It is official; Rep. Mike Pence will not seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012
Mike Pence’s Facebook page: Friends and Supporters,
Over the past few months, my family and I have been grateful for the encouragement we have received to consider other opportunities to serve our state and our nation in the years ahead.
We have been especially humbled by the confidence and support of those who believe we should pursue the presidency, but after much deliberation and prayer, we believe our calling is closer to home.
The highest office I will ever hold is husband and father. As a family, we feel led to devote this time in our lives to continuing to serve the people of Indiana in some way.
In the choice between seeking national office and serving Indiana in some capacity, we choose Indiana. We will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012. [MORE]
On the down side, this means one less true conservative candidate to choose from in 2012. On the up side, in the event Obama is reelected, Mike Pence will be an even stronger candidate in 2016.
The chief executive experience gained by being a governor is nothing to sneeze at. For the last two years we have witness firsthand what happens when someone tries to run this nation without it. The GOP has some great new faces (e.g. Allen West, Marco Rubio, Michele Bachmann, Paul Ryan, etc) but they too could benefit from a stint as governor before seeking the Big Chair.
Posts
12 comments:
I am very sadden by this.
I truly hope that I am wrong, but I think this is the signal that Obama will be re-elected. There is no one else that can bridge establishment and grassroot republicans.
We will be a house divided in 12. Too bad I don't live in Indiana.
JACG:
Stiff upper lip JACG! While there may not be a candidate to bridge grassroots and establishment republicans, there still is the option that a combination ticket could accomplish the same thing. E.g. Palin/ Romney or Cain/ Pawlenty. You get the picture.
The key here is that conservatives must rally around a single candidate early before the establishment can. Otherwise, we will have a repeat of 2008 with a RINO at the top of the ticket and a conservative in the second seat.
I can't be completely sad about this as I currently live in IN. Really hope Mr. Pence runs for governor. And although I think he would have made a good president now, he will make an even better one later.
dittos on welcome back...
as usual great selection of topics, welcome insights
per your response to jacg - yes, + who knows what circumstances will unfold and who will step into the fray
your observations on experience are "spot on" (ref sp's wtf commentary), but another bho term is a very high price - i'll take a truly principled conservative (if there are any, not always so clear) over most any other qualification
in the mean time, if we are having fun with "ticket soup":
palin/west, pawlenty/west...
I have no love for established Republicans. I know there is a lot of support for other Republican candidates that have "played the game", but I don't want that kind of insider to be the next POTUS.
The only people that I see in the 2012 race are (in any combination P/VP):
West, Christie, Ryan, Rubio [in that order]
There are many more that can be considered, and are well received by conservatives; however, they are too tainted by the media and so the uninformed independents (which decide elections- according to Medved, and agreed) will allow Obama a 2nd disastrous term.
Briarhopper:
You are going to be very fortunate if Pence wins the governorship. I completely agree that after a stint as governor, he will be an even better candidate.
Too many of the GOP's new stars are lacking in Chief Executive experience. I hope all of them will consider Pence's move at some point.
Win or lose in 2012, we need to upgrade our presidential candidates for 2016 and beyond.
BD:
Thank you, it feels good to be back.
I am starting to see too many conservatives looking at 2012 in terms of the political landscape today. We still have over a year and a half to go, anything can happen. We will have to make our decisions based on the realities of next year. Furthermore, we must address our party's deficientcies (messaging and unity) now rather than later.
Until then you are correct a healthy game of "ticket soup" will get us ready when the time comes.
Ozzie:
I too am not supporting any of the establishment Republicans. I believe if one of them were to win the White House, we would have Obama's second term in slow motion.
That being said, I think you should tweek your list. There is pretty much zero chance of Rubio or West running. They just got elected and unlike Obama, there will be no media support to catipult them to national stardom. As per Chris Christie, from my view here in NJ, he is starting to look more and more like an establishment Republican. Consider him with caution.
I'm watching this guy. He looks very promising. I haven't been able to find any red flags yet, if there are any.
Herman Cain's Presidential Exploratory Committee:
http://www.hermancain.com/
SB Smith
TX
SB Smith:
I like Herman Cain too (and for obvious reasons as well). My only misgiving would be no experience running government.
Also, watch how the establishment treats Cain as his campaign rises. Cain, like Palin is a complete outsider, so as his campaign gains credibility, I suspect the establishment will show him as much disdain as they do Palin. This is because for the establishment it isn't about beating Obama, it is about holding on to power and clout.
But Cain does have business experience that blows Obama out of the water. Oh, I'm not so sure about the media. It might even confuse the hell out of them and the liberals because if Cain is the Republican candidate, then both candidates will be black.
I think that would take race totally out of the equation. Who are they going to call racist, Then ?
I'm gonna hope for the best for now. At this point I wouldn't even try to guess who the Republican candidate will turn out to be.
SB Smith
TX
Clifton, glad you are back! Governor Perry hasn't been mentioned by anyone that I'm aware of....solidly conservative.
Post a Comment