Would Jay Rockefeller add anything to the ticket?

[WI_DEM]

I'm sure he would add West Virginia--he is very popular there--5 electoral votes we didn't have last time--West Virginia near Ohio might be helpful in Southern Ohio and Pennsylvania.

On the other hand, Kerry-Rockefeller? might be too elitist a ticket--and wealthy.

But both would tower over their GOP counterparts in height.

[JI7]

1. john kerry isn't wasp , and west virginia will go democratic anyways

[WI_DEM]

3. you are correct

he is catholic but he does come across to alot of people as waspish, imo--I don't mean to start a flame war over that comment, so I will change it.

as for West Virginia, I was certain it would be in the Democratic column in 2000 given its Democratic voting history especially in close elections, so I don't think we can take anything for granted.

[mobuto]

24. West Virginia went Republican in 2000

because its economy had suffered tremendously, as many mines and manufacturers went out of business in the late 1990s. West Virginians blamed Clinton-era enviromental and trade policies (total bs but that's what they thought) for the collapse and voted Republican. Kerry doesn't have any of Gore's baggage in that regard. Moreover, that recession has only steepened in three years of Bush incomptenece.

Absent complete Kerry incompetence (never to be ruled out), West Virginia should go strongly Dem in November.

[BurtWorm]

2. Why pull another Dem out of the Senate?

I would leave the ones who are there. I'm not even crazy about the idea of running Edwards with Kerry because one Senator on the ticket is enough.

[TomSeaverr]

4. No

it should be either Breaux or Clark

[dryan]

5. No

I don't think this would be a good mix because the two mens' backgrounds are too alike. Also, what is the party of the Governor of WV? If the ticket should win (hope hope), the Governor if he is a republican would appoint another republican.

[WI_DEM]

6. Governor is a Democrat

but Gov. Wise had a sex scandal and I don't think he is running for re-election.

[revcarol]

10. God save us from Breaux...

the Democrat most wanted by BUSH to put in his new cabinet, so he could say he was "bi-partisan." Remember those sickening scenes at the pig farm, where Breaux fell all over Bush?

I DO.

[WI_DEM]

13. if Bush steals the next election

look for Democrat Zell Miller to be in his cabinet to give it a "bi-partisan" look.

[JohnKleeb]

14. Kerry wont pick Breaux

I am nearly certain 100% barring an official statement by Kerry.

[JI7]

16. only way i can see him picking breaux

is because he feels breaux gives him the best chance of winning, better than just about everyone else. and breaux would be too old to run for president so picking breaux would more just a strategic decision to help win in the south and therefore the white house. kind of like jfk picking lbj. although lyndon johnson ended up being a pretty good president , one of the best actually if you take out vietnam. i personally like john breaux, but i don't agree with him on the issues. he doesn't bash democrats and is a loyal democrat, but a conservative one.

[Bombtrack]

7. Definetly too elitist. A Forbes and a Rockefeller isn't the way to reach

out. Particularly when the Forbes has married a billion dollars.

There are much better choices

[WI_DEM]

28. Harkin would be great

imo.

[Rowdyboy]

8. Jay Rockefeller is a great guy

with very little charisma. He's bland as mashed potatoes. Needs to stay in the senate.

Also, two upper crust, rich white senators isn't my dream-team.

[Leilani]

9. No No No No

Jay Rockefeller is a nice guy, but another snoozer!

[AntiCoup2K4]

11. A Bonesman and a Rockefeller on the same ticket?

I thought the idea was to get assholes like Bush OUT of the White House??

[WI_DEM]

15. just posing the question

not sure I like it--but I do like Rockefeller personally more than Kerry.

[mobuto]

22. Assholes? Get real

Neither Senator Kerry nor Senator Rockefeller is an asshole and I think the implication is offensive and shallow. I don't think Rockefeller would be a particularly good VP choice for a variety of reasons I can go into if you want, but he's a good man, a solid Democrat, and no asshole.

[TheDonkey]

12. I wish Rockefeller was running for president!!

But I'm not sure if he'll add anything to a Kerry ticket.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

17. No,no, a thousand times no

not only did rockie vote for the war, but he gave an interview to the charleston daily mail in which he attacked anti war activists for being unpatriotic.

rockelfeller is a corporate republicrat of the worst kind. luckily, we have the great robert c. byrd to counter him

[WI_DEM]

18. good point

too bad Byrd isn't 20 years younger.

[Bombtrack]

19. Oh yeah having a former Klansman on the ticket would do wonders

for the GOP

[WI_DEM]

27. sometimes Bombtrack

you are bombastic :)

Of course you are correct that Byrd would never live that down.

[stldemocrat]

20. Edwards

I would like to see Edwards, but if he doesn't pick him, he ought to pick Feinstein or Hillary. I am kind of tired of the Democrats putting up these all white male tickets just like the repukes.

[RichM]

21. Yes. He would add several hundred million to its net worth.

It also might help communicate the idea that the Democratic Party is rather far removed from concerns of ordinary people.

Hey - here's GREAT Democratic ticket for you: Jay Rockefeller and John McCain!! Get it? A Rockefeller and an ol' fashioned rightwing Republican hawk. Run a ticket like that, and see how many people will still believe that Democrats understand the concerns of average citizens. :eyes:

[mobuto]

23. A Rockefeller

OK, so basically your problem with Jay Rockefeller is that he's rich and his parents just happened to be named Rockefeller. Great.

Except that's about as un-substantive as you can possibly get. This is a man who has devoted his entire career to helping those least fortunate. You think its easy for a man named Rockefeller to get miners and steelworkers in the poorest part of Appalachia to vote for him, by overwhelming margins, time and time again? Talk to somebody from West Virginia - Jay Rockefeller's a real Democrat, and a good Democrat. No, I don't think he'd be a great VP asset, but he's a great Senator and he's tremendously popular among the blue-collar, hard-working, Democratic base. I'm sick and tired of this site being used simply as a forum to bash Democrats. You seem to see more of that crap here than you do at Free Republic.

[dryan]

25. Defend Rockefeller

For the record and in defense of Jay Rockefeller...he is a great Democrat. He could have had a tremendous career on Wall Street or followed his uncles into the corporate world. He didn't. He moved to West Virginia and from what I have been told is a good Senator and is well-liked by the mostly lower-than-blue-collar citizens from his state. I just don't think he would bring a lot to the ticket.

[RichM]

26. I wasn't attacking Rockefeller himself. The thread was about the idea

of him as a candidate; I don't think this is a good proposal.

In general, I think the country is far too dominated by rich people. Even if some of them are good individuals, motivated by sincere interest in public service, the fact that (for example) almost every member of the US Senate is a millionaire is on balance a very unhealthy thing. The US has become a full-fledged plutocracy; a plutocracy is a pernicious social form even if a few of the plutocrats are nice guys.

About whether or not the forum should be used to bash Democrats -- there is nothing whatever sacred about Democrats. If some of them fight courageously for progressive values (like Kucinich, Barbara Lee, Pete Stark, McDermott, etc) they deserve to be respected. Unfortunately, most Democrats are not in that category.

[jsw_81]

29. I like Jay Rockefeller

He's been a fine senator and I'm certain that he'd be an outstanding vice president, but his family -- which is far richer than Kerry's -- is way too controversial. His great-grandfather was the richest man on the planet, and when Jay's uncle Nelson was vice president (1974-77) the Congress held all kinds of hearings in which they exposed every little family secret going back a century; the Rockefeller's were humiliated. I can just see Dan Burton and the Republicans holding similar hearings if Jay got elected.