Thursday, March 24, 2011

Demint is out, Bachmann is in (Maybe)

It seems that at least one potential 2012er has closed the door on a run for the "Presidency":
Scratch one name off the list of possible 2012 Republican presidential contenders: conservative favorite Jim DeMint.
DeMint, a South Carolina senator and chairman of the Senate Conservatives Fund, is opting instead to focus on helping elect more conservatives to the Senate, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
The full story is HERE.

On the other hand:
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is likely to form a presidential exploratory committee, two advisers said Thursday. The committee could be formed as soon as May but no later than June.
"The size and enthusiasm of the crowds she has been attracting is very encouraging,” said Ed Brookover, a consultant to Bachmann. “The voters are telling her to keep pushing forward with her fight to stop this unparalleled growth of government.”
The full story is HERE.

What about Vice-President? Oh, that's right, you don't run for that, do you?

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bossman,

I am surprised that Bachmann is running. I really figured that she would opt for a Senate run in 2012 or 2014.

I am not surprised that DeMint isn't running. I would imagine that Demint is on Romney's short list for VP.

A.J.R.

BOSMAN said...

A.J.R.

I agree with you on both.

My gut feeling also is that there are a few out there that know they have a snowballs chance in hell of winning the nomination.

I wonder how many of these folks;i.e., Santorum off the top of my head, are looking at this as a VP thing in hopes of being considered next in line some day?

Anonymous said...

Bosman,

I think you are right. Maybe Bachmann, Santorum and even Pawlenty are looking for the VP slot. Pawlenty looks like the only one with any chance for a VP slot amongst that bunch and I don't see Romney picking him. Maybe Palin or Gingrich would?

A.J.R.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Romney told the crowd this morning that he is likely to announce his presidential exploratory committee in early April. - http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/03/24/romneys-ask-raise-50-million/

Right Wingnut said...

NONE of them would pick Bachmann or Pawlenty as VP. Minnesota does nothing for a presidential ticket.

Bachmann has not said for sure that she's running. She's probably waiting to see who else jumps in first. If Palin doesn't run, I think it is certain that Bachmann will be on the stage. This may actually speed up the process for Palin. If she wants to run, she needs to get moving in the next month or two. If Bachmann runs, and Palin doesn't, it puts Palin in a tough spot. Most would assume that Palin would want to back a winner. Bachmann cannot win the nomination, period.

Anonymous said...

RW,

I agree that Bachmann cannot win the nomination. I really thought she would run for Senate in 2012 or 2014.

A.J.R.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how come only Palin supporters have commented that Bachmann cannot win the nomination? Personally, I would vote for Bachmann over Palin.

BOSMAN said...

A.J.R.,

As strange as this may sound, I wouldn't be surprised to hear one or some of the 2012ers form alliances before the primaries.

Something like, If I am the nominee, I am going to ask so-n-so to run on my ticket, up front.

RWN.

Pawlenty knows he can't win but I believe he'd settle for being the second last man standing.

Noelle said...

Bosman said "As strange as this may sound, I wouldn't be surprised to hear one or some of the 2012ers form alliances before the primaries."

That sounds scarily like Survivor. I never watch that show, so I only speak from hearsay, but I don't like the idea of a presidential nomination being determined Survivor-style.

Right Wingnut said...

AJR, Bachmann can't beat Klobuchar in 2012 either. No Republican can in a presidential election year. Remember, she's from the most conservative district in the state. McCain/Palin carried it by 9 points, while losing the state by 11.

I like Bachmann as my rep, but she doesn't have the firepower some think she has for a national race. Trust me.

BOSMAN said...

Noelle,

HaHaHa!!
That's why I qualified the theory with "Strange".

There are so many polarizing groups and self-interests now that I wouldn't put it past some of these people to form alliances to get the nomination.

Some may feel that VP is at least getting your foot in the door.

Anonymous said...

Bachmann: Iowa Straw Poll will be ‘focal point’

Anonymous said...

"I wonder how come only Palin supporters have commented that Bachmann cannot win the nomination? Personally, I would vote for Bachmann over Palin."

I don't know Anon...maybe because no one thinks she can. I have nothing against Bachmann but I just don't think she can win the nomination.

I really think the nomination will come down to Romney or Palin (with Pawlenty possibly being the dark horse). I don't think that Huck is going to run. I actually think that Palin's odds of running are 50-50. If she doesn't run then I think Romney has the nomination wrapped up.

I do look forward to when the nomination process is over so we can unite against Obama and the Dems. It is ten months away and I am already tired of the back and forth gotcha bickering.

A.J.R.

Anonymous said...

Bosman,

I could see alliances forming as well. I don't know if that has happened in recent cycles but it could be very interesting to see. Who could you see allied with who and why?

The only one I can think of right now is a Palin/Giuliani alliance. Giuliani has been making noise about entering the race but I can't see him winning the nomination. I could see him taking votes from Romney, which would help Palin. I can't recall Giuliani ever saying anything negative about Palin and I do remember him defending her at times in the past. Just a thought.

A.J.R.

Anonymous said...

RW,

I keep forgetting that you are from Minnesota so you would know more about Bachmann's chances than I would. Do you think she would have a better chance against Franken in 2014 or should she just stay in the House? How popular is Franken in MN?

A.J.R.

Bill589 said...

Michelle Bachmann is my second favorite politician. TPM through and through. She and Palin have more guts than most other Republican politicians. I love having people running that I actually want to vote for.

Right Wingnut said...

AJR, She should stay in the house.

Tracey said...

So, she thinks she has what is takes to be President. All of the support from the tea party has gone to her head. She is just another circus side show distraction.

kelly said...

AJR,

I think I can see what Bosman is getting at.

If you look at the top tier, no one seems to be able to break away from the pack. They all seem to have there 15-20% base.

If person X doesn't run to get on the ticket with person y, hopefully most of person x's support comes along as well or enough to make a difference.

If your ticket wins, you run some day from a VP slot. If your ticket loses you have claim to be next in line.

Anonymous said...

News Flash! Neither Palin nor Bachmann can win the GOP nomination. Both of those fools are an embarrassment to America and have nothing to offer.....geez.

Revolution 2012 said...

Like Bosman (I think), I believe there are more folks contemplating a run only to be viable VP picks.

That INCLUDES Palin. Although I don't believe Romney would chose her if he is the nominee. I could be wrong on this. It's happened once or twice before.

Anonymous said...

Revolution 2010,

I would be surprised if Romney picked Palin as his VP as well. I would be equally surprised if Palin picked Romney. I just see the two of them going in different directions for their VP choice

A.J.R.

Anonymous said...

kelly,

That certainly makes sense especially for some of the 2nd tier candidates like Bachmann, Santorium and even Pawlenty. Is Pawlenty 1st tier, 2nd tier or something like 1.5 tier? Not exactly sure where to place him.

A.J.R.

ConMan said...

Interesting theories going on here tonight.

I think Pawlenty probably thinks of himself as 1st tier. In reality though he is second at best. This is how I view it assuming everyone is in:

Tier 1 Romney, Huckabee
Tier 2 Palin, Gingrich, Pawlenty, Daniels
Tier 3 Barbour, Santorum, Cain

And alliance, especially with TParty,Evangelicals, So-Cons, F-Cons, etc, might make some sense.

Bill589 said...

The way I see it, if Palin runs she will be a frontrunner going into debates. She will be THE frontrunner after debates.

Anonymous said...

Romney & DeMint in 2012!

zeke

Anonymous said...

I am quite sure Romney would not pick palin to be the veep. He would want a running mate, who has the experience, the smarts and yes, the bearings to be president. Mitt is not a quitter. Palin is a quitter.

OhioJOE said...

"She is just another circus side show distraction." But at least she voted for fiscal responsibilty unlike most GOP clowns who voted for the CR non-sense.


"Mitt is not a quitter." You are right, he did not quit on TARP and he did not quit on MAcare. Thus he is a non-starter. Next.

Anonymous said...

Can there ever be a single post where it doesn't end up being Palin sucks! Romney sucks! Anybody but my candidate sucks!? I guess not. I was enjoying the conversation in this post but alas it was too good to last.

A.J.R.