World class bigot Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was granted an audience with Mitt Romney — or was it the other way around? — recently and Perkins gave him a short list of potential vice presidential nominees that he would find suitably crazy for his tastes:
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins urged Mitt Romney in a private meeting yesterday to select a running mate who has been outspoken against abortion.
“My encouragement to him on a pro-life running mate isn’t just somebody who has checked the box [on opposing abortion rights] but somebody who has a portfolio of support on the culture of life,” Perkins said in a telephone interview. Perkins said he told Romney that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell would all be good picks, but also raised the prospect of firebrand freshman Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.).
Oh please, please, please pick Allen West. That would be so much fun. West or Michele Bachmann as the VP nominee might be proof that God exists, loves me and wants me to be amused for the next few months.
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theschwa
July 20, 2012 at 12:14 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
(* note: “culture of life” does not include opposing capital punishment, war, torture, or “death to the gays” bills in Africa)
StevoR
July 20, 2012 at 12:15 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
But what if the Romney-West ticket somehow wins?
Michael Heath
July 20, 2012 at 12:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The entire world could be going down in flames and we’d still see conservative Christians using abortion as the primary litmus test. This of course makes them perfect dupes for the plutocratic class, regardless of what else the plutocratic class proposes – like ignoring the debt, avoiding mitigation on climate change, and economic stagnation. Point these Christians toward someone to hate, e.g., gays, liberals, atheists, black people, Muslims, scientists, and increasingly it seems – sane people; now you’ve got a fired-up base.
slc1
July 20, 2012 at 12:20 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hey, how about Louie Gohmert? Now there’s a nutcase who is the equal of West.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/louie-gohmert-aurora-shootings_n_1689099.html?1342794304
eric
July 20, 2012 at 12:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Lets assume Romney wins. I am not sure the GOP gains by removing Jindal or McDonnell as sitting governor and having them in the VP spot instead. Could be that the Dems gain from such a move, if they can take the governorship of the state.
My guess is Mitt goes with someone who is not such a powerful asset in the position he (or she) currently occupies.
slc1
July 20, 2012 at 12:41 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Re eric @ #5
McDonnell is term limited as governors in Virginia can’t run for reelection and his term is up next year (local and state elections are in odd numbered years).
abb3w
July 20, 2012 at 12:44 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
T-Paw seems a plausible possibility, if he’s willing to be Veep in this train wreck of a campaign.
dingojack
July 20, 2012 at 12:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
OT ALERT… OT ALERT…
Michael Heath – when you speak of conservatism is this the kind of thing that you are thinking of? (I linked to it rather than posting it because it’s seriously TL;DR)
Curiously
Dingo
daved
July 20, 2012 at 12:56 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I figure Pawlenty is also a more likely candidate than Portman (the other reported leading candidate), unless Portman’s Senate seat is favored to be retained by another Republican in an election to replace him. Or would he be replaced by someone the governor of Ohio picks? That gov is a Republican.
Portman is actually a college classmate of mine, but I don’t think I knew him back then.
baal
July 20, 2012 at 1:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Are any of the 6 swing State governor rabid enough for the tea party and yet not Rep. West level nutty?
I don’t think the undecided (putative election outcome determiners) would like any of the named folks above.
My crystal ball (and we know how well magic works) suggests Romney will go with the most boring person he can find. The risk of being outshone is too high.
TGAP Dad
July 20, 2012 at 1:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
…or Herman Cain, from the capital of Ubecky-becky-becky-stan-stan!
gesres
July 20, 2012 at 1:46 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
No, no, no, your assumption is that people wouldn’t vote for a ticket with these lunatics. They would.
Chiroptera
July 20, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
gesres, #12:
I agree. I don’t know why McCain wasn’t elected in 2008, but judging from past elections, it most certainly was not because Palin was too stupid.
daved
July 20, 2012 at 1:57 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I would think it was a factor, though. I mean, if you’re on the fence, trying to pick between Obama and McCain (probably because you’re not that happy about either one of them), and you see McCain has picked some dingbat as his running mate, that could sway your opinion of his judgement.
I’m sure the pollsters analyzed this to death in 2008, but I no longer recall. I try not to think about Palin too much. The only thing that redeemed her was that she made such great comic fodder for Tina Fey.
d cwilson
July 20, 2012 at 2:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
He can have Corbett if he wants, his done enough damage to PA. I think Governor Gollum down in Florida is rabid enough.
But from the names leaked, other than Allen West, it looks like Romney may be going for bland rather than a bomb thrower. That makes sense. McCain learned the hard way that you don’t want a running mate who will hog the spotlight.
West, though, would be an interesting choice. Romney’s already gone full southern strategy and attacked Obama for being “foreign”. I can see him picking West to shield him from accusations that he’s appealing to racism.
d cwilson
July 20, 2012 at 2:12 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
McCain had an uphill battle from day one. Given how much the public was soured on Bush, any republican would have. He decided to roll the dice on somebody who was outside the norm and would excite the base. I wouldn’t say Palin cost him the election, but she didn’t help it either.
Subtract Hominem
July 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
baal, #10
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who opted not to run to keep her seat this year?
I don’t know. It seems unlikely that the base (or al qaeda, for those playing along in Arabic) would go for a New England moderate backing up someone they see as a New England moderate.
lorn
July 20, 2012 at 2:41 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Alan West would be a Godsend for comedy writers and bloggers looking for easy material.
But we have been down this road before. When Reagan ran pretty much all the sane people thought he was a crock and would be a disaster for the country. A few of them opined that the American people would quickly see through the patriotic but affable uncle act and there was no chance he would get elected.
Dan Quail was so widely seen as brainless that it was said his selection as VP the presidential candidate inept. Certainly the American people wouldn’t be that gullible.
Then came the W.Bush, who was more suited for organizing a kegger tan running a country. Again, this would be the time the American people would see through the good-ol-boy act and demand better.
The GOP keeps doubling down with more extreme brain-dead ideologues and feckless good-ol-boys and the Democrats tell us that this will be the time when the American people show their maturity by going for the adult with some skills as a statesman. And every time they are given the option the American citizenry picks the ruthless ideologue with the aww-shucks presentation.
What if the American people really don’t have a gag reflex. What if their intestinal fortitude really is limitless. What if Romney/West team got into office and West, or Backmann was head of the senate. Funny at first but sad and tragic in the longer run. And what if Mittens suffered a core failure, I don’t think they make parts for that model any more? President West!?!? Yes ,it would be funny in a tragic/comedy sort of way, to watch from a safe distance, Australia might not be far enough away.
Be careful what you wish for.
d cwilson
July 20, 2012 at 2:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Subtract Hominem:
Snowe is too moderate. This is the needle Romney has to thread. He can’t pick a running mate who is regarded as a “rino” and an apostate to the conservative religion. On the other hand, he can’t pick someone so batshit crazy that they alienate moderates.
longstreet63
July 20, 2012 at 2:44 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Maybe Romney could just appoint Dick Cheney to find somebody.
jnorris
July 20, 2012 at 5:15 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Lorn @ #18 said it best. I too want a VP who can actually be a good president. Reagan’s pick of George Senior was the last time the GOP picked a good VP. A rMoney win would be bad enough with important positions filled by former Bush Lite personnel but if the VP is a Tea Party joke, we’re in real trouble.
Michael Heath
July 20, 2012 at 7:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
jnorris writes:
In hindsight few credible analysts would argue with you, but in the summer of 2000, Dick Cheney was also considered every bit as worthy a pick as Reagan’s George H.W. Bush pick with one exception; Cheney’s not being a capable successor as a future presidential candidate given his age and health. The sea change in Cheney after the inauguration and especially 9/11 surprised even his close political allies who’d long known him.
Barton Gellman’s Angler does a great job revealing how this transformation took place.
slc1
July 20, 2012 at 10:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Re Michael Heath @ #22
Cheney was 60 at the time so his age by itself was not a factor (Romney is 65, McCain was 72 when he was nominated in 2008. Heath’s hero, Ronald Reagan was 69 in 1980). It was his health that disqualified him from running for president.
According to Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s aide, Cheney became terrified after 9/11, seeing homicide bombers everywhere, including under the bed. This accounted for the apparent change in his personality that occurred after that date.