Posted on 08/19/2008 4:14:38 PM PDT by wagglebee
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- John McCain has reoprtedly confirmed he will not be picking a running mate who takes a pro-abortion position and has ruled out former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who media outlets promoted as a possibility. McCain aides told Republican Party officials of the decision and they confirmed it to Fox News.
The aides and officials indicated that McCain “got the message” from pro-life advocates that picking an abortion advocate like Ridge was non-negotiable and could cost him votes.
National Review editor Rich Lowry responded to the news and told Fox News that he saw no benefit for McCain by selecting Ridge as his running mate.
“I think it’s a hard sell and I don’t see much upside to Tom Ridge except for John McCain likes him a lot,” Lowry said.
“I don’t think he’s going to be a big benefit in Pennsylvania and even if he is, I think the downside is the rest of the country among conservatives are going to be upset about this, just at the moment they're beginning to work up being excited about John McCain," he added.
Meanwhile, ABC News reports conversations with toip Republican officials who say McCain hasn't made a final decision.
It reports on two GOP operatives who say the McCain campaign solicited opinions about picking a pro-abortion running mate and that the response against it was significant.
“They’re getting a lot of pushback,” one official said, explaining that the calls to the McCain campaign warned of a November loss with an abortion advocate. "You’ve got to keep the coalition together. The Republican base is just coming home.”
While McCain has apparently ruled out a pro-abortion running mate, the same can't be said of pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama.
All of Obama's potential running mates are strongly pro-abortion, including Senators Evan Bayh and Joe Biden as well as Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia.
“John McCain has reoprtedly confirmed he will not be picking a running mate who takes a pro-abortion position”
MAJOR sigh of relief.
Guess he got my letter. :-}
I personally think the Ridge and Liberman rumors were designed to smoothe out the pavement for Romney to drive through ... Romney looks downright conservative compared to Rideg and Lieberman. And who knows, Mitt may actually become a true pro-lifer even on the embryonic stem cell issue, rising above McCain and becoming a good prospect for 2012.
I’m sooo glad that he laid this one to rest. It’s troubling that he even considered it.
The way I look at it, give Lieberman a position in the cabinet. He can serve a McCain administration well, I think everyone can agree with that, but yeah, I don’t like the idea of him being a heartbeat away from the presidency on the basis of the pro-life base
I’m definitely not worried about John McCain permitting any gun bans.
I sure hope you’re right. Governor Romney grew on me quite a bit during the primaries and I think he’d be a great pick.
“It’s troubling that he even considered it.”
This is true.
Imagine how good it will be for us if he picks her. It wn’t get him Kansas, and abortion will be one of the foremost issues in the camapign just by virtue of the Dem ticket being off the chart extremists.
A pro-choice republican was not in McCain’s calculus but it stes Romney up as ideal compromise. And that’s not all bad!
When I called the campaign today the staffer I talked to was pretty adamant that McCain is pro-life and that’s the end of it.
I took it with a grain of salt out of principle, but I have to say she sounded convinced and convincing.
The cynic in me says that the McCain camp never had an intention of choosing a pro-choice veep. By floating the option and appearing to "capitulate," they gain the appearance of being responsive to conservative voices. IOW, "got the message" is baloney. They knew what they'd hear.
The campaign gains ground with conservatives who think THEIR voices somehow made a difference and prevented the selection of a pro-choice veep.
Romney is not acceptable and it has very little to do with his religion. Mormons want him solely for the purpose of lending a degree of credibility to their fraudulent religion started by an uneducated plagiarist.
I doubt McCain seriously considered a pro-abortion person as his running mate; and even if he did, he seems to be listening to the reactions of pro-lifers.
I will vote for Senator McCain if Romney is his pick, but I love Mark Sanford, Bobby Jindal, Eric Cantor, Rob Portman, John Kasich, Palin, Duncan Hunter (I can dream), and a few others.
While I agree with Romney on some important issues, I am against his Universal Health Care in Mass., and it troubles me that some money was allowed for abortions. In all fairness, though, I would like to hear his side.
So a moderate Republican chooses a moderate Republican who has charisma, money, is very smart, and has shown he can play hardball, and he is a master at controlling his responses, except when being herded (raised his hand like a school kid as I recall).
Well, I would prefer Duncan Hunter, because it would give the people four years to get to know him thus overcoming the greatest drawback he has, obscurity. BUT we are talking about McCain and his bitterness toward the GOP for not pciking him nine years ago, so it isn't likely he will be picking a veep with an eye to 2012 or 2016.
Wow, gremlins from the Kremlin! Soory about the triple post ... it sure wasn’t that good.
I think you’re right. I can’t believe they would have seriously tried to get away with it, and if not for Mitt, I think it’s for some other candidate to relatively look good, and the base to be told, ‘See, we listened to you!’
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