Welcome to what is the 888th original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing the sitting U.S. House Representative from Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, Greg Pence, who yes, is the older brother of Vice President Mike Pence, whom Greg would call “Bubbles” in their youth. (Frankly, that’s the most humanizing thing I’ve ever heard about either Pence, who have all the charisma of jars of mayonnaise past their expiration.) Anyway, Mike Pence was the Congressman from Indiana’s 6th from 2003-2012, when he left Congress to become the abysmal Governor of Indiana, and Luke Messner took the baton for three terms… until 2018, when Messner made a failed run for U.S. Senate in Indiana, and Greg Pence stumbled out of his brother’s shadow to join the ranks of the obstructionist tools of the Republican Congressional Caucus.
Part of the reason Mike Pence became the more successful political story has to do with Greg’s record as a businessman, as he ran the family chain of Tobacco Road convenience stores in Indiana badly enough that they filed for bankruptcy, and ended up being fined $8.4 million because of environmental damage done by leaking underground storage tanks. Other than that, Greg Pence avoided reporters as if they were radioactive, did the bare minimum by being interviewed by a conservative radio talk show host where he could endorse Trump’s stupid idea for a border wall, and otherwise coast into Congress based on the family name.
Which somehow, was not the end of him having shady and outrageous business dealings… as the New York Times reported last year, since Greg Pence arrived in Washington, D.C., he frequently helps funnel money into the Trump Foundation, often by booking rooms at Trump’s DC hotel that he can pay for with campaign money. Whenever there’s been a Trump rally back in Indiana, he’s there to cheerlead (and his son is rumored to literally be doing that with chants at the rallies).
And whenever Donald Trump is in jeopardy in the House, like say, when the inquiry into Trump’s phone call with the President Ukraine was being investigated as a shakedown, he called it a “power grab”, or “bulls*** to the 4th degree”. (Watch the language, Greg, you might burn poor Bubbles’ virgin ears.)
Being boring, partisan, pathological liars is familial trait, it seems. Don’t believe us? Check out his voting record:
- January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Pence voted against HR 648, because he was gleefully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
- January 27th, 2019: Greg Pence voted against HJR 30, which was meant to express disapproval of Donald Trump not acting against Russian Federation for attacking our democracy. You see, he’s fine with our nation being sublet to Vladimir Putin.
- February 28th, 2019: Greg Pence votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
- March 14th, 2019: Rep. Pence votes against HJR 46, which sane members of Congress voted for to reject Donald Trump’s “national emergency” regarding the U.S. border and his attempts to reallocate funds for a border wall without Congressional approval.
- April 4th, 2019: Greg Pence is one of 158 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
- June 4th, 2019: Pence votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
- July 16th, 2019: Greg Pence votes against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.
- October 17th, 2019: Rep. Pence is one of 60 Republicans who vote against HJ Res 77, which opposed Donald Trump’s disastrous decision to abandon Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria to the mercies of a Turkish invasion.
- December 3rd, 2019: Greg Pence is one of 71 Republicans who votes against a resolution to disallow Russia from re-entering the G7 and makes it the G8 until it leaves Ukraine.
- December 18th, 2019: Rep. Pence ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the impeachment of Donald Trump.
- May 15th, 2020: Pence votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indiana’s 6th Congressional District has a +18 Republican lean, and yes, that’s a tie for the most conservative lean of any district in the state. It’s been set up so that nepotism can reign, and Greg Pence can get at least 60% of the vote while never talking to a reporter, or debating his Democratic opponent, Jeannine Lee Lake, for the second election in a row.
We don’t know how long this guy rides his little brother’s coattails into a career in politics, but the sooner this putz is shown the door, the better.
One Year Ago, July 9th, 2019: Neal Tapio (SD)
Two Years Ago, July 9th, 2018: Luther Strange (AL)
Three Years Ago, July 9th, 2017: Mick Mulvaney (SC)… 2017 Update
Four Years Ago, July 9th, 2016: Mick Mulvaney (SC)… Original Profile
Five Years Ago, July 9th, 2015: Randy Terrill (OK)