Pence is going to have a tough time in the primaries. He has Palin, Huckabee, and Daniels to deal with. I think that if Pence runs, then Palin will decline to run and back Pence. That should make things a bit easier. But, Huckabee could stop any traction Pence might get in Iowa or South Carolina as Huckabee trys to “Out Christian” the field.

I like Pence. Unlike another high profile IN politican, Pence considers social issues and fiscal issues to be important.

I just don’t see Pence not running for governor in Indiana. He’s a young guy, relatively, and House members just don’t win.

I agree, however, that he’s an ideal candidate for this cycle.

I saw him speak at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Dinner, In Des Moines in August, and will say I was impressed with Pence, and grateful for the Congressman Latham to give me the opportunity to go and sit with him at his table. But having said that he is a member of the house meaning his chances are less than 1%. He should Run for governor of Indiana, but he is an idiot if he even tries to run for President. Although he did make a great number of friends at the IFFC Dinner. His speech was defiantly a vote stealer from Huckabee.

is currently my 1st choice. I will not list others who are acceptable as I don’t want to steer the discussion away from Mike.

Just a comment on the “Out Christian” concept. I have been an observor of GOP Presidential campaigns since 1976 or so. Presidential candidates do not have to try “Out Christian” eachother. My expirence has been that Christian voters , like myself, are immune to efforts to candidates to appeal to us on the basis of their Faith. What impacts us is how their faith impacts their life. That helps us-especially in the South-feel comfortable with a candidate.

For instance if a candidate has been through several bitter Marital breakups or if as a parent they faced the illness of a child. Or if they have had a lifetime of devotion to a particular church. Its also how they speak and what words they use.

As I listen to how a candidate speaks I listen for things. If someone says “we are lucky to be Americans” I cringe. I can’t help it as I believe we are blessed by God’s Providence. This is the type of stuff that can’t be faked-you can’t focus group it-there is a way about someone who has had Jesus Christ change their hearts.

for “Imprimus” earlier in the year and, I have to be honest with you, I had my eyes opened big time! He may not have the blow to the solar plexus that Sarah Palin has but he’s got everything else. I would even go so far as to say it was a “presidential” article. Filled with history and written in a very eloquent style. I like him and would have no problem whatsoever casting a vote for him should he decide to run. He may be one of the dark horses that has been mentioned many times here at Redstate.

candidates in the since of who I think would do the job the best are both in the house…Pence and Ryan. But they both have such a huge hill to climb.

Pence is fascinating because he could do well in both.

Assuming Huckabee and Palin both run in Iowa, Pence is about the only dark horse I can see throwing up a surprise. If he did pull an upset by finishing second or better, he would become the potential anti-Romney candidate in New Hampshire. Huckabee and Palin both want to show the establishment what’s what, and anyone who thinks either of that pair isn’t running is kidding himself.

I think if Pence does not run, New Hampshire is going to be the place where the next nominee is spotted. Huckabee and Palin both will be challenged to win in places like Pennsylvania and California and New York. They could do it, but an establishment candidate is going to be better positioned to win delegates in blue and purple states.That favors Romney or an anti-Romney who can wipe out Mitt in New Hampshire using the healthcare and flip-flop issues. Though I don’t like him because of his weak foreign policy and social policy positions, Daniels might do that. But so might John Bolton or even Rudy Giuliani (who has been making noises recently).

In any event, we’ll see how astute Pence is. 2012 is his best chance, notwithstanding all the blather about someone from the House being unable to win. He can win, he’s positioned himself adroitly to appeal to the Tea Party, and he matches up well against the leading contenders. With frankly smarter politicians like Rubio and Jindal and Paul Ryan gaining prominence in the years ahead, Pence’s window of opportunity will close fast. Moreover a stint as governor will gets his hands dirty in a manner bound to disappoint the ideological purists.

If Pence wants to be President, this is the time.

She’s been a mayor, governor, oil and gas comission appointee, VP candidate, etc. She made clear that she was a Republican first when the Tea Party was thinking about going third party, and endorsed establishment people such as McCain, Fiorina, and almost Norton. Unfortunately, her portrayal in the media (and, to be honest, her efforts to play to the populist side) have undermined that somewhat. And I think that the conservative grassroots will be much more powerful than the RINO establishment in 2012, due to reaction to Obama. Much like reaction to Carter gave us Reagan (who, last time I checked, was not liked very much at all by the establishment – didn’t he run against Bush?) I guess it all depends on the balance between establishment and grassroots; Pence just doesn’t excite me all that much.

I think he has a difficult road in a crowded field, but I look at Pence as having all the benefits of a Palin without the personality issues that could cloud a battle of ideas and ideology. I would say Pence has an even “more conservative” record than Palin (like opposing TARP) My issue with Palin is not that she’s “too conservative” it’s that I see it becoming an election about personalities.

Had Pence been smart, he would have stepped up to Evan Bayh and challenged him before Coates did. “Senator Pence” would have been a much better spot to have launched a Presidential campaign.

I would love to see somebody like Pence. As a center right Independent voter, what strikes me about Pence is that he is principled, but not polarizing (i.e. Palin). There is just something very authentic to the man and something very “common sense” to his political positions of smaller government.

If you want to non traditional candidates to stand a much better chance at succeeding in the primaries we need to support a change in debate structures.

It is absolutely sick that we allow the media to have so much influence on our primaries with questions like “Give me your 30 second answer to the economy” and “Raise your hand if you believe that global warming is an important issue and that it is man made.” That is an absolute joke designed to lower the value of the candidates themselves in the primary process and elevate the media personalities that act as the moderators. This isn’t American Idol here.

So us in the grassroots need to demand more power for the candidates and the party in setting debate structure and less power of the media in deciding debate structure because average GOP voters will better be able to decide who they want when they actually get to hear more from the candidates ideas and style instead of constantly being forced into talking in platitudes due to basic repetitive questions and a limited amount of time to answer.

He communicates conservative values in such a low-key, unassuming tone that it makes the listener feel crazy to disagree. It’s Zen-like and precisely what is needed.

The more I hear from Mike Pence the more I like him. It is great that even this far out, a congressman can be considered to have a shot. I sure hope he is given a fair shake come election time.

I like him very much. I believe his pattern has been to take the next step in his career deliberately and purposefully. I would be surprised to see him jump to a presidential run now. This is based on the history of his career path. If Congressman Pence makes the decision to run now, I believe it would be the result of an exhaustive study of the ramifications both pro and con and whether he felt he would make a positive difference in the trajectory of our nation even if he lost.

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Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

I wish people would start talking about her for President. She is the perfect candidate, wildly popular all across the nation, and one of the only ‘conservatives’ that has stood up on illegal immigration. The rest just pay lip service to securing the borders.

And Sherrif Joe would be a a shoe-in if he ran. He’s getting old though

I wish people would start talking about her for President. She is the perfect candidate, wildly popular all across the nation, and one of the only ‘conservatives’ that has stood up on illegal immigration. The rest just pay lip service to securing the borders.

And Sherrif Joe would be a a shoe-in if he ran. He’s getting old though

is a huge step in the right direction. He is fully aware that Smokefilled Backrooml DC business as usual deal Mitch made is a disaster for anyone desiring to run for the White House as a Repub.
Just as McAmnesty could not do it, neither can anyone who voted Yes on that Obama Tax Cut deal—the party loyalists will not stand by someone who lies to them–
Remember the ” No Unemployment extension not paid for” or “We will work to stop spending and lower the deficit” or the 35 Repub Senators who “Pledged” to not vote for any bill that had Earmarks/Pork in it. Well a Yes Vote on the Tax Extensions broke every “pledge” thses guys made.

Hope Pence does not get corrupted by these guys, but time will tell!

are the only small-government candidates who might run. Johnson has the best record of shrinking government of any candidate in the Republican primary, bar none. And, obviously, Ron Paul has been on the correct side of every issue since he entered congress over 20 years ago. There are no greater champions of freedom than these two men. And when I say freedom, I don’t mean “freedom in the areas I find politically acceptable” I mean _freedom_!!!

Many of Erick’s “frontrunners” talk a good game about small government at home, yet turn around and call for big government abroad in our empire. They do nothing about the confiscatory and unchecked Federal Reserve. Let’s stop these threats to liberty! They happen to be really expensive. We can do better by giving that wasted money back to the taxpayer.

I would back him in a heart beat….

He lacks serious administrative experience – I would certainly hope America has learned her lesson about hiring inexperienced Presidents after the Prancing Peacock. Pence should run for Governor or take a Cabinet department in the next Republican Administration to build his resume a bit before considering a run for the big job.

Ah, yes, the usual psycho libertine nuts like Ron Paul and Gary Johnson may run, and will be very popular among the tiny lunatic fringe that lives on such folly (there are apparently billions of nut cases on the interwebs willing to support the likes of those kooks, but most can’t manage to actually vote)

nt

Barbour is, as you note, acceptable to the establishment and the base: he was the establishment back when the establishment gave a frak about the principles they give lip service to now (RNC guy during the 1994 Contract with America). He has been involved in several national orgs, has apparently run his state successfully, and has extensive contacts as a result. As far as I know, he hasn’t alienated any significant constituent or voter group, and he has a potentially wide and deep donor base to tap into. He knows the ins and outs of national campaigns, and thus doesn’t have the same weakness of insularity that tend to hurt Govs. While I’m not sure I support him as my first choice quite yet (I’d like to see if he cut spending and taxes in addition to his excellent reforms), but he will be a strong contender in ’12, IMO.

Pence, Ryan, DeMint, and the other Congress kids mentioned ’round these parts are great — in Congress. Legislative jobs are radically different from executive positions, and the steep learning curve that would accompany a trip to the WH for any of those fine gentlemen would make implementing policy difficult, IMO. Moreover, we need as many seasoned (and proven) conservatives in Congress as possible: the new Tea Partiers need mentorship, and the (hopefully) Republican President in 2012 will need all the backup he can get to work out our budget issues.

Daniels, Christie*, Guiliani, and the rest of the strong purple/blue state execs set is made up of equally fantastic gents and executives: unfortunately, there are differences between themselves and social conservatives that make it unlikely that they would do well. Unfortunate, but c’est la vie.

Paul, Johnson, and the Great Libertarian Hopes: sorry libertarian-conservatives (all three of us! ), but it’s not going to fly. As anti-establishment as the mood is, drug legalization, the dismantling of extraneous federal government, and no intrastate federal regulation aren’t on the table: unfortunate, but Libertopia is not imminent (in part due to some libertarians’ too cool for school attitude). Neither is isolationist foreign policy (which is not quite so unfortunate).

McCrystal, Petraeus, and the Generals: fuhgeddaboudit.

Huck, Romney, Gingrich, and the rest of the Establishmentarian Sloppy Seconds (good prog rock album name, BTW): nope. Not going to happen. All have serious flaws that prevented them from winning the nomination last time around, and these flaws look even worse the second time around.

Palin: Not going to run — or if she does, it’ll be as a publicity stunt, and she will withdraw to endorse another conservative. She will be a kingmaker, though, and I can’t see her shifting her weight to the Generals or the Sloppy Seconds (interestingly, I could see her throwing her weight behind some of the purple/blue execs and even an outside chance of her endorsing one of the libertarians).

But I’d say that he needs to run for Governor or Senator, then get back to us in a few years.

To spur this much Discussion. And that someone reads my Work thank you all.

Bumnp J-Bush right a little,Thune and Daniels right a little more, Barbour left a little Romney left a llittle more still, Huckabee up a little, Gingrich down and left a little, Perry down a little, Palin down a lot, and what are you left with? Mike Pence exactly where you put him.

How long did you take in placing the names?

Frankly, I think Daniels will be just as good as Pence in many regards despite his opponents attempts to make him ONLY about his one statement on social truces.

The truth is that Daniels is one of the few if ONLY candidates who can say “I’ve made government smaller” and he has done so while improving it as well.

He’s also a rock solid conservative and would give us a whole generation of conservative judges.

Finally, he’s one of the few who I think has the guts to tackle entitlements.

How long did you take in placing the names?

Frankly, I think Daniels will be just as good as Pence in many regards despite his opponents attempts to make him ONLY about his one statement on social truces.

The truth is that Daniels is one of the few if ONLY candidates who can say “I’ve made government smaller” and he has done so while improving it as well.

He’s also a rock solid conservative and would give us a whole generation of conservative judges.

Finally, he’s one of the few who I think has the guts to tackle entitlements.

The problems for Pence are the following:

1) Palin may run and of course she’ll probably win if she does.
2) Pence does not have executive/leadership experience.
3) Pence’s TPM support may not be 100%on board just yet.

To win, here is what Pence MUST do:

1) Fight Obama and the Progressive Left EVERY DAMN DAY! This will show Sarah that he is BRAVE and not afraid and is the baddest *ss mofo out there and WILL go medieval on the Progressive Movement. If he can show that he can TAKE media attention away from Palin due to the increased FEAR in him by the Left, it will solidify him as the ANTI-OBAMA. He must be FULL-COURT PRESS fighting the Left with columns 4 times per week, speaking out against the enemy in Congress, interviews, visits to Iowa and New Hampshire.

2) BE SARAH’s CHAMPION! Only if he proves to her and the grassroots that he is both worthy and fearless and ready for the fight that will need a Lincolnesque strong leader to face the rioting of people in the cities and the intense LSM hatred that will pull off of Palin and go onto him. With her endorsement, he will run away with the GOP nomination. He’ll pick Rubio for his Veep and we win.

That is how you win if you are Mike Pence.

Basically, you do it by becoming the grassroots champion in place of Palin assuming she does not run.

Let’s see..Rahm Emmanuel gives big bucks to farmers. Farmers lobby Congress for Lame Duck windfall (because voters would throw them out if they did it BEFORE the election) and establishment give five billion in ethanol subsidies, is ramming WITH Republican support the Food Safety Bill, increase the estate tax to 35% over five million…so what we got for the THEFT was higher food prices, more inefficient planting, misdirection of investment, more pollution, more taxes, erosion of savings and investment and the elimination of the small farmer.

Yes, those establishment types are a cancer that needs to be irradicated in the primary.

Let’s see..Rahm Emmanuel gives big bucks to farmers. Farmers lobby Congress for Lame Duck windfall (because voters would throw them out if they did it BEFORE the election) and establishment give five billion in ethanol subsidies, is ramming WITH Republican support the Food Safety Bill, increase the estate tax to 35% over five million…so what we got for the THEFT was higher food prices, more inefficient planting, misdirection of investment, more pollution, more taxes, erosion of savings and investment and the elimination of the small farmer.

Yes, those establishment types are a cancer that needs to be irradicated in the primary.

Any analysis that ignores Mike Huckabee is flawed. Huckabee is a minister and there are strong elements within the groups that vote in Republican primaries that are in tune to someone like Huckabee. He won in Iowa (I think) with a small organization and no money because the Christian right wants a religious man/woman in the White House irregardless of his/qualifications and the more religious the better. Romney should have been the nominee in 2006. He is the best qualified person either party has had run since I can remember. He got knocked out of the race before he could put a stake in McCain’s cold heart by a preacher man by people voting for a strongly religious man who was running against a man who belongs to a religion most maintstream Christians do not like. As long as Iowa is the starting point Huckabee has a chance and will run over the Pences, Pawlentys, Daniels, etc. Huckabee will struggle against Romney and Palin if they are still in the race and have the money to overcome the religious factor. Pence, Daniels and Romney, one of them, should be the Republican candidate if Republicans have a brain, but I do not see it. Huckabee/Palin or Palin/Huckabee. God help us.

Her support of conservative candidates all across America!!!! After watching her television series, it is quite apparent that she is in love with Alaska and her way of life. Supporting individuals – and she has a pretty good batting average so far! – can be done from her home studio. I respect her immensely however her name is a magnet for the ‘elite’ in the media and in political circles. I would much rather she ‘keep on keeping on’ and Americans from coast to coast will benefit. If anyone is interested in Mike Pence, check out his article at Hillsdale.edu. He was the featured commentator in the November (I believe) Imprimis newsletter and his comments on what the presidency should be are much to be admired! And if he becomes president and wants a knowledgeable Secretary of Energy, then he can request Sarah Palin’s service. As a final thought, with today’s electronic world, I would like to see an END to Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina telling the rest of us who is going to be our presidential candidate!!!! Surely there could be a NATIONAL PRIMARY DAY where we could all have a say in this most important decision!