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President 2012: Daniels is Out – So Who is Left?
Jennifer Rubin who never liked Mitch Daniels calls him names, but the GOP base has to ponder – who is left?
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’s pre-campaign effort was odd from the get-go. He antagonized key blocs of the Republican Party, evidenced a tin ear and seemed to take no counsel from anyone. Now he’s out, citing family concerns. Donald Trump never intended to run, and his exit was no surprise. But to Daniels’s supporters this “tease” may leave a bad taste in their mouths (as Daniels conceded in his letter to supporters). In any event, his departure confirms that he is, bluntly speaking, an odd duck.
Meanwhile, former Utah governor and ambassador to China Jon Huntsman — who served in the Obama administration, previously backed cap-and-trade, is viewed warily by social conservatives and has no perceptible grass-roots support — has made his candidacy even less credible…
Maybe it will be the Bob Dole, boring boys, campaign after all – with Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty.
Wow, with that duo Obama will really cruise to a victory.
But, on the bright side, the GOP donors will redirect their money to U.S. Senate races where they might actually be able to elect someone.
The only candidates that can enter this race now and make it half-way competitive will be New Jersey Governor Chris Christie or former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. If not, the race for 2012 will be a snorer.
But, wait…..I bet Sarah Palin runs, if no other GOP Establishment type ponies up to the bar.
So, maybe the race wont be boring – just hopeless lost.
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Updated with Daniels Interview: President 2012: Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Will NOT Run for President
*****Update*****
The Indy Star is up with an interview of Governor Mitch Daniels.
“On matters affecting us all, our family constitution gives a veto to the women’s caucus, and there is no override provision,” Daniels said. “Simply put, I find myself caught between two duties. I love my country; I love my family more.”
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels answers questions Thursday, May 19, 2011, at the Palais Royale ballroom during a breakfast speech in South Bend, Indiana
Mitch Daniels is out of the race for 2012.
Gov. Mitch Daniels and many Republicans think he could have been the next president of the United States but he will not run, saying his wife and daughters vetoed that choice.
I will not be a candidate, Daniels said in a statement given exclusively late Saturday to The Indianapolis Star.
Those words ended 17 months of speculation and downright begging from anxious Republicans searching for a candidate who can beat President Barack Obama.
There will be plenty more in the morning. But, this development certainly helps Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman.
Stay tuned as the Bush donors scramble to find someone to draft to be the anti-Romney candidate. My best guess is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
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President 2012: Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Will NOT Run for President
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels answers questions Thursday, May 19, 2011, at the Palais Royale ballroom during a breakfast speech in South Bend, Indiana
Mitch Daniels is out of the race for 2012.Gov. Mitch Daniels and many Republicans think he could have been the next president of the United States — but he will not run, saying his wife and daughters vetoed that choice.
“I will not be a candidate,” Daniels said in a statement given exclusively late Saturday to The Indianapolis Star.
Those words ended 17 months of speculation — and downright begging from anxious Republicans searching for a candidate who can beat President Barack Obama.
There will be plenty more in the morning. But, this development certainly helps Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman.
Stay tuned as the Bush donors scramble to find someone to draft to be the anti-Romney candidate. My best guess is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
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Barack Obama, Eliot Abrams, Israel, John McCain, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, President 2012, Tim Pawlenty
President 2012: Obama’s Speech on Middle East and North Africa – The Reaction
U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talk with invited guests after his speech about the United States policy on the Middle East and North Africa at the State Department in Washington, May 19, 2011. Obama on Thursday invoked the killing of Osama bin Laden as a chance to recast relations with the Arab world and said the top U.S. priority was to promote democratic change across the region. Obama, in his much-anticipated “Arab spring” speech, also ratcheted up pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, saying for the first time that he must stop a crackdown on protests and lead a democratic transition “or get out of the way”
The reaction to President Obama’s speech (transcript) yesterday (video) was swift and certain from his potential 2012 GOP opponents. Here is a sampling.
- Mitt Romney – “President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace.”
- Tim Pawlenty – “To send a signal to the Palestinians that America will increase its demands on our ally Israel, on the heels of the Palestinian Authority’s agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization, is a disaster waiting to happen. At this time of upheaval in the Middle East, it’s never been more important for America to stand strong for Israel and for a united Jerusalem.”
- Mitch Daniels – “What is going on in the Arab world these days has little or nothing to do with Israel or Palestine, it has to do with tyrannical regimes which have really stifled prospects for their people who are now restless for a better life… I don’t think right now it pays very much of a dividend to try to cut the Gordian Knot of Israel and Palestine.”
- John McCain – This is setting a limitation on the boundaries of the state of Israel without regard to the Israelis having a country that they can defend militarily..” http://bit.ly/m4lMyx
- Eliot Abrams – “On the whole, the president’s comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will lead nowhere. It is striking that he suggested no action: no meeting, no envoy, no Quartet session, no invitations to Washington.” http://on.cfr.org/mxSqsG
My take on this is that most Americans don’t give a flying flip about this issue. They object to their tax money being used to adjudicate a dispute that has been going on for thousands of years.
So, this will not hurt Obama (execpt with his left-wing Jewish donors) and certainly not help the GOP candidates (since Jewish voters go about 75% for the Dems and are concentrted in New York and California – states which won’t be in play in the Electoral College.)
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President 2012:Mitch Daniels to Headline National Republican Senatorial Committee Event Next Week – Presidential Announcement?
I would think that Mitch will make the announcement next week that he is a candidate for President.
Mitch Daniels is expected to be the special guest at a National Republican Senatorial Committee event in Washington next week, just as he’s deciding whether to run for president, POLITICO has learned.
According to the invitation, Daniels will appear at the May 25 event as the star attraction.
The invitation lists NRSC head Sen. John Cornyn, Indiana Sen. Dan Coats and others as the hosts.
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Updated: President 2012 Video: Mitch Daniels at the Ripon Society – Far From Devastating
*****Update*****
The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin is no fan of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, and last night she posted a two-year old video clip of him that she claimed was “devestating.”
What was so awful about it? (…)
Daniels went on to speak about the debt and Obama’s spending binge.
“The American people’s skepticism about debt and deficits I think is at an all time high, not only because of what they’re seeing in the public sector – most states, the federal government – but think about their lives,” he said. “Americans just came through a period where either they or their neighbors, or a business they were involved in, saved too little, borrowed too much, spent too much, didn’t work out too well. That door is about to be thrown wide open by the policies of this administration.”
He was even optimistic about the ability of Republicans to win over the youth vote.
“I just do not see in Americans today, the young people in particular, an embrace of collectivism, of statism,” Daniels said. “Quite the contrary. Almost to a fault, they insist on individual choice and almost limitless freedom. And I don’t think they’re going to be naturally herded together by government however charismatically it is presented. Into unions, or mass transit, or in any other fashion that infringes on what they see as their God-given right to make their own choices.”
Keep in mind that at the time he was making these remarks, there was plenty of reason for GOP pessimism — Obama’s approval rating was still at a resilient 60 percent it was several months before Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell had won their governorships.
Far from being “devastating,” the video actually makes Daniels come across as a mainstream (and prescient) conservative who predicted that the Republican Party could win by emphasizing solutions to real world problems and limited government principles.
Refreshing to see another conservative pundit agreeing with me over Jennifer Rubin’s obvious dislike of Daniels.
First Half of Governor Mitch Daniels’ Address to The Ripon Society on June 10. 2009.Jennifer Rubin over at the Washington Post has the hatchet out yet again for Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. This time it is over a speech delivered in 2009.
This devastating clip from a Ripon Society speech demonstrates why conservatives mistrust Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels:
Here is the clip which is part two of Daniel’s speech delivered almost two years ago (and note before the 2010 midterm elections when the GOP won back the House):
Second half of Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels’ address to The Ripon Society, June 10, 2009It is very noteworthy that Jennifer does not date the video or mention the date anywhere in the text of her post. Doesn’t that lead the reader to believe that it was delivered recently?
When Daniels says the GOP should avoid wedge issues, that means the entire debate must conform to what the Democrats will tolerate: The whole concept of a wedge issue should be foreign to us if we really want to come back. That is not what the partys base wants to hear. They want to set the agenda, not capitulate before beginning the bargaining. More than any single issue, it is this attitude that will be an anathema to the Republican primary electorate. Daniels is also, not to be too indelicate, boring.
Well, we all know that Rubin, the former California Labor attorney, turned pundit, is pushing Paul Ryan and Chris Christie to run for the Presidency. But, she shouldn’t let her preferences to cloud or obfuscate Daniel’s record.
Listen to Daniel’s speech – all of it and let me know if this is a “devastating clip?”
Perhaps, I am being “moderate” or naive but I thought one of the first tenants of elected politics is to NOT alienate voters. I think that is what Mitch is saying here. The RIGHT Ideas and issues are what determines your success at the polls.
Since I have run and held office in California and Rubin hasn’t, perhaps Mitch and I understand this just a little more.
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President 2012 Video: Why Mitch Daniels Would Make a Good GOP Nominee
Dick Morris explores the Republican presidential field. Based on his polling and insight, he briefs us on Mitch Daniels in today’s video. How is he perceived? Will he win? What are his chances against Obama?I know it is Dick Morris, but he outlines the good conservative policies that Daniels has accomplished in Indiana.
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President 2012 Video: Mitch Daniels at the Ripon Society
First Half of Governor Mitch Daniels’ Address to The Ripon Society on June 10. 2009.Jennifer Rubin over at the Washington Post has the hatchet out yet again for Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. This time it is over a speech delivered in 2009.
This devastating clip from a Ripon Society speech demonstrates why conservatives mistrust Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels:
Here is the clip which is part two of Daniel’s speech delivered almost two years ago (and note before the 2010 midterm elections when the GOP won back the House):
Second half of Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels’ address to The Ripon Society, June 10, 2009It is very noteworthy that Jennifer does not date the video or mention the date anywhere in the text of her post. Doesn’t that lead the reader to believe that it was delivered recently?
When Daniels says the GOP should avoid “wedge” issues, that means the entire debate must conform to what the Democrats will tolerate: “The whole concept of a wedge issue should be foreign to us if we really want to come back.” That is not what the party’s base wants to hear. They want to set the agenda, not capitulate before beginning the bargaining. More than any single issue, it is this attitude that will be an anathema to the Republican primary electorate. Daniels is also, not to be too indelicate, boring.
Well, we all know that Rubin, the former California Labor attorney, turned pundit, is pushing Paul Ryan and Chris Christie to run for the Presidency. But, she shouldn’t let her preferences to cloud or obfuscate Daniel’s record.
Listen to Daniel’s speech – all of it and let me know if this is a “devastating clip?”
Perhaps, I am being “moderate” or naive but I thought one of the first tenants of elected politics is to NOT alienate voters. I think that is what Mitch is saying here. The RIGHT Ideas and issues are what determines your success at the polls.
Since I have run and held office in California and Rubin hasn’t, perhaps Mitch and I understand this just a little more.
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President 2012: The Pros and Cons of Mitch Daniels
On the positive side, he’s been a successful governor, implemented health-care reform that doesn’t rely on forcing people to buy insurance they don’t want, has a strong education plan and has won two statewide elections. In other words, his track record is nearly as good as Tim Pawlenty’s. He is smart, articulate, good with facts and figures, and is, by any measure, a serious candidate. In his gubernatorial runs he proved to be a very effective, down-to-earth candidate that could relate to relatively non-ideological, middle-class voters, the very ones who will be up for grabs in 2012. He is solidly grounded in a limited-government perspective. He has been an outspoken opponent of cap-and-trade.
On the downside, he seems to have gone out of his way to needlessly antagonize social conservatives with his “truce” talk and anger hawks, by embracing defense cuts and suggesting America should do less in the world. He appears overly eager to seek the advice of and incur the approval of non-conservative elites. The prospect of Secretary of State Dick Lugar sends chills up the spine of many conservatives. According to many former Bush officials, he does not take input from anyone — subordinates, colleagues and certainly not critics. (The conviction that one is the “smartest man in the room” leads one to ignore important criticism and pile the miscues.) He has indicated his receptivity to a value-added tax. His tenure as George W. Bush’s OMB director may be a liability not a strength in this election. And finally, his tunnel vision on debt control, if adhered to in office, would wind up lacking focus on economic growth andsacrificing many other issues important to conservatives (e.g. judges,right-to-work).
But, Jennifer, who has never been a Daniels fan and who favors a run by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin or New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, looks at Daniels in a vacuum. The primary election will be a face off between Daniels (if and when he decides to run) and Mitt Romney.
With Mike Huckabee out, there will be a vacuum on the RIGHT which either Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin or both will fill. Paul Ryan and Chris Christie will NOT be running and it is doubtful that they will enter the race with these four candidates, plus Ron Paul and Tim Pawlenty in the race. Jennifer gives a hopeful, but flawed analysis.
These (Daniels Vs. Romney and Palin Vs. Bachmann) will be the semi-final races going into Super Tuesday and beyond.
So, Jennifer, who would you support Daniels or Romney? Who would be the better candidate against President Obama?
I would submit a ticket of Romney-Daniels or Daniels-Bachmann would make a very interesting team going into the summer of 2012.
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Day By Day, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, President 2012, Sarah Palin
Day By Day May 17, 2011 – The Real Individual Mandate
Chris, I have for months downplayed the notion that Sarah Palin will run for the 2012 Presidency. Now, I am not so sure.With Mike Huckabee out, there is a vacuum for social conservatives on the RIGHT. Michele Bachmann is ramping up her campaign and she has the conservative cred but she cannot ignite a crowd like Sarah Palin.
Ultimately, it may be a Mitch Daniels Vs. Mitt Romney contest for the moderate candidate and Bachmann Vs. Palin for the conservative. This will be the semi-final contest and we may have to wait until late next spring to see who wins – maybe even the convention itself.
It will be a bumpy ride for the GOP and exciting at the same time.
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