With GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump indicating that he will choose Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his vice president, Republicans and conservatives appear torn. Some critics of the selection have blasted Pence as a globalist neocon who supports the Obama-backed Common Core scheme, sovereignty-destroying “free trade” regimes, unconstitutional wars, and other deeply unpopular policies, rather than the Constitution and liberty.
Other opponents have blasted Pence’s surrender to extreme homosexual activists and corporate bullies last year demanding government aid in trampling religious liberty in Indiana. By contrast, the establishment media and some supporters of the selection claim Pence is a relatively solid conservative whose pro-life credentials and reputed social conservatism can help unify the conservative movement behind the Trump 2016 campaign.
So what is the truth? Perhaps something in between. But there are definitely reasons for conservatives, constitutionalists, libertarians, populists, nationalists, and others in Trump’s coalition to be very concerned.
Indeed, Pence’s record, first as a member of Congress from Indiana for six terms, and later as governor of the state, is a mixed bag at best. In Congress, as measured on The New American magazine’s Freedom Index, which scores lawmakers based on their fidelity to the U.S. Constitution they swear to uphold, Pence scored 62 percent. While better than most Democrats and some establishment neocons and liberal “Republicans in Name Only” (RINOs), the score is hardly impressive — especially considering the fact that Pence, like all members of Congress, took an oath to defend the Constitution. While it certainly could be worse, there are more than a few votes Pence cast that should concern Trump supporters and all Americans.
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