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The John McCain Imperative
Who John McCain picks as his vice presidential nominee is more important to the future of the Republican Party, and indeed the country, than it might otherwise initially seem.
Speculation of McCain's possible choices has grown with the news that prominent Republicans Mitt Romney, Charlie Crist and Bobby Jindal will join McCain over the Memorial Day holiday at his Sedona cabin, but if McCain and the Republicans give in to conventional tactics and select a conservative running mate to complement the maverick John McCain, they will most likely have opted for a losing strategy for a party that is now in decline.
The Republican Party is in a downward spiral since losing the majority in Congress in 2006, most recently evidenced by the loss of three congressional special elections in the last few months. Furthermore, the most recent polls all show Democrats have a double digit lead in congressional voter preference.
There is a way for the Republican Party to transform the race and ultimately have a strong chance to win the election. And that is by nominating a non-Republican for the second spot to create a fusion ticket that would be based on a centrist, non-partisan approach. Polls show that 60 to 70% of the American electorate is attracted to the idea of the parties offering a non-partisan, results-oriented approach to the nation's seemingly intractable problems. Fortunately for Democrats, the current makeup of the Republican Party suggests that it is highly unlikely that they will follow this potentially game-changing approach.
A quick look at some recent polls shows how uphill a climb Senator McCain faces if he is to emerge victorious.
The Democrats are currently divided and fighting among themselves. Twenty to 25% of Obama and Clinton supporters now say they will defect to McCain if their candidate loses the nomination. But those numbers are likely to change when the Democratic Party, as they inevitably will, consolidates around a nominee. This means that the polls that currently show McCain running very competitively with both Obama and Clinton will almost certainly change for the worse once the Democrats conclude their nominating process.
In a recent Fox News poll, McCain led Obama by three points. However, when voters were asked to choose between two presidential tickets, Obama-Clinton and McCain-Romney, the Obama-Clinton ticket won by six points, at a time when the Democrats appear hopelessly divided. The McCain-Romney ticket is a generic Republican ticket backed by such Republican stalwarts as Karl Rove, and these poll numbers are indicative of how that ticket is likely to fare in the fall general election.
Other polling, which focuses on the parties, demonstrates how big of an advantage the Democratic nominee is likely to have.
In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken at the end of April, voters said they prefer that a Democrat be elected president instead of a Republican this fall by 18 points. A Washington Post/ABC News Poll taken last month shows that by an almost 20-point margin, the electorate would choose a generic Democratic presidential candidate over an unnamed Republican presidential candidate to resolve the situation in Iraq and handle the economy.
Thus, the odds are stacked greatly against a Republican winning the 2008 presidential race. So what can McCain do to win the race?
One compelling option for McCain is to change the nature of the Republican Party and indeed the electoral process in the United States in a way that has not been done in the modern era. Slated to join McCain this weekend is an independent Democrat, Joe Lieberman. The former Democratic vice presidential nominee is a strong supporter of a hawkish foreign policy, a loyal ally to McCain, and as McCain's running mate would allow for a number of arguments that will uniquely empower McCain and the Republicans in the fall elections.
By picking Joe Lieberman, John McCain can do three things he can not otherwise do. First, he runs as a centrist and a maverick, not a mainstream Republican, effectively and finally distancing himself from George Bush and turning the race into a contest between a bipartisan coalition and a more narrow Democratic ticket. This will avoid allowing the race to inevitably become a contest between a partisan Republican and a partisan Democrat -- a contrast that works inexorably to the Republican disadvantage.
Second, choosing Lieberman as his vice president allows McCain to develop a new, centrist ideology, borrowing ideas and principles from both parties. Working in a bipartisan fashion, and advocating and responding to the electorate's desire for change by indicating he will choose a bipartisan cabinet, McCain can take on the serious issues facing our country, such as entitlements, healthcare, our struggling economy and both the war on terror and the war in Iraq.
The Obama candidacy has compellingly proven that voters are attracted to this type of centrist, bipartisan approach, and there is ample survey research that supports this conclusion.
Finally, if McCain selects Lieberman as his vice presidential running mate, he creates a critically important opportunity for America -- the possibility for bipartisan coalitions in the House and the Senate to be forged in a way that will uniquely reassure the American people about what can be achieved in Washington in the future.
To be sure, this idea goes against conventional wisdom. When Karl Rove and other Republican leaders have been asked who McCain should choose as his running mate, they run through a list of prospective choices and conclude that someone like Mitt Romney would make sense, or perhaps Charlie Crist can deliver Florida, or Bobby Jindal can balance McCain's age. I think this conventional approach is wrong for the Republican Party and wrong for the nation.
Let me be clear. This is about more than just choosing a vice presidential running mate. This is about fundamentally altering the nature of the political party system in America, which will redound not only to the short-term benefit of McCain, but also to the long-term benefit of the country.
Thus, selecting Joe Lieberman is not only a smart electoral strategy for John McCain, but a strategy that could potentially transform American politics.
Carly Cooperman contributed to this article.
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Senator Lieberman will be President McCain's Secretary of State.
Can anyone say "Iraq War" - ??? The Republicans are in trouble mainly because they started and stubbornly support the Iraq War, which the majority of Americans rightly oppose. Both McCain and Lieberman strongly support that war, so they are doomed. All the Republicans are. On top of the disaster in Iraq, Republican economic and social policies of the last 8 years have clearly been repudiated by conditions in this country, which suck big time. Nothing the Republicans say makes sense, and most of it is clearly lies to begin with. The Republicans are out of credibility, and out of gas. Oh yes, let's talk about gas. All these Texas Republican oilmen running the country, and gas at nearly $5 a gallon. How's that working for you ?
Centrist? Bi-partisan? Kindly tell me one difference between the parties as they currently function in our government. How about both parties getting back to what they are supposed to represent first? Before we start talking about the beauty of a bi-partisan ticket? Everything about the Democratic and Republican party platforms has become twisted in recent decades. And it begs one to ask where common sense has gone? What is so difficult about having a fiscally responsible, socially conscious government with more power at the state and local levels where things can actually get done? This notion that we all need the federal government to take care of things for us is idiotic and it has been proven time and time again throughout history that anything the federal government touches, it screws up.
Socialism is not supposed to be the core of the democratic party. For crying out loud, we were at one time the Democratic-Republican Party in opposition of the Federalist Party. And now, the Republicans have turned fascist and the Democrats marxist. It's boggling to the mind. My Democratic party is dying and being replaced by a centrist, corporatist, globalist focus that is alarming. And, any Republican out there could easily claim that his or her party has died and is now a big government, militaristic, imperialist platform. All the politicians and pundits will deny this, but it is all there in the open plain as day.
Sigh. Enough of my rant.
And Obama could one-up him, as they say, by picking Chuck Hagel as his running-mate.
Instead of doing the non-idealistic, boring, and politics-as-usual probable of Hillary.
I just threw up at the prospect.
Centrist? Bi-partisan? Kindly tell me one difference between the parties as they currently function in our government. How about both parties getting back to what they are supposed to represent first? Before we start talking about the beauty of a bi-partisan ticket? Everything about the Democratic and Republican party platforms has become twisted in recent decades. And it begs one to ask where common sense has gone? What is so difficult about having a fiscally responsible, socially conscious government with more power at the state and local levels where things can actually get done? This notion that we all need the federal government to take care of things for us is idiotic and it has been proven time and time again throughout history that anything the federal government touches, it screws up.
Socialism is not supposed to be the core of the democratic party. For crying out loud, we were at one time the Democratic-Republican Party in opposition of the Federalist Party. And now, the Republicans have turned fascist and the Democrats marxist. It's boggling to the mind. My Democratic party is dying and being replaced by a centrist, corporatist, globalist focus that is alarming. And, any Republican out there could easily claim that his or her party has died and is now a big government, militaristic, imperialist platform. All the politicians and pundits will deny this, but it is all there in the open plain as day.
Sigh. Enough of my rant.
Well, yeah, it might give Jewish voters an alternative to voting for Obama. But I don't think the number of Jewish voters in the US is substantial enough to win an election with.
Why does Lieberman hate America so much?
Lieberman is to the activist base of the Democratic Party what Hillary Clinton is to the activist base of the Republican party.
Lieberman won't help McCain anywhere. He'd lose CT if he had to run for reelection today. He didn't help Al Gore worth a tink.
this is just silliness.
Lieberman IS a republican, whatever he may call himself.
People who are insane enough to still support the Freedom destroying republicans HATE Lieberman so I doubt this would help McCain.
The small minority who still support the party that thinks the Constitution is a "Goddamn Piece of Paper" (quote President Bush) are not happy with McCain.
Independents like myself regard Lieberman as a traitor to his party and are going to vote Democrat because most independents believe in Freedom, Prosperity, the Rule of Law and the Constitution , all things the republicans have destroyed over the last 30 years.
yes, Selecting Joe Lieberman as a running mate for John McCain could potentially transform American politics to a total sh*t heap much worse than we've already had!
Lets get it straight Lieberman supports McCain because Lieberman's first loyalty is Israel. I dont want a far right pander paired up with a Jewish Fundamentalist while we are fighting a war in the middle east. Lieberman will want to invade Syria, Iran, Lebonon and any other Arab country that has not sworn to kiss Israel's American funded behind. Clearly he has some troubling beliefs about where America ought to put its priorities. I am not at all confident that he thinks America's interest come before Israel's. The right wing kill as many arabs and muslims as you can until they submit to Western authority and Israel dominance is unacceptable. It ask for nothing short of World War III in order to satisfy the desires of small religious sect. Seriously I would prefer Romney. At least his ambition would prevent him from ruining his shot for 2012.
Perhaps Lieberman can run for Prime Minister of Israel, I think he would like it there better.
Yes, quite right. However it would seem to me that the best interests of the American Jewish community would be to openly reject Lieberman as representing them in any way. If the war scenario you picture were to become the case then the American Jews might face a very angry reaction as the body-bags come home. Save Israel, don't drag all of the Jewish-American community into the Zionist net -- get rid of Lieberman and the other neocons.
Is your post some type of sick humor? Joe is so screwed up that in the next year or so he could probably not get a job as a shoe shine boy. Nobody likes him not even Republicans. Get real. Boy are you a sicko or what. Egad man!!!!!
Holy Cow!
Yes, PLEASE pick Lieberman, John.
There will be a huge number of Democrats who will turn out to vote JUST to dis that clown.
I was beginning to worry about how fractured the Democratic party would be after this whole Obama/Clinton debacle (that is still going on), and how we might actually be in danger of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory once again.
If that ridiculous fool was on the Republican ticket, I'd be a lot less worried because of how it would energize all of the various demographics who despise him and how much of a traitor he has been to progressive causes (not the least of which being a chickenhawk about Iraq, of course).
I honestly don't know what planet Mr. Schoen is on not to see what a disastrous choice Lieberman would be for McCain.
I totally agree that this would guarantee a Democratic victory. How on earth could Schoen consider a McCain/Lieberman ticket to be bipartisan. Sure lots of Republicans would think it was, but no one else would. Lieberman has been a Republican the last few years without admitting it. This would represent complete solidarity with Bush. What a winning idea!
High probability. However, he could also go with Hillary if the Dems snub her.
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