If Hillary Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, most Republicans are aware of the problems we could face with female voters. Many women would like nothing more than to break through that final glass ceiling. In order to win the next election, the Republican nominee does not have to win the female vote, but he can’t lose it by a landslide either. That is why it might be a smart move for our nominee to select a female running mate. This way the country would be breaking through a glass ceiling regardless of which party wins, and it could partially neutralize Hillary’s advantage among women. If you feel women are underrepresented in politics but don’t want to vote for Hillary, you can vote for the first female vice-president instead.
Some people on this board have suggested Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. She is an impressive woman who has taken on outrageous spending in Alaska and would be very appealing to conservatives, but she is still very inexperienced. She has been Governor less than a year. A better choice for VP would be Elizabeth Dole. She has served in two different cabinet positions under two different Presidents. She was Secretary of Transportation under Reagan and Secretary of Labor under Bush 41. As Secretary of Transportation, she was instrumental in getting automobile makers to put airbags in cars, something which saved my life one time. I was once in an accident and would be dead had it not been for an airbag. She was head of the American Red Cross for eight years.
I know many conservatives roll their eyes upon mention of either of the Doles, but perception is very often different from reality. Mrs. Dole’s lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union for her years in the Senate is 91. By comparison, Fred Thompson’s is only 86, and John McCain’s is only 83. She is only 3 points lower than Sam Brownback’s 94. She has a lifetime rating of zero from NARAL. She has a grade of A from the NRA. She even was one of only 29 Senators to vote against the children’s health insurance bill that the President recently vetoed. On more than one occasion, I have said something nice about her to another Republican only to hear them grumble, “She’s not a real conservative.” If a 91 from the American Conservative Union and an A from the NRA is not a “real conservative”, then what is? Yes, she did make some comments suggesting gun restrictions when running in 2000, but I try to look more at someone’s voting record than at a few statements taken out of context.
The Vice-Presidential candidate typically takes on the role of hatchet-man (or woman). This could be hard for Dole since she has kind of a syrupy persona, but she could attack Hillary in a way a male candidate couldn’t. She is up for re-election to the Senate next year, so we would need to find a strong GOP candidate to replace her there. She is getting on in years (now 71) but still looks for youthful. Because of her age, she would probably not be the best choice for John McCain who also has his vulnerabilities on age. She would probably not be the best choice for Thompson either, who is from next-door Tennessee. She would be a pretty ideal pick for Romney or Giuliani though. If either of them are the nominee, I would hope they would at least give her some consideration.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Except…Elizabeth Dole is a pretty poor speaker, a Republican Senator in trouble in the South, and by all accounts completely botched the 2006 election. I’m not saying that she isn’t qualified, but…I think Mark Sanford would be a better asset to the Giuliani campaign.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Great post Clarence. It’s fun to speculate about these kind of choices.
If the Republican nominee decides that being female is a requisite for the Veep slot, allow me to suggest Rep. Heather Wilson.
She is a distinguished veteran and a Rhodes Scholar. She has been able to craft an image of herself as a non-partisan problem solver, when she in fact votes in step with the party over 90% of the time.
And as a bonus, she is one of the best debaters out there. Want your Veep to go on the offense for you on the campaign trail? Wilson is perfect.
She totally, utterly, and completely destroys her debate opponents. She pwned Pat Madrid in their 2006 debates. I mean to the point were Madrid lost the faculty of speech on live TV.
I am going to try to find the YouTube clip on it.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Liz Dole pretty much got elected on her celebrity status (not yet in rehab stage, mind you), she is a terrible politician. Remember how well she did as head of the NRSC? The GOP lost 6 out of the 7 competitive races. Plus, she would probably be replaced by a Democrat.
All other prominent Republican women, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Condoleeza Rice, Lisa Murkowski, are pro-choice, so it’s unlikely that either Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney will pick them.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:26 am
I’m sorry, but Sen. Dole’s tenure as chair of the NRSC was an unmitigated disaster. If it was any indication of her political acumen, she is a “not ready for prime time” player. Which also jibes with her failure to generate any momentum despite some promising early buzz in the 2000 cycle.
Sen. Dole’s a solid Senate vote. Let’s encourage her to remain there.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Elizabeth Dole was SO UNIMPRESSIVE last year as chair of the the nrsc. She was horrible at debates on teh sunday morning shows and did a all around horrible job. she couldn’t get senators to donate money and she was a horrible leader.
please don’t pick her. she can’t speak articulately and is horrible at debating.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Awakened,
She won’t be replaced by a Democrat. The NC Democratic Party has been searching for people who will just contest her election. They’ve tried Governors, Lt. Governor, State Attorney General, State Senators, and Congressional representatives. They are now searching through State Legislators.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Picking a woman for VP JUST because she’s a woman doesn’t make sense at all.
Who would want a potential President Liz Dole?
October 4th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I actually agree with Kavon that Heather Wilson would be the ideal VP if you’re going to pander to women voters.
I’m not sure we need to pander here.
Will non-liberal women voters will relate to Hillary in a positive way?
The media will be spinning but Hillary’s shrillness always shines through.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, pro-life. Currently supporting Mitt but could be an option for Rudy at the right time.
I always thought Rudy wanted to choose a woman. I think he’d love to choose a CEO. He needs to choose someone pro-life. She is all the above. But she is not Southern (to my knowledge), and that may be essential.
Didn’t realize Kay Bailey Hutchison is pro-choice. So is Shelley Moore Capito of WV.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Doesn’t anybody remember that VP’s are potential Presidents and likely successors?
WHAT’S so great about a President Dole or a President Hutchinson?
October 4th, 2007 at 9:54 am
You know…from a pure electability standpoint a smart move might be Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio. The guy was immensely popular as mayor of Cleveland and and governor of Ohio.
Now the gun lobby won’t like him and he’s not as strong on taxes as I would like, but if we are looking to hold OH – this guy might be able to do it.
Thoughts?
October 4th, 2007 at 9:58 am
“most Republicans are aware of the problems we could face with female voters. ”
If women are more inclined to vote for their own sex as implied, then why would women vote for a female veep verses the top of the ticket?
If I’m a woman and if getting a woman to the presidency is #1 on my priority list, then there is little chance that I’d vote for some damn man at the top of the ticket (even with a female veep) when I could vote for a sister to rule!
I’m hopeful that the agenda drives a persons vote, not race or sex of the candidate.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Awakened, why do you think it’s important for Giuliani to pick a pro-lifer for VP? I thought you said we had nowhere else to go.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:08 am
CWPete, I know voting based on gender is not an ideal way to vote. It is not how I vote. However, people are like that. I’m not talking about women who already have firm ideologies. I’m talking about Independent women who don’t understand the issues and can go either way. If we have a GOP ticket of two men, they would probably vote for Hillary to break the glass ceiling. If the GOP has a female veep, they might feel they’d be getting a woman in a powerful position either way, so they wouldn’t feel compelled to vote for Hillary.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Voinovich probably won’t win re-election to his Senate sit, even if he runs. He is NOT a VEEP candidate.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Elizabeth Dole: wonderful lady, but would be nothing more than a symbolic choice if selected as VP. Need someone with more of a future, LIKE Sarah Palin, or, what about Karen Hughes??
October 4th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Palin is too inexperienced, and Hughes is tied to Bush. I think Bush will be remembered fondly in ten years, but he is not popular now. I do like the idea of Voinovich though. If we don’t pick a woman, we should pick someone who gives us a state.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Clarence Claus: ‘Awakened, why do you think it’s important for Giuliani to pick a pro-lifer for VP? I thought you said we had nowhere else to go.’
You don’t. However, a pro-life vice president is necessary to prevent extreme pro-lifers from going irrational on us – I mean, even more so than usual.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:24 am
If you’re looking for a veep to “balance” a ticket, and want that person to be a woman, a conservative nominee could do a lot worse than Gov. Jodi Rell of Connecticut. I’m sure most of the commenters here would call her a RINO (pro-choice, pro-gun control), but she’d appeal to a lot of blue-state moderate republicans and independents that have been deserting the party over the past couple of years.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:26 am
JohioW,
Why do you think he’ll lose? He’s not up till 2010. He won’t have the albatross named George Bush hanging around his neck. He won 64 % of the vote in 2004. Mind you I’m not saying you’re wrong just that I don’t know enough about him. But why not go with Voinovich?
October 4th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Heather Wilson – - wow – - excellent idea. She even LOOKS presidential.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Big S,
Problem is that if the nominee is Giuliani he is going to need to go with someone not from the Northeast. Giuliani is already more centrist on social issues than any GOP candidate in recent history (and I say this as a supporter). And I think most people really would say she is too liberal. I think Rell would be a tough sell.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Jodi Rell looks good too – - has that “my favorite aunt” kinda look.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Heather Wilson – - BRILLIANT choice (I know, I already said that…but I am intrigued)
October 4th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Adam,
I wouldn’t expect Giuliani to pick Rell, since they’re both “liberal” Republicans, but like I said, a more conservative nominee could get away with it and in doing so try to prevent the GOP from being marginalized as too southern and too conservative for independent voters in the other half of the country.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:37 am
If Liddy Dole was the nominee, there will have been a Dole or Bush on every GOP ticket for the last 32 years. Ford/Dole, Reagan/Bush, Reagan/Bush, Bush/Quayle, Bush/Quayle, Dole/Kemp, Bush/Cheney, Bush/Cheney, Giuliani/Dole(?).
Not a good way to combat a Clinton dynasty by presenting one of your own.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:37 am
Heather Wilson is a Congresswoman who BARELY got re-elected last year!
And I have a question:
ARE THERE REALLY NO MEN QUALIFIED ENOUGH TO BE VP?
http://www.newyorkforhucakbee.blogspot.com
October 4th, 2007 at 10:47 am
I’m aware that women do not always back other women. Particularly unlikeable ones.
October 4th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Awakened, can you blame pro-lifers for not voting for your guy when you have so little respect for us that you call us “irrational”?
October 4th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Peter: ‘ARE THERE REALLY NO MEN QUALIFIED ENOUGH TO BE VP?’
Yeah, because you certainly don’t want a female VP. Women are unfit to be vice president. No wonder you support Huckabee, if you’re that reactionary.
October 4th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Clarence Claus: ‘Awakened, can you blame pro-lifers for not voting for your guy when you have so little respect for us that you call us “irrationalâ€?’
Actually, yes. I’m not asking you to vote for me, after all. Hell, I’m not asking you anything at all. The Republican primary voters might just select Giuliani, and then you will be faced with a choice between Clinton and Giuliani. It’s up to you who gets elected. If you want 3 more Supreme Court-appointments by Clinton, by all means, be my guest.
Furthermore, I want to note that I didn’t call you all irrational, just the extreme ones.
October 4th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Awakened,
Gender shouldn’t have anything to do with picking a VP.
Let’s just not go picking a woman just because Hillary will be running.
http://www.newyorkforhuckabee.blogspot.com
October 4th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I would be surprised if Wilson does not pursue the retiring Domenici’s Senate seat.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Peter: ‘Gender shouldn’t have anything to do with picking a VP.’
Excuse me, but I heard your rather desperate cry. You were saying that women shouldn’t be picked as long as there are qualified men.
October 4th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Awakened, some extreme pro-lifers are irrational, but many extreme pro-choicers are also irrational. Let’s not forget that. As far as judges, I’m not sure Giuliani would be that much better on judges than Hillary. Republicans are not always better than Democrats. For example, David Souter and John Paul Stevens were appointed by GOP Presidents but are MORE liberal than the two judges Bill Clinton appointed. Secondly, Clinton and Giuliani may not be the only two choices on the ballot next November. Thirdly, there are some issues where Hillary is actually to Giuliani’s right. On the issue of divorce for example, Hillary is more of a traditionalist than Rudy is. Giuliani is more conservative on fiscal issues though. He is probably more conservative than her overall, but if Hillary does win, it is not the end of the world. We survived 8 years of her husband. We can survive 4 years of her. Hopefully Romney will be the nominee and this will all be a moot point though.
October 4th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
peter, Valerie Wilson may have barely won re-election like you said, but she did so during a democratic sweep everywhere else in the country…… remember??? Hmmmm…..
October 4th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Heather you mean…
October 4th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Okay…I’m obviously a little biased on this one…but here are a few thoughts on Dole and the Veep position in general:
I think a woman veep would be great, but I’m not into affirmative action on a national ticket. Dole is a good Senator, but I don’t see her as a potential president, and I think we need to move toward a younger nominee for 2016. This same argument also applies to KB Hutchison.
As passionate as I am about the need to bring women and minority candidates to the forefront in the GOP, gender and ethnicity can’t be your only considerations. I would much prefer to support an up-and-coming solid conservative who happened to be a white male (Eric Cantor, Jim DeMint) than I would to support an aging establishment politician who happened to be a woman or minority (Liddy Dole, Mel Martinez).
Now, I’ll try to keep my Palin comments to a minimum, but since Clarence Claus mentioned her I’ll respond:
I know Gov. Palin hasn’t been in office that long, but she’s more executive experience than meets the eye, and NOBODY can seem to come up with any argument against nominating her other than time in office and the fact that she’s from Alaska….which to me are very flimsy arguments. She’s everything that most Republicans want in a VP and she’s racking up an impressive list of accomplishments at breakneck pace. I don;t see why she should not be under serious consideration.
October 4th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
[...] Claus makes the case: Some people on this board have suggested Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. She is an impressive [...]
October 4th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Can’t say I’m surprised…
Wilson angles to replace Domenici
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=6D2D86E3-3048-5C12-007FD18443737C80
October 5th, 2007 at 6:53 am
Don’t forget that Wilson is going to vote to override Bush’s veto of SCHIP and will be therefore in opposition to most presidential candidates who supported the veto.