Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, a leading conservative in the upper chamber, continues to say that he will not run for president in 2012. But what about the veep slot? In an interview with National Review Online, DeMint says that he has little interest in being No. 2 on the GOP ticket next year.
“I have no interest in that,” DeMint says. To the potential nominee, he adds, “I would recommend against it. I am more of a change agent than a supporting actor.” Besides, he notes with a self-deprecating chuckle, “somebody would have to be pretty desperate to do that.”
UPDATE: Just to be clear, in case you’re reading the Huffington Post, the senator joked that “somebody would have to be pretty desperate” to pick him, not to be the veep. That’s why I used the phrase “self-deprecating chuckle.”
How about less of the fantasy baseball, and more talking about the here and now?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDemint would seem to be a strange choice for VP. The job involves being a helpful team player behind the scenes, someone who will voice any concerns privately but fall in line publicly. That's not really Demint's style, which is precisely why he is admired by Republicans.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt seems likely right now that the GOP nomination will go to a more moderate, establishment Republican (Romney, Pawlenty, Daniels, etc). That means the nominee will have a tough job in his VP pick -- selecting someone who will shore up his conservative credentials without frightening independent voters. In other words, the nominee will want to have someone to produce Palin's effect on conservatives, but not Palin's effect on independents.
None of the more right-wing candidates seem like they would be broadly acceptable to independent voters. Santorum and Bachmann, for example, could both be huge liabilities for a GOP nominee, and add to a perception that the person was an extremist. But how about Bobby Jindal? Jindal was many Republicans' dream candidate until his response to the State of the Union suggested he wasn't ready for prime time. But the man is young, energetic, conservative, and a racial minority. At the same time, he does not seem as likely to scare independent voters, since he is generally more sunny and friendly than some of the more aggressive Tea Party Republicans. Just because his SOTU response suggested he was not ready to be a presidential nominee does not mean he is unprepared for the less intense VP role. Additionally, Jindal might actually take a job, which would allow him to improve his tarnished image and gain national name recognition for a presidential run of his own.
Anyone else have any suggestions on someone who would help the GOP nominee thread the needle?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI don't know who I'm supporting but will say I'm very impressed with Michele Bachmann lately. Seen her on a number of interviews (Today, MSNBC type shows) and she comes across to me as a very well composed intelligent individual. Very unlike the MSM's portrayal of her as some sort of unhinged kook. I think she's a serious thinker. To me, she holds up a little better than Palin does under the fire of the liberal media (though I admire Palin as well). In any case, I wish there was some pushback on allowing the MSM to control the narrative on her.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAaron, I agree about Bachmann, from what I have seen so far. (And another distinction from Palin is that Bachmann doesn't have a distracting family, so far as we know.) I'm glad she's apparently running, and I look forward to learning more about her. She'll skew the debates in a good direction regardless. What doesn't help is that conservatives even here seem ready to accept the image of Bachmann that the media are encouraging. Ask for evidence that Bachmann is inadequate, and there isn't much, but some people want to be sure they're on the cool side from the get-go. Or so it seems to me.
PennYankee, I think Jindal is the obvious VP pick, no matter who is the nominee -- for all the reasons you suggest, plus the fact that he is really, really smart and already quite experienced.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis is hilariously transparent, nobly declining a position there was zero chance he was ever going to be offered!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFold, he was asked the question; what can he do other than answer "no"? That is, apart from acknowledging precisely what you say he ought to acknowledge -- i.e., that he isn't likely to be asked. What more do you want from him?
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