Talk Elections

i think he's got to attempt to secure some EVs with his pick....though he can't waste time picking someone from FL or OH, if he can't win there without a homestate VP then he can't win anyway. 

...someone more moderate (religiously and politically) from PA would be good...any names...any Catholics with military experience?

Sarah Palin

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Uh, you asked who Thune's running mate would be. I answered.

Thankfully Thune won't win the nomination so we won't have to deal with that disaster of a ticket.

see first post of thread:

Ridge?

He could pick a governor, since he is a Senator.  I don't think a military vet would be as important, now that Economic factors are more important than the Iraq War. 

I think Thune could handle the economic side of the argument, and I think Iraq and Afghan will end badly along with other setbacks in middle east peace.  Though, having said that, someone with military experience isn't required.

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Ridge is not pro-life, but would be a reassuring pick if terrorists strike again on U.S. soil (even in the event of an airline bombing)

Thune-Ridge would lose every state McCain did, plus Missouri, Arizona, Montana, and Georgia.

The only winning issue Thune has is being pro-life. Putting a pro-abortionist on the ticket will end that.

I used to think Ridge had a chance at VP, but he really needs a conversion to pro-life if he wants a chance on the ticket.  Heck, Dick Cheney was pro-gay marriage and he never talked about it, ever.  Ridge can say he supports the Nominee and pro-life.  The Christians wouldn't vote for the Democrat anyway. 

Also, Senator P. Bush founded Planned Parenthood, yet both GHWB and GWB convinced Christians they were pro-life, go figure!

Well, Dubya and Bush Senior are Pro-Life retard.

Judd Gregg

bobby jindal

Hate to burst your bubble but Planned Parenthood was founded in 1916, when Prescott Bush was like 21 years old...........

True, though GHW Bush only became pro-life in 1980, when Reagan picked him as his running mate.

Yeah, they both converted to Pro-life, how convenient of them for political gain. 

Oops, I guess Prescott only worked for their national offices, then, my bad - I guess he was really a secret pro=lifer, lol

GHW Bush never really became pro-life, as evidenced by his appointment of David Souter...

How about Lamar Alexander?  Is he too old?  he always seemed to be a good choice being a governor and from geographically useful Tennessee. 

He thought Souter and Clarence Thomas were pro-life. He was right about Thomas, wrong about Souter. If you're going to say that, then Reagan never really became pro-life either--he appointed two pro-choice justices.

In response to the question, John Hoeven.

Reagan wasn't really pro-life either...as governor of California he signed a relatively liberal abortion law.

Interesting how serious the pro-life lobby has gotten since 1980.  For the GOP nominee, he/she needs to be a strong religious fanatic and pro-life.

Bob McDonnell

Um, no. We haven't had a strong pro-lifer for a GOP nominee yet.

But I don't think there was any real fanatically pro-abortion candidate from either party until Mondale in 1984.

Well to counter Thune's weaknesses, I would pick an older person with foreign and national defence experience. Also maybe someone from the east coast.

Maybe Cantor, he's not old, but it might attract more non-evangelical people to his ticket.

Not sure...

Well I guess "strong" is a relative term, I suppose it has more to do with being a religious person.  I'm under the impression that the GOP ticket cannot have a pro-choice person.  While I think there are many qualified GOP women, they are usually pro-choice.  Palin, Bush, Dole were all outspoken pro-lifers.  McCain wasn't very outspoken about the issue, perhaps this contributed to his loss.  GHWB somehow managed to convince people for a short period of time that he was pro-life.  I would say one of the things that helped Bill Clinton and Obama win were that they were religious men or at least often spoke about religion, Clinton was a southern baptist, and Obama was not endorsed by emily's list in the primaries.

I don't think Cantor, his religion would cast doubts about mid-east policies.  Romney could be a good choice, if he was able to get more foreign policy experience.  I would think Petraeus would be too tainted by the Iraq war to be credible.  I think Americans just want to move on from that.

I don't think Palin would be put on any ticket as VP again, primarily because she already lost once.  They don't want a 2-time loser. 

She had served only one term as govenor.  I just have doubts about her intellect and ability to handle the economy, and basically anything else.  But she should run in the primary and see how she stacks up in the primary debates. 

That's because putting a pro-abortionist on the Republican  ticket would be suicide.

Thune strikes me as a GWB without the family name or executive experience.  The bottom half of a Thune ticket would have a lot to make up for.  How about Condaleezza Rice or David Petraeus?  The danger, of course, is that anyone you add to the ticket would potentially steal the spotlight from Thune.

Haley Barbour, Mitt Romney, Snowe or Collins (if he wants to win indep. votes), Linda Lingle, Mitch Daniels or Jim Douglas.

I think the best of the above are Jim Douglas and Linda Lingle (moderate GOP governors).

Al Gore became pro-choice when picked by Clinton to be his VP. Kucinich became pro-choice when he decided to run for president too. This isn't that uncommon...

But do you think some of the GOP are genuine in their conversion to pro-life or are merely doing it for political gain like GHWB, McCain, Romney, or would you trust someone like Ridge, Collins, Snowe, Hutchison if they wanted to convert to pro-life to get on the ticket?

Yeah, I would expect that from Gore, but what was up with Kucinich? It's not like abandoning his pro-life views somehow made him any more electable even within the Democratic party.

No, I don't trust them, and I would not vote for them.

When was McCain pro-choice?

I don't know if McCain was ever really "pro-choice" but he's been pretty weak on the issue in the past. He did flip-flop from supporting Roe v. Wade to claiming he wanted it overturned.

Ridge obviously fits Jmfcst's requirements of being Roman Catholic, moderate and strong on defense issues.  He is a true American hero for serving the way he did in Vietnam.  The problem others have pointed out is pretty significant though. He supports the right of women to murder babies.  This cannot be tolerated in the Republican Party.  It's shameful we still put up with it.

Alexander and Gregg have both been mentioned, and both are fairly conservative pro-lifers.  Their age should not be a factor if they are healthy.  Thune is young and it won't hurt him to have a grey haired kind of "mentor" figure lurking in the background.  Voters felt a certain amount of reassurance with both Biden and Cheney in voting for relatively inexperienced Presidents.  (Though what reassures anyone about Biden is beyond me.)

I don't really believe a VP should be selected in order to "help" in a home state, anyway.  So if I were Thune, I would look to someone like Duncan Hunter.  California is probably a lost cause (although with the way Obama is wrecking the country, you never know!) Hunter is strong on fiscal, military and social issues.  Bob Dornan would be a good choice if he had been in Congress recently, but he is pretty much out of circulation.  Although...the more I think about it, the more appeal this has.  Dornan is hardly inactive...I didn't realize he was running again...

http://www.bobdornan.com/index2.html

He certainly represents American and Christian values, unlike Ridge.  And he has military experience.

Regardless, I am sure Thune will make a sound and reasoned choice.  Aside from Senator DeMint, he may possess one of the strongest intellectual minds in the Senate today. So you can bet he won't choose a candidate at the last minute and fail to properly vet them.

Uh, JSo, you might want to check in...

This sock is good, really good. :P

Actually slightly less than 2/3 of a term.

So if she can't even stick around for one term as Governor of a small state like Alaska, why would anyone in their right mind think she has the wherewithal to serve as President of the United States, which has about 1,000,000 times the work load?  

I WANT TO KILL YOU

LOL, look who dared to show his face again.

Give it up JSojourner.  You are worst disappointment since Hawkeye.  :(

The obvious answer here would Tom Corbett, if he wins the Pennsylvania governorship this November. He's a former National Guardsman, is Roman Catholic, pro-life, and a longtime DA-turned-State Attorney General.

OTOH, he'd be a new, first-term governor, and those *usually* aren't picked, although Spiro Agnew and Sarah Palin can certainly attest to the fact that they do occasionally make it.

If Pat Toomey wins the Senate seat, he too could fit the bill, although he's probably too right-wing. (Thune's equally conservative though.)

Also, speaking of potential 2010 winners, Thune - or whoever the Republican nominee is - might look at some of the 2010 class of incoming GOP senators. He could pick Kelly Ayotte, for example - seen as relatively moderate despite being pro-life and anti-gay marriage, Roman Catholic, and a woman from a less GOP-friendly region. She's a bit of a dull speaker though. Sue Lowden from Nevada or Jane Norton from Colorado could also be picks, although to be honest, neither is very solid on the stump - Norton seems especially poor.

Of course, all these people have to WIN their races. And probably a few of them won't. But the outlook will be clearer after November.

I know Rick Santorum!!!  Yes, we want Santorum!!!

What about Lindsey Graham?  He's a solid guy, very solid guy, a guy I could love but not in that way.

Hell no. I despise Lindsey Graham. I was really hoping he would lose his Senate seat in 2008.

Ugh, as one of his constituents, I can assure you he's trash.

Is there anyone besides the morons in South Carolina (sorry Gio) who actually like Lindsey Graham? He seems to be one of the most universally hated Senators.

Do people think he is too flamboyent?

Do you think pro-life politicians should support social services for single moms to keep their children instead of adoption.  I think a large issue is that women don't have the financial resources to raise a child on their own.  While adoption is okay, it is a difficult situation for the mother and child, many who resent being adopted.  Why can't the govt or churches help keep families together?

Hawkeye's a sock too? Jeez, I go off line for a day and.....

Different Hawkeye.

I don't think the VP would need to be Catholic.  Otherwise, Brownback would be a decent choice.  Maybe an Italian-American could rally some independent voters from the northeast. 

I like Alexander, but he would be over 70 and I think the national campaign would be too much for him.  Plus, if Thune were elected, he would probably need a new VP after 4 years.