Trump is doing something no candidate has done in almost 30 years

[jimnyc]

I'm not really seeing why this would be such a huge difference, but I'm a political dummy. :dunno:

-----

Trump is doing something no candidate has done in almost 30 years, and it could pay off

Donald Trump's choice of running mate has been the source of endless speculation.

But even more interesting than whom he picks may be when he picks. Trump has said several times that he won't reveal his choice until the Republican National Convention in July.

Traditionally, candidates have announced their running mates a week or two before their party's convention. Some wait just a few days before the big event, as John McCain did in 2008 when he chose Sarah Palin.

But if Trump keeps his word, it will be the first time in almost 30 years that a candidate has waited until the convention to reveal the person who will join him on the presidential ticket.

Only two candidates in modern history have waited until the convention to announce their picks: George H.W. Bush, when he tapped Dan Quayle in 1988; and Ronald Reagan in 1980, when he chose Bush.

The unconventional move is calculated on Trump's part, and it could pay major dividends for his campaign, said Richard Parker, a Harvard public-policy lecturer and former political consultant.

Trump "is a master of free media, and part of what he's going to do with the VP nomination is the free-media strategy," Parker told Business Insider. "The media will hunger and hunger and hunger for the name of the VP candidate, and the surge will build in a crescendo of interest in who he appoints."

"I think that he's following the strategy logically with how he's run the campaign to this day," he added.

Trump said earlier this month that he had narrowed his vice-presidential short list to "four or five politicians from within the party's establishment," including some of his former rivals from the Republican primary.

But as the convention draws near, the real question is who will want the job.

"There's going to be a real examination by a lot of Republicans whether they want to associate with him," Parker told Business Insider.

http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-donald-trump-vice-president-pick-republican-convention-2016-6

[Abbey Marie]

I hope he doesn't squander all that political capital by choosing that windbag Christie.

[jimnyc]

I hope he doesn't squander all that political capital by choosing that windbag Christie.

Not my first choice either. He's a pitbull, great in debates, and would be great pretty much anywhere that some "fire" is needed. But I don't think that's what he needs. I think he might be better off with Newt. Some will laugh or complain at first, but I think he brings an awful lot to the table. My next option would be Carson. Love him more and more still. But would he bring enough? I think/hope so.

[Abbey Marie]

Not my first choice either. He's a pitbull, great in debates, and would be great pretty much anywhere that some "fire" is needed. But I don't think that's what he needs. I think he might be better off with Newt. Some will laugh or complain at first, but I think he brings an awful lot to the table. My next option would be Carson. Love him more and more still. But would he bring enough? I think/hope so.

I'm sure you know that Rubio is my first choice. I think he's a very good debater, and I still think he will bring both Hispanic and female votes. Also, Florida is a swing state. I know he lost there against Trump, but with them together, things should be very different.

Carson is always fine with me. :thumb:

[jimnyc]

I'm sure you know that Rubio is my first choice. I think he's a very good debater, and I still think he will bring both Hispanic and female votes. Also, Florida is a swing state. I know he lost there against Trump, but with them together, things should be very different.

Carson is always fine with me. :thumb:

Rubio won't work with Trump as a team, and can't say I blame him, obviously. Same with Cruz. Outside of the immigration stuff, I haven't much of an issue with Rubio. Time to come together as a team, and if they went together, they would have my vote of course. Unfortunately for us message board folks, it doesn't work out so easily. :) But yeah, he would definitely help with certain demographics. Christie has the governor experience, and so does Kasich, who would bring Ohio with him. All great on paper!

But I think if you talk "experience", you have Gingrich. But I don't know, I honestly wasn't into politics as much when that ugly bastard was doing his thing, I'm no expert on him, don't know about skeletons and all of that crap.

What he needs is someone that can at least bring in 'some' of those out there on the right that are leery about a Trump presidency, and this VP pick will reel them in.

[Abbey Marie]

Can you believe I completely forgot that Cruz exists? He seems to have totally disappeared.

[Black Diamond]

Can you believe I completely forgot that Cruz exists? He seems to have totally disappeared.

In that sense, it's been a nice couple months. :)

[jimnyc]

It's not often I am swayed a lot by just one article, but this one is giving me that feeling about Gingrich and wanting to do a 180. And look, I still think he would be great on the trail, but probably more so in the Christie way, as an attack dog who is quick on his feet.

-----

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has emerged as the leading candidate to serve as presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump's running mate, taking a narrow lead in the veepstakes race over New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

In addition to creating the most oft-married (six times) ticket in presidential history, Gingrich would present some stiff challenges for Trump as well as offer a few advantages.

On the plus side, Gingrich is whip smart and has a deep familiarity with public policy that would serve him well on the vice presidential debate stage. Gingrich's wonkiness would provide a welcome counterpoint to Trump's more, shall we say, ad hoc approach to the nuances of policies from taxes to immigration to foreign affairs.

Gingrich has the kind of "electric" personality that Trump clearly prefers and generally thrills conservative audiences with his frequent appearances on television.

The former speaker would be a rabid attack dog against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, wasting no opportunity to savage her over the Benghazi attack, the email probe, the Clinton Foundation and the entire menu of Clinton family imbroglios that dominate the hashtag fever dreams of the hard right.

....

But then there are the negatives, and they are considerable.

Much of America can't stand Gingrich and they despised his tenure on Capitol Hill.

When he quit his presidential campaign in 2012 after a brief moment as the front-runner, Gingrich was the most disliked politician in America. A Gallup poll at the time found that 63 percent of Americans had a unfavorable view of him to just 25 percent who saw him a positive light.

That's not exactly the ideal profile for a GOP nominee that Americans also don't like. Trump currently has a 61 percent unfavorable rating in the RealClearPolitics average of public opinion polls. It's certainly not obvious that picking Gingrich would do much to turn that around.

Gingrich would also not carry any regional or demographic advantages. He hails from Georgia, a safe Republican state, and would do nothing to help Trump among women and minority groups where the GOP standard-bearer is deeply underwater. For all his "Bridgegate" baggage and home state unpopularity, Christie could at least make Trump somewhat more competitive among blue collar, blue state voters in the northeast.

Trump might have had a much more attractive vice presidential prospect in New Mexico's Susana Martinez, a Latina governor of a critical swing state. But Trump got into a nasty feud with Martinez in May and ripped her performance as governor. That put Martinez on the long list of GOP stars (Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and more) who expressed no interest in serving as Trump's VP.

Then there is the biggest negative of them all: The last couple of times Gingrich took on a Clinton, he lost miserably. The then-House Speaker presided over the House's shutdowns of the late 1990s and lost the PR battle to President Bill Clinton's White House. Then in 1998, Gingrich presided over Clinton's impeachment in the House, a shambolic catastrophe that wound up with the president acquitted in the Senate and Republicans pulling off a virtually unheard of feat: losing seats in the midterm election of an opposition president's second term.

Clinton emerged from all the shutdowns and the impeachment mess as an even more popular president, riding a wave of economic prosperity and getting credit for balanced budgets that Gingrich arguably had done much more to bring about. Gingrich had to quit as speaker.

Hillary Clinton certainly lacks the retail political skills that her husband has in such abundance.

But if there is a dream pairing for Democrats to paint the Republican ticket as a pair of aging white dudes completely out of touch with the changing nature of work and life in America, it's Trump-Gingrich.

So by insulting his way through the GOP primaries and into the general election, Trump has robbed himself of potentially game-changing vice presidential nominees and left himself with a JV squad of choices that won't make his path to the White House any easier.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/01/why-trump-gingrich-may-be-dream-ticketfor-dems.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Che adline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=103760574&yptr=yahoo

[Abbey Marie]

I truly don't think the average swing voter knows or cares about Gingrich's controversial Congressional past. But I do think they will see a team of two old white guys. Martinez would have been a very good choice. Or Carly.

[namvet]

Allen West. and he's waiting for the nod

[jimnyc]

Allen West. and he's waiting for the nod

I really like his resume. I haven't followed him much over the years, admittedly, but surely read a lot of stuff from him, and it's always been very impressive. Member of congress, Army lieutenant colonel (bronze star and other medals), well educated. And also, being a member of the board of directors of the NRA, I'd say he's fond of the 2nd amendment. :)

Too lazy to search this morning, and I don't recall seeing him on the lists I have been seeing about who Trump has on his short list for VP. Is this someone that you would just like to see with him, or there's some reality to this? I wouldn't mind this one at all!

[namvet]

I really like his resume. I haven't followed him much over the years, admittedly, but surely read a lot of stuff from him, and it's always been very impressive. Member of congress, Army lieutenant colonel (bronze star and other medals), well educated. And also, being a member of the board of directors of the NRA, I'd say he's fond of the 2nd amendment. :)

Too lazy to search this morning, and I don't recall seeing him on the lists I have been seeing about who Trump has on his short list for VP. Is this someone that you would just like to see with him, or there's some reality to this? I wouldn't mind this one at all!

well if Trump does not pick him for VP he can fit in as SOD or other positions where his military skill can be of valuable use. Trumps got to pick quality people who can keep him advised on domestic and foreign affairs IMO

[crin63]

Not my first choice either. He's a pitbull, great in debates, and would be great pretty much anywhere that some "fire" is needed. But I don't think that's what he needs. I think he might be better off with Newt. Some will laugh or complain at first, but I think he brings an awful lot to the table. My next option would be Carson. Love him more and more still. But would he bring enough? I think/hope so.

Carson would be a horrible pick if you want Trump elected. Carson will drive the educated Conservatives on the fence away. He is a final nail in the coffin for Trump not an asset. Christie would be equally as bad.

[Elessar]

I think Dr. Carson would be valuable as Surgeon General or Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Alan West? He's got political savvy...Perhaps VP or Secretary of Defense.

[gabosaurus]

Trump needs to choose someone from the mainstream. If he picks a candidate from the far right, he is further pinning himself in a corner.

[gabosaurus]

Trump tweeted out three names that apparently are being seriously considered for the VP job. The collective reply was "who??" :dunno:


Those named were the first-term Iowa senator Joni Ernst, the first-term Arkansas senator Tom Cotton – like Ernst a military veteran – and the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence.