Sunday, April 08, 2012

So is Jan Brewer "second-string" or "third-string"?


Jamelle Bouie of The American Prospect has a quote from MSNBC's Joe Scarbourough (a connected R) on a problem that Mitt Romney has to face now that he has all but wrapped up the R presidential nomination (hat tip to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire for the heads up) -

“Nobody thinks Romney’s going to win. Let’s just be honest. Can we just say this for everybody at home? Let me just say this for everybody at home. The Republican establishment – I’ve yet to meet a single person in the Republican establishment that thinks Mitt Romney is going to win the general election this year. They won’t say it on TV because they’ve got to go on TV and they don’t want people writing them nasty emails.”

Bouie goes on to provide a little analysis/speculation on the practical effect of the above (emphasis added) -

"...if we assume for a moment that Scarbourough is right, and Republican leaders are skeptical that Romney will beat Obama, then this has important implications for the direction of the former governor’s campaign. Remember, in the modern era, it’s rare for a losing Republican vice presidential nominee to become the nominee in a later election. Dan Quayle, for example, is a punchline, not a presidential candidate, and the same goes for the most recent member of the club, Sarah Palin.

Which is to say that, in a world where Republicans don’t see a future for Romney, we should expect the vice presidential “race” to become a microcosm of the nomination contest, ambitious Republicans keep themselves out of the running, and leave the field to second and third string politicians who have nothing to lose from a defeat in November. Marco Rubio might want to avoid a losing campaign, but will that matter for Ohio Senator Rob Portman, who doesn’t seem to have another avenue into political prominence?"

Given Jan Brewer's dalliance with the national spotlight (OK, a couple of appearances on Fox News and a book tour) and her making nice with Sarah Palin a few months back, she could be considered a dark horse candidate for the VP slot.

I just have one question:  would "resign to run" apply?

Please?

2 comments:

Phoenix Justice said...

I think "resign to run" would apply as she is not in her last year as governor. It doesn't help Democrats much, as the Secretary of State is a Republican, but it would get Governor Brewer out of our hair.

Thane Eichenauer said...

If one uses Time Magazine as a valid instrument Jan Brewer is the 18th most influential person *POW* in the world. I wish channel 5 thought that my full answer was more worthy of tv time than some college chick who doesn't know who Jan Brewer is. GRRRRRRRRRRR.