Gay Conservative

I wrote about this sometime ago.  And now Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Kay Bay in these parts) has again been touted as a potential veep for ole John. This endorsement comes from Kevin Rennie of the Hartford Courant.

McCain should throw a Kay Bailey pass and pick Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. She possesses the fundamentals and will add some lively options to the ticket.

Hutchison is savvy and experienced. She won her seat in the Senate by seeing off 22 other candidates. And then she smote a Democratic state prosecutor who tried to take her down as she climbed to the summit. She can take a punch and land one, while remaining coiffed, composed and stylish.

She’s a reliable conservative who’s a better shot than Dick Cheney. It may be dangerous to say in the 21st century, but she’s articulate and can defend any brief.

And the lady’s got a way with an inspiring anecdote, honed in her two books about notable women. Many of those Democratic primary voters who turned out in record numbers wanted to elect a woman president. Hutchison would give McCain a chance to win their support. Leery suburban women in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio might stop fleeing from Republicans. Better, Hutchison’s won historic numbers of Hispanic votes in Texas, and not just because she’s fluent in Spanish.

Republicans eschew identity politics, but they dislike losing more. The wilderness beckons, so McCain needs to do something unexpected and interesting. Pick a woman who broke barriers without the advantage of a political marriage or family lineage. It could alter the assumptions of a race where one side thinks it holds the copyright on change.

I love Kay Bay.  As I noted previously, the very first election I ever voted in was the special election to fill Lloyd Benson’s Senate seat when he joined the Clinton administration.  And that vote was for Kay Bay.  I dragged my mom to the polling station at Santa Rita Elementary School in Midland, Texas. We cast our votes for Miss Kay (She won with 67% of the vote in that runoff).

I love the woman.  I am pragmatic though.  Two Senators on one ticket might not work.  And Kay Bay is technically pro-choice personally although she has voted against federal funding for abortion and for the partial birth abortion ban every single time without fail.  I think it’s just a personal belief that she tempers with her need to represent Texas citizens (overwhelmingly pro-life). She has a 90.27% lifetime conservative rating from the ACU (higher than McCain).

I will say this – Kay Bay would appeal to the disenfranchised Hillary supporters looking for a reason to support McCain.  I guarantee you that Kay as veep would easily garner an additional 1 million+ votes that McCain might not have otherwise had.  I think lots of women who can’t stomach Obama would breathe a sigh of relief.  Kay might be a dark horse, but don’t count her out.

NOTE:  Kay says she wants to run for governor.  She may come back home to challenge incumbent Republican governor, Rick Perry.  Texas governor is her stated dream job.  And though I voted for Perry – the man’s a tool.  I’d vote KB over Rick any day.  She dispells any notion of a veep slot with McCain, but she’s also coy when asked what she would do if the job were offered to her.  I’d be thrilled either way.  As long as I can continue to call myself her constituent, I’ll be happy – regardless of her office.