# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/161 "2012-06-19T17:19:19Z")
According to sources, [Rubio wasn’t even vetted](http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/06/not-even-vetted-126558.html) for the Veep spot. > [@](#): > > [K]nowledgeable Republican sources tell me that [Marco] Rubio is not being vetted by Mitt Romney’s vice presidential search team. He has not been asked to complete any questionnaires or been asked to turn over any financial documents typically required of potential vice presidential candidates. > > Although it is possible that Rubio may yet be asked to go through the vetting process, it has been nearly two months since Romney named his long-time aide Beth Myers to run his vice presidential search. The fact that Rubio has not been asked to turn over any documents by now is a strong indication that he is not on Romney’s short list of potential running mates. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/162 "2012-06-19T20:07:35Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > According to sources, [Rubio wasn’t even vetted](http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/06/not-even-vetted-126558.html) for the Veep spot. Romney’s [campaign](http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-advisers-confirm-campaign-not-seriously-vetting-rubio?ref=fpblg) is basically confirming it won’t be Rubio. So the Romney campaign is already keeping one good high paying American job from being taken by a hispanic anchor baby. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/163 "2012-06-19T20:18:00Z")
Is “not even vetted” really a disqualifying factor for Republican VP candidates? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/164 "2012-06-19T20:28:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is “not even vetted” really a disqualifying factor for Republican VP candidates? I suspect that with the Palin debacle still fresh in everyone’s mind, the next GOP VP candidate will be the most vetted appointee for anything every in history. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/165 "2012-06-19T20:55:45Z")
Palin! Of course, Palin! Just the fresh spark of energy the Romney campaign needs! Now, Lord, you will remember i haven’t asked for much. But if you could just give me this one sign… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/166 "2012-06-19T21:07:35Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Romney’s [campaign](http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-advisers-confirm-campaign-not-seriously-vetting-rubio?ref=fpblg) is basically confirming it won’t be Rubio. Wouldn’t it be delicious if Rubio was nixxed because[he was a Mormon for short while](http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865557751/Marco-Rubio-likely-not-Romneys-VP-describes-Mormon-past-in-book.html) when he lived in Nevada? ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/167 "2012-06-19T23:15:41Z")
What’s his name…oh yeah…Fred Thompson - Now there’s a guy who’s compatible with Romney and won’t grab all the attention. Crane ---
**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:** [June 20, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/168 "2012-06-20T03:37:38Z")
Rubio was apparently working on a Senate bill that mirrored the provisions of Obama’s new deportation policy. Might make it tricky for him to appeal to the Republican base (although he’s now accusing Obama of torpedoing real immigration reform by sidestepping Congress :rolleyes:). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/169 "2012-06-20T04:05:48Z")
Head scratch. If Obama’s mirroring what Rubio wants to see enacted, what his problem? Hell, they can steal all our ideas, take credit for them too, just so long as they pass the laws that go with them. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/170 "2012-06-20T04:15:29Z")
Two legs bad, four legs good. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/171 "2012-06-20T04:50:29Z")
Sure, they can have that one! ---
**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:** [June 20, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/172 "2012-06-20T17:14:17Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > After the Wisconsin recall, might Romney consider Scott Walker? That could bring the Teahadist wing of the party out to vote for Romney/Walker. Sarah Palin2. A half term governor from a small state. I’m sure the Obama campaign would love that selection. Romney will go with white bread. BTW, certainly not Christie after the recent NYT series on the problems in NJ’s for profit half-way houses that Christie’s buddy owns. > **[At a Halfway House, Bedlam Reigns (Published 2012)](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/nyregion/at-bo-robinson-a-halfway-house-in-new-jersey-bedlam-reigns.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all)** > > The Bo Robinson center in New Jersey is as large as a prison and is intended to help inmates re-enter society. But The New York Times found that drugs, gangs and sexual abuse are rife behind its walls. > [@](#): > > **At a Halfway House, Bedlam Reigns** > > The Bo Robinson center in New Jersey is as large as a prison and is intended to help inmates re-enter society. But The New York Times found that drugs, gangs and sexual abuse are rife behind its walls. > > _ **snip** _ > > She was assigned to the cleaning crew, under the supervision of a janitor. One night in 2009, he ordered her into the closet. > > “He took his pants off and grabbed my hair and pushed me down,” Ms. Falcone, now 32, said in an interview. “That started a few weeks of basically hell.” > > Finally, she told a senior guard that she was being sexually assaulted, according to internal reports written by the guard. > > She was immediately transferred to another halfway house. The janitor was dismissed. And that is where it ended. > > State officials and prosecutors did not conduct an inquiry into the allegations or the halfway house, which is run by Community Education Centers, a company with close ties to New Jersey politicians, including Chris Christie, who became governor in 2010. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/173 "2012-06-23T02:21:24Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > RINO unwilling to toe the line on the dogma of the extreme right. His opinion on immigration was in line with Reagan’s. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/174 "2012-06-23T03:06:03Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > His opinion on immigration was in line with Reagan’s. That’s what I am saying; compared to today’s conservatives, Reagan was a a liberal on immigration, signing a [major amnesty bill](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128303672) for nearly 3 million illegal aliens. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/175 "2012-06-28T20:09:20Z")
Much like the Bushes, Mitt Romney is a guy who’s going to value personal loyalty over the “right” stances on issues. He’s also going to shun anyone with more charisma than he possesses (which eliminates a LOT of people). Hence, we can probably expect a boring white male Senator or Governor that Romney feels comfortable with. There won’t be any Palins or Christies on the ticket. A “safe” dull pick like Portman or Pawlenty is probable. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/176 "2012-06-30T22:15:48Z")
How about John Cornyn? Anybody who’s ever flipped past a GOP press conference has seen his big white head floating in the back row. He might not have name recognition, but some facial recognition if that counted for anything. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/177 "2012-06-30T22:45:22Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Romney’s [campaign](http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-advisers-confirm-campaign-not-seriously-vetting-rubio?ref=fpblg) is basically confirming it won’t be Rubio. No, [Romney himself says different.](http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/06/marco-rubio-vice-president-/1) > [@](#): > > Mitt Romney told reporters in Michigan that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is being looked at as his possible running mate, adding that a news story out today about the Tea Party favorite not being vetted was “entirely false.” > > “Marco Rubio is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process,” Romney said during a campaign stop in Holland, Mich. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/178 "2012-06-30T22:46:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Two legs bad, four legs good. Knucklewalking better. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/179 "2012-07-05T17:29:41Z")
According to the[Boston Globe](http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/07/05/mitt-romney-considering-female-running-mate-wife-says/7iE5LlfKga9DEK9GT0S4gP/story.html?p1=News_links), according to his wife, Romney is considering a female VP candidate. Given the source, I’m assuming this is a trial balloon of sorts? It’d be interesting to see how this would play out. Comparisons to Palin would be inevitable, but I assume that this time they’d select someone actually qualified for the position. As a side note, we haven’t heard much from Palin lately, aside from the snide twitter or two after last week’s Supreme Court decision. Not that I’m complaining. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017/180 "2012-07-05T17:38:52Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > According to the[Boston Globe](http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/07/05/mitt-romney-considering-female-running-mate-wife-says/7iE5LlfKga9DEK9GT0S4gP/story.html?p1=News_links), according to his wife, Romney is considering a female VP candidate. Given the source, I’m assuming this is a trial balloon of sorts? > > It’d be interesting to see how this would play out. Comparisons to Palin would be inevitable, but I assume that this time they’d select someone actually qualified for the position. > > As a side note, we haven’t heard much from Palin lately, aside from the snide twitter or two after last week’s Supreme Court decision. Not that I’m complaining. Probably referring to [Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election-2012/veepstakes-mitt-ayotte-a-lot-article-1.1107973?localLinksEnabled=false). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-gop-veepstakes/618017.md?page=10)