Kauffman: Pro-choice running mate for McCain not likely

Scott Kauffman, vice chairman of the Maine Republican Party and delegate to the Republican National Convention, said he doesn’t think it is likely that John McCain will pick a pro-choice running mate.

“He’s going through the motions and putting out information,” Kauffman said. “From what I can see, Republicans don’t think it would be a good idea.”

Several pro-choice running mate choices have materialized in the press, including Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and former Gov. Tom Ridge (R-Pa.). Media reports conflict on whether Ridge is still in the running.

The possibility of a pro-choice running mate sparked some speculation in the media as to if it would hurt McCain within his party. Kauffman, a social conservative, said if it happened it wouldn’t affect his vote.

“You vote for the President,” Kauffman said. “Nobody ever votes for the Vice President. Her or she is there to step in in the event that something happens to the President.”

Lieberman is a former Democrat who ran as Al Gore’s running mate in 2000.

Despite being a middle-of-the-road independent, Lieberman is “still a Democrat”, Kauffman said.

“(Picking him as VP) would be a big mistake,” Kauffman said. Lieberman is a terrific statesman, and a better place for him would be as a Secretary of State or a Secretary of Defense.”

Kauffman thinks McCain will pick former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) Romney is a former presidential candidate, and won the Maine caucuses.

“John McCain needs a more conservative element that will solidify the more conservative base of the Republican Party,” Kauffman said.