It's Official! Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Will Be Donald Trump's Running Mate

Trump's VP pick is a generic Republican. That's the point.

Donald Trump confirmed a week's worth of speculation this morning by announcing that he had chosen Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his vice presidential candidate. He made the announcement on Twitter, of course. 

I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00 A.M.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2016

The announcement came less than a day after Trump said that he would delay the announcement until the weekend following the attack in Nice, France last night.

American Enterprise Institute

The decision to delay the move was widely criticized, which makes this morning's announcement look like a response to that criticism.

The drama surrounding Vice Presidential selection process offers a window into Trump's management and decision-making style: For weeks, he's built up the reality show intrigue surrounding the pick, appearing with a number of different potential candidates, teasing a 60 Minutes special where he was set to first appear with his running mate, saying even as late as last night that he had not made his "final, final decision." Trump, as always, is highly attuned to the drama of politics, but also comes across as flightly, indecisive, and thin-skinned.

Trump's eventual selection, meanwhile, couldn't be more underwhelming. Pence is a longtime Republican politician driven by a religiously inflected social conservatism. He's sometimes described as a staunch fiscal conservative, but he's also the sort of governor who counts shady deals with local industry as "free-market" policymaking, as he did when he expanded Medicaid under Obamacare in Indiana.

As Nick Gillespie wrote earlier this week, "Pence is not the worst of the Republican bunch but he's not the best, especially from a libertarian perspective." Instead, he's essentially of generic Midwestern GOP politician whose defining quality is his embrace of party orthodoxy. He is remarkably unremarkable.

That's probably why Trump picked Pence. Pence's function on the GOP ticket will be to reassure anxious Republicans that Trump maintains some connection to the traditional party apparatus and its political class. Pence's purpose, in other words, is to serve as an ornamental reminder of the party as it existed before Trump's run. He's there to give Trump cover for what amounts to a takeover of the GOP. Even with Pence on the ticket, it's Trump's party now. 

Comments

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Despite being outspent 4-1 (57 million Clinton, 3.6 million Trump), Trump is ahead in Florida 42 to 39 percent, ahead two points in Pennsylvania, and tied in Ohio.

Democratic Senators are apparently "freaked out" by these developments.

Freak out you fucking freaks!

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Sorry I meant to say 15-1.

[OliviaButcher]

I'm making over 17k dollar a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. This is what I do... http://www.trends88.com

[Calidissident]

There have been a couple other polls released lately showing Hillary ahead in Florida and Pennsylvania, but it is pretty sad how close it is given Trump's weaknesses as a candidate. If Hillary wasn't such a terrible candidate the Dems would have this locked up. And conversely, if Trump wasn't such a bad candidate, Clinton would be dead in the water.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

She's spent fifteen dollars to his every one, and is just treading water at this point.

[Calidissident]

Which goes back to my point. I don't think money is having much of an impact. Trump pretty much has 40% of the population on lock by not being Clinton, and Clinton has about that much, maybe slightly more, just by not being Trump. Both of them seem to be having trouble convincing everyone else.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Each candidate's strongest argument at this point is, "I'm not the other guy."

[fdog50]

Yes, that is exactly what this election already is. You can see it in comments on websites of both the Left and the Right. Any conservative that criticizes Trump is not countered with arguments about why Trump's policy ideas are good, but with accusations of "You really want Hillary to win!" and warnings of how bad Hillary is. Same thing with criticism of Hillary on the Left. Mention anything about the Clinton Foundation's shady dealings or her recklessness with State Department e-mails and the response is dire warnings about the fascism that will be brought about by Trump. By October, nobody will be "For" anything, just "I'M NOT [fill in the blank]."

[Brett L]

Right. The only people who the Republicans can beat is the Republicans and the Democrats the Democrats. Not sure if this is a feature or a bug in our political system.

[DOOMco]

But money in politics is the super problem.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

It's almost as though...wait...people vote for the candidate they prefer? And a bad candidate with a lot of money is still a bad candidate?

No, no, that can't be right. I suspect foul play on the part of the Koch Brothers.

[Pope Jimbo]

Next you will be telling me that building a new stadium for a sports team will not automatically make them world champions. That isn't true at all.

Look at all the championships that the revenues from Target Field have bought for the Twinkies. We are almost as bad as the fucking Yankees in that department now.

[Brett L]

In a counter argument, the Cubs have sucked for a long time and played in Wrigley for all of it.

[Pope Jimbo]

That is their own damn fault. When your slogan is "I came here to chew gum and win championships", you really shouldn't be playing in a field named after a famous gum company. Fuck, you will spend a few more hundred years trying to chew up those warehouses of Wrigley spearmint gum before you can finally say "and we are all out of gum"

[Brett L]

Are you saying Roddy Piper couldn't kick ass and chew bubble gum at the same time? Put on the glasses or start eating trash can.

[fdog50]

The famous ad-man, Jerry Della Femina (who wrote a book entitled "From Those Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Pearl Harbor") used to say that great advertising could not sell a bad product. He meant that if you spent lots of money and had brilliant ads, people might buy the product once, but would not buy it again if it was lousy. Politics proves this: all the money and all the ads, no matter how brilliant, will sell a candidate that people don't want.

[Brett L]

Spent legitimately on advertising, no. Spent to buy votes and vote counters, yes. We're not to the second tranche of money yet.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

At this point, they really should just get rid of the anti-vote-buying laws and allow the candidates to handout cash. It's a much better use of the $1B that each candidate will ultimately spend, and as long as secret ballots remain, no one would actually be bound by their claim.

You don't hear much criticism of the egregious amounts of money being wasted (see also, JEB! and Eric Cantor) because it largely benefits the media (advertising revenue) and the political class (lucrative consulting jobs).

[robc]

We could go with the Single Transferable Vote, only the transferable means you can sell it/give it away.

[Don'tTreadOnMeChipper]

Stimulus!!!!

[plusafdotcom]

... and in Chicago, you could get a steady income from repeat sales!

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

OMGZY!11oneoneoneeleventyone!!!!!11!! Citizens United is dark-moneying billionaires to elections for kerperayshunz!!!!

[Rational Exuberance]

It just proves again, we need to get the money out of politics, right? 🙂

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

If nothing else, this election cycle may be the nail in the coffin of the old canard that money dictates the result of elections, e.g. Jeb Bush, Cankelstein.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Canklestein would actually be the correct spelling.

Damn autocorrect!

[Idle Hands]

since when have facts or evidence ever mattered to politicians and their constituents. You watch next week when Trump officially applies to be publicly financed and the same people who bitch about money in politics will pen pieces about how terrible and unfair it is that Trump is taking taxpayer money.

[mad.casual]

If nothing else, this election cycle may be the nail in the coffin of the old canard that money dictates the result of elections, e.g. Jeb Bush, Cankelstein.

If, by this, you mean everyone who dares criticize the victor with comments like 'He/She only won because of his/her money.' might find their way into a mass grave, then, yes.

[Idle Hands]

I was on the fence before Pence but this is the tipping point. I'm all in.

-said no voter ever.

[Crusty Juggler]

Trump may seem dense, but this choice was common sense.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Thanks for your two cents.

[Citizen X]

There's the exit - hie thee hence!

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Stop! This is all making me tense.

[Citizen X]

The amount of my thoughts and prayers that are with you is immense.

[Crusty Juggler]

Typical Citizen X haughty arrogance.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

+1 Jeselnik

[Don'tTreadOnMeChipper]

Thoughts from whence?

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Gents, thanks for the doggerel tumescence.

[Glide]

This joke's so long, it's making me wince.

[Idle Hands]

I mean it was the only name floated that made the most sense, which is why I didn't think it would happen. But part of me wanted to see Gingrich for the lols.

[Swiss Servator]

Oh yeah, Moon Base (thanks SF!) would have been quite lulzy.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

All three names float on the santorum flocculated by friction between Trump's anti-establishment kayfabe and ye ole power structure of empty flabby jowled paeans to fiscal tight-fistedness.

[Citizen X]

Since when does Agile Cyborg share his stash?

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

Nice Agile impression!

[Red Rocks Okey-Dokein]

This is probably more to neuter the NeverTrumpers by picking a GOP version of Biden than inspire non-Reps who'd never vote for a Republican anyway.

[Crusty Juggler]

This is Trump's defense against the SoCon nonsense.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Dispense with the pretense. This is an immense offense to any conservative seeking recompense.

[Citizen X]

I'm still on the fence, but my sense is Pence lacks innocence.

[DOOMco]

No more rhymes now, I mean it!

[Crusty Juggler]

Dispense with the rhymes, gents!

[Citizen X]

I didn't mean to give offense, to you or any other gents.

[Krapulent Kristen]

Anybody want a peanut?

(someone had to)

[DOOMco]

GAH!

[Col. Chestbridge]

+1 peanut?

[Col. Chestbridge]

Damn, beat me to it. I blame this site's awkward threading.

[Don'tTreadOnMeChipper]

Damn you!!

[Microaggressor]

It's to give comfort to the Bill Kristols of the world something to look forward to: a (plausible) Trump assassination.

[Microaggressor]

I mangled that sentence. What am I doing with my life.

[Crusty Juggler]

Engaging in the usual internet vaniloquence?

[Citizen X]

Ignorance is no defense!

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I guess it's too late to put in my two cents.

[Citizen X]

That's the compense for your indolence.

[Hugh Akston]

So that's how you want your career to end, eh Mike?

[Idle Hands]

The announcement came less than a day after Trump said that he would delay the announcement until the weekend following the attack in Nice, France last night.

The decision to delay the move was widely criticized, which makes this morning's announcement look like a response to that criticism.

Who would criticize that?

[Citizen X]

Somebody posted earlier that Pence had until noon today to officially decide whether or not to seek reelection as governor, and he couldn't run for both governor and veep so the announcement had to happen before then.

[Crusty Juggler]

Who would criticize that?

Someone with a lust for suspense.

[Citizen X]

Go big or go home, Hugh Akton!

[Hugh Akston]

You know, that is exactly what the last girl I dated said to me before she told me to go home.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Just how big was this girl?

[Idle Hands]

I think the whole point is he doesn't want his political career to end, hence dropping out of the the governors race like a rat fleeing a sinking ship.

[Hugh Akston]

...and onto a burning one.

[Idle Hands]

Well yea. But at least it is still floating for now.

[Microaggressor]

It's burning sort of like those black snake fireworks.

[waffles]

But enough with the euphemisms.

[ant1sthenes]

I'm guessing he's running the odds in his mind and coming up with 20% or better chance that he ends up President, either because Trump get shot by an SJW loon convinced that Trump is Hitler 2.0, or because he ends up in jail for statutory rape. Both scenarios assume that Trump wins, of course, which is not unreasonable since the universe favors him.

[kinnath]

Trump is a hustler whose job is to make the big deals. I can't image that he plays much of role in the running of any his established businesses. So I assume that Pence has been brought in to actually run the country while Trump gallivants around the globe making news and hustling new deals (for himself mostly and occasionally for the country).

[IndyEleven]

But Pence suffers the same embrace-an-idea-then-back-off-under-criticism that plagues Trump. cf RFRA in Indiana and the abortive state-sponsored news service. Pence may do better at day-to-day than Trump but that's an awfully low bar.

[kinnath]

Not to worry. The unelected, unfirable bureaucrats run everything anyway.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Dreamy.

"President Hillary Clinton." Fucking sad. Sad!

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Mike Pence is one of the best qualified experts you could ever have. Believe me.

[Gojira]

Watch it turn out that this "amiable non-entity thing" was just a persona, and this Pence guy is actually a bloodthirsty dictator in waiting who launches all the nukes and masters necromancy so he can rule unopposed over a world of animate corpses, in which no action is taken without his willing it.

[prolefeed]

Not the most likely scenario, but you have interesting views and I would like to subscribe to your website.

[Atanarjuat]

If there are occasional cat videos, I'm in.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Are you OK with zombie cat videos?

[Wizard4169]

Zombie catz are best catz. Duh.

[The Other Kevin]

Pence is not well-liked here in Indiana. Even in my mostly "red" county I see a lot of "Fire Pence" yard signs. He has (had) only a 4 point lead on his mostly unknown challenger, who based on his signs is popular for his big mustache and the fact that he's not Pence. On FB I see several friends who are happy this makes Pence not the governor. I think the tipping point was that religious freedom law, which accomplished nothing except to get a lot of people pissed at each other for no good reason.

One one side, the Indiana GOP wins because now they get to choose another candidate that is not Pence. But we all lose because that religious freedom shitstorm is going to return.

I think a better choice would have been Mitch Daniels. He was great on financial issues (we even got a check in the mail from the state one year due to a budget surplus). As far as I know the only ones he clashed with, were teachers unions, which is going to happen if you want to balance a budge.

[Tak Kak]

"I think a better choice would have been Mitch Daniels."

Might be a bad move for Trump to have a Syrian on his ticket.

[mad.casual]

I think the most important thing either way is that we need to be sure that neither Pence or Daniels spells potato with an 'e'.

[IndyEleven]

I like to think Daniels has enough principle to stay away from Trump, plus this drops Pence off the ticket so Daniels could be governor again.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Mitch Daniels could have been president in 2012, if he wanted the job. The fact that he declined only increases my respect for the man.

Pence is unpopular because of the whole RFRA incident with the imaginary gay pizza weddings a while back, more because the media latched on to the story, smeared him, and mischaracterized what the law did and did not do. That's the extent of my knowledge on Pence, but the fact that he ultimately backed down makes me dislike him.

[bartzman86]

I couldn't agree with this statement more. Everyone here in Indy is super stoked for Pence dropping, Reps and Dems. Having the RF law junk come up again is a small price to pay IMO. No one likes Indy anyway, so some national backlash means little to me if that means the governors race here is higher quality.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Hunter Pence is going to be Trump's VP? Sweet. Loved him when he was with the Phillies.

[fdog50]

It could happen! He's on the DL now and the Giants are still winning, so he could do it.

[The Late P Brooks]

If nothing else, this election cycle may be the nail in the coffin of the old canard that money dictates the result of elections

Yeah, right.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

If Canklestein loses, then I believe that will be the first time someone spent that much more money than their opponent and got nothing in return.

Jeb Bush spent what, about 130 million and didn't even get a T-shirt.

But you're right, even strong empirical evidence such as this will do nothing to dislodge the entrenched perception of money dictating political outcomes.

[Glide]

I fully expect to see Trump incorporated into the mythos as a prime example of the rich buying elections even if he keeps not actually spending anything.

[Krapulent Kristen]

The GOP had this election in the bag. I mean, Hillary is so smarmy, divisive, corrupt, and untrustworthy, the GOP could have nominated a turnip and it would have won. Trump was literally the only candidate that could make a HRC win possible.

Why do they insist on confirming the Stupid Party moniker every 4 years?

[Juvenile Bluster]

They confirm it on nearly a daily basis.

[Idle Hands]

the GOP could have nominated a turnip and it would have won.

I think Hillary would have mopped the floor with Bush.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, Bush might have been the only candidate worse than Trump for to run against Hillary. Pretty much any of the others would have been a shoe-in.

[Calidissident]

I think Bush-Hillary would be a similar matchup to Trump-Hillary in terms of how they perform, though the dynamics of it would be different. But I think most people would be really dissatisfied with both choices, as they are today, but for different reasons.

[robc]

On the other hand, the evil party doubled down on evil this time around.

On the gripping hand, the LP ticket picked the wrong year to not be inspiring.

[Krapulent Kristen]

LOL...you said "gripping hand".

/Beavis and/or Butthead

[Brett L]

Have you no culture? At long, last, madam, have you no culture at all?

[robc]

Are you trying to take Nicole's title now that she is gone?

[waffles]

Somebody has to be the worst.

[Mr Drew]

+1 moties

[ant1sthenes]

Because the "GOP" has wised up and realized that the letter beside the name of the person whose ass fills the seat in the Oval Office (or any other political office) doesn't matter? It's a means to an end, the end being achieving some sort of political changes. There's a sense that the GOP wants to get power, but it has no desire to actually use it for anything other than making their cronies rich. That might be tolerable in ordinary times, but not when your base increasingly feels that progressives and all the institutions they control (including the federal bureaucracy) are waging a cold war against them, a war that every day looks increasingly likely to turn hot.

Seriously, if you elect Johnson, and he spends the next 4 years being cowed by the media into being a nice guy and a team player, and he doesn't govern at all like a libertarian, then what exactly have you achieved by electing him other than a brief moment of team satisfaction that you could just as easily get from sports?

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"you could just as easily get from sports?"

Speak for yourself, I consistently tend to back los Rudos.

[Krapulent Kristen]

Yeah, well, I'm a Capitals and Vikings fan, so I'm not sure what this "sports satisfaction" is.

[Rational Exuberance]

There's a sense that the GOP wants to get power, but it has no desire to actually use it for anything other than making their cronies rich

So, same thing as the Democrats only more honest?

I mean the m.o. of Democrats it to get elected on promising to help people, then push crony capitalist legislation that enriches them and their cronies but doesn't actually do what they promised, and then blame the GOP for its failure.

Seriously, if you elect Johnson, and he spends the next 4 years being cowed by the media into being a nice guy and a team player, and he doesn't govern at all like a libertarian, then what exactly have you achieved by electing him

Note how your list of what Johnson would do leaves out "pass crony capitalist legislation", "start foreign wars", "stimulate the economy", or "start race wars"? It is the (relative) absence of that crap that we would achieve by electing him. Sure, Congress will still try on its own, and he might sign it, but not having the president promote crappy legislation is a good start.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Equally valid:

The DNC had this election in the bag. I mean, Trump is so smarmy, divisive, volatile, and untrustworthy, the DNC could have nominated a turnip and it would have won. Hillary Clinton was literally the only candidate that could make a Trump win possible.

I freaking love watching this election. It's like the main two parties agreed to a game of suicide chess and are trying to see who can loose.

DNC: Hey GOP!! I thought of something!!
GOP: What's that, DNC??
DNC: I bet if we both do everything in our power to lose this election, one of us will still win.
GOP: Ha!! No doubt about that!! We've got a crazy-sounding billionaire running this year. We'll flood the floor with candidates to make sure no one can oppose him, and stick the whole party with a candidate none really wanted and who the vast majority of the country thinks is an idiotic, crazy Hitler. He'll even be a fairly non-religious divorcee to alienate our usually devoted SoCon base!!
DNC: We'll arrange it so that the only alternative to the career criminal, the case study for political corruption, and the inspiration for House of Cards is our main candidate, and the only alternate choice is some washed-up old socialist, who will build up an enthusiastic base which we will constantly antagonize for being "sexist", and then have him loose by juuuuuuust a bit, leaving our career criminal with a base made up of bitter, alienated voters!!
GOP: And just you watch, they'll still all vote for at least one of us!!

[Eternal Blue Sky]

I cannot WAIT for the debates!!

[dajjal]

BUT WE'RE STILL GONNA DO HOUSE UNAMERICAN COMMITTEES RIGHT????

[american socialist]

Yay. A moralizing, warmongering, homophobic Christianist is running for executive office in the Republican Party? What a shocker! At least with Trump there's surprise and anarchistic fun. What's the draw i ask you, libertarians-who-have-come around-again-to-the-republican-party?

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

What the fuck is a Christianist? You're making things up at this point.

[american socialist]

They're like Islamists-- only with access to much more state power. The last president was one, who openly declared that the US was a Christian nation. Collectively they kill, on average, an order of magnitude, a generous estimate, more than their Islamist counterparts.

[kbolino]

Today on Shit that I Made Up...

[american socialist]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War

That war wasn't started by al-Baghdadi.

[Calidissident]

You do realize that a very large number of people killed in the Iraq War were killed by Islamists, right? The Iraq War was an idiotic mistake, but that doesn't mean "Christianists" killed people who got blown up by Islamists detonating suicide bombs.

[Rational Exuberance]

That war wasn't started by al-Baghdadi.

No. In fact, it was started by Hillary Clinton (among others).

[Arizona_Guy]

Oh c'mon. You guys remember the pre-enlightenment days (before January 20, 2009).

Back when women couldn't drive and gays were executed.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

So true. And don't forget that the poor were dying of illness in the streets until Bararck H. Christ (all praise be to his name!) reached unto the heavens and bestowed Obamacare upon us all.

[Arizona_Guy]

Any reports of Obamacare not working are Teathuglikkkan counter revolutionary propaganda!

[Arizona_Guy]

For Bararck H. Christ's first miracle, he will cure a ham.

For His second miracle, he will heal a dog.

For His third miracle, he will turn grape juice into wine.

Amen

[Rational Exuberance]

Yes, I do remember: even Hillary and Obama were pre-enlightenment then too. But they have "evolved"... along with the polls.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"only with access to much more state power."

... in America.

You ethnocentrist.

[DOOMco]

Who are you asking here? There's not even a handful of people on the trump train here.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

[snores]

[Rational Exuberance]

A moralizing, warmongering, homophobic Christianist is running for executive office in the Republican Party

All true. Though many people might still think that's better than a corrupt, incompetent, homophobic, warmongering bitch, which is all the Democrats have at this point.

What's the draw i ask you, libertarians-who-have-come around-again-to-the-republican-party?

I assume most libertarians are going to actually vote libertarian.

[The Late P Brooks]

the GOP could have nominated a turnip and it would have won

What would you call JEB!? A jalapeno?

[Brett L]

Yucca. Jalapenos have some kick, yucca has no taste.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

The drama surrounding Vice Presidential selection process offers a window into Trump's management and decision-making style: For weeks, he's built up the reality show intrigue surrounding the pick, appearing with a number of different potential candidates, teasing a 60 Minutes special where he was set to first appear with his running mate, saying even as late as last night that he had not made his "final, final decision." Trump, as always, is highly attuned to the drama of politics, but also comes across as flightly, indecisive, and thin-skinned.

This strikes me as a tad overblown. It appeared to me that the media was just constantly following every move he made in the process, in hopes to create the above narrative.

[Aloysious]

That dudes head is shaped like a potato.

[bassjoe]

"The decision to delay the move was widely criticized"

Wait, what? Why? I criticize the man all the time but that was actually thoughtful of him...

[Glide]

Came as news to me as well, though I've not exactly been a news junkie this week.

Maybe it seemed insincere? I'll take an insincere attempt at decency over a sincere douchery.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Pretty much because of campaign deadlines.

If the Republicans wanted to put up a replacement for Pence they only had until noon today.

So while thoughtful, if Trump had waited until tomorrow, there would be no Republican candidate for Governor of Indiana.

[bassjoe]

This is actually a great move for Pence.

His reelection to be governor this year is rated a toss-up. If he lost that, his political career is toast.

With Trump, he either: a) wins and becomes VP, making him a favorite for the presidential nomination in 2024; or b) loses but can claim in 2020 that he did all he could to stop the Hillary presidency while all the other Republican candidates were waffling.

[Glide]

I'm still not optimistic about Trump's chances, but at the very least Pence is locking up his Fox News Contributor spot for a decade instead of losing the governorship and then having only a longshot Senate bid against Evan Bayh as a chance to remain nationally relevant.

[bassjoe]

I'm not that bullish on Trump either. But he's been amazingly disciplined over the past couple weeks ever since Corey L. was let go. If he comes across as a generic Republican over the next 3.5 months, his convention goes off without a major hitch, he walks back his more controversial positions from the primary (he's been noticeably quiet on his Muslim ban after Nice), and he holds his own at the debates, I am starting to think he may have a good chance.

[The Fusionist]

"religiously inflected social conservatism"

Really? He was bullied into watering down the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Now, if you're a Rastafarian smoking weed, or a convicted felon who wants to wear a beard for religious reasons, any government restriction on your religious practice has to be justified in court - by proving that restriction is the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling state interest.

But if your religious exercise involves operating a business in accordance with the tenets of your faith, then the government can stomp all over you without having to meet any burden of justification, it just has to have an "antidiscrimination" law which forces you to provide services contrary to your conscience, and if you don't - you'll get driven out of business.

This is a weird kind of social conservatism - your right to use drugs and violate prison grooming standards has more protection than your right to operate your business according to the tenets of your faith.

I think Trump is pleased to see that Pence can be bullied.

[The Fusionist]

(Isn't it interesting that these "moderate, probusiness Republicans" are all too happy to stomp on small businesses which get on the wrong side of SJW outrage?)

[The Fusionist]

Meanwhile, a prisoner in Illinois gets a preliminary federal injunction letting him wear a pentacle medallion in accordance with his Wiccan faith, and in violation of prison rules.

[Sevo]

Well, I guess that means Trump won't carry San Francisco.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"He is remarkably unremarkable."

You say that as if it is a bad thing, but with how loose cannon and crazy Trump appears to most voters, frankly picking someone boring was probably the best move he could have made.

[NoVaNick]

I don't think its going to help him one bit. Nobody ever votes based on the veep choice. Maybe he will help Trump win a few SoCons but it will also give the vagina voters plenty of ammo to stir up their base.

[JulieHardy]

My buddy's step-mother makes $96 an hour on this PC. She has been fired for 9 months but last month her payment was $9600 just working on the PC for a few hours. Check It out what she do..

======== http://www.CareerPlus90.com

[Uncle Jay]

RE: It's Official! Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Will Be Donald Trump's Running Mate
Trump's VP pick is a generic Republican. That's the point.

This is a good call.
Pence is a good party hack for the republicans who engages in principled practice of cronyism at every given chance.
The best things in life never change.

[NoVaNick]

"Pence is a good party hack for the republicans who engages in principled practice of cronyism at every given chance."

He is thus a perfect match for Trump's favor seeking.

[Mauser]

Well the "Values Voters" can prepare to commence their Circle Jerk of affection for Mr Pence in Cleveland on Monday.

[NoVaNick]

So who will the Hilldabeest pick? My money is on Tim Kaine-boring and has a penis.

[Mauser]

She'll pick Comey

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Julian Castro

[Grant]

If Trump has a thing for Indiana, why didn't he pick Bobby Knight? Don't basketball coaches have more credibility than politicians. Doesn't everybody?

[Peter Verkooijen]

Where is Johnson/Weld?

I see one Johnson interview on realclearpolitics about weed and vaping. Is that all libertarians can talk about?

Reason's front page is all Trump and Clinton again.

Jeb Bush of all people is considering voting libertarian in the Washington Post. Are there still libertarians running?

[Hank Phillips]

Libertarians are running and winning with every idiot law that gets repealed. See LP.org (mnemonic: legalize psilocybin dot organic)

[Hank Phillips]

In South American newscasts Pence is described as a Right-Wing Religious Conservative Extremist. In Peterspeak that translates as "generic Midwestern GOP politician..."
Jail all hippies, messkins and naygurs? Yup.
Force them bitches to reproduce at gunpoint? Fuck yeah!
Nuke Mecca? Damn straight.
You're our boy! Nobody'll dare take a shot at the Don now.

[IdahoMan]

Trump should have actually asked some So Cons what they think of Pence. Most feel he's a traitor to the cause for gutting the religious liberties bill and removing the right of religious people to follow their conscience in their own business. He won't gain any conservative Christians with this pick.