The Best VP Candidates Nobody Has Mentioned

[displacedyankeedem]

1. Rep. Martin Frost(Arlington,TX): He's Jewish and from Bush's home state. WE INTEND TO MESS WITH TEXAS!!!!
2. Gov. Jim Doyle(Wisconsin): I liked his tough stand agaisnt the GOP legislature in regards to the SSM debate.
3. Gov. Phil Bredesen(Tennessee): I've heard a lot of talk about Mark Warner, but nobody seems to have mentioned this guy. TN is a heck of a lot more winnable than VA is!

[Tank in Texas]

1. That Other Edwards...

Chet Edwards (D,TX)

[Tank in Texas]

2. Or Jim Hightower

[greendog]

12. Hightower....

Now, I could get excited about that. I'd love to see Hightower debate EvilDick.

Of course, It'll never happen

[Ediacara]

3. Doyle, Bredesen, Napolitano, Richardson: they're are all great

But these guys are all new governors, been in office just over a year. I don't think that that's very fair to the state that just elected them to choose them as a VP candidate, although they'd all be excelent doing the job.

[drthais]

4. and, in addition...

..it is said that the ONE thing Kerry is looking for
is an Experienced running mate
someone who can take over if necessary

[carpetbagger]

11. I think optimal shelf-wear is about 6-10 years.

Less than that in a big office, and the experience thing works against them.

More than 10, and the ticket will look too stale, especially with 20-year Senator Kerry at the top.

I agree with you on the Napolitano et al thing, although Richardson's past experiences in congress and the Clinton cabinet make him the exception. In fact his movements from legislator to cabinet to governor, as well as his ethnicity and region, make him look "younger".

But I also think, for the reasons above, that Gephardt and Graham, among others, probably carry expired shelf dates.

[DaveSZ]

5. Chet Edwards

Is a good guy who currently inhabits Bush's home congressional district (ha).

Also Lloyd Dogget from Austin. :)

[Mattforclark]

14. Chet would make

a great Senate candidate next time around (we might even have a chance of winning), but it really doesn't make sense to have a VP from Texas. It's a great thought though. :)

[NewHampster]

6. former Governor Jeanne Shaheen

of the great State of New Hampshire. Right next to Vermont and more than a little close to Kerry.

For those wishing for a woman president someday there would be none better and no better way to make it happen.

she is one Great lady no matter how I feel as a Deaniac.




:dem:

[Bombtrack]

9. Sorry that's insane. We need to reach out. Having a MA-NH ticket

nominated at the Boston convention is no way to show that we're a national party

[Crachet2004]

7. Never heard of any of them...

which is the problem with them all.

[mobuto]

15. Not really

Name recognition isn't all that important. Most Americans couldn't name more than three or four Senators anyway, let alone too many Governors of states other than their own.

[Crachet2004]

21. What you say is probably true, in a way,

but if our VP doesn't have name recognition, we just have to spend time and money building it for them.

We have plenty of good candidates who ARE known, so why bother? Better still, to have someone with existing national appeal!

No, I don't think we need to shoot ourselves in the foot before the race really starts. Hard to run on one foot.

[Bombtrack]

8. Neither Tennessee or Virginia are winnable for Kerry unless Bush tanks

In which case we will win all the actual swingstates anyway. As of now, both are safe red states in a Kerry/Bush matchup

[mobuto]

16. Not necessarily true

Both have very large and very active Democratic constituencies. Both have Democratic Governors. Will Bush win them? Very possibly. But Kerry, if he's smart, will make Bush work like hell to keep them.

[tameszu]

17. VA is almost a swing state, isn't it?

If you add the Nader voters to the Gore voters, the differential is only 6%.

[mobuto]

18. More importantly

that 6% comes despite the fact that Gore didn't spend a dime there, that the state has been trending increasingly liberal (if not Democratic) and that a lot of people in the state - especially traditional white male Republican voters - have been badly hurt by the Bush economy.

[erpowers]

10. Senator Mary Landrieu

Senator Landrieu is from Louisiana which means she could help Kerry win Louisiana, which is a Southern state. She is also a moderate which means some moderate Republicans might crossover if she is on the ticket. In 2002 Senator Landrieu won a tough senate battle over Repbulican Suzy Terrell. I mention this because Mrs. Terrell has great support from the GOP and President Bush. Many of them even campaigned in the state for her. She still managed to win the state by 40,000 votes. Since she is a female she might appeal to women voters. also she could appeal to NASCAR dads in that she is pretty religious, she likes hunting, and supports the military. I will also mention that Senator Landrieu won her senate election while telling the people of Louisiana that she would be willing to opposed Bush if he was wrong, while Suzy Terrell stated on many occasions that she was willing to be a rubber stamp for President Bush. Finally, Louisiana recently elected it first female governor who is a Democrat. Therefore, Louisiana and other Southern states might just go for Kerry if Landrieu is on the ticket.

[Zech Marquis]

13. Warner? NOW?

well, he's doing a good job in fixing the mess Gilmore left us here in Virginia. I don't want him to leave THIS soon. And I don;t have a clue about the other 3 listed.. :shrug:

[Progressive420]

20. Lt. Governor Kaine

will be an excellent governor if warner leaves if warner doesnt leave he will be a great governor when warner leaves office next year cause he WILL WIN!!

[Progressive420]

19. I have to say

VA is maybe not so out of reach as you think I live in VA we have had a lot of jobs lost especially in the area of VA I live in I met Governor Warner a few weeks ago my Young Democrats Club got about 45 minutes with the governor it was great but anyway as i was saying VA has a democratic governor we have elected more democrats to the general assembly in the past few years than we have in the last 30 this is a positive sign to me and in the county i live there is only one republican official in the whole county and im sure we will get him in the next election i think VA maybe in play if we have an elected official from VA on the ticket either Governor Warner or maybe Rick Boucher our Represenative from the ninth district i think maybe its a long shot but Kerry may win even without and elected official from va but it will be hard considering we havent voted democrat since LBJ

[NewJerseyDem]

22. I've mentioned Bredesen

He was on my long list of potential VP nominees. I understand that he is very popular in Tennessee and could be helpful. However, I disagree that Tennessee is much more winnable than Virginia. TN went 51-47 to Bush while Virginia went 52-44 to Bush. And that was with Gore as the nominee so I doubt that Bredesen could carry it.

The other two are intersting. However, Frost obviously couldn't carry Texas and he doesn't have any particular advantage anywhere else. He would be a good candidate in general but I don't think he helps much. I believe that Doyle is pretty unpopular in Wisconsin, but I could be wrong. If he is popular he could help in Wisconsin and other midwestern states which would be very important.

Still, most of these 2002 governors like Napolitano, Blagojevich, Doyle, Bredesen, Sebelius, Henry and even 2001 elected governro Mark Warner have the issue of their lack of real national experience and that could be a problem for all of them, with the exceptions of Ed Rendell (whose was Philly mayor and DNC chair), Bill Richardson (congressman, UN ambassador and Energy Secretary), and Rod Blagojevich (congressman). Also, many of them may want to finish off their terms as governor but I doubt they would actually turn down the VP slot if offered. But, the fact that they are leaving their state in the middle of their first term could backfire in their homestate.

[rocktivity]

23. Who? Who? Who?

We don't have the time and money to invest in turning these people into household words. John Edwards is Southern, is nationally known, has a built-in fan/donor base, and most important, is young enough to step right into Kerry's shoes in 2012.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Zynx]

24. Bredesen is not a bad idea.