PART TWO:
ROMNEY WORDSWORTH - Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is set to announce his selection for Vice-President any time in the next ten days. Things are moving very fast. In the span of time since I wrote part one of this series, examining possible picks Chris Christie and Joni Ernst, Joni Ernst and Bob Corker (both Senators from the mid-west) removed themselves from consideration. Let’s continue running down Trump’s dwindling list of picks:
Long time Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is another popular choice on many pundit short lists. Senator Sessions was an early supporter of Donald Trump’s candidacy. Sessions is reported to be a top Trump confidante on policy, and the two are both staunchly anti-illegal immigration. On the plus side, Senator Sessions is seen as the kind of old hand on Capitol Hill that a Trump Administration will need to get legislation through Congress. This is a very important asset that Sessions brings to the table, as Donald Trump himself has said that he is looking for a vice-president who has “the ability to help me navigate the minefield that is Congress.” Sessions will give the ticket balance by pairing Trump the Outsider with a Beltway Insider who has managed to stick to his conservative guns where others allowed their principles to become compromised. Sessions also served as a U.S. Attorney in Alabama, and knows how to present and prosecute a criminal case. This may become essential on the campaign trail, where the election may pivot around Clinton be convicted in the Court of Public Opinion now that the FBI and the Justice Department have given her a Get Out of Jail Free Card.
On the negative side, Sessions is not a known, national figure. His demeanor is mild mannered and reserved. You’ll never see him whip up a football stadium crowd with a rousing speech. One might even tag Sessions as “low energy”. A Sessions pick would certainly invite the usual Democrat attack dogs to label the Republican ticket as “just another two old white guys”, which carries weight with Liberals who view everything through a racialist lens.
Next up on our list is Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Pence was visited by Donald Trump and his vetting team last week, and Trump later tweeted that he was “very impressed”. Before being Governor, Pence served in the House of Representatives for 12 years. So in the plus column, Pence has both executive and legislative experience in government, and presumably retains a network of personal contacts on Capitol Hill. Pence can also reliably deliver Indiana in the general election, which has been sliding in recent elections from a dependable Republican state into battleground state territory. Pence would also offer the ticket some geographical diversity.
Personally, I would reject Mike Pence out of hand as a running mate due to how he folded like a cheap camera over the religious liberty law that was passed by Conservatives in Indiana. Instead of signing it, Pence waffled and buckled under the pressure of Liberal opposition and attacks by the Leftmedia over the alleged “discrimination” against LGBT activists who wouldn’t be able to demand a wedding cake from anyone, anytime, anywhere, regardless of religious objections. The legislation was more than watered down, it ended up strengthening the hand of the LGBT militants and weakening the religious liberty of Christians in the state of Indiana. That kind of cowardice under fire is not needed in a Trump Administration, which can be expected to be under Media artillery shelling for the next 4 years without letup. Pence, like Sessions, is also less than exciting and dynamic on the campaign trail, and would probably be far too genteel, in the Mitt Romney vein, to pursue the political conviction against Hillary for her serial criminality. Pence would also invite the “two old white guys” attack meme from the Democrats.