by wil
When faced with defeat, it is understandable to want to look ahead to the next chance for victory. I worry that Republicans are looking ahead to the wrong chance, though. Instead of looking ahead to the 2010 midterm elections, including attempting to regain control of Congress like we did in 1994, more people are focusing on the 2012 election, and who our next candidates will be. To me, that’s sort of like a football team looking ahead to next year to defeat the team they just lost to, instead of focusing on next week to defeat the next opponent.
However, since that’s what people want to talk about, I think it’s only fair to open up that discussion. Let’s discuss 2012 with the understanding that it does us no good if we’re still swimming upstream this time two years from now.
Here are some names off the top of my head. Feel free to comment (civilly) on these, or add your own.
1. Sarah Palin: She energized the base, and continued to be a big draw when the rest of the McCain campaign was struggling. Democrats will likely play off of her perceived weaknesses from this cycle. She also wasn’t widely accepted by independents. She will have at least two, if not four, more years of experience as Alaska’s governor, and that can’t hurt.
2. Mitt Romney/Mike Huckabee: I lump these two together because of the mutual enmity their supporters have for one another. Both are good candidates in their own right, but both will have trouble shaking the image of the other’s supporters as “the guy who stole my candidate’s nomination.” If the economy’s still an issue in 2012, Romney might get a little more attention. If the Democrats have made radical social changes, Huckabee will be seen a little more favorably.
3. Bobby Jindal: His name came up often during the speculation over McCain’s running mate. He has served as a Congressman from Louisiana, and will have served at least a full term as Louisiana’s governor by 2012. He may be derided by Democrats as a “token minority” candidate.
4. Tim Pawlenty: Another relatively young governor who- along with Palin and Jindal- was on McCain’s running mate list to help balance out concerns over McCain’s age. Winning reelection in the swing state of Minnesota shows an ability to attract crossover and independent voters.
5. Jeb Bush/Charlie Crist: Jeb Bush is the Florida governor that has gotten the most buzz for a White House campaign, but Crist is the more popular in the swing state of Florida, and was also on McCain’s veep list.
6. Newt Gingrich: Conservative icon, still revered for the Contract With America and the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress. Has been talked about for the White House since then, which could work either for or against him.
Again, I’m sure there are others I’m missing. Please feel free to get this off your chest so we can look forward to 2010 before we look at the White House rematch in 2012.
Tags: Bobby Jindal, Charlie Crist, Jeb Bush, midterm elections, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty
November 10th, 2008 at 12:19 am
[...] Looking Ahead When faced with defeat, it is understandable to want to look ahead to the next chance for victory. I worry that Republicans are looking ahead to the wrong chance, though. Instead of looking ahead to the 2010 midterm elections, including attempting to regain control of Congress like we did in 1994, more people are focusing on the 2012 election, and who our next candidates will be. To me, that’s sort of like a football team looking ahead to next year to defeat the team they just lost to, instea [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Michael Steele-Very popular conservative, and a good speaker. Like “Bobby” Jindal, he could be scrutinized as the “token republican minority” as well. He did the counterpart speech during the 2004 RNC to Barack Obama’s.
John Thune-I say his name because I am from South Dakota. He was South Dakota’s lone member of the House of Representative. His first shot at the U.S. Senate was unsuccessful to a popular Tim Johnson (Johnson beat challenger Joel Dykstra this year, also note that Johnson suffered a stroke in 2006). Thune is mostly recognized for his successful bid at the U.S. Senate in 2004, beating incumbent and Senate Minority leader (at the time) Tom Daschle in a closely fought race.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Those are two very good “we’ll have to see” candidates.
Steele is the more likely of the two to be considered. He would have been less of a long-shot if he’d won the race for Maryland’s open Senate seat in 2006 (though he gets a little bit of a pass in that 2006 was a tough year for Republicans overall). We’ll have to see what happens with the RNC Chairman’s race before making a final call one way or another.
Thune gets style points in my book for losing a close race to Johnson in 2002 (with voter fraud by the Democrats possibly making the difference), then coming back two years later to take out the sitting Senate Minority Leader. However, his first reelection comes up in 2010. We’ll have to see if he survives that bid before putting him on POTUS watch.