rand Paul campaign. It is a near certainty that their numbers will continue to grow and if they grow just a little more, Rand Paul will be basically a lock to win the nomination at some point in the future. They’ve already done some undeniably good things for the party. Olympia Snowe’s retirement was pretty much entirely caused by Ron Paul supporters (Santorum and Gingrich have basically no support in Maine and that notorious RINO Snowe was complaining about the “extremism” of the Maine GOP). The Tea Party movement basically copied its economic platform from Ron Paul. The present of the Republican Party needs to embrace its future and take them under its wing. If Romney doesn’t embrace the future of the GOP, they might decide to vote for 3rd party candidates instead and Obama might actually win (Romney can probably beat the incompetent One even without the support of Ron Paul voters).
Even if Romney decides not to go with Rand Paul, he still needs to go with a strong fiscal conservative. If he gets bogged down in social issues (the Santorum Strategy), he will lose. If he doesn’t solidify himself on economic issues, fiscal conservatives will have reasons to suspect that Romney will be another big spending Republican president just like the last Republican president. Picking somebody most well known for their hawkish foreign policy views would be bad politically as Americans remain deeply skeptical of foreign entanglements. Obama wins if the election is about social issues or foreign policy. Romney wins if the election is about the economy and he establishes himself as a strong fiscal conservative. Talking about anything other than the economy will just convince swing voters that the party doing that has no answers to fix the economy. If Romney picks a moderate as his running mate, he stands to lose a large portion of his base.
John McCain made the right move in 2008 by picking Sarah Palin. That move actually gave him a chance of winning an election that looked to be easily going toward Obama. It isn’t her fault that McCain blew the opportunity by suspending his campaign to go back to DC to pass the bailout. Although Obama (and Bush and Romney) also supported it, the bailout was associated with McCain by most Americans due to this stunt and it sank his campaign. Had he gone back to DC to tell Congress to not bail out the banks, he probably would have won.
I don’t buy the current RINO narrative that it was Palin who lost it for McCain in 2008. McCain was the one who lost it for McCain in 2008. Governor Palin was the only thing that got me into the voting booth last time to vote for that amnesty-loving, fighter jet-crashing, hot-headed Admiral’s son. It sure wasn’t his stand on the issues or his dicey military record. Romney should pick Rand Paul for VP and snag all of his dad’s delegates. That’s a ticket I’d vote for.