Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Brown For President?

I wouldn't be surprised to see Scott Brown run for President in 2012. He's going to have plenty of instant celebrity within a GOP that doesn't have many good candidates, Obama's quick path will make it look plausible to people, and most of all, he'd have serious trouble holding onto a Massachusetts Senate seat in an ordinary general election.

5 comments:

Nick Beaudrot said...

Or Vice President...

corvus said...

I was actually thinking the same thing last night.

The thing is, he can point to some vaguely moderate policy prescriptions (like supporting the Mass. health systems) while also being able to dog whistle various teabagger/birther tropes. Also, he probably doesn't come off as crazy, like Sarah Palin. So the base might like him, and he won't have the unfavorables of others. And I think the clean slate gets you farther in Republican circles than in Democratic ones.

So, yeah, I fully expect a Presidential run. Who else even has a chance?

Ron E. said...

Being better than Martha Coakley doesn't automatically make you a good candidate for national office. I don't see much that makes Brown better than any other generic white male Republican. I highly doubt he would even come within 10 points in Massachusetts vs Obama. The GOP would be better off selecting somebody from a light purple state such as Florida, Ohio, or Virginia.

John B. said...

Two years is a very short time to build a presidential campaign machine and raise money, but 2012 is Brown's best shot at higher office if he wants it. I see him more as a VP candidate though, maybe someone to add geographical or ideological balance. Conceivably he could make the Republican ticket more competitive in places like New Hampshire or Maine, even if they would still get stomped in Massachusetts.

ikl said...

Yeah, I thought of this too. 2012 might be his only shot: it would be hard for him to win reelection and to do so he would probably have to take stances that would make him politically unviable in a Republican primary. So I'm worried he will vote no on everything even if it makes him unpopular in MA.