# Handicapping the GOP Veepstakes **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 6, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017 "2012-04-06T17:42:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/61 "2012-04-11T14:47:33Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > It’s fun to say “Romney-McDonell.” Try it. Try it with a straight face. Try it without thinking “Corporate Clown.” I agree, but given that our pundit class largely approves of corporate clowns, that usually doesn’t tend to be much of an electoral handicap in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/62 "2012-04-11T16:06:52Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > And I’m going to come back in and add Santorum to the list of possible choices. The fact he bowed out before the Pennsylvania primary thereby allowing Romney to solidly claim the crown could improve his chances. Mittens does need to shore up his right flank and Santorum really has nothing to lose by joining forces. I was thinking that, too. I still believe Rubio would be more politically helpful to Romney, but Santorum might not be a bad pick from Romney’s POV. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/63 "2012-04-11T16:19:48Z")
Rubio said just last week, “I am not going to be vice president.”, and that is one of many similar statements he’s made. Other prominent Hispanic Republicans have been even more explicit in saying they would refuse the position if offered to them. There is some opinion that the Republicans and Romney in particular have so alienated the Hispanic population that elected Hispanics fear destroying their own political futures by getting too close to Romney. That doesn’t explain, though, why Rubio endorsed Romney, though it was an at best lukewarm endorsement. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/64 "2012-04-11T16:21:24Z")
Santorum? _Santorum!?!_ Now, Universe, I know I haven’t been a very good pantheist, but if you could just give me this one sign… ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/65 "2012-04-12T13:29:55Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > And I’m going to come back in and add Santorum to the list of possible choices. The fact he bowed out before the Pennsylvania primary thereby allowing Romney to solidly claim the crown could improve his chances. Mittens does need to shore up his right flank and Santorum really has nothing to lose by joining forces. I disagree. Romney does not need to shore up his right flank. The far right definitely likes Romney more than Obama, and just because they’re not excited about him doesn’t mean they’ll stay home. Romney doesn’t need to worry about winning over conservatives, it’s the middle that’ll make it or break it for him. The smartest move he can make, imho, is to pick a moderate to share the ticket with him. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/66 "2012-04-12T17:41:49Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > I disagree. Romney does not need to shore up his right flank… Many others feel differently: [http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/11/politics/romney-challenge-right/index.html?iref=allsearch](http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/11/politics/romney-challenge-right/index.html?iref=allsearch) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/67 "2012-04-12T20:06:02Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I was thinking that, too. I still believe Rubio would be more politically helpful to Romney, but Santorum might not be a bad pick from Romney’s POV. He wants someone that will rally the base \*without \*turning off independents. > [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > I disagree. Romney does not need to shore up his right flank. The far right definitely likes Romney more than Obama, and just because they’re not excited about him doesn’t mean they’ll stay home. I think this reflects an incomplete understanding of _why_ Romney might need to shore up his right flank. We’re a pretty aware, involved group on this board. I’d bet that 90% or more of the American citizens of voting age on this board will vote in this year’s Presidential election. But not everybody’s like us. There are millions of people on both sides of the political divide who will vote in a predictable manner IF you can get them to the polls, but don’t particularly feel their vote matters, and are more likely than not to not bother to vote, if left to their own devices. What you need to rally the base for is to get these marginally involved people who lean your way more motivated to vote, and to make sure they get to the precinct on election day, or participate in early voting, or whatever. The base is the source of your volunteer network, your precinct workers, your get-out-the-vote people. If your base isn’t motivated, they’ll still vote, but they won’t do all that other crap. And then the marginally involved people who lean their way won’t show up in very large numbers - and that’s where a candidate who doesn’t motivate the base loses out. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/68 "2012-04-12T22:34:14Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > It’s fun to say “Romney-McDonell.” Try it. Try it with a straight face. Didn’t they build the F-15? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/69 "2012-04-13T04:46:50Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > The smartest move he can make, imho, is to pick a moderate to share the ticket with him. Hey, nothing would make me happier than if good ol’ Mittens chooses someone like Susan Collins, George Pataki or Jim Edgar. Those are just about the only moderate Republicans I can think of under 80 years old and I’m sure they would get a wonderfully tepid response from the base. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/70 "2012-04-13T07:19:04Z")
Ronald Reagan. I know what you’re thinking, that “two-term” Amendment to the Constitution! But that’s two terms of the same office, he had two terms as President and is perfectly at liberty to take a term as Vice President! Sure, being dead and all, bit of a drawback. But the Constitution insists that you must be of a certain age or older, you must have been alive for a required number of years, thirty five if memory serves. Doesn’t say anything about still _being_ alive, now does it? If I had to choose between a living Santorum or a dead Reagan, its pretty clear what the sensible choice would be. Tanned, rested and ready! ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/71 "2012-04-13T15:07:25Z")
> **[In Pivot to Messaging, Ron Johnson Looks to Purge Staff - Roll Call](https://rollcall.com/2012/04/12/in-pivot-to-messaging-ron-johnson-looks-to-purge-staff/)** > > Freshman GOP Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) is looking to purge nearly his entire Washington, D.C.-based legislative team, according to multiple Republican sources familiar with the situation. Johnson’s frustration with his legislative staff has been one of... Foster Freiss, a major supporter of Santorum (ewwww), apparently thinks Wisconsin freshman senator Ron Johnson should be on Romney’s short-list for VP candidates (see the last paragraph of the story). That would play really well, I think. One rich white guy was born into money, and the other rich white guy married into money. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/72 "2012-04-13T15:42:38Z")
> [@mkecane](#): > > [http://www.rollcall.com/news/in\_pivot\_to\_messaging\_ron\_johnson\_looks\_to\_purge\_staff-213740-1.html?pos=hftxt](http://www.rollcall.com/news/in_pivot_to_messaging_ron_johnson_looks_to_purge_staff-213740-1.html?pos=hftxt) > > Foster Freiss, a major supporter of Santorum (ewwww), apparently thinks Wisconsin freshman senator Ron Johnson should be on Romney’s short-list for VP candidates (see the last paragraph of the story). That would play really well, I think. One rich white guy was born into money, and the other rich white guy married into money. Apparently [Johnson is firing most of his Senate staff](http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/13/11181696-like-watching-a-temper-tantrum-by-a-2-year-old?lite) because they assumed that their job was to work on the nuts and bolts of legislation, and he wants his staff to focus on messaging. Gotta admit, he’d be perfect for the ticket. I can’t imagine anyone who quite so completely symbolizes what today’s GOP is about. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/73 "2012-04-13T18:46:37Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > ERROR… CANNOT PROCESS… MUTUALLY INCOMPATIBLE CONSTRAINTS > It’ll be a WASP for sure. He doesn’t need anyone from a red state, they would crawl over broken glass in the nude to vote against Obama. Tim Pawlenty fits the bill, and Pawlenty surely had the veep spot in mind when he whiffed on the softball setup in that debate. Plus Pawlenty has the advantage of making Romney seem charismatic by comparison, a remarkable feat indeed. Very early in the primary process I thought Pawlenty would have as good a shot as any of them. Wasn’t he the first one out? Goes to show. A ticket of two governors just doesn’t feel right. I think Romney needs to go to the Senate or the House. Rubio makes some sense. Sure, he’s lied about the Cuban thing. So what? These guys get away with stuff like that all the time. With all their anti-immigrant stances, the GOP would do well to have an Hispanic on their ticket. Even a Cuban. I suppose Romney could go with Ryan and declare a race based on competents vs. the incompetent Democrats. Problem is, between the two of them they might be able to dredge up about as much human warmth and empathy as my pet iguana. A note on Huckabee. My wife, about as lefty as I am, really likes the guy and I can’t talk her out of it even though she disagrees with most of his stances, she never watches Fox and she’s not even an evangelical. That’s LIKE-ABLE!! But he’s just another ex-governor. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/74 "2012-04-13T20:21:35Z")
What’s the over/under on the number of women and Hispanics the GOP will try to cram on to the stage at the convention? I remember one convention where every black Republican in the nation was on prominent display. (I don’t see Rep. Adam West getting an invite but I could be wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/75 "2012-04-13T21:04:45Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > A note on Huckabee. My wife, about as lefty as I am, really likes the guy and I can’t talk her out of it even though she disagrees with most of his stances, she never watches Fox and she’s not even an evangelical. That’s LIKE-ABLE!! But he’s just another ex-governor. I started a similar thread on Huckabee a couple of months ago. He’s so nice, and reasonable, and relatively respectful of his opponents – it’s very disarming. I disagree with him on a lot of issues, but unlike so many Republicans, it doesn’t make me want to punch him in the mouth. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/76 "2012-04-13T21:41:48Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > I don’t see Rep. Adam West getting an invite but I could be wrong. That’s _ **Mayor** _ Adam West to you. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/77 "2012-04-13T23:35:27Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Ronald Reagan. I know what you’re thinking, that “two-term” Amendment to the Constitution! But that’s two terms of the same office, he had two terms as President and is perfectly at liberty to take a term as Vice President! Assuming he was alive, there would be a Constitutional problem here? The 12th AM states: > [@](#): > > But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice–President of the United States. Now, the 20th, sure, is only concerned about being “Elected” President, but I am not going out on a legal limb to say, if a person is elected Veep, they are in effect elected President, therefore Reagan would be ineligible, or you can bet if it was tried, and it never has been by any 2 term Ex, the opposing party would get it’s lawyer’s on that big time. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/78 "2012-04-13T23:53:02Z")
Opps, make that the 22nd AM, not 20th as above. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/79 "2012-04-14T01:02:14Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > Assuming he was alive, there would be a Constitutional problem here? Yeah, it couldn’t happen for the reasons you stated though I’m certain **elucidator** knows it. This is the same reason I didn’t include Gov. Terminator in my list of Republican moderates. In addition to the recent penis problems he has had, he wouldn’t be eligible because he is a naturalized citizen as opposed to being born in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/80 "2012-04-15T04:26:09Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > I am not going out on a legal limb to say, if a person is elected Veep, they are in effect elected President That’s ridiculous. Getting elected Veep is getting elected to the _possibility of succeeding to the Presidency_ should the President die, resign, get impeached and removed, become permanently incapacitated, etc. There’s a huge difference between that and getting elected President. To equate the two is rubbish. At any rate, the wording is clear, and there’s no Catch-22, so to speak. The 22nd Amendment bans anyone from being _elected_ to the Presidency more than twice, or more than once if they’ve already served more than half of someone else’s term. But it doesn’t bar a two-term President’s succeeding to the Presidency by other means. So a two-term President would be eligible to _be_ President; he’d just have to _get_ there through succession rather than election. So he would certainly be eligible for the Vice-Presidency under the 12th Amendment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017.md?page=5)