Opinion of people who thought Eric Cantor would be a good VP for McCain

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I still find it so amusing the people who promoted him as McCain's running mate in 2008. He's an utterly terrible candidate for anything above House level, as are at least 50% of House members. Now we see he's not even a good House candidate really.

[Maxwell]

I don't have an opinion on such a small sect of people. That may just have been one guy in Eric Cantor's staff.

[TNF]

I really doubt they'll ever be a Jewish candidate on a Republican ticket, unless the party shifts so dramatically as to make it unrecognizable.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I really doubt they'll ever be a Jewish candidate on a Republican ticket, unless the party shifts so dramatically as to make it unrecognizable.

If another Jewish Republican who isn't a useless House leadership party hack ever rises to prominence, it's a strong possibility for the tokenism. The problem with such a strategy is that not only is the Jewish vote is too small to be a factor in an election with some small inroads, Jews are heavily concentrated in non-swing states (probably at least half of the American population lives in California or New York). It's a complete non-starter as a strategy.

[RR1997]

I don't have an opinion on such a small sect of people. That may just have been one guy in Eric Cantor's staff.

[Meursault]

Putting a Jew on a Republican ticket wouldn't be for the benefit of Jewish voters, but instead a manouvre to shore up philosemitic evangelical Christians, who adore Jews.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Putting a Jew on a Republican ticket wouldn't be for the benefit of Jewish voters, but instead a manouvre to shore up philosemitic evangelical Christians, who adore Jews.

For once you're right on a subject in relation to religion. The Tea Party/Evangelical base are the biggest Israel firsters in the nation. I don't get all these "LOL GOP Teabaggers will never accept a Jew" comments are coming from.

I once was told at a Tea Party by an elderly woman that the greatest thing I can do with my life is join the army and die for Israel. We were engaged in a conversation about religion and foreign policy after she saw me take a flier from the one Ron Paul guy and said "honey, you don't want to talk them." So, as you can see, the Tea Party loves Israel to death.

[Meursault]

To a large extent it's because they're unconscious anti-Semites: John Hagee, for example, believes that Jews will die in their millions during the Tribulation, and that the presence of Jews in Israel will trigger this slaughter - yet he is a virulent Zionist anyway.

They love and despise the Jew in the same thought.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

To a large extent it's because they're unconscious anti-Semites: John Hagee, for example, believes that Jews will die in their millions during the Tribulation, and that the presence of Jews in Israel will trigger this slaughter - yet he is a virulent Zionist anyway.

A virulent Zionist, indeed, partially in order to trigger this slaughter.

[Illuminati Blood Drinker]

There was literally no way having a Washington insider Republican on the ticket could go well after the crash.

[Never]

To a large extent it's because they're unconscious anti-Semites: John Hagee, for example, believes that Jews will die in their millions during the Tribulation, and that the presence of Jews in Israel will trigger this slaughter - yet he is a virulent Zionist anyway.

A virulent Zionist, indeed, partially in order to trigger this slaughter.

John Hagee is a very flawed eschatologist, but he is not an anti-Semite, neither consciously nor unconsciously.

It is generally understood in conservative Christian circles that the Antichrist is going to slaughter the Jews, but that doesn't mean that Christians want this to happen.

[Meursault]

No - you just encourage their settlement of Israel, which you regard as a fig tree which will not wither before the slaughter commences.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I don't the GOP base would have too much problem with a Jewish Republican on the ticket, certainly not moreso than having a Mormon as the presidential nominee. But it'd have to be someone who'd be appealing besides simply "A token Jew". Cantor wasn't anything else. He's uncharismatic, boring, not moderate (and no his primary defeat does not retroactively make him a moderate), too associated with House leadership which is never a positive (even in 2008 with the minority leadership) and is so all around boring and unlikable that he just lost in that shocker.

Besides Cantor's Jewishness is kind of a limping waiter aspect to him, he's not from an area known for a high Jewish population, he's not any more notably close to AIPAC or any Jewish advocacy groups than your typical Congressman, even his name isn't particularly Jewish. I'd be willing to be about half the people in his own district didn't even know he was Jewish, not that it would've affected anyone's vote. On paper he's basically your standard boring white guy representing a more or less safe GOP suburban district. That's the worst type of candidate to put on a presidential ticket. Not that who McCain chose was any better of course, but that's a whole other story.

[AggregateDemand]

FF

At the time, they seemed like the worst sort of moderate swing-state philanderers. After Palin was fully vetted, during the 2008 campaign and for the first two years of the Obama presidency, the Cantor supporters looked like geniuses.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I don't know anyone who thought Eric Cantor would be a good VP for McCain. (normal)

[Maxwell]

FF

At the time, they seemed like the worst sort of moderate swing-state philanderers. After Palin was fully vetted, during the 2008 campaign and for the first two years of the Obama presidency, the Cantor supporters looked like geniuses.

There was a long list of people that would've been better than Cantor AND Palin. lol.

I'm of the belief that a McCain/Voinovich ticket would've lowered the margins a good amount (but McCain was never going to win).

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Mitt Romney in 2012 proved just how effective having someone from a swing state not elected to statewide office is at swinging the state.

[Maxwell]

Mitt Romney in 2012 proved just how effective having someone from a swing state not elected to statewide office is at swinging the state.

Paul Ryan was from a small district and had no history as a statewide candidate. George Voinovich had served Ohio for decades and was a respected figure in Ohio (not to mention a Former Republican Mayor of a very liberal city). Not to mention that he would've helped out with McCain's weakness on economic issues.

Although his views on immigration may have kept some Republicans at home.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Mitt Romney in 2012 proved just how effective having someone from a swing state not elected to statewide office is at swinging the state.

Paul Ryan was from a small district and had no history as a statewide candidate. George Voinovich had served Ohio for decades and was a respected figure in Ohio (not to mention a Former Republican Mayor of a very liberal city). Not to mention that he would've helped out with McCain's weakness on economic issues.

Although his views on immigration may have kept some Republicans at home.

That comment was obviously not in regards to Voinovich as he had been elected to statewide office.