Detroit News: Pence Could Steal Palin's Thunder

From a few days ago in the Detroit News:

GOP Prospect Could Steal Palin’s Thunder
By Nolan Finley

If Mike Pence keeps talking, the left will soon have to stop talking about Sarah Palin.

Pence is the Indiana congressman who is weighing a run for the presidency in 2012. He stopped by Birmingham last week to speak to the Detroit Economic Club. It wasn't all that far into his speech before you realized that this guy has a message that could catch on, particularly if voters remain in their current mood.

"To restore American exceptionalism, we must end all this Keynesian spending and get back to the practice of free market economics," Pence told the audience. "The freedom to succeed must include the freedom to fail. The free market is what made America's economy the greatest in the world, and we cannot falter in our willingness to defend it."

For most of the rest of the speech, Pence laid out a blueprint for restoring the economy that focused on simplifying the tax code; adopting sound monetary policy, perhaps even a return to the gold standard; developing homegrown energy sources; reforming regulations to make them friendlier to job creators; and committing fully to free trade.

It's a message tailor made for the tea party movement, particularly on tax policy. Pence would replace all federal taxes with a single, flat income tax in the range of 17 percent, and get the government away from using taxes to manipulate behavior.

"You should someday be able to file a tax return of 140 characters or less," Pence joked. "You could Twitter your taxes."

But Pence is not a tea party maverick. He has worked within the system very effectively since first being elected to Congress in 2000.

He's thoughtful, respected by his colleagues for his intelligence and depth, and affable. "I'm a conservative, but I'm not angry about it," he once told an interviewer.

A speech he gave to Hillsdale College that was reprinted in the school's Imprimus magazine on how the office of the presidency has been distorted from the Founders' vision is burning up the Internet.

Liberal mouthpieces are desperate for Palin to emerge as the leading GOP presidential candidate, and try to pretend that the former Alaskan governor and vice presidential hopeful is the way-out-front candidate.

Pence and other rising GOP stars — including his fellow Hoosier, Gov. Mitch Daniels — are forcing them to take notice. His speech at the Townsend Hotel was covered by CNN, Fox and other national outlets.

Pence makes the pitch for returning America to its founding principles seem entirely reasonable, and quite doable. Nothing about him appears out of the mainstream.

He channels Ronald Reagan as well as anyone in the GOP stable, deftly comparing the "new normal" ideology of 2010 to the national malaise of the Jimmy Carter years. Like Reagan, he rejects the notion of lost American greatness.

Here's how he closed his speech:"I choose a boundless American future built on the timeless ideals of the American people. I believe the American people are ready for this choice and await men and women who will lead us back to that future, back to the West, back to American exceptionalism."

Mike Pence is no Sarah Palin. And that should worry the daylights out of the left.

Pence Leaves House Leadership Post; Sets Sights on Higher Office

RC Blog's favorite member of Congress, Mike Pence, resigned from his leadership role in the House of Representatives yesterday.  We are ready to start the "Pence in 2012" chant!!  Here's the article from the Indianapolis Star:

After helping Republicans take the House, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence plans to step down as the head of the House GOP conference, presumably to prepare for potential presidential or gubernatorial bid in 2012.

"Now that we have restored a Republican majority to the House of Representatives and I have fulfilled my commitment to the Republican Conference, my family and I have begun to look to the future," Pence said in a statement to colleagues this morning.

"As we consider new opportunities to serve Indiana and our nation in the years ahead, I have come to realize that it may not be possible to complete an entire term as conference chairman. As such, I think it would be more appropriate for me to step aside now, especially since there are other talented men and women in our Conference who could do the job just as well or better."

The Columbus Republican declined to say what his plans are, but he has been talked about as a potential presidential and gubernatorial candidate.

Pence was the top choice in a presidential straw poll of conservatives attending the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in September.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, who cannot seek re-election in 2012, has also left open the possibility of running for president.

Column: Pence is Poised as Vable 2012 Prospect

An opinion piece from Iowa's Des Moines Register earlier this week:

Indiana Congressman Mike Pence joked during a weekend speech in Des Moines that he didn’t come to Iowa by accident.

Pence, speaking to about 550 people at an Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition dinner, acknowledged he was here on purpose – with a sole aim of helping elect Republicans in November 2010. Few missed the unspoken message that the trip, coming just two weeks after he won the Values Voters presidential straw poll in Washington, D.C., also served to keep his name in play for 2012.

“Oh, he’s running,” Gopal Krishna, vice president of the Iowa Christian Alliance, said after Pence’s speech Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Running for what is the question. Pence is also considered a potential 2012 candidate for governor of Indiana when term limits force out Republican Mitch Daniels. Daniels is also a possible 2012 presidential contender.
Pence, head of the House GOP Conference, stands to increase his leadership status should his party win the majority.

He has been traveling the country, campaigning and raising money for congressional candidates. He stopped by Brad Zaun’s congressional campaign office on Saturday and also endorsed attorney general candidate Brenna Findley.

As for the presidential path, Pence’s supporters are billing him as the antidote to a GOP field in which the best-known potential candidates all have Achilles heels. Mitt has Romneycare. Thrice-married Newt Gingrich has a cross to bear with the Christian right. Sarah Palin is a polarizing mama bear.
Pence emphasized that GOP leaders can’t set aside religious social values even while pocketbook concerns loom large.

It was notable, however, that Pence didn’t weigh in on the debate about judicial retention here in Iowa. “Vote No” signs advocating removal of three Supreme Court justices were flying out the door during Saturday’s event.

When a reporter asked after the speech about judicial elections, Pence took a pass. “I don’t want to comment on a specific local issue. Let me just say, I believe that marriage matters. I believe in defending traditional marriage against the efforts of activist judges who seek to redefine it.”

Critics of the organized effort to defeat judges warn that it opens the courtroom door to special-interest money and political pressure.

Pence, a former radio commentator, likes to use high-flown rhetoric. “A nation conceived in liberty has come of age in bondage to big government,” he said Saturday. Most of the Faith & Freedom crowd was eating it up faster than the fried chicken and Jell-O fluff. Iowa Congressman Steve King praised Pence as the best communicator in the House Republican caucus.

Should Pence run for president, however, he’ll find that lofty eloquence can be a drawback with some voters.

Randy Crawford of Coralville said after the speech that Pence and Mike Huckabee are on his short list for 2012 so far. But Crawford said he prefers to hear Pence when he speaks off the cuff rather than from prepared text. “I just think he sort of thought too hard,” Crawford said. “He’s an excellent speaker, but I’d say he shines more brightly when he speaks from the top of his head.”

Pence said he doesn’t have any immediate plans to return to Iowa, but I expect we’ll see him before long. He’s in a good position to market himself as a better-rounded alternative to the A-list candidates and as a more viable prospect than others on the B or C lists. He may not be a dream candidate, but he’s also not living in fantasyland. As a rising congressional leader with a fundraising base, he could position himself as a slightly paler shade of dark horse.

Latest Poll Numbers for RC Blog Endorsed Candidates

Here are the latest poll numbers of those candidates running for office this November, which are endorsed by the ReaganConservatives.us blog.  Looking good!

Scott Walker leads Tom Barrett in the gubernatorial race in Wisconsin by 9 points.

Mike Pence (lock!).

Paul Ryan (lock!).

Sharon Angle in a dead heat with Harry Reid in the Senate race in Nevada.

Pat Toomey leads Joe Sestak in the Senate race in Pennsylvania by 6 points.

Marco Rubio leads Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek in the Senate race in Florida by 11 points.

Keith Fimian in a dead heat with Gerry Connolly in the 11th House District in Virginia.

Current RC Blog projections:  Governor +7, House +48, Senate +9.

Only 30 days until Election Day!!

So Much to Catch Up On....

Well, it took me more than just a few hours to finally get a window of time to get my thoughts together from the past few weeks.  This is a short recap of some key events and thoughts:

Bloomberg Blames the Tea Party for NYC Terrorist Attempt -- Taking the lead from the mainstream media, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to immediately, without any information from authorities, take a "guess" at who left the SUV in Times Square in a failed terrorist attack earlier this week.  The TV networks insisted that the failed terrorist was "white".  Bloomberg decided that he needed to expand on that description and said that it was "probably someone who was upset with the government or with ObamaCare".  Of course, authorities have apprehended Faisal Shahzad (you guessed it, not white...), who is a nationalized citizen born in Pakistan.  The Left will stop at nothing to paint Conservatives and/or Tea Party Americans as racists and domestic terrorists.  We just went through this set of lies on the Left's part following the passage of ObamaCare.  All we heard from the John Lewis' of the world is that the n-word was used and they were spit on.  In a world where EVERYTHING gets captured on video via I-Phones, BlackBerries, and other mobile devices and is posted on the Internet in minutes, we are now nearly two months later and still no one can produce a video of these "incidents".  This is because it NEVER happened...

Heritage Foundation is Launching New 501(c)(4) Lobbying Subsidiary -- Attended the Spring 2010 President's Club meeting of the Heritage Foundation earlier this week and learned about their new advocacy organization -- Heritage Action for America.  Heritage Action will lobby for bills before Congress, but not for candidates (yet...).  Dr. Feulner, Heritage President and Mike Needham, CEO of Heritage Action penned an Op-Ed in the April 12 Wall Street Journal that details the creation of this new organization.  Exciting times at Heritage where membership has now reached nearly 650,000 members. 

Joe Bonamassa Show in Washington -- As RC Blog readers know, I'm a big fan of the Rock/Blues sound of Joe Bonamassa.  JB played at Lizner Auditorium on 4/26 before a near sold-out audience of 1,400.  During his 2 hour, 20 minute show, the crowd was treated to a special event.  Legendary Blues guitarist/songwriter Bobby Parker came on stage to play a few songs with Joe.  Parker, now 74, was legend in the U.S. and London during the late 60s and early 70s.  Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fell in love with Parker's sound and tried signing him to Led Zep's record label.  It was a great bonus to a great night of Joe.  Here's a video of JB and Parker at Lizner:



Dr. Lee Edwards Authors New Biography on William F. Buckley -- During my years of involvement with the Heritage Foundation, I have struck up a friendship with Dr. Lee Edwards, who has been a key voice in the Conservative movement for some time.  He had been telling me for the past two years about the biography he was writing on William F. Buckley.  It was released last week and I was able to get a copy from Dr. Edwards earlier this week in Washington.  Look for a review on the RC Blog in the next few weeks.  To order a copy of the book, click here...

Lack of Federal Response to Oil Spill -- Looks like the Obama Administration has a Katrina-like problem on their hands.  Nine days after the oil rig in the Mississippi began burning and eight days after it exploded and collapsed killing 11 workers, the Obama Administration finally began providing the appropriate attention to this disaster to human life and the environment.  This is the first real challenge that President Obama has dealt with and he hasn't been able to handle it.  Like most issues with President Obama, he tries to back-track on previous comments and like to "expand" the truth.  To say that the government was their on Day One because the U.S. Coast Guard immediately responded to the event is a weak and pathetic argument.  The Coast Guard would response immediately, with or without Obama's orders.  That's what they do for a living!  That's like giving a Governor credit because the state police immediately responded to a major car wreck on I-95. 

Mike Pence in 2012? -- As RC Blog readers know, our No. 1 Congressional member is Mike Pence of Indiana.  This guy has all the makings to become POTUS at some point and that chance may come as early as 2012.  We were disappointed that he did not go after the Bayh senate seat that is opening up this year, but he is No. 3 in the House right now and that is tough to give up.  He knows the issues, is an excellent communicator (best since Reagan), and has "the look".  Pence gave an excellent speech before the Heritage Foundation's President's Club earlier this week where we were in attendance and had a few moments to meet with him.  We were happy (and shocked...) to hear him say that he has been to the RC Blog!

Fairfax County Republican Committee Undergoes Significant Overhaul -- Kudos to Anthony Bedell who has done a remarkable job in taking a battered and beaten Fairfax County Republican Committee several years ago and built it into a strong and vibrant organization.  Bedell's energy and enthusiasm has gone a long way in weeding out the dead wood from the party and refilling the financial coffers of the Committee.  Just last night, a major overhaul of the entire organization and regional districts was announced.  RC Blog applauds Bedell and his office for this much-needed reorganization.

Pope Benedict Announces Some Immediate Reforms for Legionaries of Christ Order -- On May 1, the Vatican released a statement regarding the year-long apostolic visitation of the Legionaries of Christ order to determine its future, following the various well-known scandals involving its deceased founder.  As for immediate next steps, the Holy See will appoint a commissioner or delegate to run the Legion of Christ for the foreseeable future. The May 1 statement suggests that this delegate will have plenipotentiary powers, including making recommendations to the Pope about the future of the Legion of Christ—about which, it seems, all options remain on the table.  In addition, the Vatican commission will carefully examine the Legion’s constitutions.  The future of the Order remains in jeopardy, but I am thankful that it was not immediately disbanded following the report by the visitors.  In my six or seven years of interaction with various LC priests, they are all excellent leaders of our faith and have had a positive influence on my life.  I continue to pray for all of them as they go through this difficult time.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) at CPAC 2010

Pelosi Pushes Through Cap-and-Trade Bill in the House by Four Votes...

By this point, you have already read everything about the horrible Cap-and-Trade bill that passed the House of Representatives 219-211. With just four votes swinging the other direction, this middle-class tax bill could have been avoided.

The great Mike Pence of Indiana provided the following speech from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives shortly before the vote on climate change legislation:

“It's hard to know where to start. I got to think, Madame Speaker, a lot of people looking in on this debate, hearing about copies filed and esoteric process really don't care very much about all that, because this economy is hurting. American families are struggling under the weight of the worst recession in a generation. Families in my district are losing their jobs. Small businesses and family farms are struggling. And all they've seen out of Washington, D.C., so far is a gusher of runaway federal spending, deficits and debt and bailouts. They didn't think it could get worse.

“But here we go. In the midst of the worst recession in a generation, this Administration and this majority in Congress are prepared to pass a national energy tax that will raise the cost of energy on every American family. Now, my colleague sporting the green lapel button, who I greatly respect, said that there is a lot of dispute about how much the average American household will pay if this national energy tax becomes law and that's true. There are estimates ranging from a few hundred dollars a year to the Heritage Foundation's over $4,000 a year.

“The estimate I prefer was from candidate Barack Obama who said in January of 2008 to the San Francisco Chronicle and I shall quote with the deepest respect, ‘Under my plan of cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.’ That will cost money. ‘They,’ referring to the utility companies. ‘They will pass that money onto consumers.’ “Now I know earlier this week the President of the United States said that polluters are going to pay the cost of this national energy tax. That's not what he said last year.

“Now, I don't know how y'all define skyrocket. When the President said electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket under my cap and trade plan, but I’d be prepared to defer to you. I define skyrocket as a prescription for economic decline. There may be a dispute of the numbers of how much I’ll be paying in my electrical bill or how much the cost of goods and services are going to go up, but there's no dispute that this cap and trade legislation will cost millions of American jobs.

“Raising the cost of energy is a bad idea in prosperous times. Raising a national energy tax in the worst recession in a generation is a profoundly bad idea. But for anyone looking in, let me say we are in the minority as we have been reminded with some firmness in this debate on occasion today.

“We don't have the votes to stop this bill. But you do. If you oppose the national energy tax, call your congressman right now. If you think we can do better to serve the interests of the American people and achieve energy independence with an all of the above strategy, call your congressman right now. Alexander Hamilton said it best: ‘Here, sir, the people govern.’ We can stop this bill. We can do better, and so we must.”

Videos from Last Week's Heritage Foundation President's Club in Washington

The Heritage Foundation has just posted several videos from last week's President's Club Fall Meeting in Washington. Here are a few of the videos from the event...


Heritage President Ed Feulner
on the state of the Conservative movement



Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.)
on Conservative principles



The dinner address by
the Honorable William J. Bennett

Bailout Bill Fails to Pass House

This afternoon, the House failed to pass the most current version of the $700 billion+ financial bailout bill by a vote of 228-205. Kudos from the R.C. Blog to those Conservatives, led by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), as well as Democrats, who together saw the poorly-crafted and rushed bill for what it was -- a feeble attempt by the Bush Administration, the Democrat House leadership, and the moderate Republicans to keep the world's financial markets from falling further, not from solving the problem.

Today's defeat of the bill was a positive step and sent a message to the House leadership and the White House that most of America is not in favor of the government's plan to nationalize/socialize our country's leading financial institutions, at least not without some checks and balances and guarantees that once these firms return to strong performance, the taxpayers get the first rewards -- not the CEOs, lobbyists, or members of Congress.

The Congress and Federal Government need to get out of the business of providing unlimited financial support, bailouts, incentives, and plum financing to private enterprises. It has been going on for decades and is spiraling completely out of control with this latest problem. If Congress sets a precedent for federal bailouts of private companies that have a tremendous impact on the economy and stock market, who will be next? Ford? GM? United Airlines? The auto and airline industry already get significant "financing" and incentives from the government, but they'll come looking for much more after this bailout package passes.

Am I happy that the markets crashed and burned today? Of course not. But it was a small price to pay to be sure that the final version of the bailout bill, which will ultimately get through, has all the unnecessary "fluff" pulled out of it to ensure that my children and their children are not caught holding the tab for the greed of CEOs, traders, Congressional members, and citizens who got in WAY over their heads with mortgages and equity lines. Just because my neighbor decides to buy a $500K house and a $60K car with money he/she does not have should not put me in a position to pick up the shortfall.

Finally, I listened to House Speaker Pelosi both this morning and this afternoon (and laughed...)as she blamed the Republicans for (1) causing the entire financial mess and (2) voting against the bailout bill. Isn't she the leader of the Democratic party in the House? Today's vote only needed a simple majority, which the Dems hold comfortably. If she was doing her job instead of making excuses and blaming others, she should have been able to unify her own party and get this bill passed without even one Republican vote. Perhaps she should look in the mirror before throwing accusations at the other side (actually, she probably shouldn't...).

The real reason it didn't pass today is that the Dems are afraid, very afraid. They don't have the guts to attached their majority status to such an important and controversial piece of legislation. They loved taking over the majority, as long as it only meant getting basic and non-controversial legislation through the House. Time for Madame Speaker to stand up and lead her party. This should be fun to watch....

Why I Oppose the Bailout -- by Rep. Mike Pence

Rep. Mike Pence shows once again why he is the voice of the Reagan Conservatives on Capitol Hill. We need to get him into Richard Lugar's Indiana Senate seat ASAP so we can start preparing him for the Presidency...

September 28, 2008

Dear Colleagues:

Our nation has been confronted by a serious crisis in our financial markets. The President and this Congress were right to act with all deliberate speed in addressing this crisis.

We now have a deal that promises to bring near-term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price? Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail.

The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy.

Republicans improved this bill but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it.Before you vote, ask yourself why you came here and vote with courage and integrity to those principles.

If you came here because you believe in limited government and the freedom of the American marketplace, vote in accordance with those convictions.

Duty is ours, outcomes belong to God.

We have fought the good fight. Now we need to finish the race and make sure that posterity and the American people know there were conservatives who opposed the leviathan state in this dark hour.

And if you do this I promise you, I will stand with you and, I believe with all my heart, the American people will stand with you as well.

MIKE PENCE

Mr. Pence, a Republican, represents the 6th District of Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was chosen as the HUMAN EVENTS "Man of the Year" in 2005.

Congressman Pence Gets It Right!

My favorite member of the Congress, U.S. Congressman Mike Pence from Indiana, is circulating the following “Dear Colleague” letter among his fellow House Republicans regarding the current economic conditions and bailout proposals....

---------------------------------------------------------------

Republicans Should Oppose the Bailout Plan

“Nationalizing Every Bad Mortgage in America Is Not the Answer”

Dear Republican Colleague:

Our financial markets are in turmoil and the Administration was right to call for decisive action to prevent further harm to our economy, but nationalizing every bad mortgage in America is not the answer.

As Bill Kristol wrote in “A Fine Mess” in today's New York Times:

"And I acknowledge that there are serious people who think the situation too urgent and the day too late to allow for a real public and Congressional debate on what should be done. But — based on conversations with economists, Wall Street types, businessmen and public officials — I’m doubtful that the only thing standing between us and a financial panic is for Congress to sign this week, on behalf of the American taxpayer, a $700 billion check over to the Treasury. "

The Administration's request amounts to the largest corporate bailout in American history. Congress should act, but should act in a way that protects the integrity of our free market and protects the American taxpayer from more debt and higher taxes. Congress must not hastily embrace a cure that may do more harm to our economy than the disease of bad debt.

And the stakes for our free market could not be higher.

As George Will observed on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos program yesterday,

"When the British Labour Party was socialist, it defined socialism as government control of the commanding heights of the economy. And in Britain, at that time, it was coal, steel, and railroads. The commanding heights of the American economy are financial services, and they are now controlled by the government. "

To avoid a slide into socialism for our financial sector, Congress must consider all available options to put our nation's economy back on its feet. There are no easy answers but there are alternatives to massive government spending.

As was observed in an editorial titled “A Bad Bank Rescue” by Sebastian Mallaby published in The Washington Post on Sunday, September 21, 2008:

"Within hours of the Treasury announcement Friday, economists had proposed preferable alternatives. Their core insight is that it is better to boost the banking system by increasing its capital than by reducing its loans. Given a fatter capital cushion, banks would have time to dispose of the bad loans in an orderly fashion. Taxpayers would be spared the experience of wandering into a bad-loan bazaar and being ripped off by every merchant. "

Alternatives to a massive federal bailout must be fully considered and debated before Congress acts.

Finally, any new expenditure of taxpayer dollars should be paid for with fiscal discipline and reform. If Congress decides to spend nearly 1 trillion dollars on a corporate bailout, it must find budget savings to prevent that cost from being passed along to the American people.

As our distinguished former Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, wrote in a post titled “Before D.C. Gets Our Money, It Owes Us Some Answers” on The Corner on National Review Online yesterday and prominently displayed today on the homepage under the headline “Newt: Wait One Minute”:

"Congress has an obligation to protect the taxpayer. Congress has an obligation to limit the executive branch to the rule of law. Congress has an obligation to perform oversight. Congress was designed by the Founding Fathers to move slowly, precisely to avoid the sudden panic of a one-week solution that becomes a 20-year mess. "

I urge you to join me and other conservative voices in opposing the bailout plan. Republicans should demand that Congress take time in deliberating the merits of any legislation until the facts and competing solutions can be fully debated. We should demand consideration of free market alternatives to massive government spending and we should fight to pay for the solution through budget cuts and reform instead of more debt or taxes.

Sincerely,

Mike Pence
Member of Congress