With The Selection Of Mike Pence For VP, Republicans Have Now Checked All The Hate Boxes

- by Noah

I knew this was coming. As the speculation as to which wackjob of the vast, seemingly infinite list of possible Republican running mates Herr Trumpf would consider for a running mate grew, the choice of Indiana Governor Mike Pence was all too obvious. Why? The answer is simple. Traditionally, candidates for president pick either a running mate from a state where that pick can help win that state, or, if not that, they pick a candidate who has a strong reputation in an area where the presidential candidate is a little lacking.

In this case, Trump was demonstrably week in the area of homophobia. Republican voters hate that. In their eyes, homophobia is the one weakness in Trump’s background of extensive bigotry. He has all the other hate boxes checked off, but not that one. So, that made Pence the natural choice. Christie had the bigotry and bully factor. Newtie had the nasty and the crazy. David Duke had the KKK thing but Trump needed a running mate who complements him, not a mate who just covers the same bases. But, Pence! Ah, Pence! No possible choice can top the extreme hate bonafides when it comes to LGBT citizens that Pence brings to the ticket.

With the selection of Pence, Republicans everywhere can breath easy. They now have a ticket that encompasses hate for everyone other than psychotically angry, old, hetero white men. Pence fits the party platform perfectly. To Trump, who has been endorsed by every white supremacy group in the land, the fact that Pence hails from a state that has a long history of KKK politics, is just an appealing bonus. Hell, back in 1925, when the KKK types across the country were mostly Democrats, literally half of Indiana’s General Assembly, and Republican Governor Edward L. Jackson, were openly KKK members. Both parties were severely infected.

Back then, you needed a KKK endorsement if you wanted to win office in Indiana, regardless of party. Lest you think this is just a thing from 90 years ago, KKK attitudes persist in Indiana in the form of the Tea Party, especially when it comes to immigrant, worker, and gay issues. To this day, Indiana is often called “the south’s most northern state”. According to the Indianapolis Star, even now, KKK leafleting goes on and recruiting is open and active.

Before Mike Pence became the extremist Governor of Indiana, he was an extremist U.S. Congressman representing Indiana’s 6th District. He has a 100% approval rating from the NRA and a 0% rating from Naral Pro-Choice. Pence’s amendment designed to eliminate federal funds for Planned Parenthood was one of the very first proposals approved by the 2011 Congress. Shortly after that, the 2011 Congress passed another Pence bill; one to end tax breaks for insurance companies that cover abortions. Pence’s misogyny continued once he became his state’s governor. Just as one example: he oversaw the cutting of $1.8 million from the state domestic violence budget.

Clearly, Mike Pence is a fanatic, a religious fanatic who says he is “A Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” So much for the separation of church and state. He talks like a Taliban.

But, it’s with LGBT issues where Mike Pence has made his name and became a hero to Republicans. He’s a “marriage is between one man and one woman guy”. He became famous, or shall we say, infamous, for championing and then signing Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act that was designed to permit discrimination of all kinds against LGBT people. He’s even tried to tie funding for HIV research to a personal favorite of his- gay conversion “therapy.” He surrounded himself with the type of Christians who actually believe, in 2016, that homosexuality is a treatable disease and leads to sex with animals and children, etc. Most likely, Pence’s people also include the types of Christians that regard homosexuality as a capital offense.

Pence’s new law was so extreme that even conservatives criticized him for it. His in your face extremism on the issue brought very serious threats of economic boycotts of Indiana and lowered his popularity in the state to the point where his reelection as Governor was very much in doubt. So, he might as well look for another job, and that’s when Herr Trumpf came calling. Pence has what Trump needs. For both, it’s a lifeline. Back in December of last year, I ended a year in review post on the matter by saying

By the way, until the hell broke loose over the Indiana law, Mike Pence was so sure that he had a good chance to be the Vice Presidential nominee of his party next year. Maybe he does, in Republican World. After all, he’sgot the bigot box checked.

Then Trump happened.

Pence matches up perfectly with the Christian jihadist platform that the Republican Party has just put forward for their big 2016 Kook-Fest in Cleveland. Poor Cleveland, just when the get an NBA championship, they slide back into being the butt of jokes from all over the world. Hopefully, the joke won’t end up being on America. Right now, it’s merely embarrassing and scary. It can get worse, a lot worse.

Let’s take a look at that platform and see why a far right extremist like Pence works so well in the eyes of the Repug Party. The platform features, among other things:

1. Build the Big Giant Wall: Of course you knew this would be #A-1 on Herr Trump’s party platform. Being anti-Mexican is how he announced his fetid presence. It’s his signature move, unless being anti-women is, which brings us to #2.

2. Overturn Roe vs. Wade: An all-time Repug classic! On to #3!

3. End public funding of Planned Parenthood: Hey, never mind that most women depend on Planned Parenthood for uterine and breast cancer screening. The party is pro-cancer. Hell, look at all the carcinogens they allow corporations to dump anywhere they feel like it.

4. Teach the Bible in public schools: Now, we’re getting like our Taliban role models! Jihad!

5. Lawmakers must use religion to make legislative decisions: If the Republican Party keeps this up, we will see them demanding that their legislators grow long beards.

6. Use Gay Conversion Therapy on homosexuals: Aside from being evil and cruel (which Republicans seem to love), Gay Conversion has been completely debunked by the medical world. It even frequently causes its victims to commit suicide, but, of course, for Republicans, that makes the cruelty of Gay Conversion a win-win. (#PartyOfLife)

7. Oppose transgender rights: This one is about the Republican pee police and obsession with all things urination as much as anything. Pence proudly considers himself to be at the vanguard of such things.

8. Repeal Marriage Equality: Hey, why not just repeal anything to do with any kind of equality! Now, that’s what I call Republican!

9. Treat pornography as a public menace: Why are Republicans always so unbelievably obsessed with sex? Especially other peoples’ sex.

So, as you can see, Mike Pence is a perfect fit for Trump and the Republican Party. They're even both crooked as hell, but that's a future post. Everything here in the Republican platform is negative just like every single thing you ever hear from the Republican Party. Everything here is authoritarian in nature, just like every single thing you ever hear from the Republican Party. It’s who they are.

As a contrast, here are the highlights of the 2016 Democratic Party platform:

1. A healthcare Public Option: Screw you, Max Baucus!

2. Expand Social Security: Screw you, Paul “Crazy Eyes” Ryan!

3. A $15 minimum wage: Screw you, entire Republican Party!

4. Promote the legalization of marijuana: If Republicans really wanted to do something about the mess in Mexico, they would support this, for obvious reasons.

5. End the death penalty: I don’t see the party of cruelty and death ever getting behind this.

6. A new Glass-Steagall Act: This helped protect American citizens from their banks for over 80 years. When it was repealed, look what happened. You would think that any moral person would be behind a new Glass-Steagall, but there’s that ‘moral’ thing again. Damn!

The new Democratic Party Platform is the most forward-looking, progressive platform that the party has ever created and we should hold them to it. Now, speaking of progressive, let’s look at the highlights of the Republican Party Platform of 1956, 60 years ago, when that notorious socialist, Dwight David Eisenhower was president.

1. Extend protection of federal minimum wage laws as much as practicable.

2. Strengthen the federal and state employment service and the effectiveness of the unemployment system.

3. Extend and strengthen Social Security.

4. Protect The Right Of Workers To Organize Into Unions And Bargain collectively.

5. Provide Assistance To Improve The Economic Conditions Of Areas faced with persistent and substantial unemployment.

It’s truly shocking to look at this and realize just how much the Republican Party of my parents’ era has moved to the right. They have gone from the above platform of Eisenhower to the overt and blatant fascism of Trump and Pence. It began with Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon and it has slid down into the depths of hell from there. As Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell famously said-

This country is going so far to the right, you won’t recognize it.

Had enough? Mad as hell? The nomination of Trump & Pence should be a wake up call. How much longer will America sleep?