GOP Base 'Imploring' McCain: No Pro-Choice VP

Ridge, Lieberman seen as too moderate for core Republicans
By Gabriel Winant,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 22, 2008 2:35 PM CDT
GOP Base 'Imploring' McCain: No Pro-Choice VP
"Tom Ridge is one of the great leaders, and he happens to be pro-choice," McCain says of the former Penn. governor. "And I don't think that would necessarily rule Tom Ridge out" as running mate.   (AP Photo)

John McCain’s been making the Republican base mighty uneasy with hints of a pro-choice running mate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though McCain touts his “proud pro-life record,” pro-choice potentials Tom Ridge and Joe Lieberman have been on the receiving end of McCain's praise recently, a move that had conservative Laura Ingraham "literally imploring" McCain to uphold his "great pro-life record."

There are different theories for McCain’s refusal to rule out the pro-choice pair. Maybe it’s a “head fake,” GOP insiders suggest, or a “way to keep John McCain in the news.” Or McCain may really be preparing the party for a Ridge or Lieberman selection, though one pollster believes such “an out-of-the-box pick” is unwise in a race so close. (More John McCain stories.)

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