As of 2AM, the Virginia Republican primary ballot was finalized. The choices are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul; no one else made the ballot. As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t make the Virginia primary, you won’t be the nominee. Virginia has held primaries for President on the Republican side since 1988, and the winner has been the nominee every single time. In 2000 and 2008, the Old Dominion was a critical stabilizer for nominees Bush and McCain, respectively.
In other words, the choices are Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. I sincerely doubt Paul will win, and I prefer Romney based on foreign policy (he’s better on Communist China than Paul is). That said, Romney will be one of the weakest – if not the weakest – party nominee in recent memory. The base doeesn’t trust him; he will be the obvious last choice for a number of primary voters; and his persona, while reassuring to many, will be bland (at best) to others.
In short, Mitt Romney will need a game-changing running mate, from a critical swing state, and with the ability to win over conservative voters unsure about the guy at the top of the ticket. Marco Rubio could fit the bill, but Florida – even in 2008 – was better for the GOP than the national results were. Virginia, by contrast, was a carbon copy of the national numbers.
So Virginia would be a better place to find a running mate, and there is in fact a statewide politician who could solve several of Mitt Romney’s problems at once: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
For those worried about “Romneycare” and Mitt’s on-again, off-again relationship with mandates, nothing would reassure them quite like a running mate who led a lawsuit against Obamacare, especially if the case hits the Supreme Court during the campaign season.
Given Virginia’s proximity to the national capital (and Cuccinelli’s career in Northern Virginia politics), his conservative credentials would be apparent almost immediately, providing an excellent “balance” to Romney.
Finally, a Romney-Cuccinelli ticket would, if victorious, bring us the first ever Italian-American Vice President. In addition to the historical importance of that, it could also make New Jersey competitive again.
Oh, and Cuccinelli would have two-and-a-half more years of executive branch experience than the entire Democrats’ ticket had in 2008.
I understand that most of the Virginia running-mate talk has centered around Bob McDonnell, but his persona is too close to Romney to be very effective. Cuccinelli, by contrast, could complement the ticket in all of the ways above noted.
So, yes, I will vote for Mitt Romney for president on March 6 (and no, it won’t be very much fun), but I consider it critical for Romney to pick the right running mate; and I am convinced that is Ken Cuccinelli.
Cross-posted to Virginia Virtucon
The Cooch might be what the right wing base likes but if Romney actually wants to prevail against Obama he’s going to need a VP that appeals to independents and I think there are far better choices.
Christi, Rubio, Jeb Bush, to name a few.
Romney himself can (and does, according to polling) appeal to independents quite well. The base is more his concern.
yes.. but it’s possible you could pick someone for VP that would push independents to Obama…..
so you pick a VP to get MORE than Romney by himself would draw – NOT the opposite.
I thought you guys actually wanted to win.
A demoralized base flirting with third-party candidates does not help us win.
your best VP pick is someone that will not keep your base away but at the same time will draw independents.
if you pick a red-meat type VP.. you do MORE than you actually need to do to keep your base (so you get no better base turnout) but you lose independents.
you guys have to decide if you really want to govern from the middle/right instead of the harder right.
my feeling is that if Romney pulls the majority of the independents, he wins.. no matter what the base does -on either side.
and besides – you guys have proven quite emphatically that even within your own party you cannot agree on a candidate… Romney is a lot like what happened to McCain…
ya’ll should do what it takes to win…even if your base get their panties in a wad.
After the Palin fiasco in 2008, (for which I blame McCain more than Palin), the last thing the GOP needs is anyone untested or unvetted in the VP slot.
It’s hard to make a serious case that an individual, no matter how sterling, is qualified to be the leader of the free world at a moment’s notice when the highest office he has held is a down-ballot statewide post like Attorney General. McConnell, on the other hand, makes a whole lot of sense.
Romney’s a play-it-safe guy, and there should be little pressure for him to do otherwise with the VP pick, which rarely helps a ticket much outside of a key state or demographic, and often not even that. It’s more likely a bad VP Pick will harm a ticket than a good one will help it.
If Palin hadn’t just been the VP nominee last time around, I think a Romney candidacy would look very hard at Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Governor Susanna Martinez (sp?) of New Mexico, but it’s not going to be another female first term governor.
Bobby Jindal will get a very long look. Marco Rubio, of course. Christie positioned himself well for a VP nod with his timely endorsement. Tim Pawlenty is well-regarded, was the presumed runner-up to Palin last time, and could be helpful in the Upper Midwest. Paul Ryan would be great but he might not be replaceable as the Budget Committee chair.
Lots of boring but very well credentialed white guys.
Rob Portman:of Ohio: longtime US Rep, then US Trade Rep, then OMB director, now Senator
John Kasich: sitting Ohio Governor, before that longtime US Representative and Budget Committee chair.
Mike Johanns of Nebraska: Governor, Sec of USDA, now Senator.
Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho: Mayor of Boise, Senator, Governor, Interior Secretary.
Jim Risch of Idaho: Governor/Senator
John Hoeven of North Dakota: Governor/Senator
Mitch Daniels of Indiana would be a very popular pick, if he’d take it. Haley Barbour would shore up the base well, but could have baggage that’s almost unavoidable as a white pol from Mississippi.
Condi Rice would help a lot on the foreign policy front, but she’s pro-choice and has never run for anything…too risky.
Who are the foreign policy/defense GOP mandarins in foreign relations and defense these days? Lugar’s too old. Bob Corker is the #2 in Foreign Relations.
He could be an interesting dark horse, although he’s got to defend his Senate seat this year. Lamar Alexander is a Governor/Cabinet(SecEd)/Senator/former Presidential candidate — very well vetted, a real “ready on Day One” type.
Armed Services Chair is John McCain. Moving on…
Terry Branstad will be in his 18th year as Iowa Governor, and he’s only 65. If he only delivers Iowa, that’s pretty valuable.
John Thune is a comer, but he doesn’t add anything to a Romney ticket beyond cred with evangelicals and legislation experience.
Here’s a curveball — everyone’s got John Bolton in at State, but he could take a Veep slot too. Makes sense if the top of the ticket is really lost past the water’s edge…more a Perry than a Romney.
the conundrum de jure for both parties – all things being equal in using common sense and resisting the urge for an “in your face” pick for the opposing side would be to pick someone who will not keep you base at home while at the same time pull independents – even those who lean the other side.
I think McCain COULD have won had he not picked a Pallin type person which left some people wondering about McCain’s judgement along with the specter that if McCain did finish his term that Pallin would become Prez.
those on the right who like Pallin probably would like Cooch for similar reasons… they are brash and unafraid to challenge the status quo but both have similar flaws – ideology verses pragmatic practicality.
I think most independents distrust politicians who flaunt their ideology.
I found McNulty’s analysis useful.
Why not just burn your vote? You’d be doing a lot better than voting for White Obama.
I think it is a damn shame that all of the Great Debaters cannot be on the Virginia ballot. And even though the Vice Presidency is still what John Nance Garner said it was in 1940, the idea of Cooch or Rubio being a heartbeat away…….now that is really scary. You all seem to see the Ghost of Christmas under your beds this Season and may they all stay under your beds til January 3rd when the big decisions will be made…….
one more thing, after all those mean and nasty things you all have been saying about Obama, it is ironic the Republican Party has no one to beat him in 2012….Oh well, Happy New Year!! Ken
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