McDonnell could save the South for Romney

This is my second post about Mitt Romney and my second post about the 2012 Presidential contest in two days. Don’t worry, I’m not getting sucked under yet.

There was an interesting comment today from Governor Bob McDonnell on his monthly WTOP Q&A about a potential VP spot in 2012. He, of course, dodged the question the best he could but he didn’t rule it out.

From there, I started thinking about the what if, because that’s what I do and though of an article I read a few weeks ago about Romney skipping the south.

But if the populist conservatives are a tough crowd for Romney, they’re nothing compared with the Christian conservatives. After courting them doggedly without success throughout the 2008 cycle, it appears that, in 2012, Romney is going to try to win without them. That, in effect, means skipping the South.

You can hardly blame him. Of the 28 caucuses and primaries Romney competed in two years ago, he finished worse than second in only six — which also happened to be six of the seven Southern states in which he ran. (He managed to finish second in Florida, a less culturally Southern state that he had hoped to win.)

It hardly seems possible to win the GOP nomination without the South, which holds tremendous weight in the process. Forty percent of the pledged delegates to the 2012 Republican convention will come from 13 Southern states (the 11 seceding “Dixie” states, plus Kentucky and Oklahoma).

“I just can’t fathom the South not playing a role in picking the GOP nominee,” says LaRaja, adding that, if Romney were to win without the South, “It would be a phenomenal strategic success story.”

As a disclaimer, I don’t think he would do that. I think, honestly, Palin would jump on board campaigning for him even if she did run against him. That’s neither here nor there though.

My point is  - if you put Bob McDonnell on the ticket with Mitt Romney, the south isn’t in jeopardy anymore. McDonnell is a solid family conservative and would surely brush up Romney’s image south of the Mason-Dixon if he were the nominee.

McDonnell ran a spotless campaign last fall and is very popular in Virginia. He’s facing record deficits and has promised to get through them without raising taxes. He’s a family man without any baggage as of now. He has a record as Attorney General and hopefully in three year’s time, he’ll have a solid record as Governor.

Romney endorsed and campaigned for McDonnell last fall. I can only imagine the two being friendly on a personal level. They’re both young and energetic and have executive experience. As I keep going, I can’t think of one bad reason for them not to be on a ticket together.

It’s really early – like we’re still years away early, but this is still fun to think about.

The Future of the GOP

After browsing The American Blog today, I wanted to share a quote from John Fortier on the future of the Republican Party.

Make no mistake about it – the Democratic Party is growing. It’s demographics – hispanics, high-educated white voters – are growing and more and more young people are associating themselves as social liberals who care little for fiscal or economic conservatism.

That spells trouble for Republicans and according to Fortier it means:

The GOP needs more Bob McDonnells and Scott Browns, not wide-eyed, good government types or stodgy conservatives, but people with a mix of conservatism and at least a part of the populism that is mainstream in the middle class.

Fortier is addressing an original piece, which might be worthwhile to look at in part. Henry Olsen at National Review addresses what may lead to the downfall of the GOP.

My thoughts on the issue are fairly straightforward. The Republican Party needs to have a positive voice that advocates fiscal discipline, pro-growth economic policies and a strong national defense plan. The approach should be level-headed, involve moderation and seek pragmatic solutions to policy challenges.

We should concentrate first on balancing the federal budget by reforming the tax code and cutting unnecessary spending. Tax reform should create a more capital friendly environment that encourages small-business growth and corporate investment at home, not abroad. Entitlement spending should be near the top of the list when it comes to what needs reform. Our social programs cannot be responsible for bankrupting our nation. Underwriting the world’s security is expensive and unfortunately, we must make a choice between financing a modern welfare state or being the world’s most powerful – and most secure – country.

We should call for the continued reform and strengthening of our armed forces. Unfortunately for Congress, this may mean their districts will lose important government contracts.

Social issues like gay-marriage and abortion should be addressed at the state-level where the people can make their own decisions. We should recognize, however, the inevitable fact that the Court is more than likely to address these issues from an equal rights standpoint.

Our family first approach should advocate an egalitarian system and a business world that accepts women as part of the workforce and as mothers.

Health care and education also need serious reform. There are a number of other issues that deserve attention, but we must develop priorities.

McDonnell on Islam

Bob McDonnell, Governor-elect Bob mcDonnell, I should say, did himself  a solid this week and stayed above the fray invovling Pat Robertson and his comments on Islam.

The famous televanglist, who coincidentally founded the University where McDonnell attended law school, said Islam was not a religion but a “violent political system.”

McDonnell didn’t condemn Robertson, but he definitely didn’t defend his remarks either:

“I’ve got probably 15,000 donors to the campaign and I can’t stand and defend or support every comment that any donor might make,” McDonnell said in response to a question from CNN at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting near Austin. “I think people are entitled under the First Amendment to express whatever opinions that they may have, but I can only say that as governor of Virginia, I intend to have an inclusive administration where we bring people across the political and religious system to help us govern.”

This highlights why I like Bob McDonnell. Throughout the campaign he displayed a remarkable ability to stay on message and answer questions in a way that did him no harm and offered his critics no fire power.