Newt Gingrich and a VP

Thorgasm said:

What about Pawlenty or Jindal?

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They sound . . . foreign.

The veep should bring something, not just be vaguely familiar and unthreatening. Sarah - haters aside - excited cons who just didn't trust Mac.

No. This election is a referendum on BO. The question the voter will ultimately ask is, "So do I sign on for another 4, or do I throw the dice with this vaguely familiar and unthreatening Republican?"

LuckyDan said:

No. This election is a referendum on BO. The question the voter will ultimately ask is, "So do I sign on for another 4, or do I throw the dice with this vaguely familiar and unthreatening Republican?"

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I suspect that will be the biggest factor, but it won't be the only one. Both Obama and the republican candidate will have chances to stumble badly, and both will have chances to make the other stumble. There is going to be a stupidly large amount of money spent on this campaign, and most of it spent on negative advertising. It will be possible to tear down other candidates.

Redress said:

I suspect that will be the biggest factor, but it won't be the only one. Both Obama and the republican candidate will have chances to stumble badly, and both will have chances to make the other stumble. There is going to be a stupidly large amount of money spent on this campaign, and most of it spent on negative advertising. It will be possible to tear down other candidates.

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True, and between Newt and Mitt, Newt is the more vulnerable, rightly or wrongly.

LuckyDan said:

True, and between Newt and Mitt, Newt is the more vulnerable, rightly or wrongly.

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I would tend to think so, yes. Running ads with quotes from republicans when the house revolted from Gingrich's leadership would be pretty effective I think.

Redress said:

I would tend to think so, yes. Running ads with quotes from republicans when the house revolted from Gingrich's leadership would be pretty effective I think.

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Yes, and Newt will be ready. Who knows better than he where he is vulnerable? The qusetion is, will he have the time and the money?

It will be a problem for him where it won't be for Mitt, but not necessarily an insurmountable one.

And then, will a negative 2012 Obama be as endearing as a pure, untarnished 2008 Obama? He can't be the pure 2008 saint and a mean 2012 pit bull and expect the same result.

Zyphlin said:

The Romney VP thread went well so thought I'd try it again with Newt. Again, similar to the Romney thread, we're assuming Newt wins the nomination here. This time however its a two part question that goes out to both sides

Part one - Personal: Who could Newt Gingrich bring on as a VP that would make you either get fully on board with his nomination (if you already support him) or would make you at least give a further serious consideration of voting for Newt (if you're currently on the fence or against)?

Part two - General: What VP candidates do you think Newt could bring on that would seriously and realistically help his chances to win in the general, and why do you think that? What benefit would the individual have to a ticket and what would their purpose be?

What I'd ask to be avoided, once again, would be people just coming in saying Gingrich shouldn't be or won't be the nominee. This thread is going off the notion that he is, and responding with that idea in mind. And I'd ask that we avoid people coming in going something like "DICK CHENEY!" or "SARAH PALIN!" because they think it would hurt the ticket or because they'd be "worried if they won". This is a serious thread about which candidates would help his standing 1st with yourself and 2nd in general...not which ticket would make you laugh or would be easiest to defeat.

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The best ticket for Newt Gingrich would be some popular woman from the west, midwest or northeast to attract the women vote. Someone like a Nancy Snow in the northeast and I have to look around to find someone else in the other areas. It has to be someone better than Palin, but hopefully young and attractive. That way when he starts poking her after his third wife comes down with a terrible desease, we can all say, you can always count on Newt to be consistent.

Zyphlin said:

The Romney VP thread went well so thought I'd try it again with Newt. Again, similar to the Romney thread, we're assuming Newt wins the nomination here. This time however its a two part question that goes out to both sides

Part one - Personal: Who could Newt Gingrich bring on as a VP that would make you either get fully on board with his nomination (if you already support him) or would make you at least give a further serious consideration of voting for Newt (if you're currently on the fence or against)?

Part two - General: What VP candidates do you think Newt could bring on that would seriously and realistically help his chances to win in the general, and why do you think that? What benefit would the individual have to a ticket and what would their purpose be?

What I'd ask to be avoided, once again, would be people just coming in saying Gingrich shouldn't be or won't be the nominee. This thread is going off the notion that he is, and responding with that idea in mind. And I'd ask that we avoid people coming in going something like "DICK CHENEY!" or "SARAH PALIN!" because they think it would hurt the ticket or because they'd be "worried if they won". This is a serious thread about which candidates would help his standing 1st with yourself and 2nd in general...not which ticket would make you laugh or would be easiest to defeat.

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Rand Paul would be a very good VP pick, because he would stop any Ron Paul fans from voting 3rd party.

Rand Paul would be the ideal choice for VP if he would accept in terms of Republican's chance - which are essentially none. This would stop 95% of disgruntled Ron Paul supporters voting for Obama or 3rd party.

1. Allen West, or Rubio.

2. See answer one, and for West, he gets a well spoken Uncle Tom that speaks to other black American's in a way that pretty much forces them to listen up. With Rubio, obviously the latino vote and FL would be a sure win for the GOP, plus, Rubio is articulate (Maybe even more so than Gingrich) on conservative principles, well spoken, and from what i can tell, bullet proof.


Tim-

Hicup said:

1. Allen West, or Rubio.

2. See answer one, and for West, he gets a well spoken Uncle Tom that speaks to other black American's in a way that pretty much forces them to listen up. With Rubio, obviously the latino vote and FL would be a sure win for the GOP, plus, Rubio is articulate (Maybe even more so than Gingrich) on conservative principles, well spoken, and from what i can tell, bullet proof.


Tim-

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It would be foolish for Rubio to accept if offered and West is too abrasive.

I would look for Rubio to be a major presidential contender in 2016. Having the media gunning him down for a longshot VP run would be foolish for him to accept.

Newt would not tolerate anybody as VP who hewould perceived as a political threat - that translates into anybody who has future presidential aspirations.

Zyphlin said:

Part one - Personal: Who could Newt Gingrich bring on as a VP that would make you either get fully on board with his nomination (if you already support him) or would make you at least give a further serious consideration of voting for Newt (if you're currently on the fence or against)?

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I don't think anyone exists that could get me to vote for Newt. I find the man to be a despicable waste of human flesh.

While I normally don't place personal character above political views, his character is so interwoven into his political views that you cannot separate the two. Morally speaking, I cannot willingly assist the career of a man I find despicable on all levels.

I'd be tempted to say Huntsman in this, but even with Huntsman as his VP, I couldn't stomach voting for a piece of **** like Newt.

Part two - General: What VP candidates do you think Newt could bring on that would seriously and realistically help his chances to win in the general, and why do you think that? What benefit would the individual have to a ticket and what would their purpose be?

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As much as I'd like to see huntsman on a ticket, I don't think he'd work on a Gingrich ticket. Frankly, I don't think that Newt has much of a chance getting many blue dog and independent votes. Huntsman would appeal to those types more than "the base". But if Newt gets the nomination, there's a pretty good chance that most independents just say "**** it" and don't vote at all when faced with two terrible choices like that. The "lesser of two evils" issue is almost completely nullified in a Newt v. Obama race.

So if he gets the nod, he needs to pick a VP candidate that's not obviously worse than him (no Palin, no Cain, no Bachman). Quite frankly, they frighten people who aren't hardcore social conservatives. Ron Paul is actually an intriguing option. He could actually get a fair amount of independents on board the Newter Scooter, but Paul might terrify many with more traditional political views who might have voted for Newt otherwise.

Christie is out for reasons explained by others (Christie's absolutely right about Newt, which ****s Newt because he could certainly use a guy like Christie).

Ultimately, Newt's best hope if he won the nomination would be to ask Romney to be his VP.

Although my personal belief is that if Newt gets the nomination, Obama gets re-elected. The only hope for the GOP there is that an Obama re-election might pave the way for a Christie/Huntsman or Huntsman/Christie ticket in 2016.

LuckyDan said:

Gingrich may well look outside the mainstream, or even outside the party, for a running mate. What's Sam Nunn doing these days?

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Doesn't matter, the Constitution stipulates they have to be from different states. Not that it stopped Bush & Cheney.

Hicup said:

With Rubio, obviously the latino vote and FL would be a sure win for the GOP, plus, Rubio is articulate (Maybe even more so than Gingrich) on conservative principles, well spoken, and from what i can tell, bullet proof.

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But if you're looking geographically, Rubio makes no sense for Newt. Georgia and Florida are right next to each other. I don't know that Gingrich needs help on the right anyway. He's managing to market himself as the Conservative alternative to Romney. If he can pull off the nomination, Conservatives will vote for him. (Of course most Conservatives would vote for a bag of sweaty jockstraps over Obama...).

Huntsman would be a very odd choice. More of a slap in the face to the right. He'd be a better Secretary of State anyway -- no role in social policy, experience as a diplomat, and speaks Chinese.

Jan Brewer? She'd look great to anti-immigration folks.

rocket88 said:

Doesn't matter, the Constitution stipulates they have to be from different states. Not that it stopped Bush & Cheney.

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... What do you mean? Bush was born in Connecticut and lived in Texas. Cheney's from Wyoming.

rocket88 said:

But if you're looking geographically, Rubio makes no sense for Newt. Georgia and Florida are right next to each other. I don't know that Gingrich needs help on the right anyway. He's managing to market himself as the Conservative alternative to Romney. If he can pull off the nomination, Conservatives will vote for him. (Of course most Conservatives would vote for a bag of sweaty jockstraps over Obama...).

Huntsman would be a very odd choice. More of a slap in the face to the right. He'd be a better Secretary of State anyway -- no role in social policy, experience as a diplomat, and speaks Chinese.

Jan Brewer? She'd look great to anti-immigration folks.

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I could definitely see Brewer as a possible choice. A woman from a Western state who helps Gingrich look more conservative on immigration, which people see him as being soft.

Viktyr Korimir said:

... What do you mean? Bush was born in Connecticut and lived in Texas. Cheney's from Wyoming.

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Before the election, Cheney lived in Texas (while working for Halliburton). He only "moved back to Wyoming" after being picked as the VP so they could technically comply with the Constitution.

Gary said:

The best ticket for Newt Gingrich would be some popular woman from the west, midwest or northeast to attract the women vote. Someone like a Nancy Snow in the northeast and I have to look around to find someone else in the other areas. It has to be someone better than Palin, but hopefully young and attractive. That way when he starts poking her after his third wife comes down with a terrible disease, we can all say, you can always count on Newt to be consistent.

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Susan Collins - Maine. Moderate GOP, well respected, solid record of being able to work in bipartisan environment - might keep moderates from staying home or voting Dem this year.

Gary said:

That way when he starts poking her after his third wife comes down with a terrible desease, we can all say, you can always count on Newt to be consistent.

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Some VPs have complained that the President ****ed them. I always thought of it figuratively though.

rocket88 said:

Before the election, Cheney lived in Texas (while working for Halliburton). He only "moved back to Wyoming" after being picked as the VP so they could technically comply with the Constitution.

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And here's how he got picked for the veep:

poweRob said:

And here's how he got picked for the veep:

Fast forward to 2000, Cheney conveniently picked himself for the office after he was named to head the search team to find a Vice President for Bush's ticket. And there was a lot of controversy about how that all went down.

The news in my book about this process is that Cheney never filled out his own questionnaire; that the heart surgeon who vouched for his health never met him or looked at his records; and that Bush and Cheney never interviewed anyone for the job until Cheney already had it nailed.​

linkypoo...

Also in the NYT​

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Meh, what's done is done. Bush picked his guy, whatever the process. I really don't care how the choice was arrived at. It's not like they subverted any laws about how you're supposed to pick your running mate.

rocket88 said:

Meh, what's done is done. Bush picked his guy, whatever the process. I really don't care how the choice was arrived at. It's not like they subverted any laws about how you're supposed to pick your running mate.

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You're right, but it does shed light on the ego of the man.