As predicted, during the Republican National Convention Indiana Governor Mike Pence accepted his Vice Presidential nomination on Trump's ticket. You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief of conservative republicans all across the country. If you have not kept up with the 2016 Presidential Election here are a couple points, Bernie Sanders showed us that it is possible to make a dent in the two party system by joining the two party system and making a crack at it from within.
Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are a very real exhibits that the people of America are actually willing and able for a revolution. Trump's campaign has shown us that the Nation's bullshit meter apparently needs some retuning. Clinton has pushed many Democrats over to vote on the Republican ticket although ironically, her policies are the better choice for both Conservative Republicans and Democrats. The institutionalized Misogyny in America, both externalized and internalized, has been put on blast by mainstream media as they continue to talk about Hillary Clinton's hair, make up, wardrobe and exclusively refer to the first female presidential nominee to make it this far as "Hillary" while all other candidates are referred to by their last name. Not unlike most elections, it has reminded us that the government has it's many extreme flaws and while it can sometimes feel exhausting and pointless, the best way to fight against these imperfections is to exercise your right to vote. Even if that means voting against a candidate instead of for a candidate.
If I had to pick the most important thing I learned from this election though it would be that anyone in office is better than Trump in office. That is until Mike Pence came along. The only thing worse than the possibility of Donald Trump being POTUS are the dangers of Mike Pence being his right hand man.
1. Not only does Mike Pence support prayer led by teachers in public schools, but he favors it.
Yes you probably know his name because he signed the Religious Freedom Act in 2015. In fact he introduced himself during his acceptance speech at the RNC as a Christian, conservative, and Republican politician "in that order". So much for separation of Church and State am I right?
2. The NRA gave Pence an 'A' rating.
There is no way that more effective gun control laws will be put into place if Mike Pence has anything to do with it. This is one of the controversial topics of the year, so far in 2016 there has all ready been 259 mass shootings. There is no way for this disgusting, senseless gun violence to end without stricter gun control laws.
3. Mike Pence voted against, and really does not support the legalization of gay marriage.
Do I really need to get into a rant about bigotry and homophobia? Not to mention that it would detrimental damage that could be done to the legacy of Barack Obama, America's first black president.
4. Speaking of white male supremacy, Pence himself was the one to introduce legislation to strip all federal funding from Planned Parenthood.
As PP President Cecile Richards powerfully stated in her speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, "Make no mistake: women's health and rights are on the line and on the ballot in this election." While my instinct is to go on about the lack of accessibility to abortion in America, and the reproductive rights I will just say this to conservatives: if someone is holding a baby in one hand and an embryo in the other and tells you that you have to choose which one gets destroyed otherwise both will be destroyed what would you do? Spoiler Alert: you would destroy the embryo. An embryo is not a baby.
5. He has been openly fighting against LGBTQIA hate crime protection acts for years.
This is one of his main policies he was fighting for under the Religious Freedom Act, among various other laws such as one that allows Indiana businesses to refuse service and job discrimination based on sexual orientation, and his opposition to repeal the "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy" stating that he thought it might turn the military into "a backdrop for social experimentation."
6. Mike Pence does not believe in climate change.
I personally thought it was pretty silly that people did not believe in global warming even after An Inconvenient Truth came out in 2006 and here we are ten years later, and many still choose to live in denial of the impending climate crisis.
7. He voted against raising the minimum wage to $7.25.
You read that correctly, the current minimum wage in Indiana as of January 1, 2016 is only $7.25. Luckily for the people of Indiana, Pence was not on the majority side of the vote. If Pence has anything to do with it he will backtrack on the plans all ready set in motion for increases in wages. If you need a point of reference, here is a rundown of the current minimum wages across America.
8. Most importantly if the Republicans win the election, Mike Pence will be much more than just the Vice President of the United States.
As stated in a recent article in The New York Times Magazine, Trump's son Donald Jr. had first asked an advisor of former presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich to run on Trump's ticket. As the article recounts, the offer for Kasich was to be "in charge of domestic and foreign affairs" -- also known as the job description of the President of the United States. When Kasich's advisor asked what Trump's role while President would be, Donald Jr.'s reply was that Trump would be busy "making America great again". The only thing worse than Donald Trump winning the presidential election is the very real possibility of Mike Pence, a frontrunner of the Tea Party and conservative evangelical Republican running the country while under the false title of Vice President.
