Ben Nelson Will NOT Be Hillary Clinton’s Running Mate If She Gets The Nomination

12:39 am EST October 5th, 2007 | News | 6 Comments

This story is swirling around:

ben nelson A syndicated columnist has put Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson on the short list of possible running mates for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Nelson said he is flattered by the speculation, but said that he is focused on his job in the Senate.

The senator also said he can’t disclose whether he’s been approached about running as vice president, but said that if he were, he’d think about it.

But there’s no way Sen. Clinton picks Nelson, and this is why:

Nelson is a member of the Democrats for Life of America, a national organization for pro-life members of the Democratic party that advocates a 95% reduction in the number of abortions performed over the next 10 years. In the 2006 election, Nelson was endorsed by Nebraska Right to Life and Nebraskans United for Life — the two largest pro-life organizations in the state.

Being anti-choice is kind of a required thing for a Democrat in a conservative state like Nebraska (and the opposite is true, that’s why Mitt Romney was pro-choice when he ran for the senate and governor in Massachusetts), but it won’t play on the national stage, especially not alongside Hillary Clinton. Sen. Clinton’s campaign is predicated about half-ways as the first real, legit chance at a woman president. That’s why groups like NOW endorsed her back in March. The country is pro-choice with restriction, the base of the party is pro-choice with restriction, Sen. Clinton is going to have a pro-choice running mate if she gets the nomination. Period. Send it to the bank, put it in the safe deposit box, throw away the key.

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6 Responses to “Ben Nelson Will NOT Be Hillary Clinton’s Running Mate If She Gets The Nomination”

  1. Quaker in a Basement says:
    October 5, 2007 at 11:41 am

    Sen. Clinton’s campaign is predicated about half-ways as the first real, legit chance at a woman president. That’s why groups like NOW endorsed her back in March.

    Those are the reasons why Clinton could pick Nelson, not reasons why she won’t. She’s got the pro-choice vote locked up all by herself. A right-to-lifer as VP would broaden the ticket’s appeal.

  2. duros62 says:
    October 5, 2007 at 12:35 pm

    Maybe, but I don’t think so. It doesn’t really speak to the “change” she brings to Washington if she picks the biggest asshole in her party as a running mate.
    That’s why I had to hold my nose when I voted for Gore/Lieberman.

  3. SpiderJ says:
    October 5, 2007 at 1:02 pm

    Quaker -

    Would it really broaden the ticket? Abortion is one of those no-middle-ground debate topics, and I doubt that a pro-lifer would ever vote for Hillary even with Nelson on the ticket. (I’m not sure they’d vote for Hillary if Sam Brownback was on the ticket.)

    I could see pro-choicers holding their nose and voting for Hillary/Nelson, but in smaller numbers.

  4. Quaker in a Basement says:
    October 5, 2007 at 4:17 pm

    Abortion is one of those no-middle-ground debate topics,

    It has been up to now. That doesn’t mean it has to be.

  5. SpiderJ says:
    October 5, 2007 at 6:35 pm

    Sure. I agree. And I’m in the camp that finds abortion a sad and unsettling procedure but still feels it must remain necessary for those women who do not find, for their own reasons, delivering the baby to be the best option. I don’t like the existence of abortion. But I really don’t like the alternative. I like to think that’s a nuanced position.

    But do you really think we can hit that level of debate before 2009? When the country is already so harshly divided on so many other things that aren’t even as emotionally taxing as this topic?

  6. silver_alli says:
    February 7, 2008 at 7:37 pm

    Obama’s Dirty Trick on Internet :

    Dear Sisters and Brothers for Hillary,

    It is important, I think, to counter what is being said about Hillary and Chelsea on one very nasty pro-Obama website I came across, http://www.matrix-evolutions.com. They are connecting up Bill’s thing with Monica Lewinsky with a hint of parental sexual abuse on Chelsea, if you can believe it! Quickly, I think, shouldn’t something should be done before it blows up in Hillary’s face as an “Internet rumor?”

    Onward to victory,
    Alicia Silverstone