I don’t know about you, but, in general, I thought that
Pence “won” the VP debate. On the other hand, I found him to be rigid, pompous,
and – like the professional politician that he is – able to ignore or dodge all
of the questions put to him or simply to lie his way out of it. Aside from denying that Trump said all of the
things that he actually said on tape about Mexicans, Blacks, Women, a federal
judge, etc. – all an obvious lie, Pence lied again saying that the Clinton
Foundation spent only 10% of its assets on charitable work or to help people in
need. Non-partisan public reports from
organizations that monitor charities for compliance with the law, have rated
the Clinton Foundation “A”, noting that 90% of donations to the Foundation have
been spent to aid victims and needy around the globe and in the US. Further, none of the Clinton family members
have received one dime from the Foundation.
The Trump Family Foundation, on the other hand, has paid thousands of
dollars to Trump businesses that hosted fund-raising events for the Foundation,
the Foundation paid $20,000 for a portrait of Trump that today hangs in one of
his Florida golf properties – hardly benefiting anyone other than The Donald. Another $25,000 was given as a donation to a
political campaign – the re-election fund of the Florida Attorney General, then
running for re-election – an expenditure specifically prohibited by both
federal and state law. 2 weeks later, the AG decided that she would not join in
a fraud action against Trump for deceptive practices involving Trump
University. Wow! What a surprise….
In fact, it is hard
to tell if anything at all has been spent by the Trump Foundation to help
someone other than a family member or a Trump business – at least no list of
charitable giving from the Foundation has been released to date (something that would be obvious if the Trump tax returns were released) and, that has
prompted the NY Attorney General to issue a “cease and desist” order to the
Trump Foundation preventing them from fund-raising in NY state because they had
not filed the required state tax documents and the periodic reports that list
the recipients of any outlay. Indefensible, in my view.
One thing that I did learn about Pence that I did not know
before the debate involved an action that he took as Governor. Pence sign a bill into law that requires
women who miscarry or who legally terminate a pregnancy to make arrangements
and to hold a funeral service for the fetus.
My guess is that this is why Pence is so comfortable with the Trump
position as he stated on TV during “Hardball” with Chris Matthews that, “of
course, there should be some punishment for the woman” i.e., the woman who
chose to exercise her constitutional right under Roe v. Wade to seek a legal
termination of her pregnancy. Trump and
Pence oppose Roe v. Wade and Donald has pledged to appoint anti-abortion judges
to the US Supreme Court. In fact, when he was serving in the Congress, Pence
was the primary proponent of a bill designed to eliminate Roe v. Wade and end a
woman’s right to control her own body and make her own medical decisions with
her physician. Why not have them wear
burkas too?
I think that Tim Kaine said it best. In responding to a question regarding the
proper role of religious belief in forming public policy and laws that govern
us all, Kaine said that each of us should practice our religion as we see fit
and live out our moral beliefs with enthusiasm and joy. But, those in government ought not to impose
their personal religious beliefs, regardless of what they may be, on others who
do not share that faith through law. In
my view, freedom, after all, is freedom.
And, that includes freedom to practice one’s religious beliefs – or not –
and the freedom to do so without government interference or mandate. Isn’t that what the separation of church and
state as guaranteed by the US Constitution is all about? Evidently, that is a lesson not learned by
Governor Pence or recognized by Donald Trump.
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