Manassas, U.S.A — Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, issued the following statement regarding possible Republican vice presidential candidates:

“There is growing unease among conservatives that the ‘short list’ of vice presidential candidates Mitt Romney has under consideration has too many establishment-type Republicans and few, if any, principled small government constitutional conservatives.

“Conservatives want Governor Romney to win, but there are millions of independent and right-of-center voters who are disillusioned with business-as-usual in Washington.  To attract their votes, Romney needs a running mate who is a small government constitutional conservative, not an establishment insider.

“As the names of establishment Republican personalities like Ohio Senator Rob Portman, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Congressman Paul Ryan, or ‘outside the box’ choices like General David Petraeus (whose political views are largely unknown) have surfaced, the names of small government constitutional conservatives, such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker have faded into the background.”

Viguerie offered concise critiques of the conservative bona fides of Pawlenty, Portman, Rice, Christie, Ryan, and Petraeus in recent articles on ConservativeHQ.com.

Tim Pawlenty: Prairie State Michael Bloomberg. “Far from being a conservative, when it comes to the nanny state versus individual liberty, Tim Pawlenty is more of a Prairie State Michael Bloomberg than a Reagan Republican.”

Has Romney Already Chosen Portman for VP? “He [Portman] may be unknown to many Republicans across the country, but in Washington–where he worked in both Bush administrations–he is the ultimate insider. He’s also the ultimate Bush Republican.”

Rice for VP a Slap in the Face to Conservatives: “Given her association with some of the worst neo-con inspired policies of the Bush era, putting Condoleezza Rice at the top of the VP short list is an insult to the conservatives, Tea Partiers, and independents who are looking for a break with the old establishment Republican Washington that Rice represents.”

Chris Christie: He’s a Brawler; But He is No Conservative “This cycle it is more important than ever that we make sure Republicans nominate a reliable conservative, not just another business-as-usual Republican politician. Chris Christie may be a brawler, but there is no record showing he can be relied upon to put his formidable talents behind many key elements of the conservative agenda.”

Paul Ryan for Vice President? Not So Fast. “Many in the conservative movement admire Ryan’s gumption in proposing a plan to return the federal government to fiscal sanity. The problem is the Ryan plan uses the Washington, DC version of sanity.”

General David Petraeus for VP — Patriot Yes, Conservative? “General Petraeus is a much-admired man who has ably, and sometimes brilliantly, served our country in the best tradition of the American armed forces. However, if Governor Romney is seriously considering David Petraeus for Vice President, he cannot and must not be given a pass on a thorough examination of Petraeus’ commitment to the small government constitutional conservative agenda.”

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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Who Mitt Romney’s running mate will be is still uncertain. Expectation levels are high because the elections are only a few months away. Republicans around the country know that this decision will be crucial in their aspirations of returning to the White House.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has a serious chance of becoming Mitt Romney’s running mate. He would certainly help the Republican Party in their aspirations of regaining the Hispanic voter’s support, which currently favors the Democrats. Rubio served in the House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and was elected as a Senator in 2010. Senator Rubio’s political skills, which include a fluent Spanish and high popularity among  Hispanics, would definitely help Mitt Romney to win states with high Hispanic population like Florida, New Mexico and Arizona. 

Ana Navarro, a Politico columnist, referred to Senator Rubio as the anti-Palin. She explained that the population of Alaska during Sarah Palin time as a governor was of 700,000, on the other hand, Senator Rubio represents a state of more than 19 million people, Florida is also a state with a variety of cultures in which practically every U.S. demographic group is represented.

Condoleezza Rice is another name that has appeared as a possible candidate for the vice-presidency. The Former Secretary of State will surely be able to help Romney in foreign issues.  But Condoleezza Rice’s deep involvement in George W. Bush government might not help her because of the bad public image that Bush government has in these days. Also, the fact that Rice is not married doesn’t make her an ideal candidate to the most conservative base of the Republican Party.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman also has great possibilities. He is the Senator of Ohio, one of the swing states that could determine this election. He was elected in 2010; he won with a margin of 57 to 39 percent, winning 82 of Ohio’s 88 counties. His campaign focused on common-sense conservative ideas to help create jobs and get the deficit under control. He helped Romney in the victory against Santorum in the Ohio primaries and the public opinion sees him as a safe pick.

Republican strategist Mark Weaver said that Senator Portman’s organization level in Ohio is very deep and he also “has so many people that are committed to helping him that would all come the way of Mitt Romney.  And in a close state like Ohio, the difference of having someone like Portman on the ticket could be the win.”

Another possible vice-presidential candidate is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal; he recently referred to President Obama as “the most liberal, most incompetent President in the White House since Jimmy Carter.”  Governor Jindal also responded to President Obama’s declaration that the private sector was doing fine by saying: “The private sector is not doing well when 23 million Americans are unemployed and underemployed in this great country. This president, the private sector is so foreign to him he might need a passport to actually go visit and he might need a translator to help him talk to folks in the private sector.”

Governor Jindal supported Texas Governor Rick Perry in the Republican primaries; he started supporting Mitt Romney until Rick Santorum dropped on April 10. This particular aspect could be taken into account by Romney and does not benefit Jindal at all, because it is clear that Governor Jindal preferred Governor Perry as the Republican candidate, but still Bobby Jindal would have his chances because he is considered one of the rising stars of the Republican Party.

These were just some of the names of possible vice-presidential candidates. There are many more, like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie or the former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Who knows if there might be a surprise in Romney’s nomination, like there was in the 2008 election when John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate?

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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