We've heard from racists, Islamophobes, antisemites & misogynists – but now homophobes finally have a place in the campaign. #TrumpPence
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) July 15, 2016
Hope nobody laughs off the choice of the truly horrible Mike Pence, who would be President in the final 3 years of Trump's first term.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) July 15, 2016
There are two wings in the modern Republican party: the “I Got Mine, Fvck You” (‘business’) clan, represented this presidential year by Donald Trump; and the “We Hate All the Same People You Hate” (‘religious’) group, now ably seconded by Mike Pence. Of course the overlap between the two is large — the main difference between Trump’s career and Pence’s is that when Pence threw other peoples’ money around, he was to some degree subject to the wrath of his victims, the voters. (Despite his best efforts to keep them from hearing about it.) He’s also, per Think Progress, a longtime shill for the tobacco industry. Truly the Swiss army knife of RWNJs!
Trump: Who should be my VP?
Advisors: Well, Mike Pence is a walking elephant shart in a suit.
Trump: GET HIM ON THE PHONE
— Moltz (@Moltz) July 15, 2016
From Jezebel‘s political sub-blog The Slot, “Get to Know Mike Pence and All of the Very Bad Legislation He’s Signed”:
… Pence is a bit of a darling among anti-choice groups. As a member of Congress, Pence sponsored a 2007 bill to defund Planned Parenthood, the first of its kind, the legislation set off a now nearly decade old congressional battle to defund the organization. Pence reintroduced the legislation multiple times until he left the House in 2011. “Let the abortion providers provide for themselves,” Pence told Politico in 2007. “I’d like to continue to be a persistent, respectful voice for the sanctity of life.”
It was a template and an indicator of how he would treat women’s health as governor of Indiana. As governor, Pence signed virtually every anti-choice bill that was put on his desk, including HB 1337, an omnibus abortion bill that a federal court blocked from taking effect in June of this year.
Pence described the law “a comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life.” In reality, it is a deeply invasive law lacking both empathy and reason (unsurprising, perhaps, from the state that jailed Purvi Patel). HB 1337 bans women from seeking abortions based on race, gender or fetal anomaly; it also mandates that women be required to bury or cremate the fetus post-termination. In addition, it required that abortion doctors have admitting privileges in order to practice, a restriction that the Supreme Court recently struck down in Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt…
In 2015, Pence also signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The controversial law prohibits the passage of state laws that “substantially burden” the religious beliefs of individuals. According to the Associated Press, the definition of an “individual” originally included churches and religious institutions, as well as businesses and other entities (RIP Memories Pizza who played themselves all the way to closing).
The law and its passage were a mess. LGBTQ activists argued that the bill would effectively allow business owners to discriminate and deny customers service if they were LGBTQ (or merely if the owner of the business perceived them to be). After numerous companies and organizations, including Angie’s List and the NCAA, announced that they would boycott the state, the Indiana legislature amended the bill, clarifying that it could not be used to discriminate against LGTBQ people.
Pence handled the passage of the bill poorly. He acknowledged that the bill was discriminatory, yet signed it anyway and, in the process, lost quite a bit of cash for Indiana businesses…
Mike Pence's battle against Planned Parenthood caused an HIV outbreak in Indiana. https://t.co/SNGq4JcENN
— Cameron Esposito (@cameronesposito) July 15, 2016
Reminder: Mike Pence Is Every Bit As Dangerous As Donald TrumpPost + Comments (184)