Outside the Beltway

George Allen for President

James Joyner · Tuesday, February 5, 2008 · 6 comments

Richard Viguerie, the pioneer of the direct mail fundraising approach and a guiding force in Republican politics since the 1970s, has been campaigning at least since this time last year for the nomination of a Reagan style conservative. He was going around the halls at last year’s CPAC convention lamenting the ways in which “Rudy McRomney” fell short of that ideal and has been sending mass emails ever since.

He briefly backed Fred Thompson but, alas, that dog couldn’t get up early enough in the morning to hunt. He then backed Ron Paul but, alas, he doesn’t appeal to Republicans — a distinct disadvantage in Republican primaries — and, as Viguerie himself admits, “most conservatives want a powerful U.S. presence in world affairs and will never support Paul’s defense and foreign policy.”

He believes there’s still time to beat back the tide that seems to have John McCain winning the nomination with Mitt Romney as the only plausible alternative. But who?

Former Virginia Governor and Senator George Allen was considered a frontrunner for this year’s GOP nomination before he lost his reelection campaign in 2006. But his loss can be chalked up to his mishandling of charges of racism and to voter resentment toward the Iraq War, and to the fact that Democrats, desperate to win the Senate, swallowed hard and nominated a former Reagan Administration official to run against him. If losing one’s previous statewide campaign disqualified a person from being president, neither Lincoln nor Nixon nor the elder Bush would have won.

Of course, many would argue that the latter two shouldn’t have won. And the election of the first resulted in a war that pitted brother against brother which killed over half a million Americans.

But, still, their victories do demonstrate that it’s possible to make a comeback. Of course, it helps to serve two terms as vice president under popular presidents, as Nixon and Bush did, or to have an election pitting four major candidates against one another, as Lincoln did. Not to mention having avoided the reputation as a yahoo.

He also puts forth Senator Jim DeMint or Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina as possible alternatives. That neither has any national name recognition, organization, or cash on hand does pose a minor obstacle to each, however.

Or the fact that the nomination may well be all but wrapped up by tonight.

Photo credit: Raising Kaine via Google. Yes, it’s from a movie.