One for the Gipper

Indiana congressman, talk show darling and Reagan disciple Mike Pence is fast becoming the voice of small-government conservatives.

"WASHINGTON -- With prematurely gray hair, soft features and chestnut-brown eyes, Mike Pence has the clean-cut, polished look of a television anchorman. He exudes a calm and relaxed presence characteristic of his native Midwest."

In other words, Mike Pence has a very presidential look. Many people have commented on that fact. Also, the Bible claims in Proverbs 16:31 “A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness.”

And he leavens his points with humor. "I'm a conservative, but I'm not in a bad mood about it," he explains."

Mike Pence also describes himself as “A Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” Mike Pence is a true optimistic conservative who articulates our Christian conservative message with hope, sincerity, and genuine passion. Not only are people who hear him immediately drawn to him and his character, but his message highly resonates with the American people.

"Though a third-term congressman from central Indiana who is a relative newcomer to the political power centers in Washington, Pence, 46, already is a favored guest on television news talk shows, such as Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor" and "Hannity & Colmes," and CNN's now-canceled "Crossfire." That national exposure, in turn, enhances his influence inside the Capitol."

Though he is only a third term congressman, Pence was immediately lifted up into leadership position because of his effective conservative leadership. In his second term he became Deputy Majority Whip with House Leadership. After his second term, he was unanimously selected by one hundred of his conservative colleagues to chair the Republican Study Committee.

""We liked having him on," said Debbie Berger, who was a producer for Crossfire. "He's smart. He's charming. He's nice. He's funny. He enjoys doing this stuff. He's got a lot of energy. He's not dry. He's good television. He's a good representative of the conservative perspective.""

In addition, Lou Dobbs of CNN also had Pence on his show quite frequently. One time Dobbs was so impressed, he told Pence that he had to have him on his show again, that the American people needed to see and hear his message.

"At a time when much of the Republican base is growing disenchanted with the direction of the party, Pence is emerging as an emphatic and effective conservative voice. Some believe it is only a matter of time before he achieves true national prominence.

"Mike is the tip of the spear for the small-government conservatives in Washington today," said former House Majority Leader Dick Armey.

His manner may be easy, but his views are unambiguous. He is a dedicated social conservative who publicly criticized the Senate's top Republican, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), when the former heart surgeon came out this summer in favor of relaxing the federal ban on stem-cell research. And he is a determined budget-cutter who has repeatedly clashed with his own Republican party leaders over federal spending levels."

Mike Pence also came out strong last summer during the Republican National Convention. He started a petition and gathered one hundred and twenty-seven congressional signatures pleading for a true Christian Right to Life speaker during their national primetime of the convention. Unfortunately the petition failed, but the message and principle behind it did not. Many asked Pence if he was trying to split up the party before the election and Pence stated that he was just staying true to principle and the conservative base of the party. The reason why it was not highly publicized was because nobody could say one word bad about Pence because he is so well respected and loved among his colleagues.

"He begins every day by reading the Bible. He works with a bronze bust of Ronald Reagan watching over him from across his office. And his vision of heaven, he said, is studying the free-market economist Adam Smith in the morning and riding horseback in the afternoon.

Pence's rising stature coincides with a confluence of events that have stoked conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party, accelerating and intensifying an inevitable debate on the party's direction during the Bush administration's second term as the president moves closer to lame-duck status."

Mike Pence’s stump speech “Another Time for Choosing” addresses the crossroad that the GOP has come to. In his speech he claims that it is another time for the American people to choose which direction our party and our nation will go. Will we abandon our conservative convictions and follow the destructive path of Big Government Republicanism or will we right the ship back to the cherished American principles of limited government and traditional moral values?

"A former radio talk show host and one-time president of a conservative think tank, the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, he is a comfortable, confident messenger for the right with a fluent understanding of the movement's ideas and a well-developed sense of the passions swirling among the party faithful.

Just last month, with one well-chosen press conference, Pence upended the political debate over how to handle the huge costs of recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

The reigning Republican leaders had rapidly reached a consensus to handle the hurricane's costs as emergency spending, simply adding the tab to the budget deficit.

The powerful House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), the "Hammer" who enforced discipline among Republicans, dismissed calls for spending cuts elsewhere to pay for the hurricane damage. DeLay, who has since resigned his post after being indicted in a campaign finance case, even boasted to reporters that Republicans already had pared down the fat in government "pretty good."

Enter Pence. Within a day, he led a small band of like-minded conservatives out in front of a battery of television cameras, armed with a list of $24 billion in pet projects attached to a major transportation bill that Congress had recently passed. That would be a good place to start cutting, they argued. For good measure, they offered up a menu of additional cuts that they said could save tens of billions of dollars more.

Pence's audacity riled the party leadership. The politically sacrosanct transportation projects, of course, remain untouched. But House Republican leaders quickly reversed course and now are promoting a proposal to offset part of the cost of hurricane relief with across-the-board budget cuts, as well as cuts in some entitlement programs such as health care for the poor, food stamps and farm subsidies."

Former mentor of Pence’s Tom Delay, who at first strongly criticized and opposed Pence for his proposed budget cuts, finally came around. He apologized to Pence adding that when times were tough for the GOP leadership, Pence stepped in and provided determined leadership. That is the effective and humble leader that Pence is. He stands on principle alone as he always promotes and fights for what’s right for conservatism to flourish in the House, even if it will get him in trouble with the GOP establishment. But the way Pence handles every situation in a Christ-like manner (he never says one bad word about any of his colleagues or opponents) allows the conservative agenda to move forward. God honors those who honor Him, and that is truly why Pence is so effective.

"Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), a fellow conservative, described Pence's strategy in demanding the cuts as "a tremendous gamble."

"He clearly got called -- aggressively called -- on the carpet" by Republican leaders, Souder said. But, "he moved the system. Before he got up there, there wasn't even a discussion. It was just shovel the money out."

Over a lunch of salad and iced tea at the Republican party's Capitol Hill Club, Pence deflected questions about the response of top Republicans, whom other members of Congress said took him to the woodshed over the embarrassment he caused them."

"It is never easy to bring up the small matter of the bill in any social setting," Pence said.

Already, the budget cuts are in trouble, as some moderate Republicans refuse to go along with them. But Pence declared the fate of the spending cuts will be "a test of character" and warned he is ready to sound the alarm about a party he believes is drifting "into the dangerous waters of big-government Republicanism."

"The Republican party inside the Beltway may have changed, but out there Republicans still believe government's too big, we spend too much, we have to have a strong defense, we have to act on our ideals, the sanctity of life," Pence said."

Mike Pence boldly claimed this summer as a keynote speaker at the annual National Taxpayers Union conference that, “The conservative movement is NOT in Washington, D.C., but it is out there in America.” And Pence knows that the conservative movement is growing stronger than ever.

"Some Republican leaders believe Pence fails to appreciate the accommodations that must be made to hold together a fractious party with a slender majority in Congress, and he may be too determined to maintain ideological purity at the cost of winning national elections. One Republican lobbyist with close ties to the House leadership said Pence is considered "a burr under the saddle."

"Is it more important to be 100 percent right or more important to be in the majority to get you toward where you want to be?" said Mike Stokke, deputy chief of staff to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). "I think I know what Mike's answer would be. But I'm not sure.""

That is the beauty and the brilliance behind Mike Pence. Not only does he stay true to the conservative philosophy in his public policy decisions, but he understands the political arena in which he operates. He is most effective because not only does he operate with a true Christian conservative worldview, but he is able to clearly articulate that message in a manner that motivates his colleagues to also push forward with the conservative agenda. He understands the culture that works behind D.C. insiders while at the same time understands the timing in which to make principled stands.

"Since taking the lead of the Republican Study Committee at the beginning of the year, he has charted a more aggressive course for the 106-member group of House conservatives, first confronting party leaders over budget rules and now again on how to pay for hurricane-related spending."

After leading the revolt against the Medicare/Prescriptions Drug Bill in 2003, the six founding members of the RSC went up to Mike Pence and asked him to chair the conservative caucus. Mike Pence is so humble that he candidly declined, stating that there is over one hundred congressman that represent the caucus and for him to serve there must be an election. Because Pence is so humble and effective as a conservative leader, every single congressman in the caucus unanimously selected Mike Pence as their chairman. As new chairman, Pence held two leadership positions with the House: Deputy Majority Whip and RSC Chair. He understood that the GOP leadership was straying from their conservative principles and base so Pence willfully went to the leadership and relinquished his House leadership position while quoting scripture, “I cannot serve two masters.” Pence became the first person in fifty years to willingly step down from leadership position.

For many of the party's fiscally conservative supporters, the surge of spending for Katrina relief was the final straw from an administration that was spending at levels they considered unacceptable.

Even excluding spending on defense, homeland security and Katrina relief, discretionary federal spending has risen 33 percent since President Bush took office, according to the conservative Heritage Foundation. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, reported that spending overall has grown faster under Bush than under Lyndon Johnson, who simultaneously waged the Vietnam War and launched the Great Society welfare programs.

Conservatives are nursing plenty of other grievances right now. Bush's recent nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court deeply disappointed social conservatives who expected a choice who would move the court unambiguously to the right. Illegal immigration has stirred a storm of criticism among grass-roots conservatives who blame the federal government for what they consider to be an out-of-control border. The botched response to Katrina sapped confidence in the Bush administration's competence. And, just like the rest of the country, conservatives are feeling the financial pinch of rising gasoline prices.

Meanwhile, a vacuum is opening in the Republican leadership. DeLay was forced to resign his leadership post after his indictment. Frist is under investigation for possible insider stock trading. White House political adviser Karl Rove is under investigation for perhaps leaking a CIA agent's identity. Bush's popularity has dropped to its lowest point ever, according to various national polls.

And the most recognizable potential candidates for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, are hardly standard-bearers for the right.

"While they're impressive people and they're conservative on some issues, none of them is really an obvious leader of the conservative movement," said Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard."

All of the talked about candidates for President in 2008 are flawed. Not one can claim that they hold true to the American conservative convictions of limited government and traditional moral values. Many are moderates, some are out right liberals. Mike Pence has done more for the conservative movement in the past three months than many have done their entire career. In fact many of the candidates are self-seeking career politicians who honestly believe that it is their turn to be President. They believe they have earned our nation’s highest office simply because of their longevity as a part of the establishment and status quo. But we believe that it is God who lifts up leaders, and as Reagan put it, the office seeks the man, not the man seeks the office. Pence is that selfless, humble, honorable leader who stands for principle and righteousness. Both God and our nation has long sought for the integrity and leadership that Pence exudes. America is no longer in need of a political leader, but rather in need of a spiritual leader. And Pence can fully provide that leadership.

""The party faithful and the conservative grass roots have been searching for the next Ronald Reagan. And Mike Pence has been mentioned as someone who could fill the Gipper's shoes, even though he's still young and a relative political newcomer," said Stephen Moore, founder of the Free Enterprise Fund."

Rush Limbaugh during an interview with Sean Hannity on national television was asked about who would carry the Reagan Mantle for 2008. Limbaugh mentioned Mike Pence and his excellence in the House, saying that he should be encouraged. Also, after a Reagan panel at the Heritage Foundation, I asked Morton Blackwell if he thought the GOP would ever have another Reagan. He shot at me this look of offense and disgust, and quickly claimed, “We have Indiana representative Mike Pence!” There is a shear consensus within D.C. conservative circles that Mike Pence is clearly the next Ronald Reagan.

Like Reagan, who was once a Democrat and an admirer of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Pence's beliefs changed over time. He started out a Catholic and a Democrat, whose interest in politics was stirred during his youth by John Kennedy, a hero to his Irish family. Pence still has a childhood memory box stuffed with Kennedy memorabilia, he said.

But as a freshman at Hanover College in Indiana, Pence was drawn to Christian evangelical beliefs and committed to the faith on a weekend retreat.

"I had a growing interest in my Christian faith," Pence said. "As I continued to grow and mature, I found I was a bit more challenged in the evangelical faith.""

Like Pence, I too grew up as a liberal. In the same manner as Pence, it wasn’t until after I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and trusted in Him that I became serious about my faith and became a conservative. I received eternal salvation during my senior year of high school, but did not become a committed disciple of Jesus Christ until my senior year in college after my twin brother Travis also came to faith. My dear friend John Stormer who was a big contributor to the Draft Goldwater movement back in 1964 had a similar story. Once a devoted liberal activist, it wasn’t until he heard Goldwater speak that he vowed to do whatever it took to win him the Republican presidential nomination. It was after Goldwater won the nomination that Stormer came to faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. We pray that, in the same fashion, once Pence wins the Presidential nomination in 2008 many Americans will come to the saving faith that is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Pence later met his wife, Karen, at an evangelical church service. She was playing guitar, and he caught up with her afterward.

"I told her I wanted to join the guitar group," Pence recalled. He never did, but they were engaged nine months later.

By the time he graduated college, Pence said, he had become a Republican, inspired by Reagan's hopeful economic message of self-reliance and concerned by the national Democratic Party's embrace of abortion rights and liberal social causes.

A few years after he graduated from the Indiana University Law School, he ran for Congress twice, losing in both 1988 and 1990. Beginning in 1994, he hosted a radio call-in show, eventually syndicated statewide, keeping Pence on the air three hours a day, six days a week. He was finally elected to Congress in 2000."

Even though Pence was a Christian once he received eternal salvation as a freshman in college, he was not living out his Christian faith in the public sphere. He got crushed in 1988 and after running again in 1990 got crushed even more. It was at this time that God humbled Pence and told him that what he was doing was wrong. Pence was negative campaigning. It was at this time that Pence repented and surrendered his life fully to the Lord Jesus Christ. It was then that he lived out a true Christian Biblical worldview in both his private and public life. It was not his time for leadership. After Pence became polished as a messenger of the conservative platform through his talk show, God called Pence back to public life. Pence was not looking to get back into public office, but he felt a strong calling from the Lord. So as usual he was obedient and faithful to his calling.

""To understand Mike Pence, you have to understand it took me 12 years to get to Congress," Pence said. "I try to get up every day and prayerfully approach my job in a way that people will say he did what he said he would do when he got here.""

"He was also one of 33 Republicans to vote against Bush's signature No Child Left Behind Act, opposing it as an enlargement of the federal role in education. And he was one of only 25 in the party to vote against the administration-supported Medicare prescription drug benefit. Pence considered it too costly."

Mike Pence was actually the leader of the conservative revolt against the Medicare prescription drug benefit bill. He effectively got 24 other congressman to follow him in his principled stand. Afterwards, Pence says Republicans secretly went up to him and asked him for their forgiveness. He said certain Republicans repented and told Pence that next time we are following you. That is the greatness of Mike Pence. When he takes a strong stand for righteousness, others are willing to stand along with him, even if they don’t at first. Pence convicts the inner core of his colleagues in a way that none have been able to do since Reagan.

"Republican leaders held open the vote on the drug plan for three hours to twist arms to gain enough support. Pence likens those who withstood the pressure to the men at the Alamo.

Describing the current unrest among Republican conservatives, Pence said, "You can't look at that angst in a vacuum. . . . That angst has been building for four years."

Pence did vote for a farm bill that dramatically expanded subsidies for farmers, a key constituency in his largely rural district. But he now says he regrets the vote and would not support a new farm bill, unless costs were reduced and farmers exposed to greater market discipline.

He is willing to take on unconventional issues. While most conservatives are distrustful of the media, Pence has taken up the cause of a federal shield law to protect reporters' confidential sources, arguing that a vigorous press is a check on power in keeping with conservatives' goal of limited government. Pence argues that Republicans sacrifice their advantage as the party in control if they muddy their message."

Mike Pence has also made strong stances on the McCain-Feingold bill that limits individual campaign financial contributions. Like most of Pence’s proposed legislation, Pence believes that Americans need more freedom and less regulation. Pence introduced the Pence-Wynn bill that would repeal the McCain-Feingold bill and once again allow the freedom of political expression to all Americans.

"One more expansion of the Department of Education, one more big expansion of entitlements, and that [Republican] coalition will be shattered," Pence said. "If Republicans keep answering every problem with an expansion of big government, eventually people are going to get the professionals, [the Democrats] the guys who do big government.""

And this may be the strongest argument for a Pence presidency. If we nominate another establishment candidate who goes along with the status quo and continues down the road of Big Government Republicanism, our values and principles may be lost forever. Government is not the answer, government is the problem. Pence understands clearly the conventional wisdom that a government that governs least, governs best. Many “conservatives” have lost this understanding. Many Republicans today believe that big government is good government, as long as it is our government. They opt for career security rather than cutting the role of the federal government in the lives of the American individual. Pence not only articulates the conservative agenda, but he backs it up with principled decisions and stances. His leadership is needed now more than ever if we are to right our ship back to the principles that Ronald Reagan brought to Washington, D.C. and that our Founding Fathers brought to our shores.

"Unlike most Midwestern members of Congress, who typically keep their families back home and commute to Washington every week, Pence's family lives with him in Springfield, Va., while Congress is in session. His three children attend a suburban Virginia Christian school, where his wife also works as an art teacher."

Pence is a committed father and family man. During the beginning of his time as a Congressman in D.C., the American Conservative Union held its 40th annual conservative gala and Pence was to meet for the first time President Bush that night at the dinner. His daughter also had a music recital at her school and Pence previously had promised his daughter that he would attend it. So Pence, being a man of his word, went to his daughter’s recital. Afterwards, he said that he was just living out the family values that the Republican Party stands for. He always puts family first before his political career and that is the kind of man that is fit for our nation’s highest office.

"On a recent day, he was in his study at 6 a.m., reading the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, he said. The lesson recounts the commission that God gave the Old Testament prophet to lead the Jewish people out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

"Be strong, be courageous and do the work" is the lesson he said he took from the reading.

"I'm not a supremely confident man, but I have faith in God and faith in these ideas," he added."

The conservative movement is truly in the wilderness and I wholeheartedly believe that Mike Pence is the chosen leader who has been called for this specific time to lead our people to the promise of freedom and liberty. But the burden has not been placed solely on one man’s shoulders, but rather it is on the American people who have come to another time for choosing. Will we put our trust and energy in the promise of liberty that will bring strength in faith, family and freedom or will we complacently slide further into the deep trenches of Big Government Republicanism whose only promise is to stifle the American economy, weaken the American family, and destroy the American system. It is our time, our calling, our duty, our responsibility. Pence consistently says that he is not discouraged, because it is His cause and His work in the making. And it is times like these that Americans are at their finest.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-0510260132oct26,1,2833826.story?page=3

Some Freepers may not remember or know that during the Anthrax scare, Mike Pence and his office received some mysterious envelopes containing mysterious powder. Mike immediately closed down his office, had his staff report to the hospital, picked up his wife and kids and checked into the emergency room to make sure everyone was checked out. He told his staff, if I remember this correctly, not to return to the office until everything had been cleared. Mike made an executive decision, went into action and immediatley followed up. He's an excellent candidate and hopefully he can handle the corrupt liberals on any forum they decide to attack him on.

PENCE HERALDS PRESIDENT’S CALL FOR BUDGET CUTS TO PAY FOR KATRINA

Pence speaks at "Operation Offset" press conference. Washington, Oct 27 - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence delivered the following speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this morning commending President Bush for his leadership in calling for fiscal responsibility during efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast:

“When it comes to making tough choices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, presidential leadership will make the difference.

“Yesterday in remarks before the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., the President of the United States called on Congress to, ‘Redouble our efforts to be wise about how we spend your money.’ The President went on to say, ‘ We can help the people of the Gulf Coast Region recover and rebuild, and we can be good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars at the same time.’

“He called on Congress to reduce unnecessary spending, to identify offsets, and pledged again to offer spending rescissions to provide the emergency relief, in his words, ‘In a fiscally responsible way.’

“President George W. Bush yesterday encouraged Congress to push the envelope when it comes to cutting spending, and his strong leadership will make the difference.

“Congress should heed the call of President Bush to rebuild with generosity and fiscal responsibility in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.”

http://mikepence.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=36199

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