Why don't you float out the big spending CINO Duncan Hunter as potential candidate in '12. He did such a great job last time.
Posted on 12/02/2010 7:47:53 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Though Pence says he won’t decide on whether or not to run for president until next year, conservative leaders I spoke to were equally as bullish on Pence.
Chris Chocola, president of the powerful fiscally conservative Club for Growth tells me Pence may benefit from being less well known, and less of a lighting rod than Palin. He also notes that “[Pence's] conservative credentials are really unquestionable.”
“[Pence] appeals to every group that Palin appeals to — and probably a little more,” says Chocola.
“Pence is Palin with gravitas. Pence is Palin with experience,” adds Brent Bozell, chairman of For America.
Regarding experience, FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey says of Pence: “He’s been a rock solid fiscal conservative, showing up not only for the high profile TARP and ObamaCare battles, but also championing issues that are maybe less glamorous politically, but are critically important for our country, such as fundamental tax reform, specifically the flat tax.”
I’ve written about this a bit before. The guy who’s usually mentioned as the threat to Palin is Huckabee, of course, because they’d compete for social conservatives. But establishment Republicans dislike Huck almost as much as they do Sarahcuda, as he’s ever eager to remind us. So imagine for a moment that you’re Karl Rove, nervously weighing the possibility that one of those two will be the nominee. You can try to head them off by pushing Romney or Daniels or Thune, but then you run the risk of a pure “centrists vs. the base” primary — and because the base tends to be more motivated to turn out, they’d have the upper hand. The alternative is to try to coopt part of the base by backing a compromise candidate instead, someone who might be more fiscally and/or socially conservative than the establishment would prefer but who would peel off base voters from Huck and Palin and would stand a better chance of appealing to centrists against Obama. That’s Pence. He’s got 10 years of legislative experience, he’s deeply respected by fiscal cons and social cons, he gives a good speech, and he’s less ostentatious about “values” than Huckabee is so he runs a smaller risk of alienating moderates in the general election.
What he doesn’t have is name recognition, and he’ll need to catch up on that in a hurry to have a serious chance against Palin and/or Huck. Which makes me wonder if, in the next few months, we aren’t about to see a serious public pro-Pence push among people like Rove and other GOP chieftains. I’ve been assuming that we’d see that on Daniels’s behalf, but between his gaffes about calling a truce on social issues and the calculus I described above about needing base voters to win, maybe Beltway types will give up on him as a lost cause and back Pence, the other Hoosier, instead. The big question is whether he’s willing to run for president now or if, as rumored, he’s thinking of running for governor first with an eye to 2016. He’d be a formidable candidate then too, especially with some executive experience under his belt: None of the obvious contenders — Christie, Rubio, Jindal — are especially closely identified with social conservatism, so Pence could clean up. Still, that’s a tougher field than 2012 would be, so maybe GOP insiders could persuade him to go for the big prize now by promising to back him. Honestly wouldn’t surprise me. Exit question: Would it work?
Update: A commenter reminds me that Palin said she won’t run if no other satisfactorily conservative candidate steps up. Well, by virtually any measure, Pence would qualify as satisfactory. Is that reason enough for the establishment to try to push him into the race — to call Palin’s bluff on that promise?
For the vast wasteland of Americans with their heads in the sand, they will say “Mike Penny? Who is Mike Penny?” They won’t even get his name right.
Right?—you stupid Alaskan voters who wrote down “Murcky” on their ballot.
RE: “Experience” in what?
Short answer: Not governing but legislating.
Pence has been in Congress for 10 years and has been a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs for a long time.
In 2008, he was elected by his GOP colleagues to become the Republican Conference Chairman, the third-highest-ranking Republican leadership position.
I'm sick to death of 'conservatives' running right of center in the primaries and even the general elections and then being the syncophants of the MSM and bureaucracy. Even Reagan got sucked in, with Nancy's help, in his 2nd term.
Give me the guy or gal who when elected our enemies say
"OH S#)p" And when a public service union illegally strikes, fires them all. Where, oh where is the leader with a spine??
Yeah, you're right. She's a closet Libtard, Rove-loving Bush-bot, who would sell out to those greedy oil corporations, and nominate a Harry Paulson's son to be Treasury Sec.
RE: Sarah has been vetted by many freepers. She ain’t a conservative.
Can you please cite a few of her policy statements and/or her decisions as governor or mayor that show that ( as you put it ), She ain’t a conservative?
Who is this Mike Pence guy?
Why don't you float out the big spending CINO Duncan Hunter as potential candidate in '12. He did such a great job last time.
I like Pence.
He represented a “district”, not a State. “Legislating” does not give you experience in managing, delegating, and making executive decisions that have impact and consequences that make you individually responsible - and provide a track-record from which to judge your competence. Casting a “vote” is the highlight of your responsibility in the House and Senate.
pence has very presidential hair, but i would prefer he run for governor. we’re gonna need a true conservative in that office when mitch leaves.
If he wants to run, there will be no stopping him, and I fully understand your point. I have always hoped he would take-down Senator Lugar in 2012 and perhaps that’s his aim.
His other aim might be governor of his state, but there’s a chance that his winning of the straw poll at the Value’s summit fed his ego, so if he decides to run for the GOP nomination, I say, welcome to the race!
I like what I’ve heard about Pence, but frankly he’s not at all well known. And being a congressman is not a good place to jump from into the presidential races.
Let him run for governor first, and maybe he can be groomed for a future run. He has no executive experience running anything.
This wall is not real because I say so ... bonk!
This wall is not real because I say so ... bonk!
This wall is not real because I say so ... bonk!
This wall is not real because I say so ... bonk!
“I like Pence.”
I like them both. No need to pit one against the other, but I can understand why some might, including Lewis.
A threat though?
No way. He'll get as much of the primary vote as Hunter did in 2008, he's a freaking congresscritter.
Pence is a good conservative and congressman. We know he is a good legislature but who knows what kind of an administrator he would make. He either needs to stay in the House and fight the battle there or run for Governor of Indiana and prove he has what it takes to be president. In this case, Palin has more “gravitas” to be president.
I also really like Sarah....but am very impressed with Mike Pence.
I have been watching him more and more....as has my husband. We think this guy is quite good.
It’s still early....but, so far, he has taken the lead for us....as far as examining possible candidates in greater detail.
Legislature= legislator
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