Trump Picks Pence For VP For No Good Reason

Donald Trump has chosen Mike Pence, governor of Indiana, as his running mate. With his positions cracking down on reproductive rights and the rights of the LGBT community, Pence is somewhat popular with traditional conservatives even as his approval rating in Indiana has dropped into the 40s. His fight for a "religious liberty" law that would allow businesses to refuse service due to gender identity or sexual preference has cost the state thousands of jobs and hurt his popularity in the state. In fact, Pence is running neck-and-neck with Democrat John Gregg in the gubernatorial race which Pence is required to drop out of by accepting the Vice Presidential slot. In fact, some Indiana Republicans are only too happy to see Pence go.

As for what he will do for Trump, it is hard to say. If Trump was going to have trouble winning Indiana, he wasn't going to win the election. Perhaps Pence can bring some conservatives along but it's not like he has a strong national following. And he is hardly known as a dynamic speaker or inspiring campaigner, but Trump covers that area totally. Apparently the Trump campaign feels that he could handle the policy details, which is an area that obviously totally disinterests Trump. But other than being a white middle-aged man from a red state in the Midwest with some legislative and executive experience, it's really hard to see what he can add to the ticket when 90% of the electorate has never heard of him.

The conservatives first choice among those Trump short-listed was, of course, Newt Gingrich. And Newt made one of the most appalling last-ditch appeals for the VP slot by out-Trumping Trump. In response to the attack in Nice yesterday, Gingrich said, "We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported. Sharia is incompatible with Western civilization...Anybody who goes on a website favoring ISIS, or al Qaeda, or other terrorist groups, that should be a felony, and they should go to jail...I mean, if you’re not prepared to monitor the mosque, this whole thing is a joke...These people are opposed to our way of life. They are opposed to our value system. They are opposed to our various religions". Needless to say, we might as well throw away the Constitution at this point with Newt. Loyalty oaths, felonies for reading certain material, ditching freedom of religion, why stop there? Well, actually he didn't. He added, "If we can’t destroy them through the internet, we should destroy them with kinetic power, using various weapons starting with Predators, and frankly just killing them." I'm not sure what kinetic power Newt is referring to, but every so often Newt does seem to come from another planet. While Newt's statements are downright scary, what is more frightening is that he believes that they are the perfect resume for the Vice Presidency of a major party. History will look back at these days with disbelief and fear.