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Pence Drops Bill to De-Fund Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Washington, DC -- Congressman Mike Pence dropped a bill in the hopper today in the House of Representatives that would revoke federal taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/07/pence-drops-bill-to-de-fund-planned-parenthood-abortion-biz/

Pundits have been speculating regarding the plans of my favorite Congressman, Mike Pence, after he won the straw poll for President at the Values Voter conference a few months ago and when he resigned as the Chairman of the Republican Conference late last year -citing plans that would detract from his being able to fulfill the duties of that leadership position. Late last year, he told inquiring minds that he would be making his decision regarding his plans early this year. But now the signs are indicating that he intends to run for the governor's office opening up in Indiana...

Could the serious 2012 contenders please stand? Some folks in the media are actually suggesting Jon Huntsman for the 2012 Republican nomination, while RedState, one of the most influential political blogs on the internet, practically endorsed Mike Pence yesterday afternoon. The only thing left is for Senator Olympia Snowe to run for the Presidency. I couldn't imagine another unrealistic candidacy at this time, nor do I want to. I am not anti-dark horse candidates (I supported Sarah Palin for the 2008 GOP Vice-Presidential nomination in July '08), but I am for realistic candidates being touted... However, candidates to the left...

I wasn’t so much disturbed by Erick Erickson’s selection of Mike Pence as his candidate for president as much as I was disturbed by his reasoning for why he didn’t go with Sarah Palin. “… as much as I love Sarah Palin, I am adamantly convinced that she cannot win given the ridiculous smears and hate thrown her way by Democrats and, frankly, by a lot of Republicans,” Erickson writes on RedState. “She has been made radioactive.” In essence, it’s an admission that the media and the Establishment are winning in their effort to stop Sarah Palin. The media and...

FRANKLIN - U.S. Rep. Mike Pence is scheduling Republican Lincoln Days Dinner all over Indiana, Howey Politics Indiana has learned. It is the best clue yet that he is preparing to launch a 2012 Indiana gubernatorial campaign, as opposed to seeking the presidency. "He is scheduling larger counties," a Republican source told HPI on Monday. "If he is running for President, it would be an interesting and novel strategy. We could call it the Win Indiana Strategy!" If Pence were to launch a presidential campaign, he would be more likely to spend this winter and spring in Iowa, New Hampshire...

If confession is good for the soul, let me pour out my soul for you. As I stood at the beginning of 2008, I find myself in the same position here as we now begin the very real discussions of who should be the candidate for the GOP in 2012. Let me be clear: I will support the nominee, whoever she or he may be. But right now I am not excited by or inspired by any of them save Sarah Palin and, as much as I love Sarah Palin, I am adamantly convinced that she cannot win given the...

Caffeinated Thoughts is presenting its 3rd Annual Caffeinated Conservative Award.  The contributors there offer nominations and then our readers get the opportunity to vote.  Our nominees this year (in no particular order) are: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal South Carolina Governor-Elect Nikki Haley Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) Senator-Elect Rand Paul (R-KY) Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Senator-Elect Marco Rubio (R-FL) Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) You can read our rationale and vote here – voting is open until 11:00p on 12/30/10.

Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana excites social and fiscal conservatives alike and will reportedly decide next month whether he will run for president or governor of his home state. Pence energizes pro-life advocates with his consistent pro-life push — including his drumbeat for revoking taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Although members of Congress don’t normally rise to national prominence and just one has ever ascended to the presidency, Pence is defying the odds by building a solid national reputation that has him as one of the potential dark horse candidates who could vie for support against the...

Ron Brownstein has a very interesting article out today for National Journal about how the field of candidates is shaping up for 2012. He posits that the field is shaping up to be between managers like Mitt Romney and populists like Sarah Palin. I think that is, largely, a false dichotomy, but if you change what he means by “manager” I think he is on to something. I’d use a word like “establishment” or even “conventional” to describe the end of the field Brownstein calls “managerial.” But there is a relevant point here that I think needs to be explored,...

This is the first time I’ve thought the whole deal really might collapse in the House. “At the end of the day, I’ve just come to the conclusion: the American people did not vote for more stimulus,” Pence said on conservative talker Sean Hannity’s radio show. “Therefore, I will not vote for this tax deal when it comes to the floor of the House of Representatives.” Pence joins the ranks of conservatives, many of whom have ties to the Tea Party movement, who have opposed the deal. The Indiana Republican echoed their arguments against the bill; Pence said the 13-month...

Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh has decided against a run for governor in 2012, robbing Democrats of their top recruit in the Hoosier State. "After careful consideration, I have concluded that the appropriate decision is not to be a candidate for governor of Indiana in 2012," Bayh said in a statement released to the Fix. ""The principle reason for my decision is the welfare of my twin sons." Bayh's decision leaves the Democratic field wide open. Reps. Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill, both of whom lost races this fall, are likely to consider the Bayh-less contest. Others mentioned include Rep....

On a midweek afternoon in February 2009, a month into the Obama presidency, Republican Rep. Mike Pence arrived at Columbus in his east-central Indiana district for a town hall meeting, the sort of event that usually attracted a few dozen constituents. Surprised to see the hallway outside the room crowded with people, "their arms folded and brows furrowed," Pence shouted down the hall to an aide, asking him to get a janitor to open the room. The aide shouted back that the room was open — and overflowing. Congress had just passed the stimulus (Pence voted no), and Hoosiers were...

On Sean Hannity’s radio show this afternoon, Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) and Rep. Mike Pence (R., Indiana) said they hoped that the Pence-DeMint bill, which would extend all the Bush tax cuts permanently, would receive an up or down vote in both the House and Senate. On the Obama-GOP tax compromise, DeMint said, “I know our leadership probably did make the best deal they could,” but added that “we cannot continue to pass bills that add to the deficit,” and that because of that, he “would not support the current bill.” Pence also expressed dismay over the compromise, saying...

On a midweek afternoon in February 2009, a month into the Obama presidency, Republican Rep. Mike Pence arrived at Columbus in his east-central Indiana district for a town hall meeting, the sort of event that usually attracted a few dozen constituents. Surprised to see the hallway outside the room crowded with people, "their arms folded and brows furrowed," Pence shouted down the hall to an aide, asking him to get a janitor to open the room. The aide shouted back that the room was open -- and overflowing. Congress had just passed the stimulus (Pence voted no) and Hoosiers were...

On a midweek afternoon in February 2009, a month into the Obama presi dency, Republican Rep. Mike Pence arrived at Columbus in his east-central Indiana district for a town hall meeting, the sort of event that usually attracted a few dozen constituents. Surprised to see the hallway outside the room crowded with people, "their arms folded and brows furrowed," Pence shouted down the hall to an aide, asking him to get a janitor to open the room. The aide shouted back that the room was open -- and overflowing. Congress had just passed the stimulus (Pence voted no), and Hoosiers...

Top members of the incoming Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives continued to level broadsides against the Federal Reserve Tuesday, questioning its proper role in shaping U.S. economic policy. Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Indiana’s Mike Pence both repeated calls for an end to the central bank’s dual mandate to promote both jobs and maintain price stability. Members of Congress aren’t trying to encroach on the Fed’s independence, Pence said, but may have to take legislative action to change the Fed’s responsibilities. “It’s time that the Fed focus solely on price stability and the dollar,” Pence said....

A former radio talk show host, Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence knows how to stay on message -- a skill he proved during the final push before the midterm election earlier this month when he spent three days bussing around the Hoosier State in support of local candidates. Since 2008, Pence has been the Republican Conference chairman, the third ranking member in the GOP House leadership and the member charged with keeping Republicans unified against congressional Democrats and President Obama. He demonstrated that ability on several occasions during a congressional term in which every House Republican voted against the stimulus...

Despite the Federal Reserve’s announcement last month of a new round of quantitative easing to help unemployment, the national unemployment rate increased to 9.8 percent in November. Indiana’s Rep. Mike Pence, in light of the Fed’s announcement, is promoting a different solution: simplify the Fed’s job so that it doesn’t have to worry about employment. Pence was among the first to express concerns about the Fed’s employment mandate when news broke last month that the federal government would participate in a U.S. Treasury security-buy, known as quantitative easing.

KING: As the White House and congressional leaders negotiate a possible temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts, two leading conservative voices in the Congress are shaking their heads saying that isn't good enough. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana have new legislation to indefinitely extend the current tax rates. Yet both also say Washington needs to do a better job balancing its books. So does their math add up? Senator DeMint and Congressman Pence joins us now from Capitol Hill. If you match up the strategy, what you're leaders are doing in these...

Much of the punditocracy is obsessed with Sarah Palin. It's understandable on several levels. First, she makes for good copy and has a knack for coining catchy phrases ("death panels") and new words ("refudiate" -- it's now in the dictionary). She is controversial and opinionated, so given the choice between, say, a story on John Thune and one on Palin, it's a no-brainer to choose the best-selling author, TV reality show star and Tea Party darling. But conservatives suspect there's also some mischief-making afoot -- the desire by liberal-leaning members of the media and the White House to make Palin...