Posted on 02/06/2008 3:54:39 PM PST by Jim Robinson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE 020607-01
CONTACT: Joshua W. Jones
Draft Haley Barbour for Vice President
(678) 207-6723 (mobile)
josh@drafthaley.com
SUPER TUESDAY SHOWS NEED FOR SOUTHERN CONSERVATIVE ON TICKET
Committee launches formal campaign to gain VP nod for beloved Mississippi Governor
ATLANTA – With John McCain as the predicted GOP front-runner, people are beginning to speculate on his running mate. Pundits agree that if McCain secures the nomination, he will need a strong conservative in the Deep South. Draft Haley Barbour for Vice President, an Atlanta-based committee, has launched an online petition to engage conservative Americans in a push for the GOP nominee to select Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi, as his running mate.
"Governor Barbour has the mass appeal needed to help the GOP nominee carry not only the south but the traditional conservative base," said Joshua W. Jones, chairman of the Draft Haley for Vice President committee. "He doesn't risk polarizing the constituency like other candidates being discussed by the political pundits."
Yesterday, exit polls revealed that voters in both parties favor economy as the most important issue facing the country, an idea that has been reinforced by a turbulent day on Wall Street and in stock markets worldwide.
"Governor Haley Barbour is a proven economic leader," Jones said. "In spite of the nations largest national disaster, he has pulled Mississippi out of a $720 million budget deficit to a $246 million surplus, decreased Medicaid rolls to less than 600,000 and created more than 38,000 jobs—all without raising taxes."
When Hurricane Katrina struck, Governor Barbour took the lead early on and worked with local, state and national leadership to tap into many resources of assistance for victims of the hurricane. For his leadership, Barbour was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award, which is presented by the bipartisan American Legislative Exchange Council to a nationally recognized leader who has an extraordinary record of successfully advancing Jefferson's principles.
"For more than a decade, Governor Barbour has fought to defend conservative values, to maintain freedom and to honor faith," Jones said. "As true conservatives, we want to make our voices heard by drafting Haley Barbour as America's next vice president."
The committee has produced its first TV spot highlighting Barbour's qualifications, which they expect to air later this month.
To sign the petition in support, view the TV spot or learn more about the Draft Haley movement, visit http://www.DraftHaley.com
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-- Joshua W. Jones 678/207-6723 (mobile) joshuawjones@gmail.com
I would think any conservative that signs on to be Juan McCain’s VP will be signing his/her own electoral death warrant.
Does Haley believe the gov can control the weather, or the earths’ temperature?
If not, he cannot run with McCain.
Jim, I like Haley, and think he would make a good choice to help heal the party. I wonder if he would accept the invitation.
No conservative will salvage the McCain nomination. McCain cannot be trusted. His carbon tax will finish the Republican party, whether he wins or loses, but maybe that’s what he wanted.
No. Mississippi will already go Republican. We need to have someone who can bring another state.
Haley Barbour will make McCain a lot more acceptable to many conservatives.
If McCain chooses Bloomberg (as the NY Post article speculates), McCain will lose.
A young Haley Barbour VP ready to take the helm may be very tempting when coupled with an old President John McCain.
If there’s one guy who always seems to have the best interests of the party at heart, it’s HB.
I think the fix is in, and Huckabee with be McCain’s Veep in exchange for tipping his delegation to McCain.
The WV shenanegans suggest this to be the case, and despite only being identifiably conservative on life issues and the 2nd Amendment, Hucakbee seems to have as much appeal to Southern voters as a real conservative.
Of course, I could be wrong, McCain might decide he needs a real conservative in hope of reassuring the Republican base.
Huckabee has done well in many southern states, not just his home state of Arkansas.
Haley Barbour (without all of Huck's baggage) should do even better.
Mississippi ping
Someone as conservative as Gov. Barbour should not be wasted on someone as liberal as Juan McCain. Perhaps McCain should ask Gavin Newsom to run for VP so can seal up that left coast liberal vote.
I think he'll pick someone from the Midwest, maybe upper-Midwest. Think Pawlenty of Minnesota, or someone similar. He needs to put all of these states into play. I'm thinking of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. Michigan might be a stretch. We really need to hold Ohio, but even that looks almost impossible now.
McCain will do will in the South, or not, on his own reputation. I don't think it matters a whit who his running mate will be to most southerners, and I'm from Texas.
Barbour has a future unless he becomes the errand boy for McCain.
Why would any self-respecting Southern Democrat deal with or run with McCain? You’d be the candidate who couldn’t pull the South.
McCain loses no matter who the VP is.
Prepare for Deathknell 2008
Doubtful. McCain doesn't owe conservatives anything. He never advanced any conservative causes in Congress. He didn't need them to get to the front of the pack. Why should he look for conservative help now?
That's Hugh Hewitt's fave.
Maybe we could start a website to raise money for my idea ....
www.CigarettesForMcCain.com
In that case, I nominate Texas Gov. Rick Perry....
Barbour is much too Conservative for McCainiac. My bet is Juan will go with Lindsey Gramnasty. Graham wouldn’t be a threat to him, whereas Barbour would. I’d hate to see Barbour throw away his future.
Wouldn’t Haley as VP be the silver lining? McCain is old and sick.
Exactly, Barbour is smarter.
Just so that I'm clear on your point. Are you calling Hailey a democrat?
Jason Lewis, who subs for Rush a lot, is from Minnesota. Says Pawlenty has gone way left, especially on climate change.
I don’t know why Hewitt is so enamored of him.
LLS
The whole premise is false. If going into the general election a candidate has to choose a running mate in order to shore up his own party, then he is a sure looser. Running mates should expand the party’s appeal, not patch up breaches in the dyke.
LOL, thanks for catching that.
Read as, “why would any self-respecting Southern Republican...”
I like Haley, alot ... I worked to get him elected the last year that I lived in Mississippi. If he were to accept to run with John McCain, most of my respect for Haley would be gone. I say that we hold Barbour in reserve to give it a run of his very own, or at least on the ticket with a decent conservative.
If Barry Obama is the Dim’s man then maybe we ought to counter with Michael Steele.
Now I’m going to have to find someone else to flame.
There a quite a few governors I'd like to see become the VP. Sanford from SC would be someone else I'd really be able to back. But if you're smart, and from the South (but I repeat myself), you'd never take McCain's offer.
You'd find yourself in front of the press corps, defending "admininstration policy", and therefore supporting all kinds of taxes in support of global warming fixes, explaining why you can't support tax cuts for the rich, why shutting Guantanamo is the right thing to do, etc. etc. etc.
And after 4-8 years of those sound bites are plastered all over the national press, the nightly news, and YouTube, how do you go out and campaign as a conservative again?
Anyone looking to run as a life-long conservative wouldn't be caught dead supporting the McCain or Hillary administration. McCain will be trying to capture all the undecideds, middle-of-the-roaders, the few Zell Miller democrats still living (maybe about 50?) and all moderates. With those guys, plus about 20% of the conservatives that can convince themselves to hold their nose and actually cast a vote for McCain, he thinks he can win it all.
I think he needs to rethink his strategy. Whatever he says tomorrow at the CPAC (accronym??) will be very interesting. He'll grab a decent chunk of the conservatives if he's good, or PO them off to the last one.
“Think Pawlenty of Minnesota”
He’s been auditioning for the part for quite some time. Moving closer to McCain’s positions on many things. He may be out of the running seeing that Romney beat McCain here last night 42-22. Pawlenty and Coleman both threw their weight behind McCain and it didn’t get him much.
Kennedy/Johnson? Reagan/Bush (Reagan was throwing a bone to the party's country club wing)??
Would it be unsporting of me to say “Draft Haley and pray for a McCain health crisis before November?”
Steele is too good for McCain. If Gavin Newsom is unavailable... maybe Jon Corzine or Eliot Spitzer might be willing to join McCain.
Unless McLame promises to *RESIGN* on day one, there’s no *POINT*.
We need a *CONSERVATIVE* at the *TOP* of the ticket. I’m not going to *DESTROY* my own party by supporting RINO McLame.
He wants to finish the job here in MS first.
Besides he needs the big chair, not the runner up slot.
See the tag and my post from earlier today.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1965814/posts
As much as I like Haley, his position on illegal immigration has not been looked at closely.
Write them back and tell the “HECK NO!”
Use stronger language at your discretion. No way we waste Haley on McLame.
Cede this election and then bring on Barbour/Watts 2008!!!
THAT is an idea I could get behind.
As for McCain, let him take someone we don’t need over the cliff with him.
I could dig that too, though I doubt TPTB have remotely that much sense.
J.C. Watts.
Steele is gonna have to get elected governor or Senator or something first. I’d think a young man like Watts (or Steele) can survive being on a losing ticket better than Barbour could so I’m not as worried about JC running with McLame....but I just don’t think Steele will be taken seriously on the national stage yet.
That said - it works better - MUCH better - to go with JC or Steele if HILLARY is the nominee than if Obama is.
If it’s Obama the press will call it naked pandering and dismiss whoever it is as a token. OTOH, if It’s Hillary, nominating an attractive young black man in the very same election cycle that the Dem nominee has massively alienated the black voter would be genius.
McCain doesn't have much love in his heart for evangelical Christians as evidenced by SC 2000. I think McCain will go to Charlie Crist, governor of FL for his southern strategy. Of all the southern states, FL is a must win for the GOP.
Putting a conservative on the ticket with any of these guys in the who cares spot, is not going to help at this point. I mean really we all know exactly how much influence he will have in real life......none.
Haley Barbour wouldn’t be a bad choice at all.
HB would be great, but I think it’s very likely that McCain would pick Lindsay Graham. Graham is his sidekick, is attached at the hip in pictures I’ve seen of McCain on TV tonight, and is a southerner.
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