From the department of things that make you go, “Hmm…”
Gov. Mitch Daniels will be raising money for fellow Indiana Republicans during a reception in Chicago tonight, his press secretary said Thursday, not building a war chest for a presidential run.
“I don’t know how many times he can say that he’s not running for president,” Jane Jankowski said.
The law office of Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago will be the site of “An Evening with Gov. Mitch Daniels” tonight. Hosts listed on an announcement include former state Rep. Dan Dumezich, Wil Davis, CEO at the Gary Jet Center and businessman Dean White.
Individual tickets to the private event are $200. A co-sponsor can buy two tickets for $1,000 and a sponsor can buy eight tickets for $5,000.
Jankowski said the money will be used to support Republican candidates for statewide office in Indiana.
“This is about him encouraging people who are interested in keeping Indiana moving forward, encouraging them to seek office,” Jankowski said.
The fund-raiser is organized by the political action committee Aiming Higher, which Jankowski said is used to support “reform-minded candidates.”
According to the announcement, Daniels will “share his governing approach, Indiana’s story, and his new mission to ‘promote results, ideas, and candidates that focus on government reform and serving taxpayers.’”
Daniels easily won re-election in 2008 at the same time Hoosier voters were choosing a Democrat for president, Barack Obama, for the first time since 1964.
That, along with Indiana’s rare budget surplus, have some Republicans urging Daniels to seek his party’s presidential nomination in 2012.
Daniels, though, has repeatedly denied harboring any presidential aspirations.
While Public Policy Polling has yet to post the results of its online poll of second-tier Republican candidates from earlier this week, Daniels was coming in a strong second just before the polls closed, beating better-known Republicans like Dick Cheney and Rudy Giuliani while only Pawlenty edged out Mitch for the top spot. Daniels’ assumed, effortless conservatism combined with his ability to apply his philosophy to the issues of the day, all packaged in a personality that provides voters with a stark contrast with President Obama, may mean that Mitch Daniels is in the perfect position to re-assemble the Fred ’08 movement, only this time led by a candidate who can actually go the distance.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
despite all the whining by the likes of mark mckinnon and david frum, we could actually end up with quite the field in 2012, and with the best potential debates in decades.
Mitt Romney – economic expert and businessman
Newt Gingrich – big thinker, proven ideas man
Tim Pawlenty – blue-collar midwestern pragmatist
Mitch Daniels – ivy league budget slasher
John Thune – articulate and intangible senator
Gary Johnson – libertarian champion
Rick Perry – don’t mess with texas
December 4th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Huckabee is out, Palin may or may not be out and Pawlenty is making little headway. There is room for an alternative to Romney and hopefully, Daniels will be that alternative. My only concern is that he actually doesn’t want to run for another office.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
You don’t make headway 3 years out. Obama trailed in Iowa by about 20 points until a month before the election.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Dave,
Did you get a chance to read the Red Tory article I linked in your last post?
December 4th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
#1
Perry just said the other day to cross him out for 12. Forgot where I saw that
#4
Could you repost that link?
December 4th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Joe,
Sure.
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/02/riseoftheredtories/
December 4th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Perry is in the middle of a tough primary fight, of course he is going to say he’s not running for president. he also said he won’t pledge to fill out his term as governor if he wins reelection.
December 4th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
DaveG, you are so schizo on 2012.
December 4th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
DaveG, I’m sure you addressed this in a past post or comment, but why don’t you feel optimistically about Pawlenty’s chances?
December 4th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Pawlenty’s made a few Romneyesque mistakes is the issue. I hope he’ll move beyond them, though, because he’s a good candidate for sure.
Unfortunately Daniels is sounding alot like Petraeus on this – he has no intention whatsoever in running. After all, McCain still does fundraisers, but its always to help political allies, not to run for President obviously.
December 4th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I have no problem with Daniels continuing to take this stand through the 2011 Indiana Legislative session. Once that is done to me he is free and clear to think out of the box.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Mitch Daniels would be a great candidate, but it really seems like he isn’t going to run…
Every 2012 candidate has a problem of some sort…
Romney = flip flopping, Romneycare, doesn’t mesh with the teabaggers very well.
Palin = caters to the fringe too much, doesn’t know much about the issues, inexperienced, makes rookie mistakes, and intolerable to much of the non-Republican electorate.
Huckabee = too religious, hard to take serious, very off-putting to FiCons, Clemmonsgate.
Pawlenty = mild flip flopping on some issues, very boring, might not be able to find a ideological place that fits him and allows him to win the nomination.
Johnson = intolerable to SoCons and DefCons, not very well known
Giuliani = disastrous 2008 campaign still leaves a bad taste in the mouth, not popular with SoCons, would either need to run after being out of office for 9-10 years or as a freshman senator
Gingrich = old, baggage, unpopular, and NY-23 made the tea baggers hate him
Barbour = old, fat and boring, looks too much like William Shatner
Daniels = boring-ish, probably won’t run
Petraeus = may not even be a Republican, says he definitely won’t run
December 4th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Paul Ryan = won’t run, is a member of the House, not well known
Dick Cheney = won’t run, unpopular, old and unhealthy, evil, vice president in one of the worst adminstrations ever
Ron Paul = old, probably won’t run, disliked by DefCons and a little nutty
Jeb Bush = won’t run, last name kills his chances, seemed to have disappeared from politics
John Thune = probably won’t run, very unclear what he’d position himself as
December 4th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
“DaveG, you are so schizo on 2012.’
What’s the rush on settling on a candidate? It’s still 2009.
Thus far this year I’ve had Sanford, Pawlenty, and Daniels take turns at the top of my list of possibilities. I may well switch a few more times before settling on somebody.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Dick Cheney for Secretary of State and Newt Gingrich for Secretary of Defense with Mitt Romney as Secretary of the Treasury.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
#14, shame about Sanford, eh?
#15, and who as President?
December 4th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Bob, I feel your pain with Sanford; I had sky-high hopes for him…
December 4th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Wait a sec. Daniels will. . .
“share his governing approach, Indiana’s story, and his new mission to promote results, ideas, and candidates that focus on government reform and serving taxpayers.” while “encouraging people who are interested in keeping Indiana moving forward”
by holding a reception in. . .Chicago? Was every city in Indiana already booked?
December 4th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Daniels is appealing…until next week. He’s “competent and serious-sounding”. Until he’s boring. I’m not terribly optimistic about Pawlenty’s chances, but I have no fear he’ll fall to a guy like Daniels. These stars of the day always fall to earth when night comes.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
MWS: Didn’t get a chance to read that article yet, I will look for it.
Alex: The question of which DaveG will show up on any given day keeps the site interesting!
December 4th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Correct Dave G for some reason not everyone loves Mittens so at the end of the day it will be Mitt v X and as we know X won’t be Mike or Sarah it could well be Mitch if he runs.
December 5th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I think in the end none of these people on the left will end up being in the thick of things. It will be someone maybe outside of politics we are not talking about. Forget all these professional politicians.
December 5th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
22 – Do you really think that? If I were a betting man, I would give you 20 to 1 odds on that.
December 8th, 2009 at 10:07 am
[...] Daniels was in Chicago raising money for Indiana pols. That prompted Race42012 to right this about the burgouning My Man Mitch movement: [...]