The 2016 Presidential Election has drawn more spectators, commentators and air-time than ever before in history. Then again, this election is unlike any other in history. The nation is, for the first time ever, focusing on its first female presidential candidate for a major political party, and she opposes the nation’s first ever television host running for president. Extensive media attention on these unlikely candidates overshadows vice presidential contenders Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, men who are one heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the free world.
Whether by untimely death or resignation, nine vice presidents in United States history have ascended to the presidency. Thus, our immediate future warrants recognition and inquiry into the possibility that while one may be voting Trump or Clinton, you’re also voting for a Pence or Kaine presidency. The excavation of each vice presidential candidate’s political pasts are marked by notable events. They both provide insight into a potential presidency.
PENCE:
Failed attempts at political office
Pence’s political career failed twice, in 1988 and again 1990, in separate bids for congressional office before winning the Indiana seat in the House of Representatives (2001-2013). In 2016, he dropped his bid for reelection for Governor of Indiana and accepted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s offer for the vice presidency.
“Rush Limbaugh on Decaf”
He frequently called himself this during the 1994-1998 running of “The Mike Pence Show,” in which he interpreted current news events with Christian values.
Indiana’s Historical HIV Outbreak
In the aftermath of efforts to defund Planned Parenthood by anti-abortionist legislators, introduced by Pence in 2011, the clinics were among those targeted and forced to close its doors by Governor Pence's 2013 public health spending cuts. The Scott County clinic was the only location in the entire county that offered HIV testing and counseling to its 24,000 residents. In the absence of the clinic’s critical services, individuals resorted to sharing needles and failed to test themselves. Within months, an explosion of hundreds of new cases of HIV led healthcare officials to call for state aid in dealing with infections. The kicker? Scott County facilities did not perform the hot topic issue of abortion; instead, it focused on breast exams for breast cancer, STD testing and treatment, birth control, and infertility counseling. Pence, firm in his moral views, responded that they should "pray about it" before political backlash from both sides of the aisle, healthcare experts, and the Center for Disease Control forced him to concede to intervention legislation.
Legal discrimination of LGBT
In 2015, the Religious Freedom Bill propelled Pence into national spotlight by its provisions that allowed business to refuse service, based on their religious beliefs, to gay people. Severe criticism from high-profile businesses and political and entertainment leaders threatened to and went so far as to cancel major events and projects that would’ve brought revenue into the state. Pence then retracted the original bill and signed a less restrictive version of the legislation.
Authorized Force in Iraq – In 2002, Pence voted in favor of American use of force in Iraq. The war in Iraq would subsequently take the lives of nearly 4,500 American soldiers, create thousands more disabled veterans, and cost American taxpayers $1.7 trillion with an additional $6 trillion expected to unfold over the next four decades. The Bush administration would later determine that the Hussain regime did not in fact possess weapons of mass destruction, despite its initial assertions used to compel Congressional action. Unlike many legislators who cast that fateful vote, including Clinton, Pence has not retracted or expressed regret for thrusting America into a war it is still reeling from.
KAINE:
Ascension of the Political Ladder
Beginning in 1994, Kaine served in the Richmond, VA City Council, Mayor of Richmond in 1998, VA Lieutenant Governor in 2002, VA Governor in 2006, and U.S. Senator since 2013.
Political Gifting while in Office
Under Virginia’s permissive gift laws, Kaine reported $160,000 in gifts from political supporters, a drug company, and an electricity company while in the Lieutenant and Governor offices. The gifts received included lodging for an $18,000 Caribbean vacation, $5,500 in clothing, and NCAA Final Four game expenses. The Kaine defenses successfully argued the gifts were below the state’s allowed amount and that quid pro quo was not involved.
Radical Roots
In 1980, Kaine took a year off of law school to teach carpentry at a technical school in Honduras. Political upheaval in Latin America during the time involved Soviet sympathizers, radicalism, and revolutionists, all whom Kaine held known associations. During his stay in Honduras, Kain trekked across jungle borders into Nicaragua to meet with American expatriate Father James Carney, a violent Communist advocating Soviet "liberation theology." After Carney's untimely death in an ill-fated invasion to bring about a Communist revolution in Honduras, Kaine would befriend his successor, Father Melos, and maintain the friendship to this day. He has been quoted as saying, “I think of El Progreso [the Honduran village] everyday. The people, aside from my family, are the most important in shaping who I am today.”
The last time a vice president ascended to the most prestigious office in the world was four decades ago. America, the future of the free world rests on your shoulders.
