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 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'.

Official Summary

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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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.

Also See: Mike Pence vs. Mike Pence on Title X

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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:

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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

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

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

Indianapolis Star/ John Severson

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

PHOTO/Frank Espich

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.

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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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The End of Campaign Finance Reform?

Here is the link to the Cato Institute page with the video:

http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=4011

The text reads:

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.

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana

(Credit: Getty Images/Alex Wong)

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

Koch Contributions 2010 Indiana Candidates SOURCE

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Mike Pence Fact Check [2012]

• From PolitiFact [SEE MORE]
• April 13, 2011Mike Pence: A Republican proposal changes Medicare for those under age 55 so that they will  "participate in the same kind of health plan that members of Congress do." — Mostly False
• January 21, 2011Mike Pence: The financial regulatory bill "will kill jobs." — Mostly False
• November 9, 2010Mike Pence: "Anybody who is familiar with the historical data from the IRS knows that raising income tax rates will likely actually reduce federal revenues." — False
• July 22, 2010Mike Pence: "Should Democrats get their way, every income tax bracket will increase on Jan. 1, 2011. Every single one." — False
• May 5, 2010Mike Pence: "This administration and this Congress have been systematically cutting funding to border security since the Democrats took control." — False
• December 8, 2009Mike Pence: "To use money from the TARP fund in the manner that is being discussed by the White House and congressional Democrats would be a violation of the law." — Half-True
• December 1, 2009Mike Pence: Under the Democratic health plan, families "will be forced to spend an additional $2,100 a year to keep their current health care." — Mostly False
• November 6, 2009Mike Pence: "As a result of the House Republican bill, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now confirms that families will see their health care premiums reduced by up to 10 percent." — Half-True
• June 11, 2009Mike Pence: Contends that President Obama "literally said (if) his cap-and-trade proposals were to pass, that utility rates, his words now, would, 'necessarily skyrocket.'" — True
• May 19, 2009Mike Pence: The Democrats propose "a government-controlled health care plan that will deprive roughly 120 million Americans of their current health care coverage." — False
• March 20, 2009Mike Pence: "Tens of billions of dollars (from taxpayer-funded bailouts) ... flowed straight through AIG into the coffers of foreign corporations and foreign banks." — True
• February 13, 2009Mike Pence: The stimulus has "$30 million in there to protect mice in San Francisco." — False
• February 4, 2009Mike Pence: The stimulus bill contains "$20 million for the removal of small to medium-sized fish passage barriers" and "$25 million to rehabilitate off-roading trails for ATVs." — True

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Mike Pence [2012]

Mike Pence [R-IN]
U.S. Representative, Indiana
Track Record
Challenging Jim Wallace (R) in the primary and John Gregg (D) for Governor

Mike Pence is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 6th district, and previously the 2nd district, serving since 2001. He is the former Chairman of the House Republican Conference. After the 2010 election Pence said he would not run for re-election to Chairman of the Conference. On May 5, 2011, Pence officially announced that he will be seeking the Republican nomination for Governor of Indiana in 2012. Pence's announcement was anticipated by his resignation of his leading position in the GOP caucus in the House.

Mike Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana. He attended Columbus North High School, graduated from Hanover College in 1981, and earned his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1986. While at Hanover, Pence joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, serving as his chapter's president. Pence and his wife Karen have three children: Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey. Michael is a student at Purdue University. The Pence family lives in Arlington, Virginia while Congress is in session. SOURCE

   

He is the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative House Republicans. He was succeeded in the 110th Congress by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). He has stated his support of Israel and its right to attack facilities in Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons, has defended the actions of Israel in its use of deadly force in enforcing the blockade of Gaza and has referred to Israel as "America's most cherished ally" SOURCE

Was Israel's raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla legal?

Israel says its raid on the so-called Freedom Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which left nine activists dead, was a justified defense of its economic blockade of Gaza. Legal scholars aren't so sure. SOURCE

On the Issues

VoteMatch Responses 

(CLICK HERE for full answers)

• Abortion is a woman's right - Strongly Opposes
• Require hiring more women & minorities -  Strongly Opposes
• Same-sex domestic partnership benefits -  Strongly Opposes
• Teacher-led prayer in public schools -  Strongly Favors
• Death Penalty - Neutral
• Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws - Strongly Opposes
• Absolute right to gun ownership - Strongly Favors
• More federal funding for health coverage - Strongly Opposes
• Privatize Social Security - Strongly Favors
• Parents choose schools via vouchers - Strongly Favors
• Replace coal & oil with alternatives - Strongly Opposes
• Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it - Strongly Favors
• Allow churches to provide welfare services - Strongly Opposes
• Make taxes more progressive - Strongly Opposes
• Illegal immigrants earn citizenship - Strongly Opposes
• Support & expand free trade - Favors
• Expand the armed forces - Strongly Favors
• Stricter limits on political campaign funds - Favors
• The Patriot Act harms civil liberties - Strongly Opposes
• US out of Iraq & Afghanistan - Strongly Opposes

Earmarks
Pence's Earmarks 

.
Pence was a supporter of earmark reform. He voted against the $139.7 billion Transportation-Treasury spending bill in June 2006, and in favor of a series of amendments proposed that same month by Jeff Flake that would strip other members’ earmarks from the federal budget. Pence, however, has in the past secured several of his own earmark projects. Pence earmarked $500,000 for the “Transit Acquisition and Intermodal Facility Project” in his state, as well as $250,000 for construction of a park in Portland, Indiana. Pence also secured earmarks for inclusion in a Labor-Health and Human Services 2007FY bill. This included $200,000 for both Ball State University’s Center for School Innovation in Muncie, Ind. and to the Madison County Community Health Center in Anderson Ind. Pence also secured $100,000 for Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus, Ind. When confronted with this, a spokesman for Pence’s confirmed the projects, stating, “Mr. Pence stands by his earmark requests." SOURCE

Immigration

In June 2006, Pence unveiled a plan he describes as "no amnesty immigration reform" consisting of increased border security, followed by strict enforcement of laws against hiring illegal aliens, and a guest worker program. This guest worker program requires potential participants to apply from their home country to government-approved job placement agencies that match workers with employers who cannot find Americans for the job. The plan has received support from conservative leaders such as Dick Armey. Pat Buchanan described this as "stealth amnesty," claiming that it is merely a "one week vacation" for illegal immigrants to return to their home country to apply for jobs under the program. Others (Phyllis Schlafly and Tom Tancredo) have criticized Pence's plan. SOURCE

• Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border. (Sep 2006)
• Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
• Voted YES on extending Immigrant Residency rules. (May 2001)
• Rated 100% by FAIR, indicating a voting record restricting immigration. (Dec 2003)
• Rated 92% by USBC, indicating a sealed-border stance. (Dec 2006)
• End Birthright Citizenship; no more anchor babies. (Apr 2009)
• Declare English as the official language of the US. (Feb 2007)

Mike Pence on Immigration: In His Own Words

Therefore, the solution is to setup a system that will encourage illegal aliens to self-deport and come back legally as guest workers. This may sound outside of the box, and it is. It may sound far-fetched and unrealistic, but it isn’t. It is based on sound, proven conservative principles. It places reliance on American enterprise and puts government back into its traditional role of protecting its citizens. Let me explain to you how it will work.

Private worker placement agencies that we could call “Ellis Island Centers” will be licensed by the federal government to match willing guest workers with jobs in America that employers cannot fill with American workers. U.S. employers will engage the private agencies and request guest workers. In a matter of days, the private agencies will match guest workers with jobs, perform a health screening, fingerprint them and provide the appropriate information to the FBI and Homeland Security so that a background check can be performed, and provide the guest worker with a visa granted by the State Department. The visa will be issued only outside of the United States.

Outside of the United States. That is a key point because it is the provision that will require the twelve million illegal aliens to leave. Now, some of you are thinking to yourselves that twelve million people aren’t going to pack up and leave just to get a visa to come back legally. But, I believe most will. SOURCE

Taxes and Revenues

SOURCE [FactCheck.org] 

GOP Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana made a wildly false supply-side tax claim on ABC’s "This Week" — and repeated it even when disputed by Ronald Reagan’s former budget director, David Stockman:

Pence: David [Stockman] believes that every tax increase equals a revenue increase, but that’s not true. Anybody who is familiar with the historical data from the IRS knows that raising income tax rates will likely actually reduce federal revenues. … So if we raise taxes, the American people are very likely going to — the top 1 percent are going to send less money to Washington, D.C., and that will never get us out of this …

Stockman: I just have to respectfully disagree. … [I]t’s just common sense fact that, when you raise the rates, you get more revenue.

Pence: Raising income tax rates on the top 1 percent will not increase revenues to the federal treasury.

Pence is simply wrong here, as shown by what followed Bill Clinton’s 1993 tax increase, which fell almost entirely on the top 1 percent or 2 percent of earners. In fact, the result was a steady rise in federal revenues that ended only in 2001, the year that the first round of President Bush’s tax cuts took effect. 

The truth of Stockman’s "common sense fact" is illustrated by this graphic, which is derived from the historical budget data tables published by the Congressional Budget Office. SOURCE [FactCheck.org] 

Mike Pence protects the interests of the top 1% over and over again while advocating cuts in safety nets for the middle class and the poor.

MIKE PENCE REAFFIRMS REPUBLICAN PLAN TO PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE SOURCE

On Meet the Press this morning, House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence reaffirmed House Republicans intention to privatize Social Security and Medicare.

David Gregory: What about entitlement spending? Are you going to raise the retirement age as John Boehner suggested might be a good idea on Social Security?

Mike Pence: … for Americans under the age of 40 we absolutely have to begin to reform Medicare and Social Security in ways that will ensure its long term fiscal solvency.

Reform = Privatize

When Republicans say they will “reform Medicare and Social Security” they mean that Republicans will privatize Social Security and dismantle Medicare:

• In 2009, Boehner led 137 House Republicans who voted for a plan "that would eventually end the Medicare program as it is presently known," according to the Associated Press. The Republican plan would dismantle Medicare, turning it into a voucher program and forcing seniors to buy insurance on their own from private insurance companies. [Roll Call Vote #191, 4/2/09; Associated Press, 4/2/09]
• Boehner-Ryan Plan Would Privatize Social Security and Dismantle Medicare. Under the Republican “Roadmap for America’s Future” that Boehner praises, “Medicare is privatized. Seniors get a voucher to buy private insurance, and the voucher's growth is far slower than the expected growth of health-care costs. Medicaid is also privatized… And beyond health care, Social Security gets guaranteed, private accounts that CBO says will actually cost more than the present arrangement” [Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, 2/1/10]
• Republican Study Committee Supports Medicare Privatization. The 126 Member Republican Study Committee favors an approach similar to Rep. Paul Ryan’s controversial plan to privatize Medicare by replacing it with private vouchers. [New York Observer, 2/6/10]

Rep. Pence: The Best Thing For The Unemployed Is Tax Cuts For Millionaires

December 01, 2010 10:38 am ET — Matt Finkelstein SOURCE

Unemployment benefits expired for millions of jobless Americans at midnight, marking the first time infour decades that Congress has failed to provide benefits with so many Americans out of work. Republican lawmakers who blocked an extension of benefits maintain that the country simply cannot afford to spend $12 billion on the unemployed, even as they fight to secure permanent tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans, which will heap hundreds of billions on to the deficit.

On MSNBC's Morning Joe today, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) said that while he is "deeply sympathetic" to the plight of the unemployed, "we've got to make the cuts necessary to offset those costs." During the interview, Pence claimed that Republicans are "anxious to support" struggling Americans, "particularly in the holiday season." However, asked whether he would accept a compromise that paid for unemployment benefits by allowing tax cuts to expire only on income over $1 million, Pence insisted that the jobless are better off swallowing tax cuts for the very rich than receiving immediate relief.

Pressed further on his priorities by Time's Mark Halperin, Pence awkwardly joked that he's "not good at chess," before falling back on his talking points. "I think the minimum that we have to do right now for Americans that are struggling in unemployment in this economy is make sure that no American sees a tax increase," he said. 

HALPERIN: If your leaders came to you and said, "We have a deal with the White House. We're going to extend unemployment benefits, but the tax cuts for the people making over a million dollars a year will not be extended, but that helps to pay for it," would you take deal? Would you vote for that package?

PENCE: Look, I think the worst thing you could do for people that are struggling in this economy and looking for a job is raising taxes on any American. We don't wanna help with one hand and take away with another.

HALPERIN: Would you rather extend the tax cuts for every American, including those making over a million, or have the unemployment benefits extended if that's the choice?

PENCE: [Laughs] Yeah, good. This isn't a corner, but I feel the paint. You know? I'm good, nice move. I played chess with my son the other day and I lost, so, you know, I'm not good at this chess thing. [Laughs] Let me tell you, I think the minimum that we have to do right now for Americans that are struggling in unemployment in this economy is make sure that no American sees a tax increase. 

Pence also plugged his speech on Monday at the Detroit Economic Club, in which he advocated for a flat tax and a return to the gold standard. Former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett excoriated the speech yesterday, calling it a "hackneyed rehash" of "simplistic" ideas. "Mike Pence isn't ready for prime time," Bartlett concluded. "His proposals show no hint of understanding the true nature of our economic problems or any evidence that he has thought more than five minutes on what to do about them. The sad thing is that Pence at least spent five minutes; most other Republicans don't appear to have spent even that much."

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