Governor Mike Pence: 2016 Vice President-Elect

[BW Manilowe]

Since we have threads for our Presidential Nominees, I felt it only fair we have a thread for their running mates, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine & Indiana Governor Mike Pence, the gentlemen who'd be "a heartbeat away" from sitting in the Oval Office in the event their ticket is elected & something unexpected happens to either Secretary Clinton or Mr. Trump & they cannot fulfill the duties of the office of President of the United States.

ETA: The Kaine/Pence topic has been split by the moderators, so this is now the topic for Governor Mike Pence only. Thank you!

[Darian]

Good topic!

Pence is an anti-LGBTQ, misogynistic, theocrat. Any one of those things is disqualifying in my eyes. Pence is dangerous, truly and completely dangerous. And in this case, "heartbeat away" only means officially: Donald Trump Reportedly Plans to Delegate All Domestic and Foreign Power to his VP

[Queena]

What will Trump be doing? 

 

Making America great again, of course. 

[BW Manilowe]

1 hour ago, Darian said:

Good topic!

Pence is an anti-LGBTQ, misogynistic, theocrat. Any one of those things is disqualifying in my eyes. Pence is dangerous, truly and completely dangerous. And in this case, "heartbeat away" only means officially: Donald Trump Reportedly Plans to Delegate All Domestic and Foreign Power to his VP

Pence is currently my state's Governor--at least when he's not on the campaign trail. The thing that makes me the happiest about Trump picking him as running mate is, whatever happens (& I'm praying the Clinton/Kaine ticket wins; got my absentee mail ballot, but still have to send it back), he's not Indiana's Governor anymore--at least not until 2020, when he could possibly run again (he's only in his 1st term here) if he loses the VP office (please God). Hopefully November 8th will bring the Hoosier State a new Governor with an LGBTQ- & female-friendly agenda, & that horrible RFRA law, among others, that Pence enacted will be rescinded.

[SoSueMe]

 I have heard from other Hoosiers on different boards that Pence is not well-loved in IN. I really wish that there was more media coverage on his extreme (imo) views. If DT should win (God forbid) there is always a chance that Pence could become President. Heartbeat away and all that. Yikes.

[Princess Sparkle]

Yeah, I said it in the DT thread, but Mike Pence actually scares me more than Trump.  His policies are so abhorrent, but because he's next to the insanity that is Trump, he looks like the "reasonable" one by comparison, which is terrifying.

[BoogieBurns]

9 minutes ago, Princess Sparkle said:

Yeah, I said it in the DT thread, but Mike Pence actually scares me more than Trump.  His policies are so abhorrent, but because he's next to the insanity that is Trump, he looks like the "reasonable" one by comparison, which is terrifying.

I'll give him one kudos, I like his "safe space in Aleppo" answer from the Veep debate. Besides that, he is the second to last person I would ever vote for. Actually, he is third to last. I forgot about how much I despise Ted Cruz. 

[Hanahope]

I find it interesting that of the rust-belt states, Indiana is reportedly very firmly in Trump's pocket.  At first I thought it was because people wanted to get Pence out, but if he's out even if he loses, I don't quite understand why Indiana is so different from Illinois, Ohio and PA this election.

[BW Manilowe]

2 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I find it interesting that of the rust-belt states, Indiana is reportedly very firmly in Trump's pocket.  At first I thought it was because people wanted to get Pence out, but if he's out even if he loses, I don't quite understand why Indiana is so different from Illinois, Ohio and PA this election.

In a nutshell (I had a longer answer which wouldn't post, for some reason, & which didn't save), Indiana is probably thought of as being firmly in Trump's pocket because:

1. Our sitting Governor is his running mate. Since we have a "connection" on the ticket, we're supposed to be voting for "the home team", as it were.

2. Indiana is, as far back as I can remember/have paid real attention to Presidential politics, a traditionally Republican state. The only time that I can remember, at least in recent history, that we went Democratic was when President Obama ran for POTUS the first time, in 2008. Then, sadly, we reverted to Republican in the 2012 election when President Obama defeated Mitt Romney.

[Hanahope]

12 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

1. Our sitting Governor is his running mate. Since we have a "connection" on the ticket, we're supposed to be voting for "the home team", as it were.

I know that's usually a factor.  Of course, its not helping Trump this year with his own home state, and Arkansas isn't going for Clinton (even though Bill was governor with Hillary as first lady there).

[Landsnark]

8 hours ago, Queena said:

What will Trump be doing? (While President, after having claimed he'd hand off all responsibilities to his VP, as asked to his son, whose reply is...)

Making America great again, of course. 

That's hilarious.  It's a direct quote from his son, Voldemort.

[MulletorHater]

On 10/18/2016 at 8:05 AM, Darian said:

Good topic!

Pence is an anti-LGBTQ, misogynistic, theocrat. Any one of those things is disqualifying in my eyes. Pence is dangerous, truly and completely dangerous. And in this case, "heartbeat away" only means officially: Donald Trump Reportedly Plans to Delegate All Domestic and Foreign Power to his VP

That's why I was disappointed when several people I know didn't think it was important to watch the VP debates.  Given the ages of the Secretary Clinton and Drumpf and how grueling that job is, it is imperative that voters know he these men are.

And, yes.  The white-haired Sith lord frightens me way more than Drumpf does.  He would actually be running the show because Drumpf can't fathom actually doing the job of being president.  The idea of a governor actually passing a law that requires women to hold funerals for aborted fetuses is beyond horrifying.  I also understand that HIV rates in Indiana also increased under Pence's watch.

[callmebetty]

Pence's Campaign Plane Slides off Runway in NY: NBC News

I seem to be having problems imbedding the link. Anyway it seems like everyone is ok.

But I'm sure somehow this is, a take your pick: Hillary's, Obama's ,  the corrupt media, rigged voting, autumnal equinox , the Lorax's fault.

[b2H]

6 minutes ago, callmebetty said:

Pence's Campaign Plane Slides off Runway in NY: NBC News

I seem to be having problems imbedding the link. Anyway it seems like everyone is ok.

But I'm sure somehow this is, a take your pick: Hillary's, Obama's ,  the corrupt media, rigged voting, autumnal equinox , the Lorax's fault.

More likely and more logically the snow and wet weather in the area today.

[ariel]

11 minutes ago, callmebetty said:

Pence's Campaign Plane Slides off Runway in NY: NBC News

I seem to be having problems imbedding the link. Anyway it seems like everyone is ok.

But I'm sure somehow this is, a take your pick: Hillary's, Obama's ,  the corrupt media, rigged voting, autumnal equinox , the Lorax's fault.

If the plane mishap was a year ago it would have been Obama's fault.  Now it is Hillary's.

I am glad everyone on the plane is safe.

ETA - the NY Post will blame De Blasio.

Edited October 28, 2016 by ariel

[Moose135]

Here's the latest story

LaGuardia had rain and mist, low ceiling but decent visibility, a bit of a crosswind but nothing close to the limits of the airplane, temps in the mid-50s.  Sounds like they slid down the runway, maybe off into the grass.  LGA does have an EMAS system (engineered materials arresting system) at the end of the runway.  EMAS is typically made up of lightweight, crushable concrete blocks.  When an aircraft overruns the runway into the EMAS bed, the blocks crush under the weight of the aircraft, bringing it to a stop.  In concept, it works like a runway truck ramp on the highway.

Here's the plane in Charlotte on Monday.

[atomationage]

Pence and voter suppression in Indiana, which apparently has a very low voter turnout:

Quote

Roughly 45,000 newly registered voters in Indiana — almost all of whom are black — may not be allowed to vote next month after state police targeted the state’s largest voter registration drive, forcing it to shut down its operation.

[Padma]

Pence's act scares me. He has it down even better than Trump has his.

On the other hand, when news is bad -- as it was today -- seeing Tim Kaine is so reassuring and calming to me. For me, he has this wonderful Jimmy Stewart-like quality, humility plus quiet confidence, a quiet steadiness and what they always like to call "Midwestern sincerity and decency".  He is the anti-Trump as there is nothing of the con artist about him.

I could totally see Kaine in those charming old JS movies like "The Shop Around the Corner", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington",  "It's a Wonderful Life"--even "Harvey". He's just got that quality and its not that common for politicians. Plus, it doesnt' hurt that his politics suit that persona, unlike Pence who clearly is going for the same image but is fake and hateful underneath.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 10/19/2016 at 4:00 PM, MulletorHater said:

The idea of a governor actually passing a law that requires women to hold funerals for aborted fetuses is beyond horrifying. 

I checked snopes and the law is repellent and ridiculous, but it doesn't require funerals.  It "just" requires that aborted or miscarried fetuses be either buried or cremated, and not disposed of as medical waste or donated for research. 

http://www.snopes.com/pence-law-forcing-fetus-funerals/

I have no doubt Pence would be fine with requiring funerals, but this law doesn't do that.

[magdalene]

If - hopefully - Trump loses Pence will probably run for president in four years.  He is not going away. 

When that was the thing to do his ilk would burn women at the stake. And pray fervently while doing so.

[biakbiak]

13 minutes ago, magdalene said:

If - hopefully - Trump loses Pence will probably run for president in four years.  He is not going away. 

When that was the thing to do his ilk would burn women at the stake. And pray fervently while doing so.

He will probably run because of all the smoke that got blown up his ass by Republicans who saw him as the last hope if Trump stepped down but he will be out quickly. He isnt well liked in Indiana and will have to standby all the statements/lies he stated standing by Trump.

Edited November 6, 2016 by biakbiak

[Finagler]

Pence scares me almost as much as Trump......  I used to be a Republican, but being a woman, I find it harder and harder to say, Yeah, that's the group who understands me and can make change happen.    What a bunch of whack jobs.  This would be true if we lived in the 1800's.  

I'm also not totally a Democrat, too many liberal ideas.  We can't have programs that pay for everything, we need balance.  

Why can't we have people that are middle of the road type candidates?

[shok]

4 hours ago, Finagler said:

I'm also not totally a Democrat, too many liberal ideas.  We can't have programs that pay for everything, we need balance.  

 

If the Republicans would quit cutting taxes on the rich and end corporate welfare, there would be lots of money available to 'pay for everything'. Hell, if Donald Trump had paid his fair share of income tax he could have funded some of those programs on his own. It's funny how so many people don't realize that rich people and corporations get more federally welfare by far than the underprivileged which the liberals keep fighting for.

[aradia22]

Quote

Pence scares me almost as much as Trump......  I used to be a Republican, but being a woman, I find it harder and harder to say, Yeah, that's the group who understands me and can make change happen.    What a bunch of whack jobs.  This would be true if we lived in the 1800's.  

I'm also not totally a Democrat, too many liberal ideas.  We can't have programs that pay for everything, we need balance.  

Why can't we have people that are middle of the road type candidates?

Agreed on Pence being scary. I also used to be a Republican. I think I perhaps might have been OK with someone like Kasich who, for the little we heard him talk, seemed relatively moderate and while not ideal, at least closer to be socially liberal than a lot of people on that debate stage who were vehemently anti-abortion. I'm not bothered by "liberal ideas" exactly but I do think there needs to be healthy debate to get us to the best policies. Debate. Not yelling at each other. Not one party forcing through their platform and both sides being unwilling to compromise. Since this is the VP thread, I think it's kind of bonkers how little we know about Pence unless you dig into his record. Since the consensus seems to be that Trump will leave a lot of things up to Pence, I feel like we should know a lot more about where he stands on the issues. But then I don't think we learned that much about where anyone stands on issues this election.

[callmebetty]

Has anybody seen or heard anything posted about how the meeting between Joe Biden and Pence went? Oh for some Biden memes on that.

[crayon78]

I'm sure some Biden memes must be in the works!

Until then, all I've seen is this:

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/799036608863498241

Quote

Biden: The vice presidency will be in "good hands" under Pence http://hill.cm/OEcDdO7

Edited November 19, 2016 by Lisin
Removed twitter embed

[sleekandchic]

Just want to say that Sen Kaine seemed like an old-fashioned, decent, semi-goofy, down-to-earth guy to me.  I'm not Catholic but attended Catholic school and have tremendous respect for Jesuit education.

Mr Pence drives me cray cray. Don't expect anyone to agree with me, but the fact that Mrs Pence has been GLUED to his side since his nomination makes me wonder.  My husband and family think maybe SHE is afraid to leave him alone.  BUT, I think he himself is afraid to be left on his own.   Temptation, but not girly temptation (my opinion).

[shok]

Quote

Temptation, but not girly temptation (my opinion).

My opinion too. There have been so many Republicans who were rabidly homophobic who got caught out for their private lives and gay sex. Sure hope the judge rules Pence's emails can't be hidden.

[Duke Silver]

Yes, the gentleman doth protest too much, methinks.  So much repressed urge.  My girlfriend told me a story of her uncle, who was a huge donor to conservative causes.  He was so, so pious, so religious and self-righteous, anti-Liberal everything, such a outward homophobe.  Predictably, he got caught w/ a male friend.  The more pious & intolerant a person acts, the more side eye they get from me.  Overcompensation is so easy to spot.

[Moose135]

Pence went to see Hamilton on Broadway Friday night.  Turned out to be an "interesting" evening...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-pence-booed-hamilton_us_582fbe42e4b030997bbf9782

[windsprints]

Here's the ending with the cast on twitter (video) 

[BetterButter]

[aradia22]

I love Brandon Victor Dixon (he's currently playing Aaron Burr in Hamilton and was the one who delivered that speech to Pence). I'm genuinely kind of curious what Pence takes away from seeing Hamilton. Yes, a lot of "celebrities" of all sorts (music, politics, film, etc.) are going to see it because it's the popular thing. And I know it's very possible to see something and have the real message go over your head or to just take away from it what you want to take away. But on some level whenever you see a piece of theatre, the message has to penetrate. Whether or not you agree, it's very hard to not hear what they're saying (OK, unless the play is really horrible but that's clearly not Hamilton). 

[crayon78]

1 hour ago, aradia22 said:

I know it's very possible to see something and have the real message go over your head or to just take away from it what you want to take away. But on some level whenever you see a piece of theatre, the message has to penetrate. Whether or not you agree, it's very hard to not hear what they're saying

I agree and am curious as well. It was the same reason George Takei always held a seat open at Allegiance for Trump back when that was running on Broadway. Of course, he never went, but having seen it, I think it would have been really difficult to not hear the message there.

[aradia22]

Oh, and I completely forgot about this until someone mentioned it on twitter. Javier! https://twitter.com/amaditalks/status/799805752575750144

[FuriousStyles]

The usual pundits were on Don Lemon last night talking about what happened at the Hamilton play.  Angela Rye mentioned that the actor who gave the speech at the end is gay and HIV+.....which is especially poignant because apparently Mike Pence has tried to take money away from HIV funding to use in his gay conversion therapy shit.

I dont think Pence took anything away from that play.  Itll be business as usual when he gets back to Washington.  If anything he'll be even more hardcore...being booed and embarassed by the NY elites  (thats what Kayleigh Mcenany called the people who go to these Broadway shows).  Don rightly pointed out that plenty of people who go to Broadway shows are tourists or who dont even like in NY (much like Mike Pence) and more so dont pay the $800+ ticket price....although Im sure he did.

Oh and yes....I totally agree Pence probably has some secrect gay predilections of his own.  Those who are so obsessed with stopping gays from just living their life often do. 

Edited November 19, 2016 by FuriousStyles

[Duke Silver]

Orange Hitler has already been busy on the Twitter machine, mixing facts & fiction, claiming the Hamilton cast "harassed" Pence.  It was actually the audience who booed Pence.  Our next President just can't stop with the Twitter thing, and getting it wrong thing.  This is such a regular thing that it no longer surprises me or anyone, I'm sure.  That's kinda scary, isn't it?

[Shannon L.]

I wondered what he would have thought about Hamilton's message, too.  But, I have mixed feelings about the way he was treated.  I have no problem with the statement from the cast--it's an important issue-- and the extra cheering/ovations during certain lines, but booing?  It's yet another thing that makes democrats look like sore losers.  It was a social night out, so just ignore him (If his presence is announced, don't applaud--dead silence or weak applause can be a killer, I'd imagine). 

[KIMBERLYANN11]

24 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

I wondered what he would have thought about Hamilton's message, too.  But, I have mixed feelings about the way he was treated.  I have no problem with the statement from the cast--it's an important issue-- and the extra cheering/ovations during certain lines, but booing?  It's yet another thing that makes democrats look like sore losers.  It was a social night out, so just ignore him (If his presence is announced, don't applaud--dead silence or weak applause can be a killer, I'd imagine). 

While I get your point, ignoring evil hasn't served societies well in the past.  He needs to be reminded where ever he goes that he is reviled.  It might make him search in his heart and realize why (although probably not).

When I was a kid, I wasn't bullied a lot ( but like most other kids I got a little bit).  My mom's advice was to ignore it, which made it hard for me to learn to stand up for myself as an adult.  I had to really work at it.  The more we normalize things, the more normal it will feel when the really horrible things happen.  And they should never feel normal.

He should actually feel fortunate that no one took a page out of John Wilkes Booth's playbook.  To me, he is actually more scary than Drumph.

Edited November 19, 2016 by KIMBERLYANN11

[windsprints]

Mike Pence’s Hateful Laws Almost Kept Me From My Dying Wife

An article about how Mike Pence's laws impacted one family.  

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, KIMBERLYANN11 said:

While I get your point, ignoring evil hasn't served societies well in the past.  He needs to be reminded where ever he goes that he is reviled.  It might make him search in his heart and realize why (although probably not).

When I was a kid, I wasn't bullied a lot ( but like most other kids I got a little bit).  My mom's advice was to ignore it, which made it hard for me to learn to stand up for myself as an adult.  I had to really work at it.  The more we normalize things, the more normal it will feel when the really horrible things happen.  And they should never feel normal.

Point taken.  I was bullied, too, and often ignored it and also had to learn to stand up for myself as an adult (in fact, it's still hard to do at times).  I think you may have changed my mind about how I feel about it. 

[DollEyes]

My verdict: love it! Seeing the cast of Hamilton put Pence on blast was epic. The people who booed Pence paid good money-and given Hamilton's caliber and popularity, lots of it-to avoid people like Pence, not to be distracted by him sitting in front of them. Other Republicans like George W. Bush and Paul Ryan have seen the show, but they didn't inspire the well-deserved reaction that Pence got. Even better is that according to reports, Pence overheard everything that Brandon Victor Dixon said after he left, so Pence's running away backfired, big-time. It reminds me of the ending of Dangerous Liasons, when the Marquise was booed at the Opera:

Dangerous Liasons Ending

Edited November 19, 2016 by DollEyes
To add link

[Macbeth]

Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Burr, read the speech - that was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Reports are saying that when Dixon starting making the plea to Pence for tolerance he walked out.  What an asshole.  

You want to be vice-president - you have to suck it up.  You are no longer in your own fiefdom of Indiana.  You went to a very popular Broadway, that celebrates immigrants - you know the people your administration is trying to deport.

What did he expect??

[callmebetty]

If Mike Pence was so bothered by it why doesn't he say something? Why does his "dad" have to come over to say stop bullying him? Mike Pence is an adult, correct ?

The speech was respectful , calm and a beautiful sentiment , three adjectives neither Thing 1 or Thing 2 can comprehend . 

[PatsyandEddie]

13 hours ago, BetterButter said:

I think Mr Lincoln would disagree. 

The tweeter is a tool. 

[callmebetty]

2 minutes ago, PatsyandEddie said:

I think Mr Lincoln would disagree. 

The tweeter is a tool. 

I actually took it as a bad joke. They know about Lincoln, just a bad joke.

[Spartan Girl]

Jesus Christ, now they're trying to boycott Hamilton just because people in the audience booed Pence after the cast made a speech calling him out? Who are these subhumans on Twitter?!

And, as always, STFU Drumpf.

[ari333]

Woot! I think ass Pence should feel a twinge of fear of being booed everywhere he goes. Love it. Rock it, Hamilton!

[backformore]

I'm wondering how they're boycotting a show that is SOLD OUT for the next year.

I guess it's the same way I'm boycotting staying at Trump hotels. I wasn't going to anyway.

Edited November 19, 2016 by backformore

[AmandaPanda]

If they really want to boycott and have already purchased tickets, I'd be more than happy to take those tickets off their hands. In the interest of their freedom of speech and all...