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John Gregg on Social Issues [VIDEO] [2012]
Above: John Gregg meets with the Indianapolis Star Editorial Board to answer questions. As governor, how would you prioritize social issues such as abortion and same-sex marraige?
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Mike Pence Road Map for Indiana VERY Bad for the Environment [2012]
This is what Mike Pence says in his 'Road Map for Indiana":
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This is a letter that was sent to Mike Pence:
SOURCE
August 14, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (August 9, 2012) " Indiana is the 4th worst state in the nation when it comes to exposing residents to toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants, according to an analysis released today in Indiana by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
How and why did this happen? What are your priorities? Aren't you ultimately responsible for passing legislation that protects the health and safety of Indiana citizens? Aren't you ultimately responsible for ensuring that federal guidelines are adhered to on Clean Air?
What gives? Are you the solution, or have you been the problem?
Knightstown , IN
Voted YES on opening Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling.
Opponent's Argument for voting No:
In the first 3 months of this year, Exxon-Mobil made $10 billion off of the American consumer; Shell made $8 billion; BP made $7 billion. So what are these companies asking for? These companies are now asking that we open up the beaches of California, Florida & New England to drill for oil. People who live near those beaches don't want oil coming in the way it did in the Gulf of Mexico. Right now, those oil companies are centered down in the Gulf of Mexico. People are concerned because those companies have blocked any new safety reforms that would protect against another catastrophic spill. We have to oppose this bill because, first of all, they already have 60 million acres of American land that they haven't drilled on yet, which has about 11 billion barrels of oil underneath it and an equivalent amount of natural gas. This bill is just a giveaway to Exxon-Mobil and Shell.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (August 9, 2012) " Indiana is the 4th worst state in the nation when it comes to exposing residents to toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants, according to an analysis released today in Indiana by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
How and why did this happen? What are your priorities? Aren't you ultimately responsible for passing legislation that protects the health and safety of Indiana citizens? Aren't you ultimately responsible for ensuring that federal guidelines are adhered to on Clean Air?
What gives? Are you the solution, or have you been the problem?
Knightstown , IN
This is his voting record on environmental protection and clean energy:
Voted YES on opening Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling.
Opponent's Argument for voting No:
In the first 3 months of this year, Exxon-Mobil made $10 billion off of the American consumer; Shell made $8 billion; BP made $7 billion. So what are these companies asking for? These companies are now asking that we open up the beaches of California, Florida & New England to drill for oil. People who live near those beaches don't want oil coming in the way it did in the Gulf of Mexico. Right now, those oil companies are centered down in the Gulf of Mexico. People are concerned because those companies have blocked any new safety reforms that would protect against another catastrophic spill. We have to oppose this bill because, first of all, they already have 60 million acres of American land that they haven't drilled on yet, which has about 11 billion barrels of oil underneath it and an equivalent amount of natural gas. This bill is just a giveaway to Exxon-Mobil and Shell.
Reference: Reversing Pres. Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act; Bill H.1231 ; vote number 11-HV320 on May 12, 2011
Voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
Opponent's Argument for voting No:
This bill is a direct assault on the Clean Air Act. Its premise is that climate change is a hoax and carbon pollution does not endanger health and welfare. But climate change is real. It is caused by pollution, and it is a serious threat to our health and welfare. We need to confront these realities. American families count on the EPA to keep our air and water clean. But this bill has politicians overruling the experts at EPA, and it exempts our biggest polluters from regulation. If this bill is enacted, the EPA's ability to control dangerous carbon pollution will be gutted.
Voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
Opponent's Argument for voting No:
This bill is a direct assault on the Clean Air Act. Its premise is that climate change is a hoax and carbon pollution does not endanger health and welfare. But climate change is real. It is caused by pollution, and it is a serious threat to our health and welfare. We need to confront these realities. American families count on the EPA to keep our air and water clean. But this bill has politicians overruling the experts at EPA, and it exempts our biggest polluters from regulation. If this bill is enacted, the EPA's ability to control dangerous carbon pollution will be gutted.
Reference: Energy Tax Prevention Act; Bill H.910 ; vote number 11-HV249 on Apr 7, 2011
Voted NO on enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes:
Voted NO on enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes:
For the first time in the history of our country, we will put enforceable limits on global warming pollution. At its core, however, this is a jobs bill. It will create millions of new, clean-energy jobs in whole new industries with incentives to drive competition in the energy marketplace. It sets ambitious and achievable standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass so that by 2020, 20% of America's energy will be clean.
Reference: American Clean Energy and Security Act; Bill H.R.2454 ; vote number 2009-H477 on Jun 26, 2009
Voted NO on tax credits for renewable electricity, with PAYGO offsets.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes:
Voted NO on tax credits for renewable electricity, with PAYGO offsets.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes:
This bill contains extensions of popular tax incentives that expired at the end of last year. This needs to get under way. The R&D tax credit is important. This bill includes a number of popular and forward-thinking incentives for energy efficiency. This is a very balanced bill which does no harm to the Federal Treasury. It asks that hedge fund managers pay a bit more, and it delays an international tax break that hasn't gone into effect yet. It is responsible legislation.Reference: Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act; Bill H.R.7060 ; vote number 2008-H649 on Sep 26, 2008
Voted NO on tax incentives for energy production and conservation.
Reference: Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act; Bill HR6049 ; vote number 2008-344 on May 21, 2008
Voted NO on tax incentives for renewable energy.
SUPPORTER'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING YES:
Voted NO on tax incentives for energy production and conservation.
Reference: Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act; Bill HR6049 ; vote number 2008-344 on May 21, 2008
Voted NO on tax incentives for renewable energy.
SUPPORTER'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING YES:
Today's debate is about investing in renewable energy, which will chart a new direction for our country's energy policy. This bill restores balance to our energy policy after years of a tax structure that favors huge oil companies. Today's legislation will transfer some of the massive profits enjoyed by these oil companies and invest them in renewable resources that will power our economy in the future.
Reference: Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act; Bill H.R.5351 ; vote number 08-HR5351 on Feb 12, 2008
Voted NO on investing in homegrown biofuel.
Proponents support voting YES because:
Voted NO on investing in homegrown biofuel.
Proponents support voting YES because:
This bill makes the largest investment in homegrown biofuels in history. We know that America's farmers will fuel America's independence. We will send our energy dollars to middle America, not to the Middle East.
This bill incorporates the Green Jobs Act, which will make $120 million a year available to begin training workers in the clean energy sector. 35,000 people per year can benefit from vocational education for "green-collar jobs" that can provide living wages & upward mobility.
This bill incorporates the Green Jobs Act, which will make $120 million a year available to begin training workers in the clean energy sector. 35,000 people per year can benefit from vocational education for "green-collar jobs" that can provide living wages & upward mobility.
Reference: New Direction for Energy Independence; Bill HR3221 ; vote number 2007-0832 on Aug 4, 2007
Voted NO on criminalizing oil cartels like OPEC.
Proponents support voting YES because:
Gas prices have now reached an all-time record high, $3.27 a gallon, topping even the 1981 spike. This won't be the end of these skyrocketing price hikes either.
OPEC oil exports represent 70% of all the oil traded internationally. For years now, OPEC's price-fixing conspiracy has unfairly driven up the price and cost of imported crude oil to satisfy the greed of oil exporters. We have long decried OPEC, but have done little or nothing to stop this. The time has come.
This bill makes fixing oil prices or illegal under US law, just as it would be for any company engaging in the same conduct. It attempts to break up this cartel and subject these colluders and their anticompetitive practices to the antitrust scrutiny that they so richly deserve.
Voted NO on criminalizing oil cartels like OPEC.
Proponents support voting YES because:
Gas prices have now reached an all-time record high, $3.27 a gallon, topping even the 1981 spike. This won't be the end of these skyrocketing price hikes either.
OPEC oil exports represent 70% of all the oil traded internationally. For years now, OPEC's price-fixing conspiracy has unfairly driven up the price and cost of imported crude oil to satisfy the greed of oil exporters. We have long decried OPEC, but have done little or nothing to stop this. The time has come.
This bill makes fixing oil prices or illegal under US law, just as it would be for any company engaging in the same conduct. It attempts to break up this cartel and subject these colluders and their anticompetitive practices to the antitrust scrutiny that they so richly deserve.
Reference: No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC); Bill H R 2264 ; vote number 2007-398 on May 22, 2007
Voted NO on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies.
Proponents support voting YES because:
This legislation seeks to end the unwarranted tax breaks & subsidies which have been lavished on Big Oil over the last several years, at a time of record prices at the gas pump and record oil industry profits. Big Oil is hitting the American taxpayer not once, not twice, but three times. They are hitting them at the pump, they are hitting them through the Tax Code, and they are hitting them with royalty holidays put into oil in 1995 and again in 2005.
It is time to vote for the integrity of America's resources, to vote for the end of corporate welfare, to vote for a new era in the management of our public energy resources.
Voted NO on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies.
Proponents support voting YES because:
This legislation seeks to end the unwarranted tax breaks & subsidies which have been lavished on Big Oil over the last several years, at a time of record prices at the gas pump and record oil industry profits. Big Oil is hitting the American taxpayer not once, not twice, but three times. They are hitting them at the pump, they are hitting them through the Tax Code, and they are hitting them with royalty holidays put into oil in 1995 and again in 2005.
It is time to vote for the integrity of America's resources, to vote for the end of corporate welfare, to vote for a new era in the management of our public energy resources.
Reference: Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation(CLEAN); Bill HR 6 ("First 100 hours") ; vote number 2007-040 on Jan 18, 2007
Voted NO on keeping moratorium on drilling for oil offshore.
Proponents support voting YES because:
This amendment would preserve the longstanding moratorium so important to coastal States. The amendment would also preserve the underlying bill's one redeeming feature, the renegotiating of the cash-cow leases now pouring billions of dollars into already stuffed oil industry coffers.
We have only 5% of the world's population, but 30% of the world's automobiles, and we produce 45% of the world's automotive carbon dioxide emissions. This addiction harms our environment, our economy and our national security. This underlying bill attempts to bribe coastal States into drilling off their shores by promising them a lot more money.
Voted NO on keeping moratorium on drilling for oil offshore.
Proponents support voting YES because:
This amendment would preserve the longstanding moratorium so important to coastal States. The amendment would also preserve the underlying bill's one redeeming feature, the renegotiating of the cash-cow leases now pouring billions of dollars into already stuffed oil industry coffers.
We have only 5% of the world's population, but 30% of the world's automobiles, and we produce 45% of the world's automotive carbon dioxide emissions. This addiction harms our environment, our economy and our national security. This underlying bill attempts to bribe coastal States into drilling off their shores by promising them a lot more money.
Reference: Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act; Bill H R 4761 ; vote number 2006-354 on Jun 29, 2006
Voted YES on authorizing construction of new oil refineries.
Voted YES on authorizing construction of new oil refineries.
Reference: Gasoline for Americas Security Act;
Voted NO on raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels.
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 CAF scores as follows:
The Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is a center for ideas and action that works to build an enduring majority for progressive change. The Campaign advances a progressive economic agenda and a vision of the future that works for the many, not simply the few. The Campaign is leading the fight for America's priorities--against privatization of Social Security, for investment in energy independence, good jobs and a sustainable economy, for an ethical and accountable Congress and for high quality public education.
About the CAF report, "Energy Independence: Record vs. Rhetoric":
Energy independence has surfaced as a defining issue in the current elections. Are most candidates and both parties truly committed? To help distinguish the demonstrated level of support for homegrown, clean energy alternatives, we examined the voting records of current U.S. Representatives and Senators on bills vital to promoting those interests. Key pieces of legislation included goals for independence, and subsidies for the development of alternatives compared to subsidies for drilling and digging. We then compared votes on these issues with campaign contributions from major oil interests. The results show strong inverse correlations between political contributions from big oil and votes for energy independence.
Source: CAF "Energy Independence" Report 06n-CAF on Dec 31, 2006
Bar greenhouse gases from Clean Air Act rules.
No EPA regulation of greenhouse gases.
Voted NO on raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels.
Bill HR 4 ; vote number 2001-311 on Aug 1, 2001
Voted NO on prohibiting oil drilling & development in ANWR.
Voted NO on prohibiting oil drilling & development in ANWR.
Bill HR 4 ; vote number 2001-317 on Aug 1, 2001
Rated 0% by the CAF, indicating opposition to energy independence.
Rated 0% by the CAF, indicating opposition to energy independence.
- Pence scores 0% by CAF on energy issues
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 CAF scores as follows:
- 0% - 30%: opposition of energy independence (approx. 206 members)
- 30% - 70%: mixed record on energy independence (approx. 77 members)
- 70%-100%: support for energy independence (approx. 183 members)About the CAF (from their website, www.ourfuture.org):
The Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is a center for ideas and action that works to build an enduring majority for progressive change. The Campaign advances a progressive economic agenda and a vision of the future that works for the many, not simply the few. The Campaign is leading the fight for America's priorities--against privatization of Social Security, for investment in energy independence, good jobs and a sustainable economy, for an ethical and accountable Congress and for high quality public education.
About the CAF report, "Energy Independence: Record vs. Rhetoric":
Energy independence has surfaced as a defining issue in the current elections. Are most candidates and both parties truly committed? To help distinguish the demonstrated level of support for homegrown, clean energy alternatives, we examined the voting records of current U.S. Representatives and Senators on bills vital to promoting those interests. Key pieces of legislation included goals for independence, and subsidies for the development of alternatives compared to subsidies for drilling and digging. We then compared votes on these issues with campaign contributions from major oil interests. The results show strong inverse correlations between political contributions from big oil and votes for energy independence.
Source: CAF "Energy Independence" Report 06n-CAF on Dec 31, 2006
Bar greenhouse gases from Clean Air Act rules.
Pence signed H.R.391
Amends the Clean Air Act to:
exclude from the definition of the term "air pollutant" carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride; and
declare that nothing in the Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming.
Amends the Clean Air Act to:
exclude from the definition of the term "air pollutant" carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride; and
declare that nothing in the Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming.
Source: Clean Air Act Amendment 09-HR391 on Jan 9, 2009
No EPA regulation of greenhouse gases.
Pence co-sponsored Free Industry Act
Congressional Summary of H.R.97:Amends the Clean Air Act to:
exclude from the definition of the term "air pollutant" carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride; and declare that nothing in the Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming.
Congressional Summary of H.R.153, "Ensuring Affordable Energy Act":
Congressional Summary of H.R.97:Amends the Clean Air Act to:
exclude from the definition of the term "air pollutant" carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride; and declare that nothing in the Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming.
Congressional Summary of H.R.153, "Ensuring Affordable Energy Act":
Prohibits any funds appropriated or otherwise available for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from being used to implement or enforce:
OnTheIssues Explanation:
- a cap-and-trade program (any regulatory program that provides for the sale, auction, or other distribution of a limited amount of allowances that permit the emission of one or more greenhouse gases); or
- any statutory or regulatory requirement pertaining to emissions of one or more greenhouse gases from stationary sources that is issued after January 1, 2011.
OnTheIssues Explanation:
These two related bills exclude the EPA from taking on global warming by defining greenhouse gases as a "pollutant." These bills do not directly oppose regulating greenhouse gases nor cap-and-trade; either could still be accomplished by an act of Congress. Instead, they REQUIRE an act of Congress, rather than letting the President and the EPA bypass Congress by regulatory implementation instead of legislative implementation.
Source: HR97&HR153 11-HR097 on Jan 5, 2011
Drill the Outer Continental Shelf; & license new nuke plants.
Drill the Outer Continental Shelf; & license new nuke plants.
Pence signed Roadmap for America's Energy Future
A Roadmap for America's Energy Future:
A Roadmap for America's Energy Future:
- Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a lease sale every 270 days in each outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning region for which there is a commercial interest in purchasing federal oil and gas leases for OCS production.
- Requires the federal share of proceeds of lease sales from newly open areas to be deposited in the American-Made Energy Trust Fund (established by this Act).
- Requires the Secretary to accept, in satisfaction of mitigation requirements, proposals for mitigation measures on a site away from the area impacted by exploration and production activities.
- Directs the Secretary to establish a leasing program for oil, gas and oil shale within the Alaska Coastal Plain (ANWR).
- Requires the Secretary to hold a lease sale offering an additional 10 parcels for lease for oil shale development.
- Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to develop, construct, and operate a coal-to-liquid facility.
- States it is the policy of the United States to facilitate the continued development and growth of a safe and clean nuclear energy industry through reductions in financial, regulatory, and technical barriers to construction and operation.
- Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to issue operating permits for 200 new commercial nuclear reactors.
- Removes all current statutory limitations upon the amount of radiological material that can be placed in Yucca Mountain. Requires the NRC to replace them with new limits based on scientific and technical analysis of the full capacity of Yucca Mountain for the storage of radiological material.
- Prohibits the President from blocking or hindering spent nuclear fuel recycling activities.
- Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit consideration of the climate change-related impact of a greenhouse gas upon any species of fish, wildlife, or plant.Source: H.R.909 11-HR909 on Mar 3, 2011
Make Certain You are Registered to Vote
Hoosiers, the GOP is going to try to use every dirty trick in the 2012 November election. Check your voter registration status regularly. This election is the most important one in our lives. Thank you!
Read more...
Mike Pence Against Women's, Children's and LGBT Rights [2012]
Indiana Gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence continually votes against the best interests of women, children and the LGBT community yet he almost always votes in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy, Wall St. and major corporations. He's an extreme fundamentalist and is affiliated with the controversial 'C Street Family'.
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Mike Pence Opens the Door to Child Abuse [2012]
Mike Pence was a co-sponsor of H.J.Res.3. This Amendment to the Constitution would open the door to child abuse and parents choosing not to educate their children. Does Mike Pence think that all parents are good parents? What a huge mistake this would be! There are many extreme Fundamentalist families that are awaiting the opportunity to have such an Amendment and dodge Child Protection services. These families are looking for loopholes so that they don't have to 'spare the rod'.
1/5/2011--Introduced.Constitutional Amendment - States that the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right. States that neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served. Declares that no treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this amendment.
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Lobbying Disclosures Reveal Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Used State Dollars To Lobby For Keystone XL Pipeline
Recently released lobbying disclosures show that Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN), who delivered the GOP rebuttal to the State of the Union last night, joined the oil industry in lobbying Congress on behalf of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
The pipeline does not go through Indiana, and few, if any, Indiana workers are expected to be employed in its construction. However, the Indiana Petroleum Councilhas been touting the project. Continue Reading . . .
Mike Pence and his War on Women [2012]
From Alternet: Rep. Mike Pence's volatile attacks on Planned Parenthood continued over the weekend [April 11, 2011], when he appeared on This Week and spread lies about the organization. The Indiana Republican asserted to host Christiane Amanpour that 'Planned Parenthood's clinics focus mainly on abortion.' That is an outright lie; only three percent of Planned Parenthood's activities are abortion related. (Read this great piece detailing exactly what some of those services are.)
Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood President, hit back with a passionate retort, observing that 'Pence and House Republican leaders have made it clear that they simply don’t care about the health and safety of American women.'
Having failed for now to eliminate breast exams, cancer screenings and birth control that millions of American women count on, Representative Mike Pence continues his misleading and outrageous attacks on Planned Parenthood and the preventive health care our doctors and nurses provide. Representative Pence well knows that for over 30 years not a dollar of federal funding that Planned Parenthood has received to provide preventive and basic health care has paid for abortion, but he continues to mislead everyone he talks to. Thankfully the media is beginning to hold Mr. Pence accountable for his intentionally misleading words.
As ThinkProgress points out, Pence also lied about the GOP's willingness to shutdown the Government over Planned Parenthood, telling Amanpour that was 'nonsense' -- which was a lie, as he said he was willing to shut it down earlier in the week on MSNBC. Watch:
Mike Pence: One Man’s War on Planned Parenthood
02/16/2011 BY STEVE
SOURCE: Planned Parenthood is not just having to fight off selectively edited videos and smear campaigns form the likes of extreme anti-abortionist Lila Rose, they’re also having to fight the constant barrage of attacks from Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) who sees the group has nothing less than Satan’s tool for killing babies.
Pence is waging a war to cut-off all of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding and put them out of business. For the third year in a row, Pence has introduced legislation to chip away at the group’s ability to provide affordable health services for women. Pence wants to outlaw any group performing abortions from receiving federal funds through Title X, the federal reproductive health program.
Pence’s latest effort is H.R. 217, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. The bill would deny women’s health centers the ability to provide life-saving and critical services like contraception, cancer screenings and breast exams.
“We should end the day when the largest abortion provider is the largest recipient of [Title X] federal funding,” [Rep. Mike Pence]
The fact is that Mike Pence is going to destroy every women’s health center and forbid them from providing all types of health services, like cancer screening and breast exams, in order to stop Planned Parenthood. This is one man who has the arrogance to believe that he knows what’s best for women than the woman herself.
The fact is that Planned Parenthood does not receive federal funds in order to provide abortions, and the abortions they do provide only make up an estimated 3% of their entire patient services. But the group does rely on Title X funds to provide pelvic exams, breast exams, and counseling.
The Mike Pence Show [2012]
The Indiana Democratic Party just launched the new website, "The Mike Pence Show". This website is dedicated to informing Hoosiers of Mike Pence's actual record in Washington.
The intro to the website reads:
Congressman Mike Pence is part of the problem in a Washington bitterly divided by partisanship and outrageous talking points.The campaign to become Indiana's next Governor is about values, and we know that Hoosiers -- above all else -- value hard work. That's why we launched this website: to make sure you know the real Mike Pence and what he's been doing with his time in Washington.We don't need Mike Pence's brand of out-of-touch, Washington-style politics, but we do need your help to make sure he's not successful in November. Join us today in our fight for good-paying jobs, quality education and a state that works for working Hoosiers.
This is the first video that they have put out:
Is Richard Lugar a Hoosier? [2012]
By Associated Press, Published: February 15 SOURCE
INDIANAPOLIS — U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, once seemingly unbeatable in Indiana, has been scrambling to reintroduce himself to Hoosiers amid a barrage of attacks that he has lost touch — an argument his tea party challenger repeated Wednesday in front of the Indianapolis home the incumbent sold decades ago.
The Republican who has spent 35 years in Washington has been campaigning as though he was a rookie politico, trying to introduce himself to the masses and define his image before opponents do.
Indiana Politicians and the Keystone XL Pipeline [2012]
- Mitch Daniels
- Richard Lugar
SOURCE
Lugar Calls for Keystone XL Passage NOW
Gov. Daniels and Sen. Lugar AP Photo According to recent disclosures, Daniels is part of a concerted Republican effort to lobby Congress to push the tar sands pipeline through prime agricultural land and over the Ogallala Aquifer that supplies groundwater for 20% of America’s agriculture and drinking water for 2 million Americans. It is despicable that Daniels lied to Americans about the pipeline, but it is beyond the pale that his lobbying effort is being funded with Indiana resident’s tax dollars.Think Progress reports that Indiana’s Washington D.C. representatives were paid with taxpayer dollars to lobby Congress during the fourth quarter of 2011 including “advocacy of the tar sands pipeline.” The Indiana Petroleum Council has pushed the Keystone XL pipeline even though it is unlikely that any Indiana residents will work on its construction. It is one thing to push the pipeline if it created jobs for Indiana residents and one would expect the state to actively lobby for any project to help the unemployed, but not only are there no jobs for Indiana residents, the pipeline does not evenpass through Indiana. And yet Indiana taxpayer’s are funding the oil industry’s lobbying effort at a time when Governor Daniels and Republican state legislators have slashed spending for programs like Medicaid and most recently, full day kindergarten and the state fair. Apparently, for Daniels and Republicans in Indiana, it is better to spend tax dollars to enrich the oil industry than fund children’s health, higher education, and K-12 education that suffered Republican’s deep spending cuts.It is still unclear what, besides oil industry campaign contributions, Daniels stands to gain pushing the Keystone pipeline, especially in light of mounting evidence it is an ill-advised project. Up to this point, only Republicans in the employ of the oil industry and those with stock in Canadian tar sand companies are pushing the project, but even the GOP’s media outlet, Fox News, labeled the Keystone XL pipeline a “bad deal all along.” Fox News said President Obama was right to nix the pipeline and that “rejecting the Keystone XL deal was the best decision possible” despite Republicans “trying to force his hand” with an artificial deadline. Fox reiterated six reasons the pipeline was a bad deal and they enumerate the primary reasons critics of the project have stated from the before the GOP’s extortion attempt during the payroll tax cut extension fight in December.It is obvious there is no length Republicans will avoid to enrich the oil industry and Mitch Daniels is the latest target of an investigation to determine what financial gain he will reap if the pipeline is built. However, the people of Indiana should exert severe pressure on Daniels to come clean and admit he was lying about the pipeline, resign, and repay residents for using their tax dollars to promote a project with no benefit to Indiana residents. The pipeline’s proponents are exclusively Republicans and oil industry giants such as Koch Industries, the American Petroleum Institute, and now, the Indiana Petroleum Council, and Indiana residents are footing part of the bill to lobby Congress on behalf of the oil industry.
SOURCE
“It is time for Democratic Leader Harry Reid to take the reins off those Senate Democrats willing to stand up for America’s workers. Keystone XL is a win for jobs, a win for our economy, and a win for our national security. Further delay is irresponsible. If the President and Majority Leader aren’t willing to let private investors jumpstart the economy, then it’s time they get out of the way,” U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar said.The House of Representatives has passed, as part of its payroll tax cut extension bill, Lugar’s Keystone XL legislation. Led by Lugar, a bipartisan group of 41 Senators have cosponsored the Lugar- Hoeven-Vitter North American Energy Security Act, legislation that would compel the Obama Administration to act on a construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in 60 days. Read the full statement.
- Read the Press Conference Statement.
- Read the summary.
- Check out key talking points on the legislation.
- Read the legislation in full.
From the Washington Post:
Environmentalists note that in December 2010, according to Boehner's financial disclosure forms, he invested $10,000 to $50,000 each in seven firms that had a stake in Canada's oil sands, the region that produces the oil the pipeline would transport. The firms include six oil companies - BP, Canadian Natural Resources, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, Devon Energy and Exxon - along with Emerson Electric, which has a contract to provide the digital automation for the first phase of a $9.4 billion Horizon Oil Sands Project in Canada. [Washington Post,1/14/12]
Click to Enlarge SOURCE
Mike Pence and C-Street Cult aka The Fellowship and The Family [2012]
What is 'The Family' aka 'The Fellowship' or 'The C-Street Family'?
The mainstream media avoids referring to the Family as a cult, but check out this description of the group’s belief system from Jeff Sharlet and decide for yourself:
In other words, only they, the members of the Family, truly know what is best for the rest of us.They have a very unusual theology in the sense that they think that Christ had one message for an inner circle and then a kind of different message for a sort of slightly more outer circle. And then the rest of us, Christ told us little stories because, frankly, we couldn’t handle the truth. And the core members are those they think are getting the real deal.
If it walks like a cult and talks like a cult… SOURCE
See: Sex and power inside “the C Street House”
From: Salon
The Family likes to call itself a “Christian Mafia”, but it began 74 years ago as an anti-New Deal coalition of businessmen convinced that organized labor was under the sway of Satan. The Great Depression, they believed, was a punishment from God for what they viewed as FDR’s socialism. The Family’s goal was the “consecration” of America to God, first through the repeal of New Deal reforms, then through the aggressive expansion of American power during the Cold War. They called this a “Worldwide Spiritual Offensive,” but in Washington, it amounted to the nation’s first fundamentalist lobby. Early participants included Southern Sens. Strom Thurmond, Herman Talmadge and Absalom Willis Robertson — Pat Robertson’s father. Membership lists stored in the Family’s archive at the Billy Graham Center at evangelical Wheaton College in Illinois show active participation at any given time over the years by dozens of congressmen. SOURCE
Jeff Sharlet is the author of, "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power"; Associate Research Scholar, Center for Religion and Media, New York University
Jeff Sharlet is the author, "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power"; Associate Research Scholar, Center for Religion and Media, New York University. He was a guest on NPR's Fresh Air in November 2005. Listen to the interview below:
January 10, 2011 By Andrew Belonsky
The following comes from: AlterNet
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| Photo: CNN |
Nowhere has the alignment of American exceptionalism and right-wing Christian theology been more dangerous than in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. Since the free market includes the entire globe, conservatives claim, our biblically inspired, capitalism-driven democratic values must be exported, an idea that threatens our international standing.
It’s this theology that drives the international exploits of a secretive group of Capitol Hill elites -- including Jim DeMint and Mike Pence -- known alternately as the Fellowship or the Family. The Family made rare headlines last year, when it was revealed the group had supported the Ugandan lawmakers who proposed an anti-LGBT bill that would make certain practices punishable by death.
The organization also operates the C Street House in Washington, where, according to Jeff Sharlet, author of C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, DeMint is "ideologically influential." And that ideology, as the senator told the right-wing magazine, World, in August 2009, includes the belief that "[t]he decline of America's power and prestige has been directly related to the secularization of our country."
But the Family’s influence on U.S foreign policy doesn’t begin or end in Uganda, or on the subject of LGBT rights. The group has also helped former Somali dictator Siad Barre buy arms, and facilitated U.S. support for various other despots, including Indonesia’s Haji Muhammad Suharto and Papa Doc Duvalier of Haiti. And now the Family’s congressional members are ascendant in the U.S. Capitol; most of them are allied with the Tea Party movement, and in an unprecedented position to shape our nation’s policy. SOURCE Photo: CNN
The Family: DC’s C Street Group Tied To Proposed Death Penalty for Gays in Uganda
SHARLET: [The] new legislation adds to this something called aggravated homosexuality. And this can include, for instance, if a gay man has sex with another man who is disabled, that’s aggravated homosexuality, and that man can be – I suppose both, actually, could be put to death for this. The use of any drugs or any intoxicants in seeking gay sex – in other words, you go to a bar and you buy a guy a drink, you’re subject to the death penalty if you go home and sleep together after that. What it also does is it extends this outward, so that if you know a gay person and you don’t report it, that could mean – you don’t report your son or daughter, you can go to prison.And it goes further, to say that any kind of promotion of these ideas of homosexuality, including by foreigners, can result in prison terms. Talking about same sex-marriage positively can lead you to imprisonment for life. And it’s really kind of a perfect case study and the export of a lot of American largely evangelical ideas about homosexuality exported to Uganda, which then takes them to their logical end.
And who is David Bahati?
SHARLET: [The] legislator that introduces the bill, a guy named David Bahati, is a member of the Family. He appears to be a core member of the Family. He works, he organizes their Uganda National Prayer Breakfast and oversees a African sort of student leadership program designed to create future leaders for Africa, into which the Family has poured millions of dollars working through a very convoluted chain of linkages passing the money over to Uganda…Looking at the the Family’s 990s [IRS records], where they’re moving their money to – into this African leadership academy called Cornerstone, which runs two programs: Youth Corps, which [it] has described in the past as an international “invisible family binding together world leaders” and also, an alumni organization designed to place Cornerstone grads – graduates of this sort of very elite educational program and politics and NGO’s through something called the African Youth Leadership Forum, which is run by – according to Ugandan media – which is run by David Bahat…
See: Gearing Up To Stop Genocide In Uganda and Spotlighting The Family
The following lists come from: Truth Wins Out
Posted January 11th, 2011 by Wayne Besen
Family Quotes
The following lists come from: Truth Wins Out
Posted January 11th, 2011 by Wayne Besen
Family Quotes
- “The more invisible you can make your organization, the more influence you will have,” (Doug Coe, the leader of The Family)
- “You say, hey, you know Jesus said, ‘You got to put him before mother-father-brother-sister’? Hitler, Lenin, Mao, that’s what they taught the kids. Mao even had the kids killing their own mother and father. But it wasn’t murder. It was for building the new nation. The new kingdom.” (Doug Coe)
- “We elect our leaders, Jesus elects his.” (Doug Coe)
- “[The Family is] A veritable underground of Christ’s men all through government.” (Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship)
- “I’m guilty of two things. I’m a Jesus guy and I have a heart for Africa.” (Sen. James Inhofe, R-OK)
- Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN)
- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
- Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
- Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
- Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)
- Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
- Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)
- Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)
- Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
- Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
- Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
- Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
- Rep. John Carter (R-TX)
- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
- Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
- Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
- Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Rep. Tom Osborne (R-NE)
- Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)
- Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA)
- Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC)
- Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
- Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN)
- Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Mike Pence on LGTB Rights in the Work Place:
Apparently he things religious rights trump all others.
Apparently he things religious rights trump all others.
By Paul Singer Roll Call Staff Oct. 14, 2010,
The faith-based organization behind the National Prayer Breakfast is vigorously denying new allegations from an Ohio clergy group that foreign trips and other activities with Members of Congress may have been funded with money from a terrorist organization.
The allegation grows out of a guilty plea lodged in July by former Rep. Mark Siljander (R-Mich.), who was charged with concealing that he had been hired by the Sudan-based Islamic American Relief Agency to convince the Senate Finance Committee to remove the group from a list of organizations suspected of funding terrorist activities.
The indictment and guilty plea explain that the IARA wrote two $25,000 checks to cover Siljander’s costs but that in order to cloak the payments, the checks were made out to the International Foundation, which cashed the checks and then paid the money to Siljander.
The International Foundation, also known as the Fellowship Foundation, has extensive ties to Capitol Hill. The group is affiliated with a house on C Street where several Members of Congress have lived. It organizes regular prayer meetings for Members and other influential government figures, and — as Roll Call reported in June — it has provided Members with just over $100,000 worth of foreign travel since 2000.
The foundation has little formal structure and only in the past few weeks launched a website making a public declaration of its purpose and mission. SOURCE
John Gregg [2012]
John Gregg [D-IN]
Former Indiana House Speaker
Track Record
Challenging Mike Pence (R) and Jim Wallace (R) in the general election for Governor
Early Life and Education
Born on September 6, 1954 to Don and June (née Blackwood) Gregg in the rural Indiana community of Sandborn in Knox County, he is a 1972 graduate of North Knox High School.
Gregg graduated with an associate’s degree from Vincennes University in 1974, and is a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity. He graduated from Indiana University (B.A., Political Science and History) in 1976; Indiana State University (M.P.A., Public Administration) in 1978; and the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (J.D., Juris Doctor) in 1984.
Law Practice and Early Career
From 1978–1985, Gregg worked as a land agent for Peabody Coal Company and as a governmental affairs representative for Amax Coal Company. After earning his J.D. and passing the state bar in 1984, he opened a private practice in Vincennes until 2002, when he joined the Indianapolis law firm Sommer Barnard PC. In 2005 he became partner at the Vincennes, Indiana office of the law firm Bingham McHale LLP. He is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Knox County Bar Association, where he served as President in 1992.
Political Career
Gregg served his Sandborn community as a Democratic precinct committeeman from 1974–1986, when he ran against and defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Bill Roach to represent District 45 in the Indiana House of Representatives.
He served as the House majority leader from 1990–1994 and as the House Democratic leader from 1994–1996.
Gregg was first elected Speaker of the House in 1996, when the general election had left an equally divided House with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. For the first time in Indiana history, the Speaker presided over an equally divided House. Gregg was re-elected Speaker following the 1998 general election when Democrats took control of the House of Representatives with a 53-47 majority. During his tenure as Speaker, Gregg championed many causes, including reforms in education, campaign finance, property tax, lobbying and ethics.
During his terms as Speaker, Gregg implemented improvements in House procedures, including on-time convening of sessions, the support of a bipartisan clerk's office, staffing parity for both caucuses, and the prohibition of smoking within the interior hallways and offices surrounding the House chamber. A House Resolution to honor Speaker Gregg on his retirement in 2002 credited him with returning civility and congeniality to the House chamber.
Gregg introduced measures to help streamline the workload of legislators and staff, including reducing the number of standing committees from 21 to 17 and initiating stricter adherence to House rules regarding how members vote and conduct themselves on the House floor.
Gregg was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2008. As an honorary chair of the Hillary Clinton for President, Indiana Campaign, Gregg accompanied former President Bill Clinton to events across Indiana during the 2008 primary.
Vincennes University President
Following his service as an Indiana state representative, Gregg became interim president of Indiana’s oldest college, Vincennes University, from 2003–2004, where he was instrumental in helping the institution move from a two-year to a four-year curriculum.
Radio Talk Show Host
Since 1999, Gregg has hosted a radio call-in show in Vincennes and in Washington, Indiana. Gregg hosted the popular early morning talk show, “Indiana Open Phones,” on an Indianapolis radio station from 1999–2004. The forum covered topics from Indiana politics to folksy western Indiana cuisine.
Awards
In addition to his 2002 recognition as "Public Official of the Year” by Governing Magazine, Gregg has been honored with a Hoosier Hero Award (1996) an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Vincennes University in 2002, and four Sagamore of the Wabash awards (Governors Robert D. Orr, 1989; Evan Bayh, 1996; Frank O’Bannon, 2002; and Joe Kernan, 2003.
Personal
Gregg chose to end his career as Indiana House Speaker to devote more time to his two sons, John Blackwood Gregg, born in 1992, and Hunter Wallace Gregg, born in 1993. In his parting announcement, he told his colleagues: “I think I’ve been a pretty good Speaker, but I want to be an even better father.”
In 2004, Gregg was diagnosed and successfully treated for prostate cancer, and in 2011 he remained cancer-free. A Weight Watchers program helped him gradually lose 60 pounds.
He is a member of Sandborn First Christian Church, and is a 33rd Degree Mason and past Master in the Sandborn Masonic Lodge #647.
Read more...
Former Indiana House Speaker
Track Record
Challenging Mike Pence (R) and Jim Wallace (R) in the general election for Governor
John Gregg is a native Hoosier, a lifelong Democrat and a committed public servant who has been a leader throughout our state for more than 20 years. Throughout his career, John has focused on two things: serving others and creating opportunity right here in Indiana.
John grew up in Knox County and still calls Sandborn his home. He got his start in public service in 1986 when he was elected to represent Southwest Indiana in the Statehouse.
John was in the Statehouse for eight terms, rising to the office of Speaker of the House. He served as speaker for six consecutive years, making him the longest-serving Democratic speaker in Indiana's history, when he left office.
John is a Democrat, and he is guided by his Democratic values. As Speaker, John realized his job was to bring people together from throughout Indiana to work on the issues that matter to Hoosiers and the middle class. John cut taxes and balanced budgets, all while overseeing record surpluses. Just as importantly, he accomplished these things by working with people on the issues that unite us — not the politics of division that are far too common today.
In 2002, John voluntarily left office to spend more time with his two sons and to enter into the private sector. Since 2002, John has been the interim President of Vincennes University and is an attorney in Vincennes. In 2008, John re-entered politics, serving as honorary chair of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign in Indiana.
While his career has been defined by incredible professional success, John's proudest achievement and greatest love are his two sons, John and Hunter. And those who know John say with certainty that no matter what his future holds, that will always remain true.
John is an author, Hoosier Hero award winner, former university president, loyal Democrat and genuine leader with a proven record of winning all eight elections in which he's run. With your help, John Gregg will be the next governor of the great state of Indiana.
The following information all comes from Wikipedia
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| Indianapolis Star/ John Severson |
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| PHOTO/Frank Espich |
Mike Pence, the Kochs and Unlimited Corporate Spending in Elections [2012]
Please see this series of videos from 2007 of Mike Pence speaking at the Cato Institute. He states that McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws were unconstitutional. Considering the new information about Supreme Court Justice Thomas and Scalia attending one of the Koch meetings, I have to wonder just how long this was all in the planning. The Cato Institute, Koch Brothers, and Americans for Prosperity are intertwined and Mike Pence benefits from this alliance.
My question to Mike Pence regarding Americans for Prosperity might be, "Which Americans are prospering - besides you, the Koch Brothers and other politicians with big corporate interests?"
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| Click to Enlarge |
The End of Campaign Finance Reform?
Here is the link to the Cato Institute page with the video:
The End of Campaign Finance Reform?
CAPITOL HILL BRIEFING
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Noon
Featuring Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and John Samples, Director, Center for Representative Government, Cato Institute.B-354 Rayburn House Office BuildingThe recent Supreme Court decision in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life marks a change in direction in judicial doctrines concerning campaign finance. As recently as 2003, a majority of the Court upheld the strictures on free speech enacted in McCain-Feingold. In Wisconsin Right to Life, the Court forcefully stated that the benefit of the doubt lies with freedom of speech and not with the government. What will this decision mean for the 2008 campaign? How has the Court limited the power of Congress to regulate campaign finance and freedom of speech? Will we see a general deregulation of campaign finance compelled by judicial decisions over the next few years? Please join us to hear a leading congressional critic of restrictions on campaign spending and to discuss this vital judicial decision and its implications for Congress and national politics.
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Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana
(Credit: Getty Images/Alex Wong)
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Before the Citizens United vs FEC Ruling: Pence was the only House member to become a plaintiff in the McCain-Feingold case, McConnell v. Federal Election Commission. He charged that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law was unconstitutional.
In January of 2010 the Supreme Court Ruled, in a 5-4 vote, that Corporations had the same free speech rights as people and that money in elections is free speech. We now understand how that opened the doors for unlimited corporate spending in elections.
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court, striking down those provisions of the McCain–Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications.” An "electioneering communication" was defined in McCain–Feingold as a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or thirty days of a primary. The decision overruled Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and partially overruled McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003).[4] McCain–Feingold had previously been weakened, without overruling McConnell, in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (2007). The Court did uphold requirements for disclaimer and disclosure by sponsors of advertisements. The case did not involve the federal ban on direct contributions from corporations or unions to candidate campaigns or political parties, which remain illegal in races for federal office. SOURCE
2010 Source
2012 [as of 1-26-12] Source
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