I've done a great deal of writing about Donald Trump and the political grave he is tirelessly digging himself. I have neglected to discuss the other shoe. I think Mike Pence is very possibly more dangerous than Trump, with his fundamentalist, bigoted ideology, and his spineless nature. He seems intent on making America a decidedly Christian fundamentalist theocracy. The bright side of this is that he at least agrees to be bound by governmental procedure. Donald Trump does not follow anything, apparently, but Donald Trump.
Mike Pence's missing backbone and his Christian flavored GOP politics
Mike Pence doesn’t seem to have much of a spine and he doesn’t appear to be very bright. If one is naive enough, they might even consider him harmless. But let's look at who the man really is. With Donald Trump’s house of cards falling, it is important that we take into consideration who might be filling the void he leaves. Actions often speak louder than words. So let’s look at Mike Pence’s actions and what they say about the man, shall we?
Mike has had a very long career as a GOP politician. He has served over 20 years in elected office. That is a lot of time to either do a lot of good or cause a greater deal of harm. It also leaves a trail of breadcrumbs leading to who the man is, and who pulls his strings.
Bear in mind that he is a fundamentalist Christian and clearly has dreams of an oppressive theocracy, so it has a strong influence on his politics.
He opposes abortion, is perpetually working to defund planned parenthood, and opposes life-saving stem cell research, for purely religious reasons. He criticized comprehensive sex education, and instead, expressed support for the more irrational, “abstinence education”.
Pence has stated that Congress should, “oppose any effort to recognize homosexuals” as a minority entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws. In 2012, after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act(ACA), Pence likened the ruling to the September 11 terrorist attacks. He later was compelled to apologize. In 2001, he opposed the tobacco settlement and regulation, stating stupidly, that “Smoking doesn’t kill”.
He strongly supported the war in Iraq, and wrongly insisted that there was a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda.
Climate change denial, and Koch brother’s oil --Match made in hell?
Not surprisingly, the scientifically illiterate Mike Pence is a climate change denier. In a 2001 op-ed Pence wrote that “Global warming is a myth." As evidence for this ignorant claim, he stated that the earth is cooler now than it was 50 Yrs. ago. That was actually evidence for was his own scientific ignorance. The list of irrational religious views that litter Pence’s playing field is positively frightening. I believe it is a reflection on the terrible condition of the Indiana education system that he has been voted into political office as much as he has.
And lastly, but probably most importantly, Mike Pence appears to be a puppet of the Koch brothers, Charles and David. David donated $300,000 to Pence’s gubernatorial bids. They like him a bit. He has attended several Koch seminars by invitation, and according to Politico, it seems that some of his former staffers are now under the employ of the Koch brothers. So we have some serious problems with our current president and he needs to get going. But we have equally ominous problems with his would be replacement. Perhaps we need to find a way to shut them both down, legally. Perhaps the Russia investigation will yield just those results.
