Posted on 01/18/2011 9:59:17 AM PST by pissant
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels may not be the only Hoosier seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2012. The rumors started swirling over the weekend that Rep. Mike Pence could be throwing his hat in the ring as well.
Conservative leaders are certainly beating the drum for a Pence run. This week, Mr. Pence will receive a letter of support for a presidential bid from, among others, Dick Armey, a former Republican House majority leader; Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center; and Morton Blackwell, president of the Leadership Institute.
There is also a petition circulating on the Internet to draft Mr. Pence for president. It is being spearheaded by former Rep. Jim Ryan and former Reagan official Ralph Benko, who has close ties to the conservative blogging community and the tea party movement. We're also told that a coalition of conservative state legislators in South Carolina is urging Mr. Pence to run and promising to do all it can to carry the early primary state for the congressman. Mr. Pence also enjoys the support of two former GOP congressmen from Indiana—David McIntosh and Chris Chocola, who now runs the Club for Growth. "Mike has a Reagan quality to him that is lacking in many of the other first tier Republican candidates," said Mr. McIntosh.
Mr. Pence won the straw poll at a gathering of more than 1,000 social conservatives in Washington, D.C., over the summer—besting Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and presumptive front-runner Mitt Romney. One concern is what Sarah Palin's intentions are, since she would have a huge funding base if she runs. But the pro-Pence movement fears that she is highly polarizing and someone who would have a difficult time beating President Obama in the general election.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
This conservative is beating the drum for a Sarah Palin Presidency.
No matter what, we will have a ton of candidates this election which is great. Four conservatives at least (Pence, Palin, Cain, Bachmann) and those are the only ones I can think of off hand. This is going to be a most exciting primary and I can’t wait for the debates. They are going to be something to watch.
You’re gonna have quite the inner conflict if he runs and picks Palin as his VP running mate, aren’t you?
Actually, he’s the one person, other than Palin, that I could get behind.
Gomer, Mittens and Newt can KMA right now and get it over with.
The debates will need to be 4 hours long just so all 25 candidates can get one question.
Pence is good. So is DeMint. So is Ryan. So is Barbour.
Here’s a name I’d like to float - Butch Otter. Gov. of Idaho. From all I’ve heard to date, he seems eminently qualified, both experience-wise and ideologically.
The more the better - at least at the start. We need more than just 2008’s retreads (Huckabee, Romney, even Palin). Time to bring in some new blood into the GOP leadership caste.
Neither Otter nor my other gubner of choice, Mike Rounds (who just finished his 2nd and last term) have made any noises about running.
Conservative leaders or Republican leaders?
lol.
Pence isn’t bad but he’s late. heh
AS IT SHOULD!
Nominating anyone other than Sarah Palin is akin to supporting the status quo. I like Pence but he would not be effective as president.
I've not heard of Rounds - which state?
True enough...but then again, before he picked her, who (besides myself, toot my own horn) had heard of Sarah Palin?
It's not that I dislike here - I just think it's unhealthy for conservatives to be fixating on her the way so many are, to the exclusion of many other potentially fine candidates. We don't like "anointed" candidates who are pre-picked for us, so why are we making Palin into the same?
Assuming they actually found 1000 true conservatives in Washington, that's not a necessarily a ringing endorsement in my book.
Late for what? Not one person has officially started running yet. He has plenty of time. When did McCain decide to run? When did Obama? You can be late for dinner but late for running for President two years out. The only ones that was horribly late last time round was Rudy (which was good) and Thompson who never started.
I like Mike P. He’s a Tea Partier. But I don’t think he’s ready for the top of the ticket. Better move to shoot for VP.
This conservative is beating the drum for a Sarah Palin Presidency.
Late for what? The primary season doesn't even START for another year. If we've already anointed Sarah Palin and have decided to close it off already, then we might as well throw in the towel now.
The person should have started running January of 2009.
The problem is whomever wins is gonna need a minimum $250 million war chest for the general election. No Newt, Mo Mott, No RINOs.
The media and ALL of TV are behind the muslim. O’Reilly and Beck are major Obama stooges now - they are also anti-birthers. I was done with ALL TV election night 2008 when the fox gang was giddy over the coup takeover by Islam. My guess is Prince Al Waleed gave them all bonuses.
I still don't understand how people on a supposedly conservative site can be so ignorant of politics.
No, a large number of conservatives will NOT be great. It will split the conservative base vote and allow the establishment RINO to win with a plurality.
They do this to us every time. The establishment knows how to get it's candidate, and they know something that many of us apparently can't comprehend..the one with the most votes wins.
You can win with 30% if you can get the conservatives to split between several candidates, thus making their votes inconsequential.
Look at this parade of RINO's...and ask yourself how come we are always faced with supporting these guys in a so called conservative party? People blame the RNC for sticking us with these moderates, but it is our votes that could stop them.
Nixon, Ford, Bush, Dole, Bush, McCain, Romney?
The establishment is playing Chess while we are trying to figure out if we want to be black or red in a game of checkers. We need to rally behind a SINGLE conservative en masse to get a conservative candidate.
I've said this before, and it is becoming more clear every day...a vote for anyone other than Governor Palin is a defacto vote for Romney.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.