GOP Officials Say John McCain Will Not Pick Pro-Abortion Running Mate
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 19, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — John McCain has reportedly confirmed he will not be picking a running mate who takes a pro-abortion position and has ruled out former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, whom media outlets promoted as a possibility. McCain aides told Republican Party officials of the decision and they confirmed it to Fox News.
The aides and officials indicated that McCain “got the message” from pro-life advocates that picking an abortion advocate like Ridge was non-negotiable and could cost him votes.
National Review editor Rich Lowry responded to the news and told Fox News that he saw no benefit for McCain by selecting Ridge as his running mate.
“I think it’s a hard sell and I don’t see much upside to Tom Ridge except for John McCain likes him a lot,” Lowry said.
“I don’t think he’s going to be a big benefit in Pennsylvania and even if he is, I think the downside is the rest of the country among conservatives are going to be upset about this, just at the moment they’re beginning to work up being excited about John McCain," he added.
Time magazine also reported on the thread that McCain will shy away from an abortion advocate and that Ridge is out.
"A GOP strategist says the former Pennsylvania Governor is no longer being considered as McCain’s veep," the magazine reported Tuesday.
Meanwhile, ABC News reports conversations with top Republican officials who say McCain hasn’t made a final decision.
It reports on two GOP operatives who say the McCain campaign solicited opinions about picking a pro-abortion running mate and that the response against it was significant.
“They’re getting a lot of pushback,” one official said, explaining that the calls to the McCain campaign warned of a November loss with an abortion advocate. "You’ve got to keep the coalition together. The Republican base is just coming home.”
While McCain has apparently ruled out a pro-abortion running mate, the same can’t be said of pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama.
All of Obama’s potential running mates are strongly pro-abortion, including Senators Evan Bayh and Joe Biden as well as Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia.
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