Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (born June 7, 1959) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's 6th congressional district (see map). He is a prominent conservative and has been mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2008, although he is not declared. Download high resolution version (975x1376, 71 KB)Rep. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... Indianas 6th congressional district takes in a large portion of eastern Indiana, including Muncie, Anderson , and Richmond, as well as suburbs of Fort Wayne and Cincinatti. ... The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rep. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Columbus is the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... Evangelism is the proclaiming of the Christian Gospel. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Indianas 6th congressional district takes in a large portion of eastern Indiana, including Muncie, Anderson , and Richmond, as well as suburbs of Fort Wayne and Cincinatti. ... Main article: United States presidential election, 2008 This article lists official and potential Republican candidates for the President of the United States in the election of 2008. ...

Early life and family

Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana. He graduated from Hanover College and the Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington. He was a lawyer and radio talk show host, where he was widely known as "Rush Limbaugh on decaf." Also prior to becoming a US Representative, he served as President of Indiana Policy Review, a state think tank. He and his wife Karen have three children. Columbus is the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana. ... Hanover College is a coeducational liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. ... The Indiana University School of Law — Bloomington is a law school located in Bloomington, Indiana. ... Talk radio is radio format which features discussion of topical issues. ... This article is about the institution. ...

Political career

Pence ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1988 and 1990, losing to longtime Democratic incumbent Phil Sharp. By 2000, however, the district had become much friendlier to Republicans, and Pence was handily elected after six-year incumbent David McIntosh opted to run for governor of Indiana. Philip Riley Sharp is an American politician, who served in the United States House of Representatives as a representative from Indiana from 1975 to 1995. ... David M. McIntosh (born June 8, 1958) was a Republican representative from Indiana during the period of January 3, 1995 to January 3, 2001. ... List of Indiana Governors Jonathan Jennings Dem. ...

His first term in Congress began in January 2001. The 6th District comprises all or portions of 19 counties in eastern Indiana, and was numbered as the 2nd District during his first term in Congress. He was reelected in 2002 and 2004 with no significant opposition. In the 2006 House elections, he defeated Democrat Barry Welsh. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... President Bush meets with Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer (then House Minority Leader and Minority Whip, respectively) at the Oval Office in the White House. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Mike Pence has been mentioned as a possible candidate for President in 2008. While it is rare for candidates for President of the United States to officially declare their candidacy prior to late in the year preceding the presidential election (in this case, 2007), some potential Republican candidates may have expressed their interest in running in the 2008 presidential election and are listed...

Political leanings

He is the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative House Republicans. He was succeeded in the 110th Congress by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). The RSC is the largest single component of the Republican caucus. Pence often describes himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order."^[1] The Republican Study Committee is a caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

In June 2006, Pence unveiled a plan he describes as 'no amnesty immigration reform' consisting of increased border security first, followed by strict enforcement of laws against hiring illegal aliens, and a guest worker program. This guest worker program requires potential participants to apply from their home country to government-approved job placement agencies that match workers with employers who cannot find Americans for the job.^[2] The plan has received support from conservative leaders such as Dick Armey.^[3] However, paleoconservative commentator Pat Buchanan described this as "stealth amnesty," claiming that it is merely a 'one week vacation' for illegal immigrants to return to their home country to apply for jobs under the program.^[4] Other conservative leaders like Phyllis Schlafly and Tom Tancredo have also criticized Pence's plan.^[5][6] June 2006 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Extraordinary renditions. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A foreign worker (cf expatriate), is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. ... Dick Armey on NBCs Meet the Press. ... The term paleoconservative (sometimes shortened to paleo or paleocon when the context is clear) refers to an American branch of conservative Old Right thought that is frequently at odds with the current of conservative thought as espoused by the Republican Party elite. ... Patrick Joseph Buchanan (born November 2, 1938) is an American politician, author, syndicated columnist, and broadcaster. ... Phyllis Schlafly (born on August 15, 1924, in St. ... Thomas Gerard (Tom) Tancredo (born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from the Republican Party. ...

Pence is often described as a "Reagan Republican," and frequently quotes President Reagan in speeches and press releases. He speaks of supporting individual freedom, private enterprise, free markets, limited government, traditional values, and a strong national defense. Under his guidance, the RSC's plan for the 109th Congress was entitled, "The Contract with America: Renewed."

Pence voted for the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and advocates making them permanent, he voted for the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, for "Operation Offset" to counterbalance Katrina spending, and against federal subsidies for embryonic stem cell research (citing his pro-life beliefs and that most success in research has been from adult stem cells), and has co-sponsored pork spending reform. He was influential in the RSC's Top Ten Agenda for 2006,^[7] which focused on fiscal responsibility and traditional values. A tax cut is a reduction in the rate of tax charged by a government, for example on personal or corporate income. ... The phrase partial-birth abortion is a controversial one used primarily by abortion opponents in the United States. ... Mouse embryonic stem cells. ...

Pence has also been a strong supporter of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Even as US public opinion had turned against the war in 2007, Pence maintained an enthusiastic committment to escalating US troop presence in the country, going to great lengths to justify his position. During an April 2007 visit to Baghdad, Pence and John McCain visited Shorja market--which had been the site of a deadly attack in February, 2007 that claimed the lives of 61 people. During the visit, Pence wore a bullet-proof vest and was accompanied by 100 soldiers in armored Humvees being protected from above by US attack helicopters. He described his heavily-militarized visit as being "unfettered" and "like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime."^[8] The day after Pence's visit to the market he described as "normal," 21 market workers were abducted, restrained, and shot dead.^[9] Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is an American politician, currently the Republican senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. ... Shorja or Al-Shorja (Arabic,الشورجة) is a marketplace in Baghdad, Iraq. ... This article refers to the Military HMMWV, not the civilian Hummer sold by General Motors The M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) is a military motor vehicle created by AM General. ...

Candidacy for House Republican leadership

On November 8, 2006, Mike Pence announced his candidacy for leader of the Republican Party (minority leader) in the US House of Representatives.^[10] November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ...

Pence's release announcing his run for minority leader focused on a "return to the values" of the 1994 Republican Revolution.^[11] He said regarding the Contract with America: "Our opponents will say that the American people rejected our Republican vision. I say the American people didn't quit on the Contract with America, we did. And in so doing, we severed the bonds of trust between our party and millions of our most ardent supporters..."^[11]

Some political analysts, such as Robert D. Novak, say Pence benefited in the long run from the endorsement of numerous organizations and individuals aligned with the party's base. Some of which include Human Events ^[12], Laura Ingraham,^[13] and Rush Limbaugh.^[14] Ingraham stated on her show, "If there is a God in heaven, (Pence) will be the next House minority leader."^[15] Pence also received support from the Club for Growth, The Wall Street Journal and David Keene from the American Conservative Union. Robert David Sanders Novak (born February 26, 1931) is a conservative political commentator and political figure. ... Human Events is a weekly conservative magazine founded in 1944. ... Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1964 in Glastonbury, Connecticut) is an American conservative talk radio host and author. ... Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American radio talk show host and political commentator. ... The Club for Growth is a section 527 political organization and an affiliated political action committee that raises money for candidates who support an anti-tax and limited-government agenda. ... The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with a worldwide average daily circulation of more than 2. ... The American Conservative Union (ACU) is a large conservative political lobbying group in the United States. ...

On November 17, Pence lost to Representative John Boehner of Ohio by a vote of 168-27-1 (the one vote went to Representative Joe Barton of Texas).^[16] John Andrew Boehner (BAY-ner; IPA pronunciation: ) (born November 17, 1949), is an American politician of the Republican Party who served as House Majority Leader in the 109th Congress, and a U.S. Representative from Ohios 8th congressional district, which includes parts of the city Dayton as well as... Joseph Linus Joe Barton (born September 15, 1949) is a Republican politician, representing Texass 6th congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1985. ...

References

External links

• U.S. Congressman Mike Pence official House site
• Mike's Blog
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission - Congressman Mike Pence campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues - Mike Pence issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Mike Pence campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Mike Pence (IN) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Mike Pence profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Mike Pence voting record
• Mike Pence for Congress official campaign site
• Mike Pence for President 2008 unofficial supporter
• IN FairTax grassroots website Mike Pence, cosponsor