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GO(V)P in 2008

A Southern governor to balance someone at the top of the ticket who’s strong on national security?

Discussions - 23 Comments

The same guy who shafted Georgians on the old State flag? I don’t think so.

A southern gov. might rise, but it sure ain’t gonna be Sonny

If Santorum had won reelection, I’m sure that he would have been selected for the ticket, whether McCain or Rudy had won the nomination. Either one of those two men, McCain or Rudy will need to balance the ticket with a strong, ARTICULATE and known Conservative. And that’s a very short list right now.

But I’ll tell you who WON’T be on the ticket, but who secretly thinks he will be, that’s another Republican who has done a great deal to irritate the hell out of the Republican base, and his name is Lindsay Graham.

I don’t think Sonny is a bad governor, but he’s not a really good one either. And he scores low on the eloquence-meter. What in the world would he add to the ticket? If Georgia is not a safe state in 08, then the D landslide will be of genuinely epic proportions. Huckabee, I guess, would be a little better, although his initial campaign swing has been under underwelming.

I have always liked the idea of S.C. Governor Mark Sanford on the ticket.

THERE’S your southern gov.

There is no margin for error in ’08, none. As Lincoln said in another context, we must "think calmly, and well." The Republican party must nominate a ticket that will appeal to both centrists and conservatives -- a tall order. It must not remind people of Bush, which means, among other things, no Southerners. Both candidates must be very strong communicators, not just in their states but nationally. The VP candidate should, if possible, make us more competitive in a state we wouldn’t otherwise win.

Re David: Which is why I have been harping about Tim Pawlenty--MN Gov. Although I agree with Coyote that Sanford is probably the best southern gov right now.

And Sonny still has some funny land deals that might make him seem a bit mucked up.

It might be possible to have a Southerner if he doesn’t have a Southern accent. Pawlenty -- possibly adding more votes for us in Minnesota -- is the right sort of pick to think about. But I suspect Minnesota is not winnable. Our Senate candidate last year was supposed to be among our best in the country, and he ended up being non-competitive against a leftist Democrat. We also lost a congressman, unexpectedly. Pawlenty barely won, and may have won only because his Democratic opponent lost his temper, to say the least, toward the end of the campaign -- the kind of thing Minnesotans don’t like. The GOP was on the upswing for several years in the state, but its isolationist/pacifist tendencies seem to have reasserted themselves. In addition, the main paper, the Star Tribune, is apparently about the most unfair, hard-left papers in the country. In short, I fear Minnesota is not within our reach in ’08. Nominating Rudy, on the other hand, makes us competitive in PA and NJ and forces Shrillary to spend more time and money to nail down New York.

It would be nice to think big, but the only thinker in the party, on the presidential level is Gingrich, who seems unlikely to run and would get killed (so to speak) if he was our nominee.

No Southerner on the ticket? The GOP has a long list of "musts" to retain the White House, but at the top of that list is the South. There is no national GOP without that region...for conservatism, it is the indispensable region. Discriminating against Southern candidates because their accent might remind people of Bush...David, that’s dumb. I usually agree with you, but not this time.

Sorry, but that’s the way people "think."

If we can’t count on the entire South (OK, Florida and now Virginia are wobbly, but most of the South) -- it’s already over.

We need to go non-South with candidates who have wide appeal. In which case, the entire South will take care of itself.

Giuliani would most definitely appeal to centrists for the presidency, and economic conservatives as well. Yeah, the Religious Right may have problems with him, but he’s the best chance for the GOP against a Dem in my belief. But, yes, adding a stronger conservative for VP would help solidify him in the more socially conservative states. Maybe former VA Governor Gilmore. Brownback, Hagel, or Huckabee might be good VP choices too.

Sonny is a sell-out scalawag who bowed to the PC thought police on the issue of the Georgia Flag. He lied during his campaign about his intentions, and then lied that he did not lie.

13: Frankly, in the real world, every politician is entitled to one lie. Perdue isn’t the man for VP, but for other reasons.

12: Gilmore could be OK -- if he would help us win VA. I’m doubtful. Didn’t he screw up as governor? Isn’t he also overweight, or is my memory playing tricks on me? Hagel? Uh, no -- he’s practically walked out of the party with his support for the utterly irresponsible Biden resolution. He’s also been a bad soldier in general (politically speaking). Not only plays ball too much with the Dems. He’s also arrogant and will sooner or later, probably sooner, blow up at the dreaded "religious right." Brownback? Strikes me as soft and otherworldly. The media, etc., will tear him apart and he won’t fight back. Also, a serious pro-lifer does not always a serious conservative make. Look at him closely and there are significant reasons to think Saintly Sam will drift to the left. Huckabee? A Southerner with a goofy name. We don’t need that.

I like Southerners plenty, but we have to be real here.

Well, let’s get real then. The South won’t "take care of itself." They vote, and sometimes they vote for a Democrat (e.g., Carter, Clinton). If the GOP bends over backwards to appeal to "the rest of the nation" and ignores the South, the Dems have but to put a native son on their ticket and...game over.

If the GOP can no longer win as conservatives, then the country is done. The South is the most conservative region of the country, but it must be courted in some minimal fashion. Insults and discrimination WILL BE NOTICED, David.

There is no need to "insult." Not choosing a candidate from a certain region is not "discrimination," politically speaking, as long as we don’t publicly state our reason. No Republican has ever been elected president who appealed ONLY to conservatives. Of course we must "appeal to conservatives." The question is who else we appeal to. I don’t say we should "ignore the South." I’ll take back my comment that it will "take care of itself." It will take care of itself IF some attention is paid to it. There is no need to have a Southerner on the ticket, even if the Dems nominate one for number-two. If Edwards gets the presidential nomination (possible but unlikely), I’m willing to give the issue a second look, but not otherwise.

I think Gilmore is pro-choice, and not a social conservative, so he doesn’t shore up the religious right. Hagel is a joke. David is thinking, it seems about Giuliani as VP a lot. I share that view, except I don’t thing Giuliani can or will play second fiddle. He’s for top of ticket or bust (Same for McCain). I could definitely see a McCain/Giuliani-Brownback (whom I dislike) ticket. The whole field is so wide open for leadership and conservatism that it is disgusting, and being honest we are faced with being on the verge of a democratic majority.

What we really need, but don’t seem to have, is a down-home solid midwest conservative (OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, MO). The midwest is close enough values-wise to lock down the south and kick butt in the swing midwest region. However, with the possible exception of Pawlenty, none of those are on the horizon.

The way things currently look, we have no one who can even win as a moderate.

I plead ignorance about Gilmore, and do not want Brownback even as VP. I am thinking of Rudy for P, not VP. And Rudy, I believe, CAN "win as a moderate."

I strongly agree with these comments of yours, however: Hagel sucks, Rudy won’t accept VP, and it would be great to have a solid Midwestern conservative (for either slot).

Either McCain or Rudy is probably going to get the nomination. Either selection will raise hell with the base, so as a way of reaching out and making nice with the base, both men will HAVE to select a Conservative who is KNOWN, ARTICULATE, and STRONG. And it would be nice if that man could force the Democrats to spend time, energy and money defending a state that they have to hold in order to prevail. That’s why Santorum would have been such a key selection, because the Keystone state must be blue for the Democrats to earn the White House. It might be a good idea were the Republican nominee to reach out to a military man, and not some fraud like Wes Clarke. No. I mean somebody like David Patraeus to balance out the ticket. Lt. General Patraeus would bring a great deal of intellectual heft and seriousness to the ticket.

Ted Nugent is from the swing state of Michigan....

Regardless of who gets the ticket, it would be a good idea to turn elsewhere for someone to balance the ticket. We need to look for new blood, and turn away from the tired, old retreads we keep seeing.

Ted Nugent would be a good balance to candidates Brownback or Romney, but might confirm our worst suspicions about Giuliani.

All right, let’s start the groundswell--"Huge Nuge" for Veep!

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