New candidates for GOP emerging for 2012 – Thune and Johnson?
By JR Hoeft | Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 | PoliticsA good piece appears in Politico today about Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), political slayer of former Senate Leader Tom Daschle, and who will be at a Republican Party of Virginia event Wednesday.
The article postulates that Thune is establishing his street-cred for a potential run for president.
Thune would be in a strong position if he wants to make a White House run. Handsome, articulate and very popular among conservatives and evangelical Christians, Thune is unopposed in his bid for a second Senate term, an unprecedented position for any Senate candidate in South Dakota history.
He also has $6.9 million in cash in the bank for his Senate reelection fund, according to his June 30 report with the Federal Election Commission, money that could be used to jump-start a presidential campaign.
“I think this is a very critical time for this country. It’s a difficult time,” Thune added. “One of the reasons I think this whole budget debate plays into that is because that’s what most Americans have in terms of their agenda for Congress to be dealing with front and center.”
Thune is planning on rolling out today his proposal on how to change the congressional budget process.
While Thune might be a good cobination of fiscal and social policy conservatism, Gary Johnson of New Mexico should appeal to those with a more libertarian bent.
Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, has long been a limited government advocate, which included a big push to legalize marajuana.
Of his national policies,
“[Johnson] laments that the nation is “bankrupt” and adds that the current level of national borrowing is “catastrophic.” He blames both parties for this sorry state of affairs.
Johnson’s prescription is plain: “slashing spending,” especially with regard to “the Big Four: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Defense.”
According to an article profiling Johnson in Salon:
As governor of New Mexico, Johnson vetoed some 750 bills, a total that he has said surpasses the aggregate vetoes of all the nation’ s other governors during that period. He became known as “Governor No,” a label he seems to wear with some pride.
If both Thune and Johnson decide to run, it appears conservatives, especially fiscal conservatives, would have some real choice in 2012.
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Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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21 Responses to "New candidates for GOP emerging for 2012 – Thune and Johnson?"
Hm… It would be very cool to see Gary Johnson run for the White House.
Won’t happen with Johnson. The social conservatives won’t have a legalization guy for a candidate.
It’s good to see other names coming into view. Any of the presumed “front runners”…Palin, Romney, Gingrich, Huckabee, and yes, Jeb Bush are all a big fat no in my book. I’m having an easier time determining who I wno’t support.
Lee, as for Johnson being a legalization guy, that’s one problem for social conservaives. IIRC, he’s also pro-abortion.
Let’s just hope Thune doesn’t want to bring Dick Wadhams back into the picture. Wasn’t Thune his last win? He certainly was no help to George Allen.
I’d with Johnson over Thune any day. The term “social conservative” is the picture in the dictionary under oxymoron.
Snark all you want Craig. But the GOP can’t win without the social conservatives AND the fiscal conservatives.
Lee,
I agree. Frankly I’m not that familiar with Mr. Johnson but I can’t see how he’d make it out of a primary with a pro-Marijuana position.
As for Thune, frankly I just don’t see it at the moment. He has very little national visibility and is mainly known as the guy who took out Tom Daschle (for which we are eternally greatful). If this is the start of a big push though for him perhaps that will change. I love the talk of his budget process proposal that POLITICO mentions.
Some of us social conservatives would be happy to leave both the legalization issue and the abortion issues to the states. This Johnson guy sounds promising.
Folks,
I have nothing against either but can we first get through 2010. If the Repubs don’t win big in 2010 this site may not matter or even exist by 2012.
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@kingsmoothie. Right on.
kingsmoothie and Craig, I’d be happy to leave those issues to the states as well. But a lot of people won’t.
All I’m saying is that they’ll have to be addressed.
I don’t think the legalization issue is nearly as volatile as the abortion issue. It probably comes as no suprise that I am rather Libertarian in some respects. Since state and local governments rely ever more increasingly on sin taxes, I would think the legalization issue would be easy to sell. “Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax the man behind the tree.” Hey, maybe we could fund more light rail with the tax on MJ. Or even the entire transportation budget….how about Education?
Thune voted for TARP. No dice.
Tarp vote = rino. I’m with DJ on this. Its a deal breaker.. just like giving one thousand dollars to Obama.
So does fiscal conservatism mean that you let out of control corporations do anything they want even if it means the destruction of the world wide financial system? Frankly, most actual business people I know hold their nose at TARP but agree it was needed, and support the financial regulatory reform bill. Does that disqualify them from republican support? Sounds to me as if this forum essentially supports a return to the Bush/Cheney era of more tax cuts, higher deficits, and international corporate control of national economies, and if you think that is what the teaparty is all about, I think you are in for a licking.
@ Mike Barrett
I think it’s important to look at TARP from a rule-of-law perspective. The debate can go on endlessly about whether it was needed or not, but the question should ultimately be, “Where does the federal government have the authority to __________”?
While Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are (unfortunately) justified through general welfare and commerce in the Constitution, there is no solid ground that could even remotely authorize the TARP program.
Additionally, the treasury department didn’t use the allocated funds as specified in the TARP program as intended by the Congress. The money was supposed to be used to purchase illiquid assets, but was instead used for a variety of other purposes.
Ultimately, I don’t see many big difference between George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama (or the Democrat and Republican party establishments). They both support the big-government, bailouts, deficit-spending and unnecessary international aggression.
Perhaps you are correct; I am not a constitutional scholar and will have to leave such esoteric questions to the courts. However, from a pragmatic standpoint, while I abhor the need to bail out these companies, I believe the consensus among economists is that it was absolutely necessary. Further, the need for stimulus is not over if we are to begin a solid recovery. Then it is time for deficit reduction.
@ Mike Barrett
Take a look at http://wewillnotbesilenced2008.com/
Gigi Gaston, a writer/director who has made a documentary outlining the rampant voter fraud perpetrated by the Obama campaign during the 2008 primaries against Hillary Clinton. Gaston is a lifelong Democrat whose grandfather was a Democratic governor of Massachusetts…
Is this “normal politics” for the Democratic Party ?? I really do not know. What do you have to say about all of this??
Take a look at this. Start at 3:50. Listen to what Helene Latimer has to say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4XFvq5XMk8
These are not republicans or tea party people. These are your fellow democrats and this is what they are saying.
“This documentary is about the disenfranchising of American citizens by the Democratic Party and the Obama Campaign. We the People have made this film. Democrats have sent in their stories from all parts of America. We want to be heard and let the country know how our party has sanctioned the actions of what we feel are Obama Campaign “Chicago Machine” dirty politics. We believe this infamous campaign of “change” from Chicago encouraged and created an army to steal caucus packets, falsify documents, change results, allow unregistered people to vote, scare and intimidate Hillary supporters, stalk them, threaten them, lock them out of their polling places, silence their voices and stop their right to vote, which is, of course, all documented in “We Will Not Be Silenced.”
“We Will Not Be Silenced” is about the people who fight back by simply telling their stories: Teachers, professors, civil rights activists, lawyers, janitors, physicists, ophthalmologists, accountants, mathematicians, retirees – all bound together by their love of America and Democracy. They will tell us their experiences and how they feel betrayed by their own party. They will discuss how their party has disenfranchised them and how, when they saw and reported multiple instances of fraud, everyone turned a blind eye. Rather than support and protect the voices and votes of its loyal members, the DNC chose to sweep this under the rug by looking the other way, or using ceremony and quasi-investigations to assuage angry voters. It is our opinion there never before has been such a “dirty” campaign; the campaign that has broken the hearts and spirits of American voters, who once believed in the Democractic voting system.”
What is going on here ?????
Perhaps the Democratic Party needs a leader like John Kennedy who believed the American people need to be what they were born to be, free and independent.
I agree with:
Any of the presumed “front runners”…Palin, Romney, Gingrich, Huckabee, and yes, Jeb Bush are all a big fat no in my book but Especially Romney(no;-o)
..Gingrich (No;-o )
and Palin (I like her ok but moderates would not vote for her I don’t think)
Those three would a sure win for obama 2012..
And oh yes I’m with DJ and James on Thune Tarp vote = rino.
No Rino Deal Breakers!
Gary Johnson all the way. Its about time we had somebody in office who is actually OF the people. Born and bred, self made man. And the hypocrisy surrounding cannabis prohibition is insane. Its far safer then alcohol or tobacco. All prohibiting does is create and fuel a violent black market who is massive in scope, and wealthy beyond imagination. If we were truly Conservative and valued our safety and the safety of our children, then cannabis would be made legal, regulated, and taxed. PERIOD. This country has a much too short memory. Remember what happened with prohibition of alcohol in the 1930s…. EXACTLY. THIS HAS to be done.
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