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Potential #2′s: Bob McDonnell

By: Bethany (Diary)  |  May 19th, 2012 at 04:04 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Speculation concerning Mitt Romney’s choice of a running mate is beginning to pick up as of late, with a handful of names being consistently mentioned.  Marco Rubio, Rob Portman, Paul Ryan, and Kelly Ayotte seem to be the names I hear the most.  Personally, I believe there are better choices than any of these people.  While I am a huge supporter of some of them, I think we need them in the House and Senate to keep strong members there.  Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has barely been mentioned as a potential #2, but I think he would be a great choice.

Bob McDonnell was elected in 2009 to be Virginia’s 71st governor.  Prior to that he served 21 years in the Army, both in active duty and reserves, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.  His father was a soldier before him, and his oldest daughter served as a U.S. Army Officer and is an Iraq War veteran.

McDonnell went on to serve as Attorney General of Virginia, where 92 of his 105 legislative proposals passed– most with bipartisan support.  Also during his tenure as Attorney General, he helped initiate the toughest laws on sexual predators in the country.

During his time as Governor of Virginia McDonnell’s record is remarkable.  He has proven that he is not afraid to go against the status quo and pass laws that may not be popular with the establishment.  The most recent law he signed that sparked tremendous outrage from the pro-choice community was a bill that requires a woman to receive an ultrasound of her unborn child before having an abortion.

Governor McDonnell comes from a state that may be critical in November.  His record is consistently conservative.  He is unashamed of going against the status quo.  He does not denounce social values.  He has southern appeal.  I think Governor McDonnell would be an excellent choice for Romney’s running mate.  Romney’s vice-presidential “search team” certainly has their work cut out for them!

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  • mikeymike143

    after looking at how motivated the conservative/tea party base was to work for mourdock’s win in indiana, i think this may be a real smart choice for the romney camp.

    • http://nextgenerationvoters.com Bethany

      But I don’t think he’s the only good choice out there. On my blog I’m going through the records of the names I’ve heard for possible VPs, and I’ve been cross-posting most of the articles here as well. :) I still hope it’s DeMint! McDonnell is 4th or 5th on my personal list.

  • Scope

    at RS when McDonnell refused to sign the ultrasound bill, until some of his amendments were included. His amendment was to add that any ultrasounds were to be made “optional” and did not “require” an ultrasound be viewed before an abortion.

    You’ve missed the fact that McDonnell has signed onto “off coast wind energy farms.”

    You missed that McDonnell signed an EO stating that all VA Gov. vehicles must be switched to “alternative fuels” and, stated that he awaits the day when he sees vehicles driving down the road are powered by solar power.

    You have missed the fact that Gov. McDonnell sits atop the fence, and blows in the direction of the winds. Gov. McDonnell, also known here in the state as Gov. Bob I’m available McDonnell has tried his dangdest to be selected as the VP pick, and has staddled every issue in that effort. McDonnell has not been a “leader” he has been a man who will do whatever he needs to do to gain his next political position.

    Oh, and, he made that backroom deal with the current State Lt. Gov. back in the last election to jump ahead of his next in line position, in exchange for supporting the current Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. Fortunately, Bolling has slim chances of winning the Gov. position, even with McDonnell’s endorsement.

    No, no. McDonnell would be a terrible choice for Romney. Romney needs a strong conservative, who has displayed a strong backbone, and McDonnell is not that person.

    • conservativerock5

      Its against party rules and his personal convictions.

      • gekster

        Miss Cleo or chrystal balls.

        • conservativerock5

          independents.

          So they say.

          • gekster

            I’d just as soon wait and see.
            But you should point out the difference between fact and opinion.

            Your entry looked as if posting a fact, and only Romney knows who he is thinking of at this time.

          • conservativerock5

            lol

      • acat

        Or, put another way, who do you wish he would pick?

        Mew

        • conservativerock5

          Jim Jordan

          • acat

            Paul Ryan or Marco Rubio also work.

            Don’t know enough about Jim Jordan. He looks good – on paper – but D.C. is lousy with paper tigers.

            Mew

          • commonsenseobserver

            He’d be Dan Quayle 2, only less experienced, and from a swing state.

          • acat

            thus rendering it not-a-swing-state, thus the value of the pick.

            Further, I don’t think Rubio would be “Dan Quayle”. Rubio is a far better speaker, and would not likely let Romney define him down, the way Quayle let Bush 1.0 rewrite him without a way to hit back.

            Better, Florida’s governor is a Republican, so we don’t “lose” a seat.

            Mew

          • commonsenseobserver

            It’d be a disaster both for campaigning and governing. Romney cannot afford to choose such an inexperienced Veep.

            And he does not really have a power base in either the Tea Party (because of those budget votes) or the party establishment, which means he appeals to neither and cannot effectively unify them.

            But I doubt he’s interested.

    • http://nextgenerationvoters.com Bethany

      So I guess I did miss it. I didn’t see any of what you mentioned when I was going through his record, so I’ll have to go back and look around some more. Btw, I don’t agree with his endorsement of Bill Bolling– I love Ken Cuccinelli!
      I’ll definitely look through his record a little more. I was just posting what I found. I’ve never heard of any of what you said (except the ultrasound bill issue) and until I find otherwise I think he could be a wise choice– he’s definitely not the best choice, but I think he’d be better than someone like Rob Portman. One of many qualities I feel we need in a VP is someone who can energize the grassroots folks like Sarah Palin did– love her or not, she could energize any crowd. Mitt Romney can’t.

    • keepcoolwithcoolidge

      about the ultrasound thing? Government healthcare mandates are bad right? How would his signing a bill increasing the power of the government over a private matter be conservative?

  • acat

    If he’s running as a native son of Utah, then McDonnell makes an amount of sense.

    If he’s running as a Michiganer, McDonnell is still an adequate – but not inspiring – choice.

    If he’s running as the former Governor of Massachusetts .. two Atlantic States that are also two of the Original 13 ..? Pushing it…

    That, plus Scope’s objections above, and McDonnell looks like a “maybe if nobody else wants it”. Nor does McDonnell have Tea Party cred….

    Mew

  • westcoastpatriette

    he would cast all caution to the wind and pick an exciting newer face to run on the ticket exactly like McCain did with Palin. He nearly destroyed enthusiasm with his vicious campaign style and choosing someone that would excite the base is exactly what he needs to do although I doubt that he will. I fully expect him to become Mr. Vanilla from here on out in an attempt to please the middle and prevent making commitments to conservatives or risking how they may offend independents. If he does otherwise I will be pleasantly surprised.

    • acat

      Unlike McCain, he’s bringing the heat…. McCain never “hit” Obama on anything, Palin was the only excitement in the pile of wet mush that was the McCain campaign.

      Romney has been hitting Obama – hard – on fiscal stuff, while proxies (including Moe Lane, Red State, Ace of Spades, Drudge, the guys at Breitbart and Powerline, etc.) hit Obama on everything else. Note how fast the “His publicist says he’s Kenyan” meme shot around the world, eh?

      I think Romney picks someone unexpected, but not a “nobody”… and he really needs someone who brings the social conservatives and values-voters folks completely on board without pissing off too many of the libertarians.

      Mew

      • westcoastpatriette

        when I think maybe he will fight, he pulls back and shows that mushy side. Like just a couple days ago when he repudiated one of the superpacs that was going to go after Jeremiah Wright — reminded me exactly of McCain’s timidity in his campaign. McCain thought he was portraying noble character when he refused to go on the attack but, instead, it just made him look weak. And subduing Palin destroyed all the momentum she brought to the race for him. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

        • commonsenseobserver

          Though it certainly achieved its intended effect by being blasted by the media.

          But I think that Lugar’s defeat shows us that negative ads focusing on personal matters tend to backfire, expecially for pols viewed as “statesmen”, which is what McCain was probably worried about.

          I do believe, however, that in terms of attacking Obama’s record, his campaign is doing fine.

          I’m more worried about this statement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ6wF7PTyEY&feature=g-all-u

        • acat

          and McCain in general.

          I *think* Romney is calibrated a little soft; although I’d personally like to see him hit a *lot* harder, he does have to avoid giving Obama a base-rallying issue.

          The thing is, the GOP nom isn’t the “bat man”… Romney doesn’t have to lay Obama out, nor club him until he goes down. That’s the role of the proxies. (think Swift Boat Veterans)

          Romney’s role is to be “the alternative (now with new hope)” to Obama.

          McCain didn’t have enough allies to do any hitting…. Romney seems to have plenty willing to take up bats. McCain didn’t present an appealing alternative – it was like comparing arugula (ugh) with plain oatmeal (also ugh)…

          I don’t like Romney, and I don’t particularly care about his veep choice. I’m watching who goes in the cabinet. (Vice Presidency is worth a pitcher of warm {spit} – John Nance Garner) That said, I’d vote for a ticket of Romney/Santorum .. and walk over heated broken glass to do it.

          Mew

          • westcoastpatriette

            vanilla ice cream is way better than arsenic any day.

        • Dave_A

          They aren’t controlled by any candidate or candidate’s campaign…

          We’ll still see ads of all kinds that are not endorsed – or are even disavowed – by the Romney campaign…

          The Dems have the in-pocket money advantage, but the GOP balances it with much greater SuperPAC support…

          It’s going to be an even-fight money-wise, which is good for Mitt because he should be able to do at least a little targeted carpet-bombing, ala FLA vs Newt….

    • commonsenseobserver

      But that doesn’t mean that it must be an expected pick. Someone like Fred Thompson, Jim Jordan or Jon Kyl, for example, would actually be quite a prudent pick.

      • PowerToThePeople

        but I believe whoever he picks must, and I repeat must, bring something more to the table than just conservative values.

        As much as dislike Palin in politics, now now no one write hate posts as I love here as an instigator and pundit, she was the reason life was breathed into the dead McCain campaign. Whoever Romney picks will need to be someone with the ability to bring fire to the base, not back off the squishes, and have serious name recognition not just in name but in politics as well.

        I just do not see any of your examples having those attributes other than conservatism.

        • commonsenseobserver

          As a moderate Republican. But I believe that DeMint would fit the role just well. Though few politicians are actually charismatic…

          • PowerToThePeople

            would be not only a great choice but a great VP as well, but I do not see DeMint being interested in that especially since he has stated he is retiring after this term from politics.

          • mikeymike143

            he wouldnt turn down an appeal to his patriotism. and a southern conservative as VP gives great balance to a ticket with a moderate northerner on top.

            and he is the one of the main reasons that we now have people like mike lee, pat toomey, jerry moran, ron johnson and marco rubio in the senate.

          • PowerToThePeople

            to be president from a ton of people including one from his longest/greatest friend and close confidant so why would he now want to take second fiddle?

            I would love for him to stay in politics and even be VP since that could mean a run for president after Romney’s term expires as I think he would go down as one of the most conservative presidents ever, but he has made very clear that in 16, he is done with politics and going back to civilian life. Being a SC resident, him leaving makes me worry that another Inglis type will take his place and we will end up losing a very solid conservative voice and that is why many of us in the republican party here have been encouraging Duncan to be ready to step up to the plate.

          • Dave_A

            And he was perhaps our best VP in modern history….

          • PowerToThePeople

            not even in the same ballpark of comparisons. DeMint could stay in office for the rest of his life if he wanted to or even move into the Gov mansion, he is simply done with politics and wants to go back to normal life. Considering the differences in stress level from Congress vs presidential office, I do not see Jim wanting to make the move since his focus will be on normalcy.