Is McCain Considering a Pro-Choice Veep? « The Washington Independent
Yes, according to The National Review’s Rich Lowry. In a post on the conservative magazine’s Website late yesterday, Lowry wrote that the McCain campaign has been quietly putting out feelers with GOP officials around the country in an attempt to gauge what the fallout of picking a pro-choice running mate might be. From The National Review:
“„The campaign is asking about the reaction of conservative grass-roots activists to such a pick and whether a pro-choicer can be sold to them. This is an indication that the McCain campaign is serious about the possibility of a pro-choice VP nominee and that [Sen. John] McCain leaving the door open to Tom Ridge last week may not have been merely a friendly nod to a longtime supporter. In this scenario, McCain’s emphatic pro-life statements Saturday night and his pledge that he’ll run a "pro-life administration" would have been partly an attempt to reassure conservatives in the event of a pro-choice pick.
This comes less than a week after McCain initially floated the idea that he would be willing to consider someone who supports abortion rights for his vice presidential nominee, in an interview with The Weekly Standard’s Steve Hayes. With two of the country’s most prominent conservative magazines mentioning the possibility, is McCain seriously thinking about picking Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), whom McCain often refers to as his "favorite Democrat?"
Obviously, such a move could help shore up support among independents and inject an element of excitement into the campaign with the prospect of a bi-partisan ticket. But many religious conservatives have warned that this would spell disaster for McCain among this pillar of the GOP base.
The National Review also featured an editorial yesterday warning McCain that Lieberman is too liberal on abortion — his rating 8 percent rating from the American Conservative Union is just one point higher than that of Sen. Barack Obama. Strong support among evangelical voters was a key to President George W. Bush’s electoral victories in 2000 and 2004. As an article in The Washington Times notes, McCain is already losing ground among this voting bloc — which could tip the balance in a closely fought election. From The Washington Times:
“„Polls of religious voters have showed two trends: Mr. McCain has less support from conservative Christians than President Bush did in 2004, but the relatively high support for Mr. Obama as a Democrat has started to slip.
“„A Pew poll last week showed Mr. McCain leading Mr. Obama among evangelical voters by 68 percent to 24 percent. In June, Mr. McCain led 61 percent to 25 percent. Mr. Bush received 77 percent of the evangelical vote in 2004.
“„"The more conservative element of the Christian population is slowly coming to grips with what an Obama presidency might be like," said George Barna, head of the Barna Group, an evangelical research organization.
The Washington Times article focuses on how Obama may be risking a backlash among pro-life voters — but if McCain goes with a pro-choice pick, he may take that issue off the table. It might draw in some independents, but could turn off many conservatives — and that could be bad news for his chances in November.
