‘Happy warrior’: Pence’s team-up with Trump brings out hopes and fears in Indiana

In many ways, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is the antithesis of Donald Trump — a deeply religious man who prides himself on not running TV attack ads while regularly proclaiming, “I’m a conservative, but I’m not in a bad mood about it.”

Described by one prominent state Republican as a “happy warrior,” Pence is a politician whose polished, milquetoast brand stands in such a striking contrast to the brash, turbulent Trump that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s decision to elevate him to his vice presidential pick left many in Indiana stunned, despite days of strong signals it was going to happen.

“People are so shocked and floored that Mike Pence was even a possible contender to line up with Donald Trump, given the type of personality he has,” said Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, a local conservative TV and radio commentator who noted the “big-time irony” in Pence, the self-styled positive campaigner, pitching himself as the right fit to join forces with the divisive Trump.

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Outside his home state, the Pence pick is considered a way to bring along evangelicals and a hesitant GOP establishment, particularly congressional Republicans, even as it adds a seasoned smooth-talker unlikely to commit many unforced errors.

Inside Indiana’s Statehouse, Republicans said Pence will bring the ticket a dollop of Midwestern common sense and balance out Trump’s often toxic tone. Democrats viewed Pence as a political opportunist while seeing a chance to take the governor’s office, with Republicans scrambling to find a replacement. And both sides have a measure of fear that Pence’s selection means Indiana’s recent culture war battles will be rerun on the national stage.

That’s because in the past year, Pence has been a divisive figure in his own right — at least in Indiana.

The governor backed a so-called religious freedom measure that allowed residents and businesses to ignore state laws that conflict with their religious beliefs. Signed during a private ceremony with religious leaders, the law immediately drew fire nationwide as the state effectively had sanctioned discrimination against gays, prompting “Pence must go!” yard signs to crop up throughout Indiana.

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Donald Trump announced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his vice presidential running mate.

Pence and his evangelical allies insisted the law protected religious rights, but it led to a strong backlash from businesses, fierce opposition from the LGBT community, canceled conventions and concerts, and boycotts and travel bans to the state. He ultimately backtracked, passing “fix” legislation that made it clear the law couldn’t be used to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

But damage had been done, and some Republicans and Democrats worried that a new round of national coverage of Pence’s time as governor would lead to more stigma.

“I do not relish seeing some of the social issue catastrophes revisited. Those aren’t debates of which we were very proud,” said Scott Pelath, a Democratic lawmaker from Michigan City who speaks with a distinct Chicago accent and serves as minority leader of the Indiana House. “Many of us don’t believe they reflected well on Indiana, and all that stuff is going to be dredged back up and will be back in the national news again with Mike Pence on the ticket.”

Conservative with Chicago ties

Pence’s family has roots in Chicago. In a 2014 speech to the City Club of Chicago, Pence said he owed “a debt of gratitude to Chicago,” noting that his grandfather arrived at Ellis Island in 1923, took a train here and drove a bus for nearly 40 years. His parents, he said, grew up on the South Side, near 55th and Honore streets.

Also during the speech, Pence also noted how especially meaningful it was to be speaking during December, the time of year he often traveled to Chicago as a child.

“It’s very personal when I’m in this city. I feel very at home. My story is I was raised by two big-city kids in a really small town in southern Indiana,” said Pence, who grew up in Columbus, Ind. “Particularly this time of year, the Pence family would find themselves in the back of a station wagon making the long trip up what was then Highway 31 to the South Side of Chicago to hearth and home and family and friends. It’s a blessing to be here this time of year with all of you and reflect on those deep memories.”

But Pence also has been known to rib Chicago and Illinois over what he has characterized as fiscal mismanagement and political dysfunction. In the same speech, he noted Indiana-purchased billboards in Illinois that read “Caution high taxes ahead” and “Attention tax drop. State line 16 miles ahead,” as the Chicago audience laughed.

Pence got his political bearings as a conservative radio host, with “The Mike Pence Show” carried on stations throughout Indiana. Looking back on those seven years behind the microphone, Pence often has described himself as “like Rush Limbaugh, but on decaf.”

As a sign of the intense new scrutiny that will be paid to Pence, the radio frequency in Rushville that once served as his show’s home base has been inundated with calls from reporters and political operatives for tapes and transcripts. (The station has changed ownership a few times in the past decade or so, and records of the show are no longer at the station, a representative said.)

After building popularity and name ID on the airwaves, Pence was a shoo-in to win a south central Indiana congressional district. In the House, Pence was an early voice that challenged party leadership from the right, before the tea party wave took hold in 2008.

He rose to chairman of the Republican Conference, and his media background served him well as he frequently appeared on cable news shows to argue for conservative viewpoints. While Pence was viewed as ambitious inside the beltway, he also frequently criticized the D.C. establishment once he no longer was part of it.

“I served in Congress for 12 years, and if I only had 12 years left to live, I’d want to live it as a member of Congress,” Pence once deadpanned. “Because that was the longest 12 years of my life.”

Hoosier Democrats argue Pence’s obvious audition for the Trump ticket while running for a second-term as governor removed any doubt he valued his own political rise over serving the state. They also argue he now has skated on a tough reelection fight against Democrat John Gregg.

Gregg, who served as Speaker of the Indiana House from 1996 until retiring in 2003, lost to Pence by 3 percentage points four years ago. Polling had the two in a neck-and-neck race this time.

“Indiana is a Republican state. He has a $2-billion surplus. He has super majorities in both chambers and the office was literally handed to him by the most popular Republican governor in over a generation — and he was going to lose. That failure would have been on him,” Gregg said after a luncheon Friday in Indianapolis.

“If the Trump presidency sputters and doesn’t take off, there will be no shame for him now, and he can live and continue to be an opportunist somewhere else,” Gregg said while an opposition campaign operative shot video of his every move. “Maybe he’ll get one of those Fox News shows.”

Trump ticket

Just what Pence brings to the ticket was a matter of home-state debate.

Jim Brainard, the longtime mayor of Carmel, an affluent suburb north of Indianapolis, served as co-chair of Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s Indiana campaign. Brainard said he opposes many of Trump’s stances, including barring Muslim immigrants, not being inclusive toward Hispanics and a lack of interest in preserving environmental resources.

But in a swipe at fellow moderate Republicans who aren’t getting behind Trump and are sitting out the upcoming week’s national convention, Brainard said Republicans should push to improve the businessman’s candidacy. Pence will help on that front, he said.

“[Trump] is the Republican candidate now, and people who care about our country need to help him in areas where he may not have much experience,” Brainard said. “There is no question his success is as a businessman, but he needs a lot of help on the legislative and governmental side, and that’s why I think Gov. Pence is a good choice for him because he’s served in Congress in a high-ranking position and as governor of a successful state.”

Like Democrat Pelath, Brainard said he worries Pence’s candidacy will draw attention back to his social stances, including the religious freedom bill and legislation preventing genetic abnormality abortions that is being challenged in court.

But Republicans also noted Pence’s candidacy would draw positive attention to the state’s surplus, balanced budgets and business-friendly tax climate. And, they said, he’ll help balance out Trump’s at-times toxic tone.

“He is a happy warrior,” Republican Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb said. “He is a man of unimpeachable character and integrity, which is exactly what is needed right now.”

But where Republicans see strength, Democrats see a liability.

“You’re not going to hear much beyond boilerplate Republican rhetoric from Mike Pence, and I think the problem with that ticket is when you have Mike Pence just stating the time-honored Republican platitudes and that contrasts with Donald Trump, who is willing to say anything on any given day,” said Pelath, the Democratic leader. “I think it’s actually going to expose, even more deeply, how Donald Trump has completely obliterated what was once the party of Lincoln.”

Republican pride

Minutes after Trump tweeted Friday that Pence would be his running mate, an attorney walked across an ornate Statehouse hallway to deliver paperwork to the secretary of state’s office withdrawing him from the governor’s race.

That set off 20 minutes of political theater.

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Soon after, Holcomb dropped from the race for the state’s No. 2 job to run for governor. A representative for U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks then filed to remove her from a reelection bid to instead run for governor. A few minutes later, U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita did the same.

While Rokita said Pence would bring “Hoosier common sense” to the nation, he seemed at a loss to reconcile Pence’s aversion to negative campaigning with Trump’s bombastic style.

“What’s negative campaigning these days, right? These are pretty unique times with the personalities in our politics. In fact, presidential politics these days have become a cult of personalities, let’s be honest,” said the Republican from west suburban Brownsburg.

Holcomb, an eight-year protege to former Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed lieutenant governor in February, also had a tough time explaining why a conservative with Pence’s reputation sought out a spot on the Trump ticket.

“Politics, at times, is a humorous sport,” he said. “Aristotle said the secret to humor is to surprise, and we’ve had plenty of surprises in 2016.”

bruthhart@chicagotribune.com

Twitter: @BillRuthhart

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