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The last time Mike Pence made national news, he crashed, burned, and killed his presidential hopes
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/7/14/1548283/-The-last-time-Mike-Pence-made-national-news-he-crashed-burned-and-killed-his-presidential-hopes?detail=facebookThe last time Mike Pence made national news, he crashed, burned, and killed his presidential hopes
By Kerry Eleveld
Thursday Jul 14, 2016 · 1:57 PM EST
With multiple outlets reporting Indiana Gov. Mike Pence might indeed be Donald Trump's VP pick, it seemed the perfect time to revisit when Pence first catapulted onto the national stage.
It was precisely Sunday, March 29, 2015, when he went on “This Week” to defend a law targeting LGBT Hoosiers for discrimination. His job was to reassure the nation that the law did no such thing (it did). He completely utterly miserably failed that test not once, not twice, but six times. George Stephanopoulos framed it as a simple "yes or no question" six times and every time, Pence dodged.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So yes or no, if a florist in Indiana refuses to serve a gay couple at their wedding, is that legal now in Indiana?
PENCE: George, this is -- this is where this debate has gone, with -- with misinformation and frankly… [...]
STEPHANOPOULOS: It's just a question, sir. Question, sir. Yes or no?
PENCE: Well -- well, this -- there's been shameless rhetoric about my state and about this law and about its intention all over the Internet. People are trying to make it about one particular issue. And now you're doing that, as well. [...]
STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that true or not?
PENCE: George, look, the issue here is, you know, is tolerance a two way street or not?
PENCE: George, this is -- this is where this debate has gone, with -- with misinformation and frankly… [...]
STEPHANOPOULOS: It's just a question, sir. Question, sir. Yes or no?
PENCE: Well -- well, this -- there's been shameless rhetoric about my state and about this law and about its intention all over the Internet. People are trying to make it about one particular issue. And now you're doing that, as well. [...]
STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that true or not?
PENCE: George, look, the issue here is, you know, is tolerance a two way street or not?
In those disastrous 11 minutes and subsequent press conferences that went inexplicably just as poorly, Pence's rising star flamed out just as soon as the nation glanced at it. After that Pence peddled lie after lie: first, that Indiana's religious freedom law (RFRA) was just like many that got passed in the '90s (wrong); that Barack Obama had voted for a similar law as a state senator (not so much).
When all was said and done, Pence was a vision in amateur hour. One of the best assessments of his epic fail on the national stage came from the Hoosier newspaper, the IndyStar.
Recent months have made one thing clear: You can put those Mike Pence for President campaign buttons, if there were any, back in the drawer. ... When you have to "clarify" a horribly damaging piece of legislation that you raced to sign, when you dodge a question on national TV about whether discrimination is legal in your state, when you deal your state a crushing economic blow, when you seem incapable of understanding the role you have played in creating this mess -- well, that makes clear that you are not in the right job.
Welcome back, Mike! We’re looking forward to the prospect of some more spot-on performances.
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