Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Is a Romney / Barbour 2012 ticket in the works?

Some interesting speculation from a completely reliable Hill source, even if something of a trial balloon at this point. Senior advisers to Mitt Romney are thinking a bold move may be in order to secure the 2012 GOP nomination. The thinking goes, rather than wait until the convention, Romney would come out as part of a ticket to include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour as VP.

The rest of the story is HERE.

Let's see. BOLD MOVE.....Announce EARLY.....Help in SOUTH!....I wonder.....

21 comments:

Right Wingnut said...

I doubt it. If I were Mitt, I wouldn't pick Barbour. There are several better options out there to appeal to conservatives in the South.

illinoisguy said...

Who would you pick if you Mitt? I've stewed on it for a couple of years now, and still haven't come to anything definite.

GetReal said...

I know this gets talked about every 4 years...but does any candidate actually ever do this? Announce a VP in the early stages of the primary, I mean? I think it would backfire big time, just because its so presumptuous it would come across to many as arrogant.

CraigRandall1 said...

I was thinkin' more of a Huckabee/Kasich or Huckabee/T-Paw ticket but let's wait till the Tampa convention to make it official. There's no rush or need to be desperate. :)

POLLTRACKER.COM FAVORABILTY ..as of 1/18/11

Huckabee .. 43.8% / 29.2% ... +14.6%
Obama .... 51.7% / 42.7% ... +9.0%
Romney .. 38.0% / 29.3% ... +8.7%
Palin .. 33.9% / 53.0% .. -19.1%

http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/candidates/mike-huckabee
http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/contests/us-favorability-obama

POLLSTER.COM FAVORABILITY ..as of 1/18/11

Huckabee .. 39.1% / 28.3% ... +10.8%
Obama .... 51.2% / 42.8% ... +8.4%
Romney .. 34.0% / 31.0% ... +3.0%
Palin .. 35.0% / 52.8% .. -17.8%

BOSMAN said...

Romney / DeMint!

CraigRandall1 said...

POLLTRACKER.COM FAVORABILTY ..as of 1/18/11

Huckabee .. 43.8% / 29.2% … +14.6%
{updated link}
http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/contests/us-favorability-huckabee

David said...

I don't think that would be a very good match.

How about McDonnell?

Pablo said...

How about Bobby Jindal? Or somebody who doesn't look like he starred in O Brother Where Art Thou.

Doug NYC GOP said...

Barbour strikes me a low energy pick.

I could see any of the following:

Romney/Ryan
Romney/DeMint
Romney/Thune

ellie said...

Romney/Rice.
All bases covered.

phil said...

I'd like an early announcement on a Romney / DeMint ticket.

Then after the SC primary, DeMint withdraws for personal reasons

GetReal said...

@Pablo,

I don't know. He might need a man of experience to deal with Huck's little man with a broom, there to sweep out the special interests and corruption.

ConMan said...

I'd prefer a Romney/DeMint ticket. Thune would be my second choice. I could live with a Barbour choice.

Pablo said...

GetReal- Lol. True.

Anonymous said...

I'd rather see what happens through the primary season.

We're all thinking that Tim Pawlenty won't play well in the South, but he's known as a Christian conservative. If Southern Christians decided that Governor Pawlenty's being born in the north matters less than his faith, life story, and executive experience, Tim Pawlenty may be a natural VP pick for Mr. Romney.

If Haley Barbour wants to be vice-president, he should start a presidential run next year to see how he plays on a bigger stage. I tend to associate him with the Bob Dole style lack of leadership that we saw in the 90's. When he was head of the RNC, he could have tried to recruit someone better to run in '96 and sent a clear message to Republicans that we need to break our habit of nominating someone because "It's his turn." If Haley Barbour shows that he can appeal to crowds of regular people and not just GOP operatives in different parts of the country, he could be a good VP pick. If he is a complete dud on the campaign trail outside of Mississippi, we need to learn that before he is put on the ticket.

Many of us who like Mr. Romney see Mike Huckabee as something of a cheap shot artist and dirty trickster with a personal animus against Mr. Romney. If Mike Huckabee gets on the campaign trail and shows that he can be a team player who would be fully supportive of Mr. Romney as nominee, I wouldn't rule out offering the VP slot to Mr. Huckabee. I don't think he'd accept, but he would solve much of the balance problem for Mr. Romney.

I understand the whole geographical balance idea in putting together a ticket, but we have to avoid becoming to fixated on this idea. If pro-gun, pro-life, pro-America states like Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and South Carolina have to have a southerner on the ticket to vote against Obama, our country has bigger problems than we thought. In the true "swing" states in the South, a Tim Pawlenty may play just as well or better than a Haley Barbour.

Finally, I'll repeat that the scuttlebutt around Louisiana is that Governor Jindal really doesn't want to run for president or vice-president. If offered a good cabinet post in 2013 after he's served as governor for six years, he would be interested in that post. He's not interested in spending 2012 campaigning across the entire country.

Anonymous said...

I find it hilariious that some of you guys are looking for a Romney/DeMit ticket...weren't some of you the same people who were blaming Palin for losing the Senate...well newsflash...DeMint actually backed some of the bigger losers since the primaries...hypocritical much?

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

i'd like to see a romney/rice or a romney/rubio ticket i agree with anonymous that if the south has to have a southerner on the ticket to vote against BO then we have much bigger problems!!!!

OhioJOE said...

"There are several better options out there to appeal to conservatives in the South." Yes, the only thing Southern about that guy is geography.

Good catch Jersey, in one case, Mr. DeMint backed a candidate who did not win the general (and neither Mr. Limbaugh or Mrs. Palin backed her in the primary.) In another case, the DeMint candidate lost in the Primary and the Palinite candidate went on to win the general election. For the record, I am not blaming Mr. DeMint for these losses, after all, you cannot win them all, but it is funny that those who blame Mrs. Palin for some losses (while failing to give her credit for her wins) give Mr. DeMint a pass.

Anonymous said...

Exactly OJ, it just shows the true colors of those people.

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

This is great folks! It's the conservative version of JFK/LBJ! Except of course, Barbour is much better than LBJ :) .

Chris Jenkins said...

I was honestly thinking of this matchup today. I believe a Romney/Barbour ticket would be a perfect balance of streangths for the two and would be a winning combo to get the most votes to beat Obama/Biden.

I bet money now that Romney/Barbour will beat Obama/Biden in 2012.