One of my relatives says Romney is going to pick Santorum as VP.

[Archae]

To suck up to the Social Fascists...I mean Conservatives.

What do you think?

[Lint Head]

1. Perfect. Santorum would be a drag on the GOP.

[Archae]

3. So will Romney.

It's as if the GOP simply doesn't care this time.

(They didn't last time either, with Grampy and Caribou Barbie.)

[tritsofme]

2. Zero chance of that happening.

Santorum has already returned to irrelevancy.

It would surprise me if he got a prime-time speaking spot at their convention.

[1-Old-Man]

21. I'd be surprised if there is prime time coverage of anyone speaking at either Convention.

I'd just about bet that the networks won't even bother to broadcast the Keynote Addresses at the two Conventions. At best you'll see snippets cut from god only knows what coverage they do bother to get. They won't get coverage because they have become meaningless events. I mean its not like either Party is going to make some great policy proclamation that will bring prosperity to the nation if followed. There might be a scandal they can find or some hanky-panky to report on, but other than that the Conventions, both of them, are just a charade, as meaningless as the scant 'news' coverage they will be afforded.

[NYC_SKP]

4. What a Frothy thing to do!

[Tennessee Gal]

5. I like it. Lots of ammo out there on Santorum.

[Archae]

7. Like his "Dutch Treat?"

[zappaman]

6. That depends...

is your relative a Romney campaign insider?
If so, then this could be true.
If not, I doubt it...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

8. I'd think they'd offer it to Fuckabee if they were going big for the social fascist vote

that is, if he's even open to it and quitting his Fox gig.

[onehandle]

9. Not a chance. It's Rubio. nt

[KamaAina]

11. Yahoo! was floating a T-Paw trial balloon the other day.

[The Second Stone]

10. Santorum doesn't help the ticket much

except with the far right Christian base. I would think that his charitable dealings would hurt the ticket. Pawlenty or Christi would offer some wider appeal without the horror show.

[valerief]

12. He's going to pick some "business" person. Because "nations should be run like

businesses."

I guess he means 'to the ground.'

[bluedigger]

13. It seems unlikely.

Honestly, I have no idea. He needs a ticket balancer that can put a swing state or two into play. So, a woman with foreign affairs experience who appeals to southern Baptists...

Who's that?

[karynnj]

26. Condi Rice?

The only Republican woman I remember on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was Murkowki of Alaska - and she ran as independent against the Republican after losing the primary.

[bluedigger]

27. Her name has been tossed around.

Conventional wisdom is that she isn't interested, and she wouldn't help much in any swing states, would she? Isn't she a Californian?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

14. Perfect!

The ticket would also be known as "Dumb and Dumber"

[southernyankeebelle]

15. Tell your cousin thanks for the laughs. It isn't going to happen. He wants to try again for

president in 2016.

[Archae]

28. Actually a sister.

[southernyankeebelle]

30. Thanks again. Let's face Little Ricky and Little Mittens can't stand each other.

[Warpy]

16. I've said all along he needs a thumper

to be able to talk to the right wing Christians in language they can understand. I still think it might be Bachmann because I doubt a Catholic will sell much better in Dixie than a Mormon will.

[cloudbase]

17. 50/50 chance.

Either he will, or he won't.

I don't believe he will.

[JI7]

18. wouldn't make any sense

[Archae]

20. Since when did that make a difference in the GOP?

I mean, back in 2004 if someone described McCain and Palin and their campaign to you, you'd say that guy was nuts.

[RB TexLa]

19. Romney is the first Non-WASP they have nominated, they aren't going to have the second in the same

year. Too many more of their heads will explode.

[HockeyMom]

22. None of the Above

I don't it will be anybody on the media's short list.

[WI_DEM]

23. No--very unlikely. He's going to win those voters anyway. It's the middle--independents he needs.

[thelordofhell]

24. He'll pick whoever the republican party chooses for him

[left on green only]

25. IMHO, I think Ross Perot has a slightly better chance, LOL

If Romney chooses to go off in the fringes of the party looking for the social nazi vote, he is going to be wasting his time, because he's already has those votes, thumbs down. Who else are they going to vote for? But on the other hand, he desperately needs the votes of the independents and uncommitted voters who dwell more the the direction of the center of the political spectrum.

But of course all of that is futile unless he can also get the block votes of women, and Hispanics. And the damage he has already done in those two areas is beyond repair. So unless he can buy the election with unlimited funding, he is going to lose.

I hate to say it on a public forum, but my opinion of the intelligence of the average American voter is pretty low. All an interested party needs to do is play to their sense of fear through the use of repetitive advertising on a mega basis. Nothing in the ads even needs to be slightly true. If people hear it enough, it will become true in their minds.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens.

Edited for syntax

[Efilroft Sul]

29. Jim Thune or Kelly Ayotte.

Reasons for Thune:
• He is a self-described evangelical Christian, and it's stuff like this that provides a sense of Biblical balance to social conservatives who get the heebie-jeebies about Mitt's Magical Underwear.
• He followed through on his promise to not serve more than three terms in the House, which holds sway with the limited government types in the GOP.
• He scalped Tom Daschle, which raised his profile among all Republicans.
• He shares Romney's viewpoints about Iran and Afghanistan.
• He never met a social program he liked, and his selection would be the spoonful of sugar the Tea Party needs to make the Romney medicine go down.

Reasons for Ayotte:
• She was one of the first to get on his bandwagon.
• She, like Jindal and Rubio, represents the face of "diversity" in the GOP. But behind that thin veneer of modern appearances, Ayotte resigned her office of Attorney General when New Hampshire's governor signed three same-sex marriage bills into law. Troglodytic stuff like that makes her a darling who stands on her principles, misguided as they are, to the GOP electorate.
• She is anti union (hell, anti worker), pro Second Amendment, anti Single Payer, pro Bush tax cuts, and shares many of Mitt's stances on financial regulation, government spending, and other issues.

Conventional wisdom dictates you pick a running mate who comes from a state with a high number of electoral votes and/or who provides a geographic balance to the ticket. But in recent history, the Republican nominee has picked a running mate who acts as the olive branch to unify disaffected elements in the party or shields the standard-bearer from his weaknesses. A Thune or Ayotte selection would both serve well in these capacities and energize the base. Ayotte would give the party the same initial spark as Palin provided in 2008, but Thune is the probably the running mate the money party would get fully behind over the longer haul.

Doubt my prognostication skills? I called Palin as the 2008 VP choice almost six months before it happened:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5292974&mesg_id=5293622

I'm Efilroft Sul, and I approved this message.