GOP vetting of VP candidates sucks.
In 1980, a weird but pragmatic arranged marriage was formed after negotiations with former President Gerald Ford broke down with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, former California Governor Ronald Reagan. Ford was being considered for Reagan’s running mate.
Reagan picked former CIA Director George H. W. Bush. Bush had a lengthy resume.
In addition to his credential as the head snoop, Bush had been a two-term Congressman from Texas, a failed Senate candidate, former UN Ambassador, Ambassador to China, and had had a brief bout as RNC Chair.
Why was he picked? He came in second in the GOP presidential primary.
Prior to 1980, the Republicans had never nominated the 2nd place finisher and has not done so since.
To be fair, the Democrats have never embraced this model either.
That said…vice presidential picks ought to make sense and bring as few problems as possible.
Dan Quayle and Lloyd Bentsen were lessons for this rule. Bentsen, a Senator from Texas, was an old school elitist with virtually no baggage; and Quayle, a Senator from Indiana, was a new school elitist, who had a bunch of baggage — much of it related to how he never ended up serving in Vietnam.
In 1992, Bill Clinton picked a policy wonk like himself with well burnished moderate credentials — Senator Al Gore of Tennessee.
In 1996, Bob Dole picked a New York Congressman and former NFL quarterback named Jack Kemp. Kemp’s economic views were more conservative than most —he had advocated a return to the gold standard and the flat tax.
In 2000, Vice President Al Gore picked a seemingly moderate Senator (and former Connecticutt Attorney General) named Joe Lieberman.
Governor George W Bush nominated the man he asked to vet potential VP nominees, former Secretary of Defense, Congressman, and White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney. It would have made more sense simply to pick Cheney outright rather than give him a job to find someone else and then be convinced by Cheney that there was no one in the GOP as perfect as him for the job.
In 2004, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts picked Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. Since 1948, the Democratic presidential presumptive nominees picked U.S Senators (or their incumbent Vice Presidents, who were all Senators) as their running mates 18 1/2 times.
It was only in 1972 and 1984 that the Democrats nominated someone without that credential. In 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, the Democrats followed that rule devoutly.
The GOP has followed the same practice a mere 7 times (1952, 1956, 19601, 1976, 1988, 1992, and in 2024 apparently). To be fair, no other prior job has done much better. The GOP picked governors for Vice President (or former ones) in 1948, 1968, 1972, 2008, and 2016. House members (both current and former) have been the number two for the ticket in 1964, 1980, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012, and 20162. And the overlay of cabinet level VP nominees occurred in 1960, 1980, and 2000.
For those who can count, Senators and House members seems to be tied; however Bush Senior and Cheney were picked for cabinet level experience and Pence was picked for his gubernatorial experience.
With the exception of 1972, the Democrats never really had a media narrative of epic failure over its vetting of vice presidents. The GOP has seen blowback in 1952, 1988, 1992, 2008, and apparently 2024.
In 1952, questions were raised about Senator Nixon’s finances (see the Checkers speech). Dan Quayle faced questions on how he avoided active duty military service. By 1992, Quayle committed enough verbal gaffes as Vice President to doom him forever. Sarah Palin, who came in with a resume that was thinner than Spiro Agnew’s, had a series of family and weird personal issues.
Throw in Agnew’s resignation for tax evasion (he failed to report bribes as income), Nixon’s lifelong reputation for dishonesty and underhandedness, and Bob Dole’ role as a hatchet-man position for the GOP; and you can see why J.D. Vance, a Senator who has yet to be in office even two years, is drawing criticism from the Left3 and Right.4
J.D. Vance has been, in the past, a vocal critic of Donald Trump5 much like Bush Senior was of Ronald Reagan. Vance does add something to the tickets that is almost indiscernable — he makes Trump look better by comparison.6
Sounds like a marriage arranged by the GOP to me.
In 1960, Henry Cabot Lodge, who lost reelection to to the Senate to John F. Kennedy in 1952, served as UN Ambassador in the Eisenhower Administration.
Before being elected Governor of Indiania, Mike Pence served in the US House.
https://www.rawstory.com/jd-vance-thoughts-on-women/
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-donors-were-pulling-for-anyone-but-vance-over-senators-claim-hes-open-to-bernie-b/
https://www.rawstory.com/vance-trump-flip-flop/
https://www.rawstory.com/jd-vance-2668758814/