IS PENCE STILL JUST A CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR?
Mike Pence Makes A Good Match For Trump
A veep nod would parachute Pence out of facing the wrath of voters he's screwed. Good for him. Not so good for Trump or the country.
BY JOY PULLMANN
SEE: http://thefederalist.com/2016/07/14/mike-pence-makes-a-good-match-for-trump/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Gossip, bolstered by in-person meetings and fundraisers all week, says Donald Trump will pick Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. He’s tweeted he’ll announce it Friday morning at 11 a.m.
JUST IN: Donald Trump will reportedly pick Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be his running mate https://t.co/r6KBenhTZu pic.twitter.com/aFh6aQnpIN
— New York Post (@nypost) July 14, 2016
Pence is a perfect political partner for Donald Trump. Like Trump, Pence is a political has-been who betrayed people who trusted him. Once a rising conservative star who himself considered, and was well-positioned to earn, a run for the presidency, as governor Pence traded his integrity for mere hopes of short-term political gain. All he got was angry constituents, a 23-point drop in his public approval rating, and a 2016 gubernatorial re-election bid he’ll be lucky to win even though nobody knows his opponent.
A veep nod would parachute Pence out of facing the wrath of voters he’s screwed. Good for him. Not so good for the country or Trump’s electoral chances.
Trump Can Control Pence
Unlike Newt Gingrich, another potential Trump veep who would help check Trump’s disastrous hip-shooting, Pence is easy to manipulate. LGBT activists proved that by turning Indiana into a bellwether for the nation’s late religious liberty capitulation. They morphed an anodyne, do-little religious liberty bill into special legal protections for gay and transgender people inside one of the nation’s most conservative states during the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act battle. Indiana was the first state to fall prey in a big way to the new breed of anti-religion, anti-speech activists using gay and trans people to gut the U.S. Constitution.
Pence not only blinked, he practically got on his knees and begged a tiny minority group whose adherents will never vote for him or his party to stop economically blackmailing his state into abrogating the First Amendment. That’s not what leaders do; that’s what cowards do. It’s a major reason only six in ten Hoosier Republicans support him, and why many refused to vote for him in this spring’s primary as an expression of disgust with his lack of effective leadership while in office.
This would also be a liability for Trump’s mega-brand as the anti-PC candidate, because Pence has shown political correctness owns him. Maybe that’s a selling point for pro-PC voters — except are there any (outside of the media and college campuses)?
Pence Doubles Down On Trump’s Weaknesses With Conservatives
It might seem Pence would be a good pick to shore up Trump’s obvious lack of conservative policy ideas or instincts, as the New York Times suggested today: “Among Mr. Trump’s advisers, Mr. Pence is seen as the lowest-risk option: A stolid if unspectacular choice, helpful for locking up conservative votes and perhaps boosting Mr. Trump’s appeal across the Midwest.”
Politico’s reporter had to have been smoking something when writing this summary that is essentially wrong on all counts: “Pence brings a number of strengths to the GOP ticket. He can point to a conservative economic record — he cut the corporate income tax rate, the individual income tax rate and eliminated the estate tax in Indiana — and would give Trump some needed cover on social issues. Many social conservatives who flocked to Ted Cruz, and remain wary of Trump’s past support for gay marriage and abortion rights, would find Pence an attractive addition to the ticket.”
Yet it’s actually the opposite. For one, Pence’s tax cuts are so tiny — worth something slightly above $50 per year to someone making the state median income — that Illinois residents next door typically pay less. Pence’s record of capitulations as governor, especially on “social issues,” actually feed Trump’s weaknesses with Republican voters. Since I’m a Hoosier (thanks to Mitch Daniels, natch), I’ve spent some time over Pence’s lackluster term detailing his many missteps. They seem to have stemmed largely from an interest in using the governor’s mansion as a stepping stone towards his own White House run rather than a statesman’s interest in building upon Daniels’ well-regarded reforms to better serve Indiana’s people.
Pence’s case to Hoosiers for another four years has been basically the same as Trump’s to national voters: “The alternative is worse.” He can’t point to any significant policy or outcome victories over his past four years, so he’s resorted to offering voters more entitlement programs on a smaller scale and slower time frame than Democrats propose. Just recently Pence reversed himself, for example, on expanding a federalized preschool program in what was clearly just frightened vote-pandering. Pence had said he wanted to wait until the data was in from an in-state pilot program. But we don’t need data when there are votes to buy!
Besides the nation-reverberating RFRA capitulation, Pence also presided over the nation’s first big Common Core bait ‘n switch. He promised Hoosiers, who were the first in the nation to get a repeal bill across the finish line (with no help from him), that he would ensure we ended up with the nation’s best academic benchmarks. Instead, we ended up with watered-down Common Core.
Schools aren’t even buying different textbooks, and the state is using Common Core tests to measure what the governor keeps insisting is “not Common Core.” Independent reviewers and state board of education members he appointed told him to his face and in detailed analyses he had requested that the whole rewrite was a charade. He ignored them, did what the educrats told him despite massive public protests, then went on national television to brag about his deceptive betrayal.
Hoosiers have not been fooled, and that’s another reason Pence has bad numbers with Republicans. Republican voters hate Common Core, and that’s why Trump keeps insisting he’ll repeal it (which he can’t, because it’s not a federal law).
Like Trump, Pence Loves Big Government
Because he capitulated to the LGBT lobby too slowly for their taste, Pence has a record for “conservatism” in the media, but they just mean “anti-gay.” Another signature achievement that makes Pence a perfect running mate for a man who thinks health care is one of the top three functions of the federal government is Pence’s unnecessary expansion of Obamacare.
As I wrote last year, “284,000 of the 350,000 uninsured people whom [Pence’s health] plan will scoop into the arms of already overburdened taxpayers are able-bodied, childless adults. Apparently it’s enough to dub yourself ‘conservative’ and let others pay the tab for believing it.” Despite promises he wanted everyone to have “skin in the game,” a third of participants in the year-old program pay nothing. Not even $1.
Pence is also a big fan of centralized economic planning. Under his administration, Indiana has ramped up its network of databases aimed at tracking citizens in order to take more life decisions away from them, and forced local cities into regional economic planning that has government picking winners and losers. Again, this is a great match for Trump, who in his real estate deals has leveraged the heck out of government relationships, tilting the playing field in his favor. But it doubles down on his weaknesses with the conservative base voters a Pence pick is designed to shore up.
Does Anyone Really Like Mike Pence?
Pence is not appealing to moderates. In Indiana, the moderate business types are upset with him because they also think he handled the RFRA fiasco badly. Not because he capitulated, but because he did it so awkwardly. They’d rather not be talking about trans bathrooms at all. The moderate mom types are upset with him over the state’s testing and Common Core regimes, and all the “mean” social issues.
So all he really has left are base voters, whom he alienated by betraying them when the chips were down on RFRA and Common Core while offering them no major wins in other areas such as: economic deregulation, school choice expansions (Indiana’s programs, which began under Daniels, are overregulated and underfunded), reformed occupational licensing, actual health reform, rejecting federal funds in myriad areas it invites federal overreach, or overhauling our sclerotic state bureaucracy.
So it’s not really clear on the issues how choosing Pence is a win for Trump or the country. Despite all this, I think he’s a fitting vice presidential pick for Trump, because it would prove another bit of gossip: That Trump is all about show, not substance. He’s about the meme, the message, not the man underneath. That’s exactly the way Pence has conducted his governorship. And look where it’s getting him!
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SEE ALSO:
5 Things to Know About Mike Pence
EXCERPTS:
1. Catholic Then Evangelical-Pence was raised in the Roman Catholic Church and attended private schools, belonging to what he once described as a large Irish family that celebrated the 1960 election of Democrat John F. Kennedy. In an interview with CBN in 2010 while still a member of Congress, Pence explained that he had a deep spiritual conversion in college that eventually led him to become an evangelical.
2. Once Endorsed Ted Cruz for President-Initially during the 2016 Republican primary season Pence officially endorsed not Trump but rather U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
3. A Pioneer Opponent of Common Core-As governor of Indiana, Pence is credited with being the first state executive to sign legislation to reverse the controversial Common Core State Standards. As the IndyStar reported in March 2014, while the bill Pence signed did officially reverse Common Core, the change was not a complete one.
4. Pro-Life Record-Pence has been known as a staunch supporter of the pro-life movement. While in Congress he championed the effort to defund Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
5. Religious Liberty Legislation-While Governor of Indiana, Pence signed into law the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, garnering much backlash from LGBT and progressive groups. Later, though, Pence caved to pressure from liberal groups and approved a "fix" that undermined the religious freedom protections in the bill by taking away the rights of business owners to bring religious freedom violations before a court. Pence was criticized by religious freedom advocates for the move.
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CHRISTIAN MUSIC FESTIVAL INFLUENTIAL
IN PENCE'S CONVERSION FROM
CATHOLIC TO EVANGELICAL
(BUT IS HE OR TRUMP SAVED?)
Mike Pence’s religion
Claims to be "born again" but won't reveal what church he attends and has no testimony of redemption, salvation and repentance. Just like Trump.
BY CRAIG FEHRMAN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Time for my second supplemental post on Mike Pence. You can read the original Indianapolis Monthly profile here, and near the end of it I describe asking Pence for some specifics about his personal faith. It’s a fair and vital question for two reasons: because Pence comes with a fascinating (and slightly messy) religious past; and because that past continues to shape every choice he makes. Yet all Pence would say to me is “I’m a pretty ordinary Christian.” He even ducked my question about where he goes to church, and I think it’s worth comparing that vagueness to some of his older answers about his faith. Indeed, as Pence has become more prominent, he’s also become more committed to saying absolutely nothing of interest — even on a topic about which he’d presumably want to share.It wasn’t always this way. In 1994, the Indianapolis Business Journal published a terrific profile of the 35-year-old Pence. There, he described his faith quite openly: “I made a commitment to Christ. I’m a born-again, evangelical Catholic.” You don’t see that combo every day, even in Indiana, but the Journal had caught Pence at a time when he was oscillating between his upbringing and his evangelical faith. Pence’s parents raised their children Catholic, and Pence served as an altar boy and went to a parochial school. In college, however, he fell in with a nondenominational student fellowship group — he wouldn’t tell me which one — and made his “commitment to Christ.” That didn’t end his commitment to Catholicism, and when Pence graduated in 1981 he worked as a full-time Catholic youth minister and even applied to D.C.’s Catholic University. The plan was to become a priest, he told the Journal, and while it didn’t work out Pence was still attending mass in the late ’80s, when met his wife at Indy’s St. Thomas Aquinas.At some point in the mid ’90s, Pence and his young family switched to an evangelical mega church. (In 1995, he told the Indianapolis Star that they attended the city’s Grace Evangelical Church.) Whatever the route, though, the destination is pretty clear: Pence’s evangelical faith has informed every aspect of his political career. Here are a few of many, many examples, drawn from his early years in Congress:
- During the 2000 election, the Star described Pence’s debate with Democrat Bob Rock: “Pence, who said he attends an evangelical Christian church, asked Rock, a Catholic, if he would support Richard Gephardt as speaker of the House if the Democrats gain control, even though Gephardt supports abortion rights. ‘I would never support him on the issue of abortion,’ said Rock. ‘I am as pro-life as you are and that is not an issue in this campaign.'”
- In 2001, the newly-elected Pence talked to The Hill about his marriage: “He never dines alone with a woman who is not his wife. And when his wife is absent, he never attends events where alcohol flows. ‘If there’s alcohol being served and people are being loose, I want to have the best-looking brunette in the room standing next to me,’ Pence said. As it happens, Pence frequently turns down invitations for drinks or dinner from male colleagues. ‘It’s about building a zone around your marriage,’ he observed.”
- In 2002, Pence talked to Congressional Quarterly about Israel: “‘My support for Israel stems largely from my personal faith,’ Pence said in an interview March 18. ‘In the Bible, God promises Abraham, “Those who bless you I will bless, and those who curse you I will curse.” So, in some way, I don’t fully understand [U.S. policy]. I believe our own national security is tied to our willingness to stand with the people of Israel.'”
- In 2003, Pence talked to Human Events about whether or not he could block Medicare Part D: “I don’t know, but God has surprised me a few times since I got here, and I hope He’ll surprise me again.”
Today, there’s no question that Pence’s religion continues to shape Pence’s politics. Andrew Phipps, a Hoosier politico who also hosts gospel TV and radio shows, put it to me this way: “I don’t think Mike will ever forsake his core values — the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and our great heritage of faith, family, and freedom.”
What has changed is Pence’s willingness to discuss just what makes up that religion. This has always struck me as somewhat shady — in a case like Pence’s, it’s essentially a politician who refuses to disclose his politics. Then again, the pattern now applies to almost every subject with Pence. He used to be a frank and fascinating interview. In 1994, he described his pre-Reagan politics like this: “[Carter] was a good Christian. Beyond that, there was a sense of, ‘Why would you elect a movie star?'” In 1995, he openly criticized Rush Limbaugh: “Conservative media, including Rush, have a tremendous blind spot when it comes to making a distinction between differences in public policy and personal differences.”
Someone might be able to get Pence to say things this detailed and interesting today, but I sure couldn’t. Instead, I got a guy — a guy who will likely run for president in 2016 or 2020 — who did this:
____________________________________________________________________Then something strange happened. Mike Pence, the guy who, the night before, had seemed to shake every single hand in Lucas Oil Stadium, the guy whose aides budget extra time in his schedule because he’s such a talker (“He’s Irish,” one of them explained)—Mike Pence, exactly 20 minutes into a 45-minute interview, said, “We gotta roll in about five, don’t we?”
ACTED LIKE A CATHOLIC "KNIGHT OF COLUMBUS"
Pence Says Obama Needs to Fire
Catholic-Bashing Adviser
SEE: http://www.cc.org/userlink/pence_says_obama_needs_fire_catholicbashing_adviser; EXCERPT:
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) says that it is "long overdue" for President Barack Obama to fire Harry Knox from the White House Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships because of the "vehement anti-Catholic statements" Knox has made.
"Harry Knox’s repeated, intolerant statements about the Catholic Church and Catholic teachings make it totally inappropriate for him to serve on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships," Pence told CNSNews.com in an interview Friday. "Harry Knox’s termination from the president’s Faith-Based Advisory Council is long-over due. And we would renew our call for Harry Knox to be removed from that position by the president.”
"I think Harry Knox is like any American entitled to his opinions," said Pence. "But he is simply and categorically the wrong person to serve on the president’s advisory council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships...
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Mike Pence Would Be A Terrible Choice For Trump's VP
PENCE IS A "FREE TRADE" GLOBALIST
MIKE PENCE WOULD BE A TERRIBLE CHOICE FOR TRUMP’S VP
Governor of Indiana supports stealth amnesty, TPP, NAFTA
BY PAUL JOSEPH WATSON
SEE: http://www.infowars.com/mike-pence-would-be-a-terrible-choice-for-trumps-vp/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Reports that Mike Pence is set to be announced as Donald Trump’s VP pick tomorrow have set off alarm bells among many Trump supporters because of the Governor of Indiana’s pro-amnesty, pro-TPP advocacy.
Making Pence VP is seen by many as a way of calming establishment conservatives and uniting the GOP, although why pandering to cuckservatives who have failed over and over again (John McCain, Mitt Romney etc etc) is suddenly a good idea remains a mystery.
Here are more reasons why picking Pence doesn’t make sense;
– While Trump has promised to build a wall, Pence has been savaged by respected conservatives like Pat Buchanan and Phyllis Schlafly for advocating “stealth amnesty” in the form of a guest worker program.
– While Trump has campaigned against job-killing foreign trade deals, Pence vehemently supports NAFTA, CAFTA, and the TPP.
– As recently as December, Pence tweeted, “Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.” This completely contradicts Trump’s policy of a temporary halt on Muslim immigration.
Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) December 8, 2015
– Pence voted for the Iraq war and opposed a withdrawal date even after it became apparent that U.S. involvement in the country was a disastrous policy.
– Pence once advocated “conversion therapy” for homosexuals. This will be exploited by the left to portray Pence as intolerant and bigoted, turning off many Bernie Sanders supporters who might have voted for Trump, as well as gays who were thinking about voting for Trump in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre.
– Pence is not a woman. Picking a female would have completely neutralized Hillary Clinton’s sole campaign platform, one bolstered by the media, which is the fact that Hillary has a vagina.
Hopefully, the Pence leak is just the Trump campaign testing the waters before a final call is made.
Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said that “a decision has not been made,” and the Indianapolis Star did not provide a source for its Pence leak.
The overwhelmingly negative reaction from many of Trump’s hardcore supporters should serve as a big wake up call and hopefully lead to the announcement of someone other than Pence to be Trump’s running mate.
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SEE ALSO:
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SEE ALSO:
Trump VP Pence: Globalist Neocon or Solid Conservative?
