Free Republic

HARRISBURG -- Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said today that John McCain can't become president without carrying Pennsylvania and that the race would be different if McCain had chosen him as his running mate. "I think the dynamics would be different in Pennsylvania," Ridge said when asked if he should have been chosen to run as vice president over Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. "I think we'd be foolish not to admit it publicly." read more at : http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_595030.html

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said today that John McCain can't become president without carrying Pennsylvania and that the race would be different if McCain had chosen him as his running mate. "I think the dynamics would be different in Pennsylvania," Ridge said when asked if he should have been chosen to run as vice president over Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. "I think we'd be foolish not to admit it publicly." Ridge, the campaign's national co-chairman, said McCain "had several good choices and I was one of them." He nonetheless defended the Palin selection, calling it a "typical, bold McCain-like...

I was going to let it go when Politico did it but now NBC’s done it too, so let’s take a moment. The new narrative about fingerpointing within Team Maverick is starting to congeal and naturally Palin, given her unfavorables, is expected to be Scapegoat #1. Hence the media interest today in Tom Ridge hinting McCain would win Pennsylvania if he was VP, which is arguably true but overlooks the minor detail of how those red states McCain desperately needs to hold would have reacted to a pro-choice VP. Here’s the latest obvious attempt to advance the ball, distorting an...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- John McCain has confirmed that 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.

Wolf Blitzer for one apparently doesn't think Tom Ridge's pro-choice position should disqualify him as John McCain's VP pick. The former Pennsylvania congressman and governor was a guest on this afternoon's Situation Room, and Blitzer began by playing a clip of Rush Limbaugh urging McCain not to pick a pro-choice running mate, saying it would "obliterate all the progress that he experienced" at the Saddleback forum. Ridge surmised that "Rush and everybody else hopefully can see that there's a clear choice regardless of the vice-presidential candidate. A choice that says that John McCain is needed now as president of the...

This is an AP article. I did a search and didn't see it posted anywhere and I'm not sure if AP articles were still prohibited here. Anyway, Ridge believes Republicans will accept a pro-abortion VP.

Commenting on John McCain's remark that Tom Ridge's pro-choice position would not rule him out as a vice presidential running mate, conservative leader and strongly pro-lifer Phyllis Schlafly got straight to the point by bluntly telling Newsmax, "I think [McCain] would be making a mistake." In a Newsmax report, McCain was quoted by The Weekly Standard as saying, “I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party. And also I feel that — and I’m not trying to equivocate here — that Americans want us to work together. You know, Tom...

This can be a deciding factor in a close election, and it looks as if the election will be a very close horse race. Most voters know that Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge are pro-aborts, but they might not know about Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist. He is sneaky, calls himself pro-life, but is not. Awhile back the Florida House approved a bill to give women the option to see an ultrasound before having an abortion. I heard Laura Ingraham say that Gov. Charlie Crist did not support this in the past, but he might support it now, because he wants...

LifeNews.com Note: Austin Ruse is president of the New York and Washington DC-based Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. These views are his alone and do not reflect the position of C-FAM. Ruse is also a member of the McCain Catholic Steering Committee and one of the first pro-life advocates to endorse McCain.If John McCain picks a pro-abortion running mate, he's likely to lose. If he picks a pro-abortion Catholic as his running mate, he will definitely lose. Right now McCain is skating on the thinnest of ice. At best, the election is tied. In many polls, he is 4-5...

Top social conservative leaders in key battleground states are urging John McCain not to pick a running mate who supports abortion rights, warning of dire consequences from a Republican base already unenthused about their nominee. McCain’s comments Wednesday to the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes that former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge’s pro-abortion rights views wouldn’t necessarily rule him out quickly found their way into the in-boxes of Christian conservatives. For those who have been anxiously awaiting McCain’s pick as a signal of his ideological intentions, there was deep concern that their worst fears about the Arizona senator may be realized. “It...

John McCain's admission to the Weekly Standard's Steve Hayes ("Shayes" to friends) that he would consider the possibility of choosing a pro-choice running mate is rightly seen as a trial balloon to gauge reaction among conservative base voters to such a move. "I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party," McCain told Hayes. "And I also feel that -- and I'm not trying to equivocate here -- that Americans want us to work together. You know, [former Pennsylvania Governor] Tom Ridge is one of the great leaders and he happens...

IN A WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW aboard his campaign plane this morning, John McCain said that he is open to choosing a pro-choice running mate and named former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as someone who merits serious consideration despite his support for abortion rights. McCain also criticized Barack Obama's presidential campaign for attempts to "politicize" the debate over Georgia and criticized President Bush for failing to recognize the true nature of Vladimir Putin. "I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party," McCain said. "And I also feel that--and I'm not trying to...

Ridge said he was proud of how McCain has handled the crisis unfolding in Georgia. ...“He has kept a cool head, taken calls from Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili -- and really behaved very presidential in his perspective of this crisis,” said Ridge as McCain shook hands with the crowd that gathered around him. “He has been to Georgia several times,” Ridge added. “He doesn’t need to look for it on a map.”

Sen. John McCain on Monday is campaigning through Pennsylvania with former governor and vice presidential contender Tom Ridge.

ABC News Jan Simmonds reports: On ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," former Pennsylvania Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge reaffirmed his pro-choice position on abortion, and said he did not think Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would make it a litmus test on whom he would choose to be his running mate. "I would think John would never make it a litmus test, but when it comes down to a nominee selecting a vice presidential running mate, it's their decision exclusively," said Ridge. "And I would respect that decision one way or another." When asked whether he...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's short list of vice presidential possibilities has been essentially narrowed to six, according to a source familiar with the search. Factions within the Arizona senator's campaign are pushing for their favored candidate, sources tell the Phoenix Business Journal, a Baltimore Business Journal sister publication.

Conservatives Complicate Ridge Choice As Veep By BRETT LIEBERMANWASHINGTON — He was on the short list in 2000, but passed over because of opposition from social conservatives. Will 2008 be Tom Ridge's year? Or is he destined to be left behind again? Political insiders close to John McCain say the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would really like to pick Ridge, his close friend, national co-chair of his campaign and a fellow former Vietnam veteran, to be his vice-presidential running mate. Analysts and party insiders believe that Ridge would almost certainly guarantee a victory in Pennsylvania, which is viewed as a...

Many handicappers believe that former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge could help McCain rev up Republicans in that key state. But the party's conservative base is not likely to stand for a pro-abortion rights Republican lounging a heart-beat away from the Presidency. That reality keeps Mitt Romney in the hunt. A related problem hampers another former McCain opponent, Mike Huckabee. Huckabee passes the Right's social values test, but is viewed as too "compassionate" by fiscal conservatives. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is perhaps the prospective Veep who best fits the characteristics McCain needs. Tim who? Former Minnesota Rep. Vin Weber pointed out...

If there's one person in the NBC news stable who combines solid political analysis with a commitment to fairness, it could be political director Chuck Todd. Proof thereof comes from no less a certified conservative source than Tom DeLay. Appearing on this evening's Hardball just after Todd had offered his breakdown of the electoral map, DeLay allowed that he "can't dispute" any of Todd's analysis, prompting Chris Matthews to exclaim "that's a development for us here: objective truth for you!" So what was that Todd analysis that DeLay didn't dispute? There was much to it, but for present purposes let's...

Ridge for VP? The Benefits 1. Pennsylvania. For once, conventional wisdom is right. In Pennsylvania, where perhaps a few thousand votes could mean the difference between 0 and 25 electoral votes, Ridge’s brand is well-regarded among the voters, especially women voters, that Sen. McCain absolutely needs to keep from turning overwhelmingly to Sen. Barack Obama. Think about dispatching Ridge to the Philadelphia suburbs where he’d go toe-to-toe with Gov. Ed Rendell. I know you are worried about the Philly suburbs, and you know that Ridge will help you there more than just about any candidate. 4. He will not make...