Erick,

As a Catholic Dem who opposes Roe v. Wade, and strictly adheres to faith within my family, I could not disagree with you more.

I have family in PA, IN, CO, and MI. All of us our Catholic and many of us are in the Dem party. HOWEVER, most of us voted for Reagan, Bush, and Bush again. Partly do to our faith, but also due to competence, clarity, and self-confidence of a Presidential Candidate.

Some of us are voting for John McCain, including me. Those in PA are on the fence–but will easily vote for McCain if Tom Ridge is selected.

How many Harvard grads were drafted in Vietnam and WENT to vietnam? I honestly only know one–Tom Ridge. I’ve met him once, and went out of my way to do so. Tom Ridge is Obama/Kaine Obama/Webb Obama/Biden Obama/Bayh ‘s worst nightmare. Sec. Ridge is calm, cool, and collective–something all the other aforementioned Dem VP candidates lack.

In other words, you are missing the big picture–which is why GHWB lost. When McCain and Ridge were together in PA last week, they were solid. From what I saw and heard from others, a McCain/Ridge ticket will take PA and OH in the Fall, imho.

Just my thoughts.

If that IS the case, can we hammer out what the new “X is the only thing that matters” is?

Is it abortion?

does better in the tingle factor- a lot of Republicans REALLY like him and his selection would highlight the far left tilt of the Dems- but his general liberalism may be a bridge too far. I could cross it, though.

I think it’s ill-advised to rule out a pick on abortion alone, provided that he/she takes pains to acknowledge Rudy-style that the GOP has a pro-life majority whose views he/she will respect.

At this point, I’m thinking whoever McCain does pick is first going to elicit a “Who?” response and raised eyebrow.

For me, beyond the issues, it’s about which potential VP could step in and be president, or, in four years, run as the GOP’s standard-bearer, should McCain decide to step down.

RedState wouldn’t drop McCain if he picked HFRC as his VP. You’re seriously trying to tell me that decades of stabbing conservatives in the back, with one McCain-’Random Liberal Democrat’ bill after another isn’t enough to ditch him, but a basically meaningless VP pick is?

Give me a break.

As much as I’ve had to be dragged kicking and screaming into voting for McCain, Lieberman is very close to the perfect pick. It establishes just exactly how far to the left the Democrats have moved, and unless the Senate is 50/50 there’s very little downside. The best thing is, in 4 or 8 years when McCain is done, there’s simply no way he’s the presumptive frontrunner. This gives conservatives a perfect opportunity to take back the party. An opportunity that would be much harder, if, say, the VP nominee was Lindsey Graham. And frankly much harder than if the VP was Mitt Romney.

Erick — I’m fairly disappointed that you say Redstate would likely sit it out.

That would seem to go against what this stands for which is electing Republicans. If you’re going to (rightfully) ban all the Paultards and Huckabots who show up to talk about we shouldn’t vote for McCain, doesn’t that put you right smack in the middle of them?

The only difference is that while they take McCain to task for one issue, you are saying that this is a deal breaker issue for you.

Believe me I’ve wrestled with the McCain/Fiorina and McCain/Huckabee scenarios and while I wouldn’t swerve the car if they were in the road, I will vote Republican in both those conditions.

Ridge is at least COMPETENT even if he’s pro-abort.

I think its a very good chance that it will be Ridge and I think that will win the election for McCain.

I’d prefer Palin though.

We all know I don’t like McCain. But one of Rummy’s rules applies here, you don’t fight with the army you want, you fight with the army you brought. For better or worse, John McCain is that army.

Now, let’s assume just for the sake of argument that John picks Joe as his running mate. What changes on the issues? McCain is still going to be the one appointing judges. We’ve all been told that’s one of the compelling reasons we all need to get out and vote for John McCain. Regardless of how far toward the center he picks, anyone he picks will be better than anyone Obama will pick.

How about the war? Nope, nothing changed either. It’s the one thing all us Republicans like about Lieberman: he’s on the correct side in the war.

Taxes? McCain-Lieberman will generate better tax laws than Obama-anybody. Still best to vote McCain there too.

Abortion? Okay, Joe is on the opposite side of the question, but so what? He won’t be the one making the decisions: McCain will. It’s one of the places where McCain and 85%+ of the Republican party agree. Legislatively it won’t matter much either. McCain won’t be able to push the kind of laws we’d be looking for past a Dem congress, and even if the Reps have a slight advantage, it still isn’t enough to overcome the filibuster. So nothing happens there. McCain still get to write the Executive orders and that’s the best we are going to manage.

The claimed potential downside is that voter enthusiasm will fall. Frankly, I don’t think it will fall any more than it already has with McCain as the Rep nominee. The evangelicals will grumble, but in the end, because McCain is against Roe, they will support him as much with Joe as his running mate as if he picked a pro-life governor.

Now what are the upsides?

First, and this is the one that keeps this story going, even on sites that aren’t stricken with MSM-syndrome, is that it would on a very practical level demonstrate a change from the partisan bickering we are all told is destroying the beltway. It would be a bi-partisan ticket. This is supposed to excite the Independent voters who are looking for people who can reach across the aisle to get things done in Washington.

Second, it creates excitement, and news coverage. Even the MSM won’t be able to ignore a Republican candidates choosing a life-long Democrat as his running mate. And one who really isn’t all that far from Obama on his non-war positions at that. That’s the kind of PR money can’t buy.

In short, if you buy the narrative that has been presented for the current election cycle, Joe Lieberman is the perfect running mate for John McCain. And not picking him only makes sense if you don’t buy the current narrative.

I didn’t discuss Ridge, because I don’t see him gaining McCain any of these advantages. He isn’t a Democrat, he isn’t a liberal, and much as it pains me to say it about the place I where I grew up, he isn’t a factor in PA politics (if he was, he’d be a senator instead of having been in charge of the Dept. of Homeland Security).

Well, let me rephrase that – I absolutely concur on the bad consequences, the OBVIOUSLY deal-breaking consequences of McCain picking a pro-abortion VP — including and especially that part about RedState sitting it out.

What I am not convinced of is anything related to McCain and his handlers being smart. My memory is filled with things that suggest otherwise — ‘we gotta do something about AGW’, ‘OK, I’ll build your GD fence’, McCain-Feingold’s massive success story in removing corruption from the election process [snark intentional], ‘big pharma is the enemy’….

Color me singularly unconvinced of McCain’s ability to do the right thing.

Maverick would still get my vote, but he’d have to work hard to regain my enthusiasm and volunteer eligibility.

Any decision to pick a pro abort will be the kiss of death. He will lose a large number of states as GOP voters stay at home or peel off to a third party candidate. Many southern states will be lost especially as Obama will benefit from a massive African American turn out.
He will destroy the party if he chooses Tom Ridge or Lieberman. Large numbers of Catholics and Evangelicals just are not prepared to accept a pro abort under any circumstances. There are some in the GOP floating Tom Ridges name working on the assumption that Catholics will vote for a McCain/Ridge ticket because Ridge is a Catholic. Forget it. Ridge is at odds with Catholic teaching on abortion consequently he will frighten off millions of potential GOP voters.

McCain has plenty of potential running mates who will attract votes instead of frightening them off. Sarah Palin is a fiscal conservative with a strong pro life record. As a woman candidate she would attract female voters in droves. Many women voters both Independent and Democratic are smarting at the defeat of Hillary Clinton. In protest some of these will vote for McCain especially if there is a woman on the ticket. It would be an imaginative move to draft her. Other potential running mates such as Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal and Tim Pawlenty amongst others are safer bets than Tom Ridge.

The Democrats are the party of death. The GOP up to now has been the party of life. There is no room for a second party of death.

John McCain needs to remember that Christian conservatives are not prepared to compromise on the abortion issue.
In 1992 third party candidate Ross Perot received 18.9% of the popular vote – approximately 19,741,065 votes. George Bush Senior lost this election to Bill Clinton. Such is the influence of third party candidates.

A similar fate awaits John McCain unless he listens to the grass roots.
He may gain a few pro abort votes by choosing Ridge but these will not compensate for the millions who will leave the party.

Just remember that a pro abort Vice President may have to assume the office of President at any time.
Millions of Christian conservatives are not prepared to take that risk. They will make their views known in the ballot box or by abstension. They will not be mollified by promises. They will not be won over. There can be no compromise on the right to life for Christians who believe in the Fifth Commandment. It is a pro life running mate or nothing.