Commentary: Pence stance on marriage amendment contradicts his larger message

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John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com

John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – So much for being governor of all the people of Indiana.

Commentary button in JPG - no shadowA few days ago, not long after the Indiana House of Representatives voted to strip the controversial second sentence out of House Joint Resolution 3 – the proposed state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage – Gov. Mike Pence weighed in.

He told the Indianapolis CBS affiliate WISH-TV that he supported the HJR 3 in its original form.

That is, with the second sentence still part of it, the one that says Indiana not only won’t allow gay people to marry here, but also won’t recognize or consider valid any civil union, domestic partnership or other kind of social contract designed to protect and acknowledge same-sex committed relationships.

Pence’s stance on HJR 3 contradicted his inaugural address last year, when he said:

“I am humbled by your trust, honored that you have chosen me to serve, and I am eager to be the governor of all the people of Indiana – young and old, city and country, rich and poor.”

It also undercuts the governor’s often-reiterated pledge that his focus in office would not be on social issues but instead would be on “jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Right now, the Hoosiers who oppose HJR 3 – including the businesses leaders who were adamantly opposed to the second sentence because they argue it will make it harder for them to recruit and retain skilled employees – may have difficulty believing that Pence meant what he said.

The truth is that, in regard to HJR 3, Pence is in a box.

It may be a box he helped build himself, but a box nonetheless.

The last thing the governor wants is to have the debate over HJR 3 continue beyond this year. If the altered version of the measure is the one that goes forward, that would mean that HJR 3 wouldn’t go on the ballot in 2014.

Instead, the earliest the measure could go on the ballot would be 2016 – when Pence presumably will be running for re-election. If Hoosiers end up voting on HJR 3 in 2016, that will mean that businesses in other organizations will pour millions of dollars into the state to defeat a measure that Pence will be supporting.

That’s not a comforting thought for a Republican governor who won his office with less than 50 percent of the vote the first time around. The business community never has been completely convinced that their priorities are his priorities. His support of HJR 3 in its original form is likely to reinforce those doubts.

But acknowledging the business community’s concern also carried some risks. Pence’s base – social conservatives – see this issue as their Gettysburg, the spot where the outcome of the political civil war over social issues will be won or lost.

Social conservatives have sustained Pence through defeat and victory. Their support, in large part, put him in Congress and made him governor.

For him to abandon social conservatives now, when the issue about which they care most is front and center, would be to risk alienating his staunchest supporters.

No politician wants that.

Did it have to be this way? Did Pence have to put himself in this box?

No.

Before this battle over same-sex marriage settled into the kind of trench warfare conflict it is now, Pence could have challenged his base to think again about that second part of the proposed amendment. He could have said that it not only troubled businessMole and bothered many moderates who otherwise likely would be lining up to support HJR 3, but it undercut the message that proponents of the measure have advanced.

The champions of HJR 3 say the proposed amendment is not anti-gay but pro-family and pro-children. If that’s true – and the evidence suggests that most advocates for HJR 3 sincerely believe that families and children are imperiled – then why would the measure’s champions attempt to make it impossible for same-sex or other non-traditional couples ever to find a way to provide legal protections for their children and their families?

To challenge his supporters to think more carefully would have required foresight and, yes, courage on Pence’s part.

Instead, he chose simply to line up with his base and support HJR 3 all the way, however flawed it might be.

So much for being governor of all the people of Indiana.

John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits” WFYI 90.1 Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

 

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17 COMMENTS

  2. ‘Social conservatives have sustained Pence through defeat and victory. Their support, in large part, put him in Congress and made him governor’. ~~ Krull Article

    They will unsheathe their long knives the first time he displeases them. Their support is highly contingent on him following their orders. His social conservative clackers are fickle. It is unlikely but someone with a meaner scowl might come along…

  3. Typical John Troll article. After failing at the AACLU for years and being cast out by the libtards for nonperformance, writing a .com meandering that troll sheets will pick up is all he can hope for.

    Typical comment after reading his blither? Usually a yawn.

  4. How in the world did I miss the mole picture in this article? I bet the next time I find that sucker!

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