Friday, February 08, 2008
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McCain's Veep Options
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Posted by:
Matt Lewis at
7:48 AM
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The high-level folks McCain surrounds himself with will tell us a lot about whether or not he's going to govern as a conservative, if elected.
Club for Growth president Pat Toomey has a good column up today over at the WSJ, where he recommends some good VP picks for McCain. According to Toomey, here's the order:
1. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford
2. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint
3. Indiania Rep. Mike Pence
4. Former TX Sen. Phil Gramm
5. Forbes, Inc., CEO Steve Forbes
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All five would be great picks. I would add Florida Gov. Crist to the list. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford would be my top pick too! |
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Hillary Clinton
John Kerry
Ted Kennedy
Russ Feingold
Joe Lieberman
Juan HernandezVicente Fox
Hugo Chavez
Fidel Castro
Ho Chi Minh
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Hillary Clinton
John Kerry
Ted Kennedy
Russ Feingold
Joe Lieberman
Vicente Fox
Hugo Chavez
Juan Hernandez
Fidel Castro
Ho Chi Minh
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He may have some VP in name only, but these are not the men that have bowed to him over the years. McCain is crazy enough to choose Joe Lieberman and call it "Reaching across the aisle". Lindsey Graham has been on his coat tail a lot as well......But, how do you claim that border control is in your platform when Juan Hernandez(LaRaza)has been photographed constantly on the campaign trail with McCain?.....The GOP hates conservatives and deserves the spanking that the DEMS will give them!....When Bill and Hillary get through exposing McCain, his own mother will hate him!....GOP.....DOA...He can't win. |
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Whomsever mccain chooses as his VP Candidate makes no difference to me. I will not vote for McCain under any circumstances. As a Conservative, I will support Republican Congressional Candidates, but not McCain. Once it became apparent that mccain would be the Nominee, I tore up the check I was going to send to the Republican Party and changed my affilation from republican to Independent... |
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Romney's the one who earned it. He is the finest candidate on either side we've had to vote for in years, one of American's best and brightest. You've crapped all over him and now you expect us to accept someone else with John McCain? I don't care who it is, you can forget it. |
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will take the second spot. That would be so appropriate A liberal at the top and a weasel in the second spot. Sorry no more Bush lite for me. |
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Really doesn't matter who will go down with McCain in the worst defeat in the history of the Republican party, does it now?
Personally I prefer a team that would really solidify McCain's personal and political philosophy to the American people, how about McCain/Clinton, or McCain/Kerry, or McCain/Pelosi, or McCain/Kennedy.
As a person that voted for Regan I will buy a bottle of champagne to open the moment Hillary has mopped the floor with the little traitor, assisted with my vote and money, and ended the little traitor's political career for good. |
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Really doesn't matter who will go down with McCain in the worst defeat in the history of the Republican party, does it now?
Personally I prefer a team that would really solidify McCain's personal and political philosophy to the American people, how about McCain/Clinton, or McCain/Kerry, or McCain/Pelosi, or McCain/Kennedy.
As a person that voted for Regan I will buy a bottle of champagne to open the moment Hillary has mopped the floor with the little traitor, assisted with my vote and money, and ended the little traitor's political career for good. |
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think John can win? No way! The election is lost people, don't you see it. John has no chance in hell to beat the dems. He is going to get run over bigtime! He will only take Utah.
It is all about 2012 now, and we should be doing all that we can for Mitt 12' He is our only hope and proved it this campaign. |
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I recently learned that to be conservative you have to support big business and throw dirt in the eyes of the middle and lower income groups! I thought we social conservatives loved Jesus and stood up for what was right!
No little wonder Sean Hannity and the like hate people who question their pandering to big business interests. Sean and Limbaugh are within the top earning bracket of people on this planet! Sean who masquerades as someone who acknowledges Jesus (he did it with Jerry Falwell and Liberty University) really loves Bain Capital + Mitt Romney who had paved the way for his very lucrative multi market contract!
I can now see why McCain was so irritated with the right wing! He was not polite in telling them how he felt but he is an honest man with values!
GO MCCAIN GO! |
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Checkout Keating's resume on Wikipedia -- he has an impressive resume as governor of OK and anti-terrorism credentials to boot having led during the OKC bombing of 1995. |
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drive away others from the party. i am a religious guy myself but this crazy Jesus talk bugs me. I believe in Church and State. Church can influence state but not control it. But that is for another day. John McCain is a fool. So you hate the rich for being rich. Yeah they are rude for being smarter and more successful than us so we should hate them and take their earnings from them. Get out of the party you socialist pig. Support John and love the fruits he will bring with him.
Liz explain to me why not Mitt. Oh yeah he has too much money. |
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Liz why are you spouting the nonsense that Hannity supported Mitt Romney because Bain Capital owns Clear Channel? First off, Bain Capital is waiting to clear regulatory hurdles so they can purchase Clear Channel. Second, Mitt Romney left Bain Capital before he was governor of Massachussetts. Thirdly, Mitt Romney left Bain Capital before Bain Capital had any interest in Clear Channel.
You need to detox yourself from the filth at Moveon.org. |
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I was astonished when Steve Forbes, who is affiliated with the conservative Heritage Foundation, endorsed McCain.
I made some inquiries and was told that Forbes was supporting Giuliani and when Giuliani dropped out he insisted that his supporters back McCain.
Just another example of how to jab grassroots conservatives. Forbes must have known the heart of the GOP was cheering for Romney.
I personally think that if McCain would quickly announce that Romney's his running mate it would solidify the party and give us a chance in the national election.
Paul and Huckabee need to drop out right away so we can get to work defeating the Dems. It was noble of Romney to suspend his campaign for his party and America. |
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...then not only do I end my lifelong affiliation as a Republican, but I will help to organize a new political party.
Juan "Amnesty" McCain is so far left, he MUST choose a conservative for a running mate. End of story. If he doesn't, then it will be obvious he wants conservative votes, but isn't willing to do anything that we want, so we'll be as pathetic as Democrat constituencies that are abused, but then used for votes each election season. No thanks.
There is no chance of my voting for Juan "Amnesty" McCain unless Romney's on the ticket. I will not only write in Mitt on November 4th, but I will help to organize a conservative political party.
I'm with Ann Coulter. Being force-fed McCain is bad enough without adding other "moderates." Sweeten the deal with Mitt Romney, or true conservatives are outta here. |
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Not that I really care who McCain chooses, but I hope it isn't Sanford. I'd hate to see him tie himself to McCain and become radioactive through association. Unlike McCain, Sanford seems like a decent man with a future of representing his party, not screwing it wherever he can. |
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Now I know that picture on this thread is photoshopped. It had to be middle fingers he was showing. |
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McCain now says he needs and wants Conservatives to support him. OK then ...
make MITT ROMNEY your VP!
Mitt is a financial GENIUS and could help solve a lot of problems w/ the economy. Plus, it would set him up for Prez in 2012, since McCain will be far too old for a second run. Mitt is the PERFECT CHOICE!!! Let's begin the pressure to make it happen. |
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If McCain picks Mitt Romney for his running mate, the animosity on the right will dissapear immediately and we can all go to work for the campaign, and possibly win in November.
If McCain picks anyone else, precious time will be lost trying to understand the "why's" and the "who's" of it, and learning all about another unknown.
The primary votes tallies don't lie:
McCain: 4,700,000
Romney: 4,000,000
Much closer than the delegate counts bely.
If the party really is as fractured as many pundits suggest, the only way to immediately fix it is to put Romney on the ticket. |
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Romney brings nothing to the table. McCain is going to win Utah. Even if Romney won the nomination he would not carry Massachusetts. As for Michigan, Romney won the state promising to give the auto industry billions of tax payer’s dollars. Michigan is a slightly leaning Democratic state, has been close last two Presidential elections. But if Bush did not win them in 2000 or 2004, I do not see how a Republican can carry the state in 2008.
Romney never really connected with the voters. The VP biggest job is to win the one televised debate. Cheney CRUSHED both Leiberman and Edwards. Although Romney is a decent debater, he is not nearly as good as Gov. Stanford.
Romney also does nothing to help with the evangelical vote. Romney has flip-flopped on the right-to-life issue.
Gov. Stanford is the best pick.
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I agree that he needs to get a good, conservative VP. But I think people have to realize there are a lot of factors that may prevent Romney from getting that position. I think the most important one is whether or not Romney even wants to be the VP; I'm not sure that's his style, to be honest. Let me say though, that even though I have been critical of him on TH for quite some time, his speech yesterday really changed my mind on some things, and I would be happy to have him as McCain's VP. |
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No matter who McCain selects as his VP, this is an election for PRESIDENT not VP. All of the names mentioned for the VP slot above would make MUCH better candidates than the man YOU have chosen as the face of the GOP.
I also find it AMAZING that all of the names are proven conservatives: Sanford, DeMint, Pence, Gramm, Forbes. Clearly the McCainiacs realize their man is too far left for the conservatrive populace to support without a far-right VP.
(Particularly since they have repeatedly BASHED conservatives here on Townhall)
Is it just me, or am I the only person here that thinks McCain is starting to look like the Crypt-Keeper? Eegads. |
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"Can't we all just get along?"
Translation: Conservatives, grab yer ankles!
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Yeah, a short list of a bunch of white guys. Friggin brilliant! I like Toomey and the Club for Growth but come on, doesn't he own a television? If the GOP doesn't grasp the impact of, and better frame, the imagery of this election we are in for a trouncing of historic proportion.
Unless you've actually been swallowing the "this isn't about race" crap you have to admit the only way a wrinkly, old, white, crank has any hope of beating a young, buff, bronze, silver-tongue is to balance the imagery. If we can't present a package that says "see, we can make history too" we are screwed so it has to be a woman, or a black, or a hispanic, or a black or hispanic woman. (This would be the same challenge should Bill Clinton's wife get the nomination, only with more emphasis on genatalia the skin tone)
Given what I see here, and other comments, "it better be Romney or I'm outta here" for example, McCain is smarter to cultivate more moderates than wasting energy trying to salvage conservative die-hards. Don't get me wrong, I'm one of them, except I try not to let it blinker reality.
Mitt is right, if we weren't at war I'd throw McCain under the bus in a heartbeat. But his victory did more than reduce this election to the lesser of two evils. It goes beyond that. Now, regardless of who the Dems nominate, it is a matter of keeping troops between harms way and us - - or not.
That should be a no-brainer even for the purest of the pure. http://www.heartlandmumurs.com |
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How do people feel about Thompson being McCain's VP? Just wondering, because I've seen that one thrown around as well. |
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I think Thompson would be a good VP pick. Only downside he was not the best of campaigners this time around. We need someone who is going to want to be out there every day spreading the conservative message. I am not sure if Thompson has that fire in his belly. |
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Without conservative votes. Worse than '64, seven states or less. You people are dreaming.
The Stupid Party tried to shoot itself in the foot and missed, kneecapping itself, looks like it might be a crippling injury. McCainiacs won't notice until November. When it's too late.
JOHN MCCAIN
JUAN HERNANDEZ TELLS US YOUR HEARING IS BAD.
SECURE THE BORDER. PERIOD.
ENFORCE THE LAW.
NO NEW PATH.
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Did anyone else LOL? The guy is awful. He is a horrible speaker and is ugly to look at. Further, he won't unify the base. |
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I like Steve Forbes. But I agree, he is not the best of speakers and would not unify the base the same way Crist or Stanford would as VP. |
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There are a lot of good ones, heres my pick: Duncan Hunter, also tough on terror and also has a son in Iraq. He is a hardline conservative who could probably be a good "hatchet man" in the VP debate. He's experienced and could really balance the ticket. Another one: Newt Gingrich. |
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Whether you love him, hate him or still arent sure, you have to admit if Mcain wins the Whitehouse the chances are pretty strong that he is going to be a one termer. I dont mean that as a put down, but just the age factor alone. That also will help the conservatives stomach him. We should push to have someone in who can grow into the presidential position from the VP spot. |
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McCain should pick Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty! He has a better position on immigration than McCain, and he could potentially bring a Republican victory in Minnesota - Minnesotans tend to support their candidates in national elections (1984 anyone?) |
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I know this is late, but I just read your list and I'm still laughing. Thanks for putting a smile on my face. That, my freind, was funny! |
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Yeah, I agree. Plus he pissed me off for being such a McCain shill on Fox and Friends the last two months. |
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Someone mentioned FL Gov. Crist as V.P.
Are you crazy?
McCain secretly met with 9 other amnesty Senators to produce the McCain-Kennedy Amnesty Bill which increased taxes by over $3 Trillion in aid to illegals and sold U.S. citizenship for $40 per month.
Included in the ten Senator amnesty p1mps were Kennedy and Sen. Mel (rhymes with Fidel) Martinez R-FL. McCain and Martinez easily recruited the formerly popular Gov. Crist to join their stable of amnesty ho's.
It was the last minute endorsement of McCain by Crist and Martinez that tipped the Florida election scales to McCain and will change America forever.
In Florida there are millions of former Crist supporters who now hate his guts
Many of us have ordered T-shirts that read:
Gov. Charlie Crist
AMNESTY P1MP
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Forbes or Gramm would be great from a policy perspective, especially since McCain has admitted to being weak on the economy, but as running mates, or national candidates, they're hopelessly unappealing politically. Forbes is a huge dork and Gramm (despite being brilliant) is an ugly old man who sounds like a stupid backwood hick - his accent is incredibly thick.
Name them to the Cabinet as Secretary of Treasury/Commerce/Trade rep, or as Federal Reserve Board members / chairmen, chairmen of the Council of Economic Advisers, or OMB (budget) Directors instead.
Pence supported an amnesty plan. McCain's veep needs to be anti-amnesty to get the grassroots back. If Bush and Cheney can disagree on gay marriage, then this ticket can disagree on this key issue too.
Sanford and DeMint are possibilities. DeMint is one DC Senator too many. Sanford, being a reform governor, might work.
Chris Cox would be a great choice from a competence perspective. Whip-smart, young enough compared to McCain to seem young, but older than Obama to seem seasoned and steady. Handsome in a generic politician way (with a weird upside down smile though). Catholic. However as Chairman of the SEC he might face too many questions about whether he's responsible for the financial mess we're in now - bad loans, malinvestment, etc.
Paul Ryan, a Congressman from Wisconsin (a swing state), is younger (late 30s), handsome, Catholic again, ANTI-AMNESTY, but also an anti-pork crusader, great on all economic issues, clears all the litmus tests. |
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