Saturday, July 16, 2016

A Roster of the Mike Pence Political Horrors

If Democrats want to scare themselves silly into voting for Hillary in November, just circulate this list.  It's an almost quintesential encapsulation of Neo Conservative Values.  Hillary and Pence do have one thing in common though.  They were both duped by the "Arab Spring" and the Muslim Brotherhood.  
While in Congress, Pence belonged to the Tea Party Caucus.[42]
During Pence's twelve years in the House, he introduced 90 bills and resolutions; none became law.[43]
Abortion and Planned Parenthood[edit]
Pence began seeking to defund Planned Parenthood in 2007,[44] by introducing legislation aimed at preventing any organization that provides abortion services from receiving Title X funding.[45]
Birthright citizenship[edit]
In 2009, Pence opposed birthright citizenship (the legal principle set forth by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that all persons born on U.S. soil are citizens). He co-sponsored a bill that would have limited citizenship to children born to at least one parent who is a citizen, immigrants living permanently in the U.S. or non-citizens performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces.[46]
Economy[edit]
Pence was a co-sponsor of H.J.Res.73, a 2011 spending limit amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This amendment would limit federal spending to "the average annual revenue collected in the three prior years, adjusted in proportion to changes in population and inflation."[47] In regards to adopting the gold standard, Pence stated in 2011, "the time has come to have a debate over gold and the proper role it should play in our nation’s monetary affairs".[48]
He has been a proponent of a flat federal tax rate, and opposed the TARP bank bailout of 2008.[49]
Education[edit]
Pence voted against the No Child Left Behind Act.[50]
Earmarks[edit]
Then-U.S. Representative Pence (third from left) standing behind then-Governor Mitch Daniels at a press conference in Martinsville, Indiana
Pence was a supporter of earmark reform. He voted against the $139.7 billion transportation-treasury spending bill in June 2006, and in favor of a series of amendments proposed that same month by Jeff Flake that would strip other members' earmarks from the federal budget.[51] On occasion, however, Pence secured earmarks for projects in his district.[51]
Immigration[edit]
In June 2006, Pence unveiled an immigration plan (which he described as "No Amnesty Immigration reform") that would include increased border security, followed by strict enforcement of laws against hiring illegal aliens, and a Guest worker program. This guest worker program requires potential participants to apply from their home country to government-approved job placement agencies that match workers with employers who cannot find Americans for the job.[52] The plan received support from conservatives such as Dick Armey,[53] but attracted criticism from other conservatives such as Phyllis Schlafly, Richard A. Viguerie, and Pat Buchanan, who viewed Pence as lending "his conservative prestige to a form of liberal amnesty."[54][55]
In 2010, Pence voted against the DREAM Act, which would grant the undocumented children of illegal immigrants conditional non-immigrant status if they met certain requirements.[56] In 2010, Pence stated that Arizona S.B. 1070, which at the time of passage in 2010 was the US's broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration legislation, was "a good faith to try and restore order to their communities".[57]
Pence was rated 100% and 92% by the anti-immigration groups FAIR and USBC respectively during his tenure in Congress.[58][59]
Foreign policy[edit]
Pence supported the Iraq War Resolution, which authorized military action against Iraq.[60]
During the Iraq War, Pence opposed setting a public withdrawal date from Iraq. During an April 2007 visit to Baghdad, Pence and John McCain visited Shorja market, the site of a deadly attack in February 2007, that claimed the lives of 61 people. Pence and McCain described the visit as evidence that the security situation in Iraqi markets has improved.[61]The visit to the market took place under large security including helicopters overhead, and the New York Timesreported that the visit gave a false indication of how secure the area was due to the extremely heavy security forces protecting McCain.[62]
Pence chaired the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and was a prominent supporter of George W. Bush's Iraq War troop surge of 2007. At the time, Pence stated that "the surge is working" and defended the initial decision to invade in 2003.[60]
Pence has opposed closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and trying the suspected terrorists in the U.S.[63]Pence believes that "the Obama administration must overturn this wrongheaded decision".[63] As an alternative, Pence has said that the "enemy combatants" should be tried in a military tribunal.[63]
Pence has stated his support of Israel and its right to attack facilities in Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons, has defended the actions of Israel in its use of deadly force in enforcing the blockade of Gaza, and has referred to Israel as "America's most cherished ally".[64] He visited Israel in 2014 to express his support, and in 2016 signed into law a bill which would ban Indiana from having any commercial dealings with a company that boycotts Israel.[65]
Two weeks prior to the NATO intervention in Libya, Pence thanked the Obama administration and Secretary of State Clinton for their efforts to isolate the Gaddafi regime.[66][67][68] Pence expressed support for "a no-fly zone" and stated that "Qadhafi must go".[66][67][68]
Healthcare[edit]
Science[edit]
Climate change[edit]
In 2001, Pence wrote "Global warming is a myth,"[70] saying, incorrectly, that "the earth is actually cooler today than it was about 50 years ago".[71] In 2009 he told Chris Matthews that there was a "growing skepticism in the scientific community about global warming."[72][73]
Embryonic stem cell research[edit]
In 2009, Pence opposed President Obama's executive order eliminating restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research. Pence stated, "I believe it is morally wrong to create human life to destroy it for research... I believe it is morally wrong to take the tax dollars of millions of pro-life Americans".[74][75] He asserted that "scientific breakthroughs have rendered embryonic stem-cell research obsolete".[74][75]
Theory of evolution[edit]
When asked if he believes in evolution, Pence answered "I believe with all my heart that God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that’s in them. How he did that I’ll ask him about some day."[76][75]
Tobacco[edit]
In 2001, Pence wrote an op-ed arguing against additional government regulation of tobacco and the corresponding increase in the size of government and encroachment on private lives. He stated that “despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn't kill.”[77][78] Pence asserted, "2 out of every three smokers does not die from a smoking related illness and 9 out of ten smokers do not contract lung cancer," while acknowledging that "smoking isn't good for you" and people who smoke should quit.[77][78]
In 2009, Pence voted against the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which allows the FDA toregulate tobacco products.[79]
Trade deals[edit]
Pence "has been a longtime, aggressive advocate of trade deals" between the U.S. and foreign countries.[80] Pence is a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),[80] and during his tenure in the House, he voted for every free-trade agreement that came before him.[81] Pence voted in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA); in favor of keeping the U.S. in the World Trade Organization; and in favor of permanent normal trade relations with China.[81] Pence also supported bilateral free-trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea,Panama, Peru, Oman, Chile and Singapore.[81] Pence's strong stance in favor of free trade sharply differs from the stance of his running mate Trump, who has condemned globalization and the liberalization of trade.[80][81]
Views on homosexuality[edit]
In 2000, Pence stated "Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexual's [sic] as a discreet [sic] and insular minority entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities."[82] He called for "an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus [sic]" and instead advocated for resources to be directed toward Conversion therapy programs.[83][84][85]
Pence has said that homosexuals should not serve in the military, saying, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion" and in 2010 stated that repealingDon't ask, don't tell would "have an impact on unit cohesion."[86] Pence opposed the 2009 Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, saying that Barack Obama wanted to "advance a radical social agenda"[87] and said that pastors "could be charged or be subject to intimidation for simply expressing a Biblical worldview on the issue of homosexual behavior."[88]

Pence opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions.[89] While in the House, he said that "societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family".[90] He has advocated a constitutional same-sex marriage ban but did not champion such a proposed ban for his first year as governor.[91]

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