|
Politico... Conservatives urge
Mike Pence to fill GOP ‘void’
By Jonathan Martin & Kasie Hunt
1/21/11
To understand the dissatisfaction on the right with the current crop of
Republican presidential hopefuls, look no further than Mike Pence.
An Indiana congressman with just five terms in public office, Pence is
currently the subject of a draft movement — but he may well pick a
gubernatorial run over a White House bid.
Nevertheless, a group of longtime Republicans — including former House
Majority Leader Dick Armey and former Rep. Jim Ryun — are working with
a well-connected conservative public relations firm to urge the
congressman to head to Des Moines and Manchester instead of
Indianapolis and Muncie.
Their efforts have intensified in recent days as Pence’s own
self-imposed end-of-January deadline for a decision grows near.
For all the praise they heap on the congressman — and his fans tend to
be effusive — it’s also plain that what makes him so compelling is the
perception that he lacks the flaws of the other candidates currently in
the presidential mix.
The pro-Pence crowd consists of a group of traditional conservatives
who, while sympathizing with her, don’t view Sarah Palin as a serious
presidential candidate. They doubt Mike Huckabee will run again or can
broaden his appeal. And they believe the rest of the field features
has-beens or candidates insufficiently pure on cultural issues.
For them, the Hoosier checks many boxes — a fresh face on the national
scene, a charismatic speaker from the heartland, and, most important, a
Republican who can appeal to all three elements of the party base:
social conservatives, economic conservatives and foreign policy
conservatives.
“He’s the complete package,” enthused Ralph Benko, a veteran Republican
consultant who is leading an organization aimed at pushing Pence to run.
But what these conservatives like about Pence says as much about the
other GOP presidential prospects as it does about the congressman.
“There’s a void out there,” said Chris Chocola, a former Indiana
congressman who now runs the Club for Growth. “And I think that Pence
is a guy who could potentially fill that void. Who else is an
across-the-board conservative who’s really good on the stump and has a
record that is unimpeachable in terms of standing up for conservative
principles? He’s the only guy.”
Chocola added of his fiscal conservative organization: “There isn’t
anybody that clearly excites our membership. If he would get in the
race our membership would get excited about that.”
Another plugged-in Pence backer was even more blunt in ticking off the
three reasons he is picking up support, each of which distinguishes him
from others in the GOP field: He says and believes the right things
(unlike, say, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who wants to avoid social
issues to focus on the country’s fiscal challenges), has the potential
to appeal to a broad audience (unlike, say, Palin or Huckabee, who seem
less likely to be able to draw support beyond their base) and he is
viewed as a politician who would actually govern as a social and fiscal
conservative (unlike, say, Mitt Romney, who continues to be mistrusted
by many conservatives).
Read the complete story
|
|
|
|
