2016 Vice Presidential Candidates: Mike Pence and Tim Kaine

Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have announced their vice presidential running mates. But while we’ve been focused on Donald and Hillary for several months, these vice presidential candidates are fairly unknown and it’s difficult to know exactly who they are and what they stand for. As a result, I thought it was a great time to give you all an overview of who they are.

Donald Trump selected current Indiana governor, Mike Pence, to run alongside him. Mike Pence  is a lot of things that Trump is not. He is soft spoken, has vast political experience, and a strong Christian faith. Part of his political experience has been in the executive branch as governor. He is known for economic reform in Indiana as he cut taxes and funded education while creating economic recovery. Before becoming governor he was in the US House of representatives from 2001-2013 for the 2nd and 6th district. During that time he was also the chairman of the Republican Conference from 2009-2011.

On the issues, he is pro-gun, radically pro-life, against LGBTQ rights, and favors cutting taxes for the upper class. Donald Trump and him differ on a few issues such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact with Asian countries(Pence supports it, Trump does not), banning Muslims(Pence does not support it, Trump does). Pence is an advocate for making abortion illegal and banning same sex marriage, Trump takes more of a center approach to these issues. 

In terms of his non political life, he is 57 years old. He was born in Colombus, Indiana. He is married to Karen Pence and they have 3 children: Audrey, Michael, and Charlotte.

Hillary Clinton selected Tim Kaine as her running mate. He is a current Virginia senator(elected in 2012) with over 20 years of public service experience. He was first elected in 1994 as a councilman on the Richmond City Council. He became mayor of Richmond in 1998, and he served up to 2001 when he was elected Lieutenant Governor. He later was elected governor and served from 2006-2009. He is no foreigner to the democratic party as he served as the chairman for the Democratic National Committee from 2009- 2011. He is an asset as Virginia is a swing state, that he can hopefully help Clinton win easily. He is also known as an aisle-crosser(defending what is right, not necessarily along party lines), which could help appeal to Republicans and Independents. 

On the issues, he favors tax reform, supports same-sex marriage as well as the Affordable Care Act. All of those he agrees with Clinton on. He does differ with Clinton on issues of abortion and trade. Though he is moving more to the left on abortion, he says he morally opposes it but supports Roe V. Wade and the women’s right to choose. Kaine praises TPP, differing from Clinton who has come out strongly opposed to it. 

He is 58 years old and was born in Saint Paul, MN. He is married to Anne Holton whom he met at Harvard Law School. They have 3 children: Woody, Annella, and Nat. 

This Thursday I will have a post all about TPP, which was mentioned several times in this post. So make sure you are following along so you don't miss out on any new posts(every Tuesday & Thursday),  just enter your email in the widget on the sidebar.

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What is a National Convention?

This upcoming Monday, July 18 begins the Republican National Convention which will go through the 21st. The Democratic National Convention will follow shortly after beginning the 25th and going through the 28th. As a result, I thought it was the perfect time to go over the purpose of the convention as well as what you can expect to be different or come out of the convention. 

Democratic Convention 2008 // Credit: PBS

The Purpose: The main purpose of the convention is to officially nominate the party's candidate for president. All the delegates who were elected in each state's primary, caucus or convention will reaffirm their selection. The vice presidential candidate is usually selected by the presumptive nominee before the convention and affirmed at the convention. The convention is also when the parties will affirm their platform(the views of the party as a whole). There are also several speakers at the convention who serve to reaffirm the parties beliefs. As you can see the whole convention process is mostly for show, often time some rulemaking or debate can happen at the convention, but most of the time it is just a formal process that helps the party and the candidate to get attention and have time to present their views. 

Republican Convention 2008 // Credit: ABC

Outcome: The result of the convention is the party finally has an official nominee for president and vice president, as well as an official party platform. The party and the nominee can now focus on the general election(even though they already were). It's a ceremony that is rooted in showcasing party loyalty and strength as well as helping the nominee and the party to get some air time. 

Presumptive Nominee: The presumptive nominee is what the candidate from each party is called from the time they reach the necessary number of delegates until the convention. For example, Hillary Clinton became the presumptive Democratic Nominee June 6th and will remain it until she is nominated at the convention. 

Nominee: The presidential candidate from each party after the convention. For example, after the convention ends next Thursday Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee. 

Platform: The platform is the what the party believes in. It is also the issues that they would like to focus on throughout the campaign. It is created by the Republican leaders and often is supported by the presumptive nominee. For example, the 2016 Republican platform is said to have Trump's proposed Mexican border wall on it. 

Contested Convention:  You may recognize this term because it was thrown around a lot a few months ago. It is basically when one person does not have the necessary amount of delegates to become the presumptive nominee. As a result, they must have a vote at the convention, so the party can come to a consensus on who to choose. Sometimes this requires several rounds of voting and the elimination of some candidates. Parties don't like this because it takes the focus off of the party's issues as well as the nominee doesn't get near as much attention or airtime. For an example of a contested convention check out this clip from West Wing!

Delegate: A delegate is someone who speaks on behalf of an organization. In this case, each state has delegates at the convention. These delegates are party activists. The delegates are required to pledge allegiance to their district or state winner to represent the will of the people. If there is a contested convention, then they are only required to pledge to their state/district in the first round and may swap   sides in later rounds. 

Super Delegate: A super delegate has the same job as a delegate except they are a party insider and they are not bound to vote a certain way. They may vote for any candidate. For example, this election cycle most democratic super delegates are said to probably be going to Hillary Clinton as they usually back establishment candidates.

Nancy Pelosi speaking at the 2008 Democratic Convention // Credit: UPI

I hope this will give you some clarity on the biggest political focuses for the next two weeks. If you have any questions at all please comment down bellow or shoot me a quick email!

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What is The Politics Girl?

Welcome to The Politics Girl, a site helping you get informed about politics and current events. I find the world of politics intriguing, but confusing. There is so much conflicting information and bias, it seems difficult to get the bare bone facts. That is my job. I want to give you the information without any skew to the right or left. I don’t want to push my beliefs on you all, I simply want to give you the facts that will allow you to form your own beliefs and opinions. My goal is simple I want you all to get involved, cast a vote that means something to you or help a candidate that fits your beliefs and vision for the country. I believe the political process works best when we all participate. We aren’t all going to think the same way, but that is what makes it great. Please follow along with the politics girl for breakdowns of major events, candidates, political jargon, and the parties!