Although he wouldn’t take the bait and announce he’d run in the 2016 presidential election, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence did offer advice to Republican candidates in this November’s election in a Ripon Forum profile.
The September issue of The Ripon Society’s magazine includes a full-page Q&A session with Pence that concludes with a give-and-take about Ronald Reagan claiming his experience as a broadcaster prepared him for public life. Pence also has broadcasting experience, hosting the syndicated “The Mike Pence Show” across 18 radio stations in Indiana.
“Do you think America will see another broadcaster in the White House any time soon?” the magazine asks.
Pence’s reply: “What’s most important is to have another Republican in the White House soon.”
While he wouldn’t announce his candidacy, Pence did discuss several topics that appeal to Republican voters:
On whether Indiana’s Medicaid reforms can be a national model: “I have long advocated for the repeal of Obamacare, but any sensible repeal must be accompanied by market-based reforms and a flexible block grant program for states to administer Medicaid as they see fit.”
On Indiana being the first state to withdraw from Common Core: “State governments should be responsible for the creation of high standards with individual schools and teachers responsible for designing curriculum best suited to meet those standards.”
On Indiana having a top business tax climate: “Fiscal discipline is an essential foundation to a growing economy. In Indiana, we have an honestly balanced budget that kept our spending increases at 2.5 percent annually, which matches the average inflation rate of the past 10 years.”
Pence also said the Republican Party must “offer a positive alternative to the failed policies of President Obama and the Democrats” in the upcoming November election.
“We need to be ‘solutions conservatives.’ We need to showcase constructive solutions that will lead to more economic opportunity and upward mobility for everyone,” Pence said. “This includes fixing our broken tax code, reforming health care in a way that lowers costs and gives families greater ownership of their health care choices, reducing job-killing regulations, and changing our safety net programs in ways that truly help people move up out of poverty.”