Late Thursday, news media began reporting that Donald Trump was going to pick Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate. Late Friday, Trump made the official announcement, taking 30 minutes to introduce Governor Pence.
The name “Mike Pence” might sound familiar, and that’s because he’s made some waves in the past couple years for being a radical right wing conservative. Here’s 10 things on his record that he should not be proud of:
1. He once wrote an op ed claiming that “smoking doesn’t kill.”
2. He signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana that would allow people to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. This bill was met with nationwide backlash that cost the state $250 million and eventually to the legislature backpedaling on the discriminatory bill.
3. He supported the Defense of Marriage Act and a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to one man and one woman. Besides being incredibly discriminatory, both of these would be legislation that the Supreme Court has since ruled unconstitutional and would violate rights that the UN and other international human rights organizations have recognized as basic human rights.
4. In 2007, he voted NO on HR 3685, which banned job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
5. He pushed for HJR-6, which would ban same-sex marriage in Indiana. It’s not surprising he has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign.
6. Trump himself wanted to back out of choosing him as his running mate. In consulting with aides, Trump asked if he could get out of picking Pence late Thursday night and repeatedly denied reports that he had made a final decision.
7. In 1990, he used campaign funds to pay his mortgage, his credit card bill, for groceries, for golfing, and for his wife’s car. Although technically not illegal at the time, using campaign funds for personal reasons was still highly unethical and revealed Pence as untrustworthy.
8. In 2015, he was sued by the ACLU for refusing to resettle a single Syrian refugee.
9. He has a long history of anti-immigrant proposals. Some of the actions he has supported include a 2004 bill that would allow hospitals to refuse care to undocumented individuals, a 2006 plan to seal the border with Mexico and end birthright citizenship, a 2007 English-only bill, and the Texas lawsuit challenging the expansion of DACA and DAPA.
10. He was sued by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood for severely restriction abortion access. The bill in question banned abortion for reasons of genetic abnormality. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood said the bill was unconstitutional because placed “undue burden” on a women’s right to choose, banned abortions in circumstances when the baby would not survive, and violated privacy of women.
11. He cut funding for Planned Parenthood. This forced clinic closures and even led to an HIV outbreak in Scott County, Indiana.
12. His approval rating as Governor of Indiana in 2016 was down to the 40s. Indianans have the best experience with Pence as a political authority, and if they don’t like him, the rest of the country should have serious reservations about allowing him to serve on a national scale.
13. He voted against expanding health care coverage for low income kids.
14. He voted against providing funds for Section 8 vouchers, which help low income families pay rent.
15. He has an A rating from the NRA and voted to ban misuse lawsuits against gun manufacturers. He also voted to loosen restrictions in interstate gun purchases.
16. He continues to deny that climate change and global warming are real issues, despite the scientific evidence and consensus that manmade climate change is very real and very dangerous.
17. In 2009, he was afraid to take a stand on evolution and whether it should be taught in public schools. Apparently even a right winger from a party that prides itself on its loud opposition to everything can’t even stand up for himself.
18. He accepted Trump’s invitation to run as VP candidate. Anyone who aligns themselves with a bigoted, misogynistic, hateful, discriminatory, ineffective, careless, racist, sloppy, rude, fake, fear-mongering, failure of a businessman who thinks he can become the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world by bullying every group except middle class white American men cannot be a wise person.
