Posted on 01/03/2006 7:14:51 AM PST by Gipper08
Well now, it’s the beginning of 2006 and the 2006 election cycle has barely begun. Normally, I would have mercy and write on some issue, or on this election. However, that’s not going to happen this time. Right now, we have an amazing opportunity. For all of us who are sick and tired of the Republican Party nominating compromised, weak and moderate candidates for President, there is now a solution to that problem. The solution has served in Congress for three terms, is a former Congressional Deputy Whip, and the current chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the strongest and most conservative house caucus. The answer to the conservative stint in the wilderness is a man named Mike Pence.
Mike Pence is a statesman. He is “A Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” He has served the people of his Indiana Congressional district wonderfully, and it is time for him to serve the entire nation as we rekindle the Reagan Revolution.
Not only is Mike Pence a man of principle and integrity, he is the only person who can beat the Democrats (Hillary) in 2008. Rudy Giuliani can’t do it. He is more liberal than Sen. Clinton, supporting abortion, gay marriage and excessive gun control, not to mention huge spending increases. Condi Rice certainly can’t do it. Not only does she support abortion, but she has never held elective office in her life, and has repeatedly said she will not run. Even such conservatives as Sens. George Allen, Sam Brownback, and Rick Santorum can’t do it. They are either unknown or unelectable.
Mike Pence is the man for our time. He started his political life as a Democrat, being inspired by President Kennedy. However, when Ronald Reagan came along, he realized that Reagan’s conservatism in the Republican Party “was where the ideals of my grandfather, my father, and the ideals of this nation, the ideals that I believed in, really reposed.” Congressman Pence has never swayed from those ideals.
Congressman Pence ran for Congress in 1988 and again in 1990, and lost both times. In defeat he did not back down from the principles he knew were right. For ten years following he worked as a radio show host, promoting conservatism and honesty in government. Finally, he ran for Congress in 2000 and was elected. Not only was he elected by his district, but he was elected the Republican House Deputy Whip, due to the support of the leadership. The Republican leadership recognized that this man was an amazing leader, someone they wanted to have on their side.
Unfortunately for them, Congressman Pence chose to stand with his principles in which he believed, rather than pretending to support leadership with which he disagreed. So he resigned as Deputy Whip, the first person to do so in 50 years. He was unwilling to support huge domestic spending increases, federal involvement in education and so called “Medicare reform.” Congressman Pence repeatedly spoke out against the infamous No Child Left Behind Act. This notorious piece of legislation was written by Ted Kennedy and President Bush decided to sign on. The Republican Party of course followed. Under the disguise of “improving” education, they actually increased the Federal Government’s unconstitutional role in education. Mike Pence was one of the few Republican leaders to oppose this bill.
When the Prescription Drug Bill came to Congress, Mike Pence stood up to his President and along with Reps. Pat Toomey and John Sadegg, led the conservative revold against the biggest entitlement spending increase since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. They came within two votes of defeating this sorry excuse for “reform.” This was at the same time that the leadership was threatening and bribing Representatives that hadn’t decided whether to vote for or against. To this day, Congressman Pence is calling for an immediate roll back.
Mike Pence has shown that he is committed to a smaller, more effective government. He is committed to a conservative Republican Party. He is also committed to the Right-to-Life, and Pro-Marriage Issues. He supports United Nations reform, a Line Item veto, Zero Based Budgeting, protecting our borders against illegal immigration, and abolishing the IRS and the income tax for a national consumption tax. He is also the highest rated congressman by multiple conservative groups, as is shown here:
100% American Conservative Union 100% Christian Coalition 100% Family Research Council 100% Federation for American Immigration Reform 100% National Federation of Independent Business 100% Eagle Forum 100% League of Private Property Voters 100% National Tax Limitation Committee A from Gun Owners of America
These are just a few examples that show Congressman Pence’s solid record for conservatism. Now is the time for the Republican Party to stand up and be Republicans. It is time for us to be proud to be Republicans again. We need to focus on downsizing government rather than boasting about how we’ve not grown the government as much as the Democrats would have. Now is the time for us to fulfill the dream of Ronald Reagan. Now is the time for true conservatism to take the center stage in the Republican Party.
If you are interested in helping elect this courageous leader as our next president, please contact me at bcsears@praize.com. Together, we as conservative Americans can right the ship again.
Brian Sears is a sophomore at Tuscola High School. He is the founder of the Haywood County Teenage Republicans Club and the Executive Director for Draft Mike Pence for President in the 11th District. He lives in Waynesville with his parents and siblings.
I'm looking for: “An American, a conservative, a Christian, then a Republican , in that order.”
There are some real turkeys in this list. In truth, some of these have had administrative or "management" experience through the military or other ventures. If there is a lesson to be learned from the debate that surrounds your discussion, it is this: Principles and character matter; there is no clear evidence that anything else does, but there are mountains of bs claiming that it does.
Well, turkeys or not, the point is that they became POTUS without serving as Veep or a state governor.
I like him better than anyone who's running.
There is more wit and wisdom here than any Democrat, two thirds of all Republicans, and maybe half of the Freepers that visit this site. We need to find out what they eat and drink in this neck of NC and start exporting it to the rest of the country just in case it's something in the local environment. Somebody should start taking a look at his school and his household. If it's in the genes, we can't capture it and use it to everybody's benefit, but if it's anywhere else, there is a terrific opportunity here to learn something that is incredibly important.
NC bump because the author is a high school student in the Western part of our state, not necessarily because I support Rep. Pence.
Pence is a Gingrich Republican, not a Reagan Republican, if I remember correctly.
Sorry, but it's going to be McCain.
Ha. That reminds me of a friend I had in high school, someone I thought was as iconoclastic as myself, with whom I used to talk politics. Saw him suddenly after not seeing him for a while, and he was supporting REAGAN! Egads. That was a shocker. This was back in '76, when Reagan was in danger of getting tagged as one of those kooks that always runs, without any chance of getting in. Dude turned out to be a homo too -- one of the first Log Cabin Republicans, I guess.
People seem to forget that, discounting LBJ who got in because of assassination, no sitting VP had ever been elected president before 41 since before the civil war.
Johnson was a Senator AND a VP. That's two strikes.
Except of course Washington, Madison, Monroe, JQ Adams, Ol' Hickory, Taft, Taylor, Buchanan, Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, Harding, Hoover, Truman, Ike, and JFK.
OK, I'll qualify my statement - the vast majority of people that will be voting for president in 2008 have demonstrated a pattern of electing somebody who was either a governer or a vice-president.
Again, nothing against Pence. I just realize that our best bet is a conservative governor. Mississippi? Askansas? Any others?
Forget Arkansas... just... no.
Should I have heard of this person?
I wonder if given a good deal of thought to the philosophical and moral basis of conservatism and the development of the uniquely American character? If you have the opportunity to pick it up, you might enjoy Russell Kirk's "The Roots of American Order"
Not yet, but it seems Pence launched a subtlely serious run for the presidency in the summer.
I like Rep. Pence just fine, the little I know of him. I have a bit of a problem with his groupie, who strayed onto George Allen threads on more than one occasion to promote his favorite politician. No problem with that, but Gip would do it at Allen's expense - and quite often inaccurately.
Hunh? Truman was VP. Ike led the allies in WWII. Ol' Hickory, Ike, Grant, and Washington were all military leaders with far more experience in leading men than any governor.
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