National Review: Draft Peter Pace For Virginia Senate Race
In a sign of just how unhappy conservatives are with their choices in the Virginia Senate race, National Review has a new editorial calling for a draft movement to bring in a new Republican candidate: Retired General Peter Pace.
The article brings out a list of complaints against the two Republicans currently expected to make the race, Tom Davis and Jim Gilmore — for example, even the more conservative Gilmore has supported legal abortion in the first trimester. By contrast, the forcibly-retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is praised for his vocal social conservatism, such as when he denounced homosexuality as immoral while giving an interview in uniform.
And in a sign of the right's intransigence on Iraq, Davis and Gilmore are condemned for their insufficient support for President Bush's policies compared to Pace — one of the architects of those policies. And perhaps most bizarrely, the editorial praises Pace for refusing to go quietly when he was not re-appointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, in the face of Congressional opposition:
Pace has also explained that his experiences in Vietnam guided his decision about whether to retire voluntarily. Recalling the Marines who followed him onto the battlefield and lost their lives, he said, "I promised myself then that I will serve this country until I was no longer needed. I need to be told that I'm done. I've been told that I'm done."Virginia Republicans should tell this devoted patriot that he is not done, and encourage him to take on another mission.
This all begs a very important question: Do conservatives actually want to talk even more next year about Iraq, and all the decisions made there over the past five years?
Comments (9)
mattstan wrote on October 2, 2007 11:00 AM:This all begs a very important question
No it doesn't.
anon wrote on October 2, 2007 11:22 AM:
I don't think it is a bad idea that Pace maybe a Conservative's dream candidate for Va. Senate Race. There are plenty of military personnel and retirees in Va. He could energize the conservatives in campaign organizing and fundraising, much like what Oliver North did in 1994.
However, like North he also is going to alienate many voters. North with his Iran-Contra conviction and his activities during the Iran Contra affair. Pace with Iraq, and his relationship with Rumsfeld. The problem is that every question to Pace will be about his performance as head of the Joint Chiefs and the Iraq war, which in some ways is unfair to him, given he wasn't in the Chain of Command for Iraq. However his notoriety is being in JCOS, and what he did or did not do to avert this train wreck.
Recruiting Pace is just a placebo to Conservatives, because they don't have much to be excited about in the upcoming election.
dasher wrote on October 2, 2007 11:35 AM:"Do conservatives actually want to talk even more next year about Iraq, and all the decisions made there over the past five years?"
Apparently they do. And that's fine by me - have at it!
I have a sneaky feeling that once they get Pete out of that Marine uniform, he's not going to look quite so impressive, not to mention what will come out of his mouth . . .
Wait, this Peter Pace:
"But General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said recently there was 'zero chance' of a war with Iran. He played down claims by US intelligence that the Iranian government was responsible for supplying insurgents in Iraq, forcing Bush on the defensive."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece
phil james wrote on October 2, 2007 11:54 AM:SO far nothing but good news for the Dems in VA. The thug party will start eating its own with Pace in the mix and whoever is left standing will have a fight to break 40 percent at the polls. The more right-wing nut jobs the better.
jeffgee wrote on October 2, 2007 12:09 PM:Homophobe base: check.
Mike Bakunin wrote on October 2, 2007 12:48 PM:Better get Pace's ass into some Republican "leadership" training.
Anonymous wrote on October 2, 2007 7:00 PM:I hope he runs -- otherwise, we will probably never get as full of an accounting from him as if he constantly has to answer questions about what went wrong in Iraq on the campaign trail.
daniel155 wrote on October 2, 2007 11:00 PM:Not the best idea. Perhaps someday Pace might make an attractive political candidate but he needs more non-military experience before taking the plunge.
If he were nominated by the Republicans, it would make the war in Iraq the main issue of the campaign. That is not the best issue for Republicans.
If he were elected, the Virginia senate delegation would not have much balance with Pace and James Webb--two former Marine officers. Nothing wrong with Marines but a senator has to deal with a variety of issues besides military ones.
