The Way Back to a Republican Majority is to the Right

HUMAN EVENTS ^ | 06/02/2008 | Rep. Mike Pence

[neverdem]

Then he moved to John McCain. The Sheik bowed deeply, then took both of Senator McCain’s hands in his. “It is a special privilege to meet you, Senator McCain,” and then, alluding to McCain's record as a Navy airman, P.O.W. and upbringing as the son and the grandson of 4-Star Admirals in the Navy, he said. “We know of you and your warrior past and of we know of your proud family of warriors and we respect you".

In that moment, it became clear to me that Senator McCain possessed a currency in this part of the world that transcended titles and position; a currency of immeasurable value that cannot be underestimated and cannot be manufactured.

Mr. Pence, a Republican, represents the 6th District of Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was chosen as the HUMAN EVENTS "Man of the Year" in 2005.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"I am humbled to share the stage so many great conservatives in South Carolina, like... Sen. Lindsey Graham."

If Pence doesn't even recognize the problem right here staring him in the face, it tends to invalidate his entire argument.

[Rudder]

I wonder if Pence has now rejected his own amnesty-lite proposals for illegal aliens?

[neverdem]

Well said, Congressman Pence. Congressman Pence has a unique talent for making sense, IMHO. You have to play the hand you got, not the hand that you wish you had.

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From time to time, I’ll ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.

[Kakaze]

"I wonder if Pence has now rejected his own amnesty-lite proposals for illegal aliens?"

I don't now if he has or not....I didn't get any sense of his current position, from this speech.

I followed Mike Pence for years here, enjoyed his radio show and was proud when he went to congress, but that amnesty proposal of his still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Every time he speaks I question what he believes in now.

[personalaccts]

I didn’t know Lesley was a conservative.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"I followed Mike Pence for years here, enjoyed his radio show and was proud when he went to congress, but that amnesty proposal of his still leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

I'm glad somebody brought that up.

[RKBA Democrat]

Republicans in the House had the opportunity to elect Rep. Pence as their leader in 2006. He was soundly defeated in favor of the business-as-usual Rep. Boehner.

It wasn’t even close.

The GOP is not interested in conservatism. The sooner the GOP joins the Whigs on the trash heap of history, the better.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Exactly.The amnesty these clots have tried to shove down are throats washes away all the words this man speaks.The trust aint there.As for panzy graham being touted as a conservative is mindblowing.Was somebody holding a gun to his head?

[NoGrayZone]

I was so excited reading this piece, shaking my head “yes yes”, until I got to the mclame part. I had to force myself to finish reading it (kinda like sitting at the dining room table, when I was young, for 3 hours, to finish eating my vegetables).

Then I realized, this article is a PRIME example of what went wrong with our party. Damn shame.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

This is a great piece and I consider Pence one of the great leaders in the party. I’m sorry to see the first comments from Freepers reading this to dismiss it so quickly because of Pence’s recognition of Lindsay Graham or of his attempt at comprehensive immigration reform. Graham is far from a favorite of mine, but common courtesy would dictate an introduction similar to the one Pence gave, acknowledging the South Carolina GOP leaders on the stage.

Please listen to the message — it’s the right message for the GOP to be adopting today. It includes some necessary compromises like backing McCain. But this is the first step in a very long journey and I think he lays out a pretty good roadmap. Thanks for posting and pinging.

[AmericanInTokyo]

That amnesty proposal that fellow Pence came up with a year or two ago, is something I will NEVER forget.

Some "Compromise".

It was one of the MOST NAIVE THINGS I had EVER heard come out of the Congress in a long time. It put illegal aliens in line in front of legal immigrants waiting.. And believe me, I am a long time Congress watcher. Unparalleled.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Pence’s naivete may have ended up worse than Boehner/Blunt’s current AWOL leadership had he become House GOP leader.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

I followed Mike Pence for years here, enjoyed his radio show and was proud when he went to congress, but that amnesty proposal of his still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

This points out the fact that there is not one human being on the face of this planet that we are going to agree with 100% of the time. I also recall hearing an interview on Hannity with Pence and Lanny Davis that was so disgusting I turned it off.

I'm also not sold on the idea that Republicans lost because they were not conservative enough. This premise makes no sense to me. Why would there be anyone with two brain cells that would vote for any Democrat because they think the Democrat would be more conservative? But anyway, for the most part Pence hits the main points and this is a very good start.

[Altura Ct.]

Agreed. So called “conservatives” like LG can KMA.

[Big Giant Head]

Mr Pence is a salesman, of course. He had to introduce the “conservative” Graham and others as part of the sales pitch. He has to sell the Republicans on voting McCain. I understand this.

I don’t understand why we have to have a 100% perfect candidate. We’ll never have that. That’s like dying of thirst because the glass isn’t completely full of water. Mr. Pence would win the Whitehouse in a landslide if he’d campaign like this speech, but Ooooooh immigration. So he’s 95% instead of 100%. He’d be better than McCain’s 50% , right?

Considering the alternatives of Clinton (I’d give her about a 5%) or Obamination (Negative number), even McCain is a clear winner.

He’s right. If Republicans would stand on Conservative principle, they’d be in power right now in Congress. But they’re swaying in the breeze of media hot air.

I’ll vote McCain, not based on Mr. Pence’s speech, but because the alternative is unthinkable. Do I want to shoot myself in the foot? No, but it’s better than shooting myself in the head.

But if McCain had the good sense to pick someone like Pence here for VP....

[MBB1984]

Yes, he lost all credibility when he referred to Lindsey Graham as a “great conservative.” It all became a cruel joke from that point forward. He might as well referred to Obama as a conservative to finish the comedy routine.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"This points out the fact that there is not one human being on the face of this planet that we are going to agree with 100% of the time."

I see variations on this excuse raised from time to time. On some basic issues such as this one, if you depart the reservation, you tend to diminish whatever other positives you may have accomplished. Capitulating to a criminal invading class in any shape, matter, or form is 100% unacceptable, period. When you have to live 20 feet away from the consequences of federal inaction as I do, you have a whole new perspective on things.

"I'm also not sold on the idea that Republicans lost because they were not conservative enough. This premise makes no sense to me."

It makes perfect sense. How Conservative have they been in recent years ? They've been pulling in a hundred different directions. When you lose focus and can't justify positive reasons for maintaining a majority, you're liable to lose it, and we did.

"Why would there be anyone with two brain cells that would vote for any Democrat because they think the Democrat would be more conservative?"

Because there's a lot of two brain cell voters.

[MBB1984]

To say McCain is imperfect is analogous to saying Jimmy Carter wasn’t a great President. McCain is far from a conservative. To elect a 50% McCain ensures that you will get a 50% Republican Party with 50% Marxist ideology. I’ll pass and support real conservatives.

[InvisibleChurch]

The way back is to build a dormitory for Conservatives to live in. Have security keep the press away and not allow overnights with democrats.