Republican king makers have to be considering how to get McCain off the ticket

[grantcart]

Personally I stay away from the wild conspiracy theories but with the painful juxtaposition of Senator McCain's and Senator Obama's speeches last night and Senator Obama's brilliant AIPAC speech (put aside any policy disagreements you have - it was a brilliant speech) it has to be considered that serious Republicans are thinking that there must be some other option for St. Paul.

Obviously Senator McCain could always excuse himself between now and then for health reasons. How would they convince him to do so?
No idea and that is the reason it will probably fail, but some Republican strategists have to be thinking about it.

Beyond the possibility of a disastrous loss and further losses in the Senate and the House the other major problem facing the Republicans is that they will end the election not only with a substantial loss but also without a leader. They would remain without a center force to rebuild the party. This is the type of vacuum that the Republicans abhor the most.

Senator McCain's latest fund raising attempt has been reported as a dismal failure.

Don't be surprised to start hearing rumors of McCain having a health problem.

[anonymous171]

1. They don't have any better candidates though.

[DJ13]

4. Any bets they've talked quietly to Hillary reps?

:shrug:

[grantcart]

7. Yes the suggestion is absurd

[onenote]

9. Fail.

I'd bet the ranch that they haven't. Its a profoundly absurd suggestion.

[Occam Bandage]

14. Yeah, that's what they want. One of the most lockstep Democratic Senators.

[harun]

Hillary may be the Repub VP. No one in her camp will say

anything bad about McCain. They say crap every day about Obama.

[grantcart]

5. They have governors

[jasmine621]

29. Oh, they have plenty potential candidates who could excite the base

but they hve too many skeletons in their closets. The former CEO of HP, Carley Fioria, is a smart bright, articulate woman who is a McCain campaign advisor. If she can use her smarts, she alone can revive the GOP base for a new candidate. I predicted back in February that McCain would not emerge as the GOP candidate after the convention.

[Tippy]

51. Now that is really sad.....

But after their first debate, the old Jhonny Boy may reconsder himself

[SoonerPride]

2. meh, they'll just pack their bags and move to Dubai.

They've squeezed all the money this old turnip has for them and they're free to abandon this heap for sunnier shores.

[BearSquirrel2]

3. I have an idea ...

I have an idea. The Repubs can nominate Hillary instead. That's where she should be anyway.

[SoonerPride]

6. All the Fox bobble heads sure do love her lately, that's for sure.

Creeps me out.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

8. "Personally I stay away from the wild conspiracy theories ..."

Can you elaborate on that a bit? "Wild" conspiracy theories as opposed to what other kinds of conspiracy theories?

[grantcart]

10. Well the theory that the administration was conspiring to use US attorneys for political purposes

was a conspiracy theory that turned out to be true.


I find Agnew's sudden resignation just a few months before Nixon to be too convenient to be coincidental. I would theorize that responsible people were aware that he was likely to become president and so that corruption activites that were known by some were allowed to 'be discovered' so that they could catch him red handed taking cash in the White House so he could be removed.

Its a theory, not proven and not particularly wild either. Agree?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

16. Yes I would agree the theory of what was actually...

...behind Agnew's resignation is neither proven nor particularly wild.

The words "conspiracy theory" seem to be very charged and all too often immediately applied to any departure from the consensus, official story/media portrayal of a story. Used in this way they become a convenient club used to suppress and discourage honest investigations into the truth surrounding important stories/events.

Do you agree?

[grantcart]

32. Yes I understand your original point better.

My point is that personally I am very conservative about such theories and, for example, are reasonably convinced that Oswald acted alone, but with my experience growing up in a very conservative family and having worked for the Republicans 35 years ago I know how they think and I know that they are thinking along these lines.

It doesn't mean that they will actually do something but they are thinking about it.

[monmouth]

11. Heard that Jeb is on the "short list" for VP. Wait and see....n/t

[TornadoTN]

35. Political Suicide at its finest

I don't think McCain is going to be to eager to accept the taint (no pun intended) of another Bush on the ticket.

Obama wouldn't even have to bring up McCain's love of the Bush's - it would be right there on the campaign sign!

[busymom]

12. I think you're right!!!!

[Occam Bandage]

13. Who else do they have?

Romney's probably the only guy less charismatic than McCain. Huckabee's a friendly loon. Giuliani's as popular as a glass full of shit. Jindal and Pawlenty are too young and inexperienced; they'd negate Obama's only disadvantage. The rest of their Senate is tainted by the past decade of Republican failure and Bush-following. Who can they pick?

[grantcart]

17. List of Republican Governors

Robert R. "Bob" Riley Alabama List 2003 2010 (term limits)
Sarah Palin Alaska List 2006 2010
Arnold Schwarzenegger California List 2003 2010 (term limits)
M. Jodi Rell Connecticut List 2004 2010
Charles J. "Charlie" Crist, Jr. Florida List 2007 2010
George E. "Sonny" Perdue III Georgia List 2003 2010 (term limits)
Linda Lingle Hawaii List 2003 2010 (term limits)
C.L. "Butch" Otter Idaho List 2007 2010
Mitchell E. "Mitch" Daniels Indiana List 2005 2008
Bobby Jindal Louisiana List 2008 2011
Timothy J. Pawlenty Minnesota List 2003 2010
Haley Reeves Barbour Mississippi List 2004 2011 (term limits)
Matthew Roy Blunt Missouri List 2005 2008
David E. Heineman Nebraska List 2005 2010 (term limits)
James A. Gibbons Nevada List 2007 2010
John Henry Hoeven III North Dakota List 2000 2008
Donald Carcieri Rhode Island List 2003 2010 (term limits)
Marshall C. "Mark" Sanford, Jr. South Carolina List 2003 2010 (term limits)
Marion Michael "Mike" Rounds South Dakota List 2003 2010 (term limits)
James Richard "Rick" Perry Texas List 2000 2010
Jon Huntsman, Jr. Utah List 2005 2008
James H. "Jim" Douglas" Vermont List 2003 2008

[TornadoTN]

34. The only one I see on that list that has any appeal would be Jindal

But he wouldn't be much more appealing than McCain - only thing going for him would be the "look at us, we have minorities too!" vote for the Republicans. They would lose far more due to that anyway.

[Thrill]

15. Believe it or not McCain is their best chance. Anyone else is going to be considered too Republican

Lets be real. The media has given him this Maverick persona that helps him out a lot. It attracts the stupid Democrats that voted for Bush TWICE

[grantcart]

18. If he can't raise money he has no chance

If they could find somebody who can raise money and be a leader for the party in its rebuilding it would be better than their present option

[Thrill]

23. Remember McCain called the media his BASE

never forget that

[grantcart]

39. and they are the most fickle base to have - they will turn on a dime or a Barr

[wiggs]

19. Man, I was thinking the same things this morning. On the other hand though,

the 2009 POTUS is going to face unprecedented and intractable challenges in every policy area (due to the disastrous policies of the last 8 years) and the GOP is sure to line up over the next four years to pillory Obama for them and position themselves for 2012.

[chieftain]

20. The sad truth is that McCain is the best of a very bad lot. They

have no where to turn. That said, he is simply godawful.

[Disturbed]

24. The deal was for McLame to put Jeb on as VP.

McLame would only run for one term then Jeb would be annointed.

[phrigndumass]

21. They might just go balls to the wall and dredge up Jebby to run

Bush the III (read: turd)

[grantcart]

25. ironically he would have been so much better than GW lol

[Arugula Latte]

37. It's a strange thing to ponder, if Jeb had been the one squatting in the White House instead of W

He probably would have been minimally "better" and more competent (although I don't buy the incompetence argument about W & Co.; I think they don't give a shit about consequences as long as their top .5 percent base keeps raking in the big, big $$ through their policies). Anyway, Jeb probably would not have made millions of people quite so furious to the point where they are coming out in droves to vote and donate to Democrats. 2006 might not have been quite as dramatic of a reaction, as well.

[grantcart]

26. Oh by the way have you issued an updated Math/WEA ? Is it too soon to see movement?

[phrigndumass]

31. First thing this morning, as usual, but no WEA movement today

However, EVs jumped up to 296 for Obama :D

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6266028

Also ... Barr is polling at 6% in North Carolina. LMAO! :rofl:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6266227

[grantcart]

27. Breaking AZ consumer confidence lower in 16 years

http://www.brcpolls.com/08/RMP%202008-II-03.pdf

[phrigndumass]

33. Scrimp-n-save Arizonans need change!

Vote Obama (or Barr)!

:patriot:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

22. The Contrast Between Kennedy And Nixon When It Came To Presentation Was Just As Startling

And Nixon lost by 100,000 votes or two tenth of a percent out of 68,000,000 or so vote cast...

And who would the Republicants run instead of him...


Jeb Bush would be a good replacement but the Bush* brand is tainted...

Romney?

[ieoeja]

28. They'll write off the presidency itself, and position as the agents of change next time.

Republicans are like the Italian city-states raiding Slavic towns for slaves. Keep raiding the same village year after year, and there eventually won't be any Slavs left to take.

So they have to let the Dems rebuild the economy from time to time so they have something to steal next time they are in power.

[grantcart]

30. When I visited Saigon in 1978, 3 years after the war I was one of the first

Americans to go back. Everything was frozen in time. There were buildings where literally the cranes were lifting cement up to finish construction.

In three years nothing had been done and Saigon had been reduced to a massive refugee camp (the point of my visit was to start arranging to take some of these people out) and there was only one functioning restaurant.


The common joke, even among the new comrads in charge, was that the central committee had just passed a resolution to withdraw back to the North and let the Americans come in and finish everything, and then reinvade the south lol.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

36. Well, The VietNameze Did Come To Learn That The Soviets And The Chinese Were Just As Imperialiatic

And they were but a pawn in a great game of chess...But it can be said they used the Soviets and the Chinese as much as they used them...

[grantcart]

38. Well yes except

After the Americans left in 1975 Vietnam was invaded by China and the Vietnamese made the Chinese army pay a heavy price.


In early 1979, China invaded Vietnam to "teach Vietnam a lesson" for persecuting ethnic Chinese and for invading Cambodia. The Sino-Vietnamese War was brief, but casualties were high on both sides.


It is estimated that in a few short months China had lost 30,000 soldiers compared to the 56,000 that the Americans lost in 12 years of conflict.

The Vietnamese had secretly been preparing elaborate traps for decades that would create false front lines. The Chinese would over run them and the Vientamese would emerge from the other side cutting them off and mowing down trapped brigades by the hundreds. There were reports that the Vietnamese had problems with their machine guns would over heat and even melt from using so much ammunition in the slaughter. Most people are completely unaware that the Vietnamese fought another war and won it after the American war.

[symbolman]

43. Man I thought I respected you Before..

now its grown immeasurably :)

Fantastic info, hell, I was near the last of the draft then, did my time in the USAF and after took care of 300 shell shocked Veterans in a VA hospital..

Sad times, even worse coming in this Bush created Parallel Universe, more damaged troops than ever, and an "enemy" that won't be beaten..

Thanks for your service to us all.. :)

[ieoeja]

47. North Vietnam fought and won three wars after we left.

They conquered South Vietnam.

They unseated the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

They beat up an attempted invasion by China.

[billyoc]

40. I don't think they are, the smart money is sitting this one out.

The know the country is pissed at the Republicans, and they don't like sending good money after bad.

[msallied]

42. I agree more with this assessment.

They know they don't have a pot to piss in. They are too shrewd to go for broke. Always have been. They are going to put their money in the Congressional races.

[billyoc]

44. Yes, and they've already spent most of their NRCC money defending 3 special elections

to no avail. :rofl:

[grantcart]

46. Yes and they also had to spend $ 5million to defend Duke Cunningham's

district which they narrowly won. Now we have a strong candidate and will get that one too

[msallied]

41. If they get rid of McCain, they're screwed. If they keep McCain, they're screwed.

Either way, they're screwed.

[madrchsod]

45. it`s going to be romney.....he`s still avaiable

or theyu will wait till 2012 and run a "new republican"

[union_maid]

48. They didn't want him to begin with, remember?

They wanted Romney. And the big frontrunner - prior to any actual voting - was Rudy (911, 911, 911) Guiliani. The only problem was that even Republicans wouldn't vote for either of them or any of the rest of the case of characters. McCain and Huckabee were the only ones that anyone could stand.

[stevenleser]

49. Problem is, he just had an extremely thorough physical that proclaimed him in Terrific Health

Hard to go from that to: "He is too sick to run"

[grantcart]

50. a little cancer testing would do the right trick

the problem is getting him to agree to it

Just because they want it doesn't mean it will happen