Women who have worked with Vice President Mike Pence are defending him after Democratic Senator and Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris attacked him over his stance on LGBT issues and for refusing to meet one on one with any woman other than his wife. Her comments came during an appearance on MSNBC in which Peter Alexander asked her what she thought about Senator Elizabeth Warren’s statement that Mike Pence is not an honorable man.
I disagree with most of what the Vice President stands for when he makes decisions about our LGBTQ community in a way that doesn’t understand that they should be entitled to full equality and all rights under the law as any other American,” she said. Then she added, “I disagree with him when he suggests that it’s not possible to have meetings alone with women by himself. I think that’s ridiculous, the idea that you would deny a professional woman the opportunity to have a meeting with the Vice President of the United States is outrageous.”
Pence described his policy in a 2002 interview and said he followed the practices to “build a zone around your marriage.” He said if he needed an aide to help him after hours, it must be a man, he would not dine alone with another woman, and he would not attend an event where alcohol was being served unless he was accompanied by his wife.
Alyssa Farah, Vice President Pence’s Press Secretary, fired back at Harris on Twitter over the weekend. She said, “Hi, @SenKamalaHarris: I’m a female Senior Advisor to Mike Pence & am wondering why you are repeating this false claim? He’s elevated women to positions of leadership throughout his career & relies on their advice & counsel. Get your facts straight.”
Hi, @SenKamalaHarris: I’m a female Senior Advisor to Mike Pence & am wondering why you are repeating this false claim? He’s elevated women to positions of leadership throughout his career & relies on their advice & counsel. Get your facts straight. https://t.co/oCTHKQpcdn
— Alyssa Farah (@VPPressSec) March 14, 2019
Presidential Advisor Kellyanne Conway agreed with Farah. She said, “True. I’ve worked with @VP Mike Pence for 10 years. He elevates, not excludes women, giving equal weight to our opinions/advice. And he’s a gentleman.” Then Conway took a potshot at Senator Harris, saying that she “applauded ‘leadership’ of her longtime male aide, Larry Wallace, who paid $400K for sexual harassment suit.”
True. I’ve worked with @VP Mike Pence for 10 years.
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) March 15, 2019
He elevates, not excludes, women, giving equal weight to our opinions/advice.
And he’s a gentleman.
.@SenKamalaHarris applauded “leadership” of her longtime male aide, Larry Wallace, who paid $400K for sex harassment suit https://t.co/EyGETPLJza
Pence’s character became an issue on the campaign trail when former Vice President Joe Biden said Pence was a “decent guy.” He faced tremendous backlash for the comment and eventually said about Pence, “There is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights.”
Pence laughed off Biden’s comments, telling Fox & Friends that, “They’ve got an awfully big field on that side. The reality that you see on the Democratic side is it’s largely driven by the most extreme liberal elements in their party. And the way Joe Biden caved in to liberal activists after making a kind comment towards me is evidence of the pressure that all of their candidates are going to face.”
Scott Slayton writes at One Degree to Another.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Ethan Miller/Staff
