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Vice President Mike Pence greets guests during an event celebrating National Military Appreciation Month and National Military Spouse Appreciation Day on May 9, 2017, in Washington.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Ahead of Montana's special House election on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence is stepping in to lend a hand to the GOP's candidate in the moderately Republican state.

Pence recorded a robocall on behalf of Greg Gianforte, saying "President Trump and I need Greg working with us in Washington to cut your taxes, secure our borders and protect your Second Amendment rights."

Pence goes on to slam House Democrats, specifically Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, urging voters not to let them "take this seat out of Republican hands" adding that "the stakes are high" in Thursday's election.

This is the second case of Pence stepping in to help Republican candidates. He recently established his own political action committee, the Great America Committee, in order to help raise money to get pro-Trump candidates elected.

Pence campaign strategist Nick Ayers shut down any speculation that the PAC was anything more than a vehicle to help other candidates.

While it's not common for a sitting vice president to set up a fundraising vehicle like Pence's, the PAC, Ayers says, moves all of the data, emails and digital assets that Pence had built up in a state-level gubernatorial political committee into a federal PAC.

It's a "legal necessity," Ayers said. "It is what it is."

Democrats are hoping for a win in Montana as they need to win 24 seats to get back control of the House in 2018. Both parties have been spending large sums to fill the vacant seat left by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

The campaign committees for Democrat Rob Quist and Gianforte have raised at least $10 million combined, with outside groups spending more than $7.1 million thus far.

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Mike Pence records robocall for Montana special House election - CBS News

Vice President Mike Pence is expected to bring the national debate over the future of health care and federal spending priorities to Louisiana business leaders on Wednesday.

Pence will hold a listening session with Louisiana job creators and small business ownersat Cajun Industries in West Baton Rouge Parish to hear first-hand about the state of the economy and health care. His closed-door meeting with them will be followed by a public address.Pence, a Republican and former governor of Indiana, is expected to arrive in Baton Rouge via Air Force Two at around 10:20 a.m.

Pence's appearance comes just a day after Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, blasted the Trump administration's budget plan for the coming fiscal cycle as turning a "blind eye to the needs of the state of Louisiana."

Edwards is expected to meet with Pence upon his arrival at the Baton Rouge airport.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville; U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge; and CMS Administrator Seema Verma are expected to join the vice president for a third trip to Louisiana in the past year.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump's administration unveiled a $4.1 trillion spending proposal that includes deep cuts to safety-net programs for the poor, including Medicaid and food stamps. Meanwhile, it calls for increases to military spending and border security.

It leans on the passage of a GOP-backed overhaul of the federal health care law, which has been tepidly received by the Senate following swift passage in the House earlier this year.

As it passed the House, the American Health Care Act would scale back the expansion of Medicaid that Louisiana rolled out in July 2016. More than 428,000 Louisiana residents have enrolled in Medicaid in the months since the eligibility was expanded.

Across our state, thousands of working poor people receive lifesaving health care treatment thanks to Medicaid expansion, and we are saving Louisiana taxpayers a significant amount of money in the process," Edwards said in a statement. "The presidents budget proposal would rip this health coverage from the hands of the people who need it most, and states like Louisiana would be left with very few options."

Mick Mulvaney, budget director for the Trump administration, defended the budget proposal during a press briefing on Tuesday. He said that the AHCA will provide more flexibility in Medicaid, for example, lowering costs.

"Everyone is interested in seeing the truly needy in their state and in our nation get the care that we promised them in Medicaid," Mulvaney said. "But there's a better way to do it than under current law, which is Obamacare."

During the presidential campaign, Pence joined Trump to see first-hand the devastation after historical floods swept across the Baton Rouge metro area. He then took part in a rally in New Orleans for Kennedy.

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President-elect Donald Trump told nearly 5,000 cheering fans who gathered in Baton Rouge on

Vice President elect Mike Pence speaks during a visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

A young supporter is looked after while waiting during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence speaks during a visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence speaks during a visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Supporters go through security for a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Rep. Steve Scalise, House Majority Whip, speaks during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy speaks during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence, center, takes his picture taken with a supporter using her cell phone during his visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence, center, has his picture taken with a baby during his visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, left, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, left, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Protesters line street during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, left, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, right, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence speaks during a visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

A young supporter is looked after while waiting during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence speaks during a visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence speaks during a visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Supporters go through security for a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Rep. Steve Scalise, House Majority Whip, speaks during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy speaks during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence, center, takes his picture taken with a supporter using her cell phone during his visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Vice President elect Mike Pence, center, has his picture taken with a baby during his visit to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, left, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, left, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Protesters line street during a visit by Vice President elect Mike Pence to New Orleans to campaign for GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, left, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

GOP Senate candidate John N. Kennedy, right, and Vice President elect Mike Pence wave to the crowd during a visit by Vice President elect to New Orleans to campaign for the GOP Senate candidate at a rally at New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday Dec. 3, 2016.

Follow Elizabeth Crisp on Twitter, @elizabethcrisp.

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See VP Mike Pence's plans for Baton Rouge visit Wednesday seeking insight on health care, economy - The Advocate

Story highlights

(CNN)Vice President Mike Pence's commencement speech at Notre Dame on Sunday drew national attention due to the fact a group of students decided to protest the address by leaving once it began. How big a deal was the walk-out actually? And how did Pence do overall? I reached out to longtime South Bend Tribune political columnist Jack Colwell, who was at the Pence speech, for answers. Our conversation, conducted via email and lightly edited for flow, is below.

Cillizza: How was Pence received at ND, broadly speaking? There's a ton of focus on the protests. Is that representative of his overall reception?

Colwell: Pence received a somewhat lukewarm response from the graduates when his honorary degree was presented just before the speech. There was polite applause. But only a few students stood. There was a warmer response when he concluded his remarks, with most of the graduates standing and applauding. The warmer response then was no doubt because of his usual sunny disposition and the many times he expressed praise for Notre Dame. There was more enthusiasm from parents and guests in the stadium stands throughout the speech than from the graduates on the field.

Cillizza: The protesters. How many? How disruptive? And how big an impediment to Pence's actual speech?

Colwell: About 200 people walked out when Pence began to speak. That includes graduates and some parents and friends who joined them. There was no disruption. They walked out silently. Pence continued without pause with his speech and never mentioned the departure. A couple hundred walking out was a small portion of the crowd estimated by Notre Dame to be 24,000 -- graduates, guests, faculty and staff. Now, more graduates than those who walked out had expressed displeasure with selection of Pence. But most were not about to leave their commencement ceremony.

Cillizza: Let's talk about Pence's actual speech as a piece of political rhetoric. Effective?

Colwell: The speech was similar to Pence speeches heard for years when he was governor. He used no harsh rhetoric and no denunciations of the type associated with President Trump. He talked of his religious faith and American ideals, especially freedom of speech and of religion. He of course included traditional commencement admonitions to follow precepts and principles and to provide future leadership. As a commencement speech, it was effective. It was not at all a policy speech.

Cillizza: Pence left Indiana not terribly popular. Has that changed since he became vice president?

Cillizza: Finish this sentence. "The most important takeaway from the Pence speech at Notre Dame is _________." Now, explain.

Colwell: The most important takeaway from the Pence speech is that he showed no inclination to move even a smidgen away from President Trump. Despite speculation that he is seeking to ease away from defending the President, Pence had high praise for Trump. He said Trump has taken steps to protect religious liberty at home, including for Notre Dame, and had just spoken out in Saudi Arabia against religious persecution around the world. And he forcefully repeated his oft-expressed belief that "the greatest honor of my life is to serve as vice president to the 45th president . . . Donald Trump."

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What it was like to be in the audience at Mike Pence's Notre Dame speech - CNN

Before our current service for President Donald Trump as his vice president and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, we worked together at the state level: as governor of Indiana and as an adviser to the state on health care issues and Medicaid.

Our experience on health care at the state level taught us a clear lesson for policymaking in Washington: One size does not fit all.

Unfortunately, that is what Obamacare imposes across our entire country, and the results, particularly in Louisiana, are disastrous.

Earlier this year, President Trump predicted Obamacare will explode and have a very bad year.

He was correct.

Just look at the facts in Louisiana. President Obama promised Obamacare would cut premiums by $2,500 for the average family, yet since 2013, the average price of a plan on Louisianas individual insurance market has risen $3,648. From 2016 to 2017, the price of the standard Obamacare plan shot up by 17 percent.

Last year, 59 out of Louisianas 64 parishes had just one or two companies offering insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. Then in February, the insurer Humana announced that it is pulling out of the exchanges in Louisiana and across the entire country.

Speaking of national ramifications, Americas largest health insurer, Aetna, recently announced that it is leaving the laws exchanges entirely as well. Every other major insurer has expressed serious concerns about the viability of the exchanges. In the states where insurers have begun to propose rates for 2018, double-digit increases are the norm.

As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress earlier this year, we must repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and, at the same time, provide better health care.

That is what the bill passed this month by the House of Representatives does, and the Senate would do well to follow suit.

The principles for health reform that undergird the House bill would reverse the mistakes of Obamacare and set us on the path toward a state-led, patient-centered health care system.

The top priority is repealing Obamacares individual and employer mandate penalties, which force Americans and businesses to buy pricey Washington, D.C.-approved coverage. As President Trump has promised, we should provide a refundable tax credit for Americans who buy insurance on their own to buy coverage that works for them, rather than a plan that Washington dictates. Meanwhile, Obamacares hundreds of billions of dollars in crushing taxes on health insurance, investment, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, medical devices, and more have to go.

It is also important to undo the deep cuts Obamacare is scheduled to make to hospitals that serve underprivileged populations, and protect conscience and life by redirecting federal funding from abortion providers to community health clinics.

Another priority is resetting the federal-state partnership that funds Medicaid. From our experience working together on Medicaid in Indiana, we know flexibility and reform are necessary to help the program focus on serving the most vulnerable.

Any bill passed by Congress ought to live up to President Trumps promise to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions, as the House-passed bill does. The approach taken by the House bill is innovative and state- and patient-centered: States that believe Obamacares existing thicket of regulations is sustainable can leave that system in place. But if states show they can do a better job of improving choices and lowering costs via more flexible regulations and well-funded high risk pools, they can do that instead.

In a country of more than 300 million people, we should not just tolerate this kind of state-level innovation we should welcome it. In just the first few months of this administration, President Trump has taken steps to encourage state-level innovation in Medicaid and in health care systems to alleviate some of Obamacares burdens. But truly unleashing state innovation requires passing a new law.

The Republican principles embodied in the Houses bill are not the only things we need to fix Americas health care system. But they would be a huge step toward a system that is finally patient-centered and lets states take the lead on ensuring patients have access to high-quality, affordable, innovative care.

The Senate has a huge opportunity before it.

We look forward to working with senators to deliver on President Trumps vision for real reform and a health care system in America that actually works.

Mike Pence is vice president of the United States. Seema Verma is administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. They are slated to visit Louisiana today.

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Mike Pence, health official: One-size-fits-all Obamacare a failing prescription for Louisiana - The Advocate

To the editor: Is that the best Americans deserve, a president who wouldnt be too bad? (Should we wish for a President Pence? Opinion, May 21)

If that is the case, then this nation is in a downward spiral from which it cannot recover. I refuse to believe that the great American experiment, a representative democracy, is doomed to fail.

Those legislators who represent moderate and left-wing voters must work diligently and together to get this great ship of state sailing on the right course again.

Valerie Fields, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: I started reading Doyle McManus column with the high expectation that he was onto something regarding Vice President Mike Pence versus Donald Trump as president. I was looking for the word compassion as I read.

I want compassion for the 20 million-plus Americans about to lose their health insurance under the Republicans healthcare bill; compassion for the families being needlessly broken up with immigration stings; compassion for the students being forced to rack up debt to get a college education.

I reached the end of the article without any such mention. I vote to stick with Trump, the best morally rotten apple out of an entire barrel of morally rotten apples.

Eddie Dawes, Hacienda Heights

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Originally posted here:
Americans should not settle for a 'good enough' president in Mike Pence - Los Angeles Times