September 20, 2010, - 2:31 pm

Mike Pence, a GOP Presidential Candidate I Support

By Debbie Schlussel

As you may be aware, Indiana Republican Congressman Mike Pence trounced so-called conservatives like Sarah Palin in a Presidential straw poll at the Value Voter conference, over the weekend.  While that doesn’t mean he has a shot at getting the Republican nomination (these straw polls are usually meaningless), it’s something.  And it’s heartening for people like me who don’t see any other real conservatives in the mix for 2012 who excite us.  I like Pence, and he is someone I’d happily support.

Mike Pence is principled, unlike so many on the right who went along with most of the bloated Bush program for eight years.  He led the unsuccessful opposition to Bush’s elephantine Medicare bill, which cost us trillions.  Pence doesn’t come off as a phony, but, rather, as a down-the-line social and fiscal conservative, as well as saying the right things on foreign policy, including on Israel.

And, unlike Palinmessiah, he actually can utter a complete sentence, several of them in a row, and knows what he’s talking about without hiring a gazillion foreign and domestic policy consultants to tell him what’s going on in the country and the world (Palin spent most of her hundreds of thousands of dollars from SarahPAC for that, and spent the remainder mostly on nutcase, Gitmo-opponent, and Iran-fan Rand Paul).

Mike Pence has a lot going for him.  He’s articulate, smart, consistently conservative, and he doesn’t have a tabloid family gracing magazine covers and “Dancing with the Stars” (for such “starry” feats as having enough sex to become a glorified teen single mother).  And Pence understands the dangers of Islam and jihad, while recognizing who our real friends and enemies are overseas.

The drawback for Pence is that he’s “just” a Congressman, and few of those have ever succeeded in becoming President, especially in modern times.  Usually, Governors or U. S. Senators have a better shot of becoming President.  Statistically, Congressmen do not.  But everything is changing in politics, at least right now,  I hope Mike Pence defies the odds against Members of Congress reaching the White House.

What is your reaction to Mike Pence as a Republican candidate for President?  Would you support him over the other “choices”?  Why or why not?  If not, who are you supporting and why (even you Palinmessiah followers are free to post why you support the quitter Half-Governor of Alaska)?




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48 Responses

I don’t know Mike Pence, so I will need to research him a bit.

You are right about the choices for President. I don’t understand why we can’t find more viable options. Every time there is an election it seems like we have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

I liked Duncan Hunter last time, but he didn’t make it very far.

Angie on September 20, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    How disappointing to see that he is not all that conservative for he is just another member of the Illuminati’s Council of Foreign Relations. This news ought to make the Democrats happy.

    Sheila Rae on July 15, 2016 at 12:20 am

      I take this back. I am not certain whether or not Mike Pence is a member of the CFR. Someone said that he was but so far, I cannot see it. I just hope that he is not.

      Sheila Rae on July 15, 2016 at 1:31 am

Mike Pence is a congressman by choice. He was a shoe in for Governor, but wanted to keep the house majority republican. Mike Pence looks out for the good of the people and not just for himself. Find me another politician who would have done the same, it’s not easy. I support Mike Pence, he would be the best president since RR

Nathan Mikhlin on September 20, 2010 at 2:48 pm

I tend to like Mike as well. Strong conservative who doesn’t seem to chase off Independents like Palin or Gingrich. I do think Palin would make a good replacement for Steele, as she seems to be able to raise tons of money, despite her lack of substance.

peter on September 20, 2010 at 3:28 pm

Me too. If we could only be so lucky.

sharon on September 20, 2010 at 3:28 pm

Mike Pence has many strong attributes, including those you mentioned.

I am hoping he will reconsider his position on immigration. I remember the ‘Pence compromise’ that he initiated in the House during the Bush amnesty campaign a few years ago, which was essentially a push for open borders, thinly disguised. If he comes over to an actual position against illegal immigration I would have no hesitation in supporting him.

I heard John Bolton’s name being thrown out for 2012, but don’t know whether he is serious about it, or what positions he will take on all issues. I agree that with the other people out there now, Palin, Huckabee, Romney, Gingrich, etc., there is not much to chooose from.

Little Al on September 20, 2010 at 3:37 pm

Debbie, you are not even telling the best part of Mike Pence. As you and every other person with any brains knows, the Ponzi scheme known as Social Security is going to run out of money soon, thanks in part to 78 year old Russian or Arab or Hispanics getting off the plane in the good old USA and immediately getting SSI.

Mike has a plan for restructuring Social Security so it remains solvent without overtaking the entire federal budget.

Too bad you can’t be President, Deb. (Jewish and honest, and known by only a few million). You would have my vote.

Jon Grant on September 20, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    Jon,

    I agree with you. I’d vote for Debbie, if she ran. But she can’t beat the Detroit machine. And when the country’s cities are turning bluer, the odds are very difficult any GOP candidate will be able to carry the mega-states. Good luck with it.

    We can only hope Obama is so dismal a President even the Democrats will be discouraged from coming out to vote for him. If a GOP Congress is popular and Obama is still an ideologue, things might be different in 2012.

    NormanF on September 20, 2010 at 5:53 pm

As a general matter, I think governors (governors who don’t quit and win re-election one time) make better Presidents than legislators. Executive experience does matter. However, Pence is one of 3 sitting legislators that I would consider for President in 2012. The other two are Ryan and DeMint, although neither shows any interest in running.

Daniels and Barbour both look promising in my view.

JSobieski on September 20, 2010 at 4:06 pm

I like Mike Pence also, for the same reasons that you and others have already pointed out. Trouble is, none of us will ever find that one perfect candidate. Each one has their own failings. I do like a few of the others that you don’t. I just don’t view Palin in the same light you do, but I do agree with you on Pence. You’re spot on with him. And as always, I thank you for all you do. You help keep me informed.

Rocky on September 20, 2010 at 4:58 pm

I’ve liked him…. let’s point out Obama had just one term as a US Senator before he was elected President. But as we all know, straw polls count for little in the face of organization and money and in a crowded 2012 GOP field, Pence would be likely to finish last. On the plus side, Indiana is likely to return to the GOP column again if he is the nominee. He’s about the only chance Republicans have of denying Obama that coveted second term.

NormanF on September 20, 2010 at 5:46 pm

I think a lot of the scenario for 2012 depends on whether the Republicans will do what they say they will do during the next Congressional term. If they do even a substantial part of it, Obama is likely to lose. If they help the liberals, as they do most of the time, Sen. DeMint may have a point that the Republican Party does not have a future. Lots of people are very impatient, and although many of them have not articulated a full political program of what they want, they know a lot of the things that have infuriated them in the past, and will be alert for repetitions of these sellouts.

Little Al on September 20, 2010 at 5:57 pm

I think he would be a solid candidate. I have lost hope in the average GOP voter. They have their own sheep mentality. Not as bad as liberals but a guy like Pence will find it hard to get around Pailin.

CaliforniaScreaming on September 20, 2010 at 6:04 pm

Pence is indeed solid. The only problem is the last President to be elected without having been Senator, Governor, or Vice-President was Ike. The last elected directly from the U.S. House was Garfield back in 1881.

Unfortunately our choices of people who actually can get elected as our next President are ridiculously limited. In my opinion Bobby Jindal is the best among those choices, but it is doubtful that he will run until at least 2016.

Brian R. on September 20, 2010 at 6:24 pm

I like him. He seems to be the only viable candidate since others considering running have such glaring faults (ie Palin, Gingrich, Romney). To win the nomination he would have to survive the first few primaries which are designed to bleed non-establishment types dry and assure it to the blue-bloods’ choice (like McCain in the last election). I think Romney is going to be the establishment candidate this time around.

CornCoLeo on September 20, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    I agree it will probably be Romney. Someone with lots of money, name recognition and perceived electability. Ideology won’t matter much in the GOP primaries as “who can win.”

    NormanF on September 21, 2010 at 12:22 am

Palin’s support of the stealth Neo-Nazis Ron and Rand Paul was the last straw for me. Pence seems like a great candidate if he can only gain traction in the greater public (not likely sadly)

John on September 20, 2010 at 9:12 pm

Mike Pence looks good to me as well. Another candidate that I like is Eric Cantor. The best one of all, would be Debbie–who would also have my vote.

JeffE on September 20, 2010 at 10:58 pm

…oh… those wacky White Sox fans…..

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2729144,hassoun-charged-bomb-plot-092010.article

Nick Fury on September 20, 2010 at 11:09 pm

Debbie, Congressman Pence is my Congressman and so I have known his reputation since near when he was first elected to Congress (in fact I even interned for him summer of 2004-The Summer our beloved RR died), he is a solid man personally as well as politically!

I have been advocating a DeMint/Pence ticket!

-J.S.

Jeremy on September 20, 2010 at 11:43 pm

It’s a little early for me to be thinking about who I want to be our President in 2013. In the mean time, I do NOT want our local GOP candidate (Justin Amash) to become my Congressional representative in Michigan’s 3rd District. That much I know.

There is NO Santa Claus on September 20, 2010 at 11:55 pm

When it comes to politicians I subscribe to the Lee Rodgers rule-I look DOWN on all politicians with CONTEMPT and DISGUST! That is so when they surprise you it will be a pleasant one!

T. Y. on September 21, 2010 at 1:22 am

Dear Debbie: I wish you, your family, and all the religious Jews on this website a happy, healthy, kosher succot.

Miranda Rose Smith on September 21, 2010 at 4:20 am

While Pence might be a good candidate, I have to revisit the Obama-care hearings and the tenacity shown by Paul Ryan. He has a lot going for him if he decides to run. Another name not thrown into the hat yet is NJ Governor Chris Christie. There’s a guy who’s walking the walk after talking the talk during his campaign. He is a fiscal stalwart in a state that has more union-based cry-babies than almost anywhere else but CA. He is making himself heard throughout the state, and I think he’s creating a legacy that could be a springboard to national office, if not 2012 maybe 2016.

Vipertrucker on September 21, 2010 at 7:26 am

I would need to see Mike’s record of voting on firearms issues….
Too many of them say what their constituents want to hear but vote otherwise.

Shootist on September 21, 2010 at 7:39 am

I like Mike! A Pence in time!

Bill Ford on September 21, 2010 at 7:50 am

Pence/Palin 2012!!

Mats on September 21, 2010 at 9:04 am

I really wish people would stop mentioning John Bolton and Net Gingrich, they are both members of the CFR/Council on Foreign Relations. we want to vote them out not in. I owuld vote for Pence gladly, I have like him for awhile but yes, I remember the amnesty thing and that would hold me back a bit too. These people have to make us promises and I want it in writing, no amnesty, no islamization, no Obama helalth care. If he does all that then yes I would vote for him but not with Sarah Palin as a running mate. Palin and O’Donell is already being touted by Fox news, owned by CFR member and an Muslim Arabian Prince. They ar eout as far as I’m ocncerned. Get us out of tyhe UN too.

MadHatter on September 21, 2010 at 10:04 am

If there was ever a time for an under dog to take a prize, it’s now. This new conservative movement is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Why do you think the dems are so desperate to slander it.
After watching that black lady stand up to the president, I was speechless.

Samurai on September 21, 2010 at 10:08 am

Pence is a nice guy, but he is too soft. The communists will rip him apart in 5 minutes. Not even his mother will vote for him when they finish with him! You have to be one mean SOB to survive in the world of politics.

burt on September 21, 2010 at 10:29 am

    The left can’t rip him if they don’t have anything to rip. I don’t know much about Pence, or even if he’s positioning himself for a run, but I will definitely make it a point to learn more. Not sure if he’s viable in 2012, because nobody knows who he is. But if he takes more of a leadership role in a Republican Congress and gets himself known nationally, who says a Congressman can’t get elected President? And what did he do before Congress? There are more ways than a stint as a Governor to get executive experience.

    I LOVE Paul Ryan from Wisconsin – even though he doesn’t want to put his family through a Presidential campaign. Perhaps they just need to be a little older. I can see either Pence or Ryan as a VP choice. Unfortunately, I can’t see ANYONE as a Prez choice I could get behind.

    DG in GA on September 21, 2010 at 4:04 pm

What about Gov. Tim Pawlenty? He took on the strongly Democratic (or in this case DFL) controlled legislature in Minnesota and won against their tax-raising, budget-busting efforts. I don’t know a great deal about him or Pence, but I’d be open to them over any of the current front-runners among the theoretical Republican Presidential hopefuls.

Sean M on September 21, 2010 at 10:50 am

If you truly believe in freedom and liberty, none of the nitwit neocons mentioned above are viable candidates. Anyone who calls either of the Paul’s a “nutcase” obviously doesn’t know them very well. These are scholarly men of great integrity who fully understand economics, history, and the vision of liberty which the founders of our land set forth. Do yourselves a HUGE favor and learn more about Ron and Rand Paul.
Their message is the only hope for our country’s future.

Tre D. on September 21, 2010 at 11:32 am

Now that’s a candidate I can support!

BUT (there’s always a but)… as Mike Pence becomes a national face in the presidential elections in the next several months, my concern is that in order to attract independent and swing voters and maintain their appeal in him on the national level, Pence would be compelled to move to the center, a move would disappoint a lot of conservatives and he could become a CINO as long as he doesn’t wanted to lose a large number of independent and swing voters in 2012.

Take a look at the political earthquake in Sweden: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/world/europe/21iht-sweden.html?_r=1

A popular Swedish conservative who shifted to the center as soon after he won the votes.

Consider this a warning lesson about Mike Pence in 2011 and 2012.

Bobby'sBrain on September 21, 2010 at 11:48 am

I also like Mike Pence, but my first choice would be John Bolton. A solid man who gets it about national security. I don’t know much about his other views so there’s more to know. I understand he’s contemplating a run. If the Repubs want to commit political suicide, they’ll put Palin on the ticket.

R: I like John Bolton a lot, but just as I don’t believe Americans will vote for a fat man (Chris Christie) for Prez, they won’t vote for a guy with a mustache, either. Don’t believe me? When was the last time a guy with a mustache occupied the Oval Office? Americans care more about these things than substance. It’s just the way it is. DS

Robert on September 21, 2010 at 11:50 am

Somebody at the Republican Convention will have to tell Palin to sit down and shut up.

Truth on September 21, 2010 at 12:01 pm

i think alot of Mike Pence — he seems solid on many fronts. wished so much for Romney to be candidate last time, do not see our youthful country electing him now. having said that, whomever is our candidate for 2012, the RNC had better learn how to play the internet/get out the youth vote in a big way or it will just be over once again. critical we see this, learn how to do it and go for it, period.
Getting back to Pence, I would love to see him more and learn more about him — he does look Presidential and i hope he can make it happen. I LIKE MIKE! once again he seems solid — how do we learn more about him and begin to support this gentleman??? yes I agree, Palin as head of RNC is a great idea; she is too much fodder for the mainstream to make a pres. run — talk about dividing the country!!!

ROBIN PAYNE on September 21, 2010 at 12:13 pm

Madhatter, your correct about Bolton and Gingrich, both of those guys are part-in-parcel of the CFR, and I hope that Hannity, ie, “The Wallbanger” quit carrying the water for Gingrich (we all know that Hannity is a shill for the GOP) and I also hope that one of my favorite talk show host Steve Malzberg would notice that John Bolton is a member of the CFR, we don’t need CFR candidate’s running for the presidency two years from now. As for Mike Pence, I’ve heard of this dude from Indiana, to me he’s ok, I can remember back a few years ago some of the Demoncants wanted to pass a so-called “Un-Fairness Doctrine” bill that’ll regulate the conservative media, etc., and Pence to his own credit stood up to those fascistic left wing Demoncants and til this day we haven’t heard any politican from both parties mentioned a bill like that! Now the $100,000 question is for Mr. Pence, if he want’s to run against Obama and beat Obama two years from now, where does he stand on illegal-immigration? Because to me both Republicans and Democrats alike have been dodging this question for years and decades.

“A nation is identified by it’s borders, language & culture!”

Sean R. on September 21, 2010 at 1:16 pm

    you don’t realize that Mike Pence is also a member of Council on Foreign Relations? I would hate to think what would happen if Donald Trump disappeared. We would just have another Globalist on our hands.

    Sheila Rae on July 15, 2016 at 12:38 am

      Sorry, I may have just been following a rumor. I cannot say for sure whether or not Mike Pence is a CFR member. So I take what I said back until I can see for sure whether the rumor is true or not. I spoke in haste. I just hope that Mike Pence is not a member that’s all.

      Sheila Rae on July 15, 2016 at 1:38 am

Shootist…

NRA gives Mike Pence an A…

http://www.ontheissues.org/in/Mike_Pence_Gun_Control.htm

hill billy on September 21, 2010 at 1:32 pm

I would support Mike Pence. I think he’s got a lot going for him politically and I hope to see more of him, whether he throws his hat into the presidential ring or stays a Representative. As a Hoosier, I’m glad Mike is from my state. I’m only sorry that Visclosky is my Congressman.

KerryB on September 21, 2010 at 5:08 pm

Pence is my choice too, just wish he had a little more grizzly bear and a little less teddy bear in him. Never seen him angry about anything.

Brian on September 21, 2010 at 10:25 pm

Do yourself a favor and read his recent speech on the presidency. Absolutely dead on exposition of the office and its meaning.

BFD on September 23, 2010 at 1:24 pm

Nah. Pence is another phony game show host, who never fully answers a question, only providing generalizations and platitudes. He’s as fake as Romney. I have yet to hear one actual plan for recovery from either of them that doesn’t sound like a prepackaged slogan, suitable for television commercials and bumper stickers.

And, personally, I’m sick to death of Christian conservatives in positions of power. They are inherently bigoted, divisive, and anti-freedom. They can scream about freedom all they want, but they only want freedom for people like them. As long as the Republicans remain in the social 1950s, they will gradually die out with the old white men most of them have become. I want a fiscally conservative, strong on defense atheist. If I hear one more Rep mention “values” and “morals” I’m going to puke in their faces. They don’t want gays to get married, but they have no problem taking $$ from corps who send all their jobs overseas and use slave labor.

Also, the rash of gay teen suicides can be directly traced to the bullies who are the children of right wing Christians who are only acting as they are taught. They completely deny any responsibility of course, since these days the “party of personal responsibility” takes no responsibility.

A Pence presidency = more dead children.

Jim on November 7, 2010 at 4:33 pm

He is just another globelist I’m afraid.for he is a CFR member.

Sheila Rae on July 15, 2016 at 12:11 am

    I take it back. Mike Pence may not be a member of the CFR. I just heard that somewhere but it may have merely rumor. I spoke in haste. So until there is proof, I cannot say. Just hope that he isn’t though.

    Sheila Rae on July 15, 2016 at 1:42 am

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