Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Sounds of Crater Lake ... Ashland council hopes to shift some meals tax funds ... Bybee fire in Crater Lake National Park closes Pacific Crest Trail ... Sounds of Crater Lake ... Ashland council hopes to shift some meals tax funds ... Bybee fire in Crater Lake National Park closes Pacific Crest Trail ... COMMENTARY Jeffrey Gillespie: No sense in Pence Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jul. 29, 2016 at 12:01 AM Posted Jul. 29, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News With all the chitchat on the internet and elsewhere regarding the ghoulish hilarity of a possible Trump presidency, one of the ideas consistently making the rounds is the suggestion that Trump is too vapid, narcissistic or lazy to actually run the country, and is toying with the idea of making his "presidential" role more abstract. The suggestion is that while Trump focuses on the strategic objective of "making America great again" — a deliciously obtuse goal, and (typically of Trump) one that could be interpreted in any way he saw fit once he had a mandate to implement it — he could end up leaving the actual job of running the country to his creepy, shiny, square-jawed, squinting VP pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. It's worthwhile, then, to throw some light on who Mike Pence is and what he believes in. He has led a years-long crusade to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding, a cause backed by the House of Representatives in 2011. In addition to that indignity, he signed a bill in Indiana in March of this year that required any woman who had received an abortion in his state to hold what basically amounts to a funeral for the fetus. The bill was blocked from going into effect by a federal judge, but it should be understood that from Pence's perspective, this sort of patriarchal overreach is quite acceptable. After all, his most popular quote is "I'm Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order." While that's all well and good at a personal level, it's reasonable to assume that Pence's first allegiance is to biblical tenets and not to the provisions of the Constitution — a bit of a sticky wicket for a man who is compelled to swear allegiance to the latter when he takes his oath of office, and will be a heartbeat away from the presidency for at least four years thereafter. Then come Pence's ideas about LGBTQ people. In 2006, he said in a public speech that “societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family." In 2007, he opposed a law that would ban discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace, which he said would "wage war on freedom and religion" at offices around the country; never mind that the entire point of the bill was to prevent discrimination. One can only surmise that Pence sees freedom as entirely unencumbered by institutionalized discrimination, or that he doesn't care about minority groups who may be on the receiving end of such prejudices, which he justifies as a necessary evil in order to protect religious freedoms. The implication would be that while all freedoms are created equal, some freedoms are more equal than others. As for immigrants and refugees, Pence doesn't even pretend to have an open mind. Over 10 years ago, he unveiled a "no-amnesty" immigration plan that sought to seal the border between the United States and Mexico, require all undocumented workers to voluntarily leave the U.S. and reverse birthright citizenship under the conservative "anchor baby" bias. He required that state agencies in Indiana do nothing to help resettle refugees from Syria, was consequently sued by the ACLU, and lost. If Trump is the shiny new gun of neo-fascism in America, Pence is the finger on the trigger. It would be a disgrace to let a man so opposed to the rights of over 157 million women in this country — let alone the millions of other citizens who are not white male conservatives — get within spitting distance of the Oval Office. Let's hope America is smart enough not only to reject Trump, but to continue to keep a wary eye on his pestiferous Number 2, who will likely remain in politics long after his running mate has returned to his shiny golden tower in the sky. — Ashland resident Jeffrey Gillespie is a Daily Tidings columnist, arts reviewer and freelance writer. Email him at gillespie.jeffrey @gmail.com. DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jul. 29, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501