I’d actually love it if he chose a pro-choicer just because it would stick a big dick in the evangelicals. I can’t believe he’d ever do it, though. The party would never allow it.
According to some blogs I’ve read, McCain floated the idea already, and was apparently slapped down. So no, I doubt he’d do it. He needs the conservative bona fides too badly. He’s already lost a good deal of support from some crowds over his immigration beliefs; one more major point of disagreement and he’s probably done.
Gingrich is not hugely popular with the religious base, though. I don’t know that he would complement McCain’s ticket in any way. What votes does he bring?
The family values crowd probably don’t need two womanizing liars on the same ticket.
Two weeks ago, this election was about the economy, and the economy only. It probably still is, although Russia’s shenanigans have put foreign policy a little higher on the priority list - hence Obama’s Biden pick.
In terms of the economy, Gingrich is pretty good. He’s extremely smart, and knows a lot about economics. He’s got excellent credentials on economic matters among the Republican base, and he was the architect of the ‘contract with America’ which swept the Democrats out of power in the House and Senate. Then he proceeded to piss everyone off by pushing too hard and not caring what people thought, and flamed out.
The question is whether enough time has past that Gingrich’s negatives have been forgotten. If Gingrich can manage to represent the ‘gold old Republicans’ of the Reagan years, he might get some traction.
Another thing Gingrich brings to the table - he’s very friendly with Hillary. They’ve worked together on several projects, and he’s said some very complimentary things about her in the past few years. I wonder if he could be used to peel off a few more dissatisfied Hillary supporters?
I really think it’s between Romney and Pawlenty. Pawlenty is safe but bland. He’s a flatline. He neither brings nor loses votes. There are some concerns about Romney being accepted by the religious base because of his facile position changes (kind of like McCain), and because of the magic underwear, but I think his fundraising potential will cause the party will shove him down McCain’s throat anyway. I also think the evangelicals will get over it. They might be bothered about voting for a Mormon, but they really have nowhere else to go. They’re sure as hell not going to vote for a Muslim.
I also think that McCain’s floating of Lieberman and Ridge might be a tactic to put a scare into the religious right and make Romney look more acceptable by comparison.
But they might just stay home. Hard to say.
Gingrich is to the Pubs kind of what Ted Kennedy is to the Dems. Both are mixed bags of talent, ability and party iconography combined with huge, unsightly warts in their personal lives. They are also both mutually perceived as representing the extreme of the other party. Teddy is seen by Pubs as the protypical, profligate liberal. Gingrich is seen as the archtypal, mean spirited righty.
McCain choosing Gingrich would probably be welcomed by the Republican base, but would be a gift to the Democrats. Gingrich might be loved by his base, but he has no crossover potential at all.
I would be shocked if it turns out to be Newt, but in his defense - he would bring in some conservatives and some swing voters who are more enamored with his recent positions on science and technology and global warming. The religious base isn’t going to be voting for McCain no matter who he is partnered with. His plan is to try to convince them that they need to vote against Obama.
I’m actually not going to be too surprised if it is Eric Cantor. (I gotta love the long shots.) He has the conservative creds and helps in two important states - VA and FL. Then again, same logic as those who called Biden - announcing right before the convention doesn’t allow for developing the awareness of a lesser known - it argues for a VP choice already well known. And that really means Romney (Since it aint going to be Lieberman.)
And after McCain’s Biden commercial I am really looking forward to a set of what Romney and McCain each said about each other.
It’s hilarious gibberish. There’s nothing good about John McCain.
What about Dan Quayle?
I think that’s a pretty good analysis, but the question I’m left with is whether that’s the perception of people like you and me, who have been around for a while and been following politics for a long time, or whether it’s more widely held.
Both Kennedy and Gingrich have moderated a bit. I’d say Gingrich more so. He’s actually progressive on issues like Global Warming and science and the internet and such. He’s worked closely with Hillary, and both of them had very complimentary things to say of each other.
So I don’t know how much of the old baggage is still around, especially among the younger voters. I’d say the same of Kennedy, who if healthy and a bit younger would probably be in about the same position.
But I honestly don’t know. Maybe he’d be vilified. Or maybe a lot of voters would be going, “Newt who? Who is he?” If he got a chance to erase his old public image and start over, I think he’d be quite popular. You’d be surprised - he’s not the old Conservative flag-bearer he once was. But the baggage would probably be there, and that makes him an unlikely pick. He also had some ethics problems in the house that alone might kill a Vice Presidential bid.
I’m not even sure who Gingrich’s base is anymore. He’s kind of out in the wilderness by himself it seems. He pissed off the base with his support for a guest worker program and his acknowledgment of global warming. I guess he’s still got the ‘enterprisers’ on his side.
No cite, but back in the '90’s I saw in a magazine article some pundit analyzing Gingrich’s political history. The gist of his opinion was that Gingrich used his talent for demagogery as his ticket into political office; that his strategy for getting into the political arena was to become a big fish in the little pond of whichever party was out of power. IOW, if the Republicans had been the dominant force in Congress, he would have gone in as a Democrat.
I highly doubt that. Even today, Gingrich is quite conservative. Just not as conservative as he was. He’s a conservative who flirts with libertarianism in some areas. But he’s not compatible with the Democrats. If anything he’s a ‘movement conservative’ in the Reagan tradition. Low taxes, smaller government, pro-religion, strong supporter of the second amendment, etc. He’s not a wishy-washy demagogue. He’s the guy who was the architect of the ‘Contract with America’. He’s been associated with various conservative think tanks for a long time.
Cantor’s an interesting choice and makes some sense. He’s from Virginia, he’s got the youth thing going for him. I assume he hasn’t been caught with any dead girls or live boys. On the flipside, he’s relatively unknown and not that experienced. What intrigues me the most about the possibility is that he’s an observant Jew (his wiki profile says he keeps a kosher home). I wonder how the evangelicals will react to that. A lot of them say they think the President has to be a Christian. Here’s a guy openly rejecting Jesus as his savior. It would be interesting to see how the fundies dealt with that.
Republican Sexual Hypocrisy - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime Newt likes to play around with the women. Another serial philanderer . He would be the perfect choice for McCain.
Right wing religiously observant Jews and the Christian RR tend to share much of the same agenda. On the Issues. Very Pro-Life and rated 92% by the Christian Coalition. "Rated 0% by the AU, indicating opposition to church-state separation. (Dec 2006) "
The RR would love him, Christ or no Christ in his life - he’s a fundie.
Has he ever dumped a crippled wife for a beer heiress half his age? If not, he’s a piker!
Not crippled, cancer, and the other woman wasn’t an heiress:
If McCain chooses Cantor, it’s game and set to the Republicans. 