RNC: McCain Won’t Choose Abortion-Supporting Running Mate

FOXNEWS.com ^ | 8/19/08

[LdSentinal]

As speculation grows around who John McCain will select as his vice presidential running mate next week, Republican National Committee officials said Tuesday that McCain is no longer considering former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Several sources at the RNC told FOX News that in the last 36 hours, senior McCain advisers and aides have told RNC officials that McCain “got the message” last week that choosing a running mate who supports abortion rights would not be helpful.

GOP pundits had been vocal in urging the presumptive presidential nominee not to pick a running mate who supports abortion rights. Ridge, the first homeland security secretary, was said to be on McCain’s short list, and the only candidate who explicitly supports abortion rights.

The National Review reported Monday that the McCain campaign has been calling key state Republican officials around the country in recent days to weigh the consequences of picking a candidate who backs abortion rights. The conservative magazine interpreted that as a sign that the McCain campaign is seriously considering Ridge or another abortion rights defender.

“I think it’s a hard sell and I don’t see much upside to Tom Ridge except for John McCain likes him a lot,” National Review Editor Rich Lowry told Fox News Tuesday.

“I don’t think he’s going to be a big benefit in Pennsylvania and even if he is, I think the downside is the rest of the country among conservatives are going to be upset about this, just at the moment they’re beginning to work up being excited about John McCain. ”

Conservative commentator David Limbaugh went even further Tuesday, labeling a McCain-Ridge ticket “political suicide.”

[itsahoot]

Didn’t men complain about women voting for JFK because of his looks?? Didn’t some men say that this is why women should never have been given the right to vote?? hmmmm ;)

Yep, and I was one of them.

[bcsco]

In this day and age, why is abortion the number one concern for so many Republicans?

If you could do it, I'd suggest asking the infant that could have lived but wasn't wanted.

[wardaddy]

why the flying eff do we even have to have this “talk”....

geez...if you are danged pro-life then why the hell even float the possibility of a baby killer VP

especially when you are 72.....

[itsahoot]

Do we know she is pro-choice?

Yes we do know.

Pro-Abortion Republicans Organize, Fundraise in Maine Jul 31, 2008 ... Christie Todd Whitman. The national RLC organization partners with the pro-abortion groups Planned Parenthood Republicans for Choice, ...

[patriciaruth]

Just because someone can run a big U.S. company doesn’t mean they know diddly about geopolitics and can’t face down Putin.

[seekthetruth]

You are right, McCain has NOT said anything about choosing a pro-choice VP. It is the MSM naming “who” is on the long list and short list for VP....and that the list includes some who are pro-choice.

I believe after McCain’s statement at the forum he would not choose a pro-choice running mate! And glad to see the RNC saying the same!

[patriciaruth]

What does Palin know about geopolitics and staring down Putin?

The world is too dangerous to trust to simple kitchen common sense. You need in depth knowledge of the players and places and a lot of knowledge of world history.

[bcsco]

Pro-Abortion Republicans Organize, Fundraise in Maine Jul 31, 2008 ... Christie Todd Whitman.

This is NOT Christine Todd Whitman we're discussing. It's Meg Whitman, former CEO of EBay.

[cmsgop]

Whats with this Ohio Rally, could it be ,Wait For It..........

Rob Portman ???

[dforest]

I believe he will pick Huckabee. He gets the southern evangelical vote.

Please, I am not saying that Huck is who I would pick, but I just get this feeling.

[itsahoot]

My Bad, I guess. Never entered my thought process that he would consider a non politician.

[bcsco]

McCain has NOT said anything about choosing a pro-choice VP. It is the MSM naming “who” is on the long list and short list for VP

Nope. It's GOP delegates who've received calls from McCain staffers over the past couple weeks. They admitted as much on Rush's show today. So did the GOP today. Those calls go back before McCain's segment at Saddleback, and subsequent to it as well.

[bcsco]

You’re not alone in the error. But the social beliefs of Meg Whitman are still a mystery. I’d sure love it if someone had something definite one way or another.

[patriciaruth]

Condi was wishy washy at best on the abortion issue last I heard.

Also, she is welded at the hip with the Bush administration and that would be a constant distraction in a campaign.

The main problem with Condi is that she has no interest in running for office and having the media dissect her personal life and call her names 24/7.

[mountainfolk]

Here is another message for the RNC to deliver to John McCain. Senator Joe Lieberman is not a Republican. He is an Independent who still works mostly with the democrats. If Republicans are to be asked to support and finance the Republican party, we expect our candidates for Republican offices to be registered Republicans. Further, a half Republican, half hybrid democrat ticket means that the democrats own one and a half parties and Republicans have half of a party. Where in the world did the common sense of Republican party leaders go? I am not sure that John McCain is the real Lieberman VP pusher. Maybe this is all media hype. Whatever is going on, Republicans have carried this party up until now and we expect two Republicans to be on the Republican ticket in November.

[patriciaruth]

There was a time when I would have been strongly in favor of Romney as the VP choice, but now I see that too many in the American voting public can’t overcome their suspicions of him over his LDS faith and his political opportunism on the abortion issue.

He may get the nod by default, and he is better than some choices. But most of the pictures of him and McCain look like the odd couple and I’m not sure it would sell.

[Miss Didi]

Haven’t heard much about Thune since then.

Thune was part of the Senate Gang of Ten trying to make a back-door deal with the Dems against drilling...they were led by who else but Lindsey Grahamnesty.

[patriciaruth]

So tell me about the deal. Was it to get some of the Dems against drilling to change their minds?

[Miss Didi]

It is the MSM naming “who” is on the long list and short list for VP....and that the list includes some who are pro-choice.

I sound like a broken record today so I'll give the floor to Rush.

RUSH: I have been referring today to the possibility that Senator McCain would choose Senator Lieberman as vice president as perhaps floating a trial balloon. I have since been informed that it is far more than a trial balloon. Apparently, the McCain campaign is having delegates to the Republican convention polled on the issue of Lieberman on the ticket. Also, the highest-level donors, those who have given $2 million or more are getting calls from Carly Fiorina and Schmidt, the new guy brought in to run the campaign of Charlie Black. It's not a head fake, apparently, it's a serious float. McCain's trying to gauge, take the temperature of delegates to the convention and these high donors. (cont.)

Choose Wisely, Senator McCain

[arasina]

“How about Condi Rice?”

No thanks. It sounds like some Cajun dish with beans and crawdad tails.

LOL!