
 
 The NCAA has a big footprint in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) 
 
 One of the most significant moments during the administration of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who Donald Trump announced as his running mate Friday, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, came in the spring of 2015 when the state legislature passed a “religious freedom” bill. 
 
 Just days after it was passed, it came under fire, particularly from the state’s pro sports teams and from one very prominent employer, because it would have allowed businesses to refuse service to gay patrons based on religious grounds. The NCAA, which has its headquarters in Indianapolis, was on the forefront of protesters when the law was passed just before the men’s Final Four basketball tournament in Indy, with President Mark Emmert issuing a reminder that the organization wants its neutral-site championships to take place in an atmosphere of inclusion. He made his point in no uncertain terms. 
 
 [Mark Emmert: ‘This is a very big deal’] 
 
 “[After the tournament] we, the NCAA, we’ve got to sit down and say if this environment remains the way it is, what does that mean for us going forward? We hold lots and lots of events,” he told ESPN at the time. “We’re going to have our national convention here, our offices are here. We have to say, ‘What are we going to do if this law goes into effect in July? What’s our relationship with the state of Indiana going to be?’” 
 
 The NCAA, which moved from Kansas City to Indianapolis in 1999, has about 300 full-time employees. 
 
 “We’re very serious about our core values,” Emmert told ESPN, “and we want to make sure we can operate in an environment that is supportive of those values, so this is a very serious issue for us.” 
 
 The NBA, the WNBA, the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever spoke up in a joint statement but Emmert had immediate clout because of the high visibility — and the income from visitors — the men’s tournament brought to the city. Indianapolis was to be the site of the 2016 women’s Final Four basketball tournament, adding further pressure. And Indiana, which had hoped to host another Super Bowl in the next few years, knew full well that the NFL in 1990 moved a Super Bowl from Arizona, which had not passed a law making the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday. (In May, NFL owners passed over Indianapolis when they distributed Super Bowls through 2021.) When the Religious Freedom Restoration Act reached the desk of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in 2014, the NFL was prepared to move Super Bowl XLIX; Brewer vetoed that bill. 
 
 [Pence signs modified law] 
 
 Emmert said at the time that he had spoken with Pence as well as with legislators and the mayor and expressed concerns about the short-term event, the Final Four, and the long-term, the NCAA’s workforce. “The law does clearly need to be addressed, whether it’s a repeal or whether its some language change that makes it self-evident that there’s not discriminatory practices that can be condoned under this model,” Emmert said. “It’s going to be a decision they have to make, but they need to deal with it.” 
 
 Pence signed a modified version of the bill into law on April 2. Emmert was satisfied with the modification and Pence said there had been a “misunderstanding.” 
 
 “Over the past week this law has become a subject of great misunderstanding and controversy across our state and nation,” said Pence in a statement. “However we got here, we are where we are, and it is important that our state take action to address the concerns that have been raised and move forward.” ||||| S.E. Cupp is the author of "Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity," co-author of "Why You're Wrong About the Right" and a columnist at the New York Daily News. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. 
 
 (CNN) I've long admired Mike Pence and have written approvingly of his tenure in the House, his job as Indiana governor and his presidential ambitions for years. A few years ago, I interviewed him for a magazine cover story, and again while working at MSNBC. At one time I thought he was the future of the Republican Party. 
 
 Then, in 2015, Indiana's Religious Freedom and Restoration Act happened. 
 
 The problem wasn't that the law -- which allowed a business owner to raise religion as a defense when an anti-discrimination lawsuit is presented -- was so odious, despite Hillary Clinton, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Miley Cyrus' contention that it was. 
 
 Religious freedom laws were already on the books in liberal states like Rhode Island and Connecticut , and a federal RFRA was passed and voted for by Rep. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Edward Kennedy, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. 
 
 The problem with the Indiana law was that because it was so poorly worded, delivered, and then reworked, it pleased exactly no one. Liberals cried intolerance. Social conservatives said Pence caved by altering it. Others still, including me , argued that ceding more authority to the government to police discrimination in the private sector will not end discrimination. 
 
 The other problem? Mike Pence was openly thinking about running for president. The predictable foes pounced, and Pence saw his approval rating fall from 62% to 47%. 
 
 So, at the state house he remained, where he passed what he called the largest tax cuts in Indiana's history and yet still suffers from a 40% approval rating, according to a May poll 
 
 Now that he has been tapped as Donald Trump's running mate, his political career will end in one of two ways: 
 
 In a Trump White House he will wither in irrelevance, save for suffering countless headaches courtesy of an unpredictable, egomaniacal political neophyte who thinks there are 12 articles in the Constitution and that he can bring back water boarding. 
 
 Or, he will crash in spectacular fashion as he is forced to defend Trump's impolitic ideas and undignified rhetoric on the campaign trail, only to lose to one of the most damaged and disliked opponents in the history of presidential elections. 
 
 Why, Mike, why? 
 
 Pence has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican -- in that order." 
 
 He once guided me around the Indiana governor's office to point out all his favorite art and memorabilia. Portraits of Herman Hudson, who founded the African-American studies department at Indiana University, and William Henry Harrison. A painting he said was displayed at President Lincoln's funeral. A red telephone on his desk that his wife, Karen, gave him for Christmas -- to which only she has the number. 
 
 He told me of an encounter with President Reagan when Pence was only 29, in which he praised Reagan and made him blush. Pence gushed about Reagan's humility. 
 
 He was one of few Republicans to draw a distinction between the failures of negative campaigning in the 2012 presidential election and the success of positive campaigning in local elections. "I'm someone who really believes that one of the reasons for our success in a difficult election year here in Indiana was we spent all the resources in our campaign articulating a positive vision for an even better Indiana. We spoke aspirationally." 
 
 To wit: "I'm a conservative, but I'm not in a bad mood about it," he told me in 2013. "I understand politics is about addition and not subtraction." 
 
 So why would an otherwise serious, positive and thoroughly conservative governor take on such an execrable assignment? 
 
 Conservative radio host Steve Deace essentially makes the argument that Pence has lost so much allure, it's his only chance at a bigger platform. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Meet Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Meet Indiana Gov. Mike Pence 00:56 
 
 "Ten years ago," he says, "Mike Pence would have never done this. Five years ago. But because his stock with conservatives is so low right now, this may be his only chance to be a national figure." 
 
 How this will endear Pence to conservatives -- many of whom loathe Trump -- is unclear. And Pence never struck me as a man driven by celebrity. If he were he could have joined the Trump train months ago and been one of his most visible and credible supporters. Instead, he quietly endorsed Ted Cruz. 
 
 He must, therefore, believe he can genuinely help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, and that achieving this singular goal vitiates all Trump's inexpiable sins. 
 
 But can he? I was asked recently if Trump picked someone serious for vice president -- like Mike Pence -- would that make me decide to vote for him. Which is like asking if I'd marry an a**hole just because his older brother seemed nice. People vote for the top of the ticket. 
 
 Mike Pence certainly brings experience and a steady hand to Trump's campaign, but two questions loom large: 
 
 One, will Pence have any sway over Trump's bombast and political imprudence? No one has been able to tame the beast yet. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Blackburn: Trump record with Blacks speaks for itself Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Blackburn: Trump record with Blacks speaks for itself 03:49 
 
 And two, if a voter is concerned about Trump's inexperience and temperament, will Mike Pence quell their anxieties? Would anyone? 
 
 The problem for Trump's campaign is that it is in such a weak position, it has to make an Experience pick. Mike Pence is designed to persuade Republican voters it's safe to vote for him. 
 
 If Trump were better positioned, he could choose a New Voter pick, someone who could help reach undecideds in the middle and on the left, women, minorities and millennials. But Trump is still stuck working on his own constituents. Not a great place to be. 
 
 I still admire Mike Pence, and wish him well. I suppose there's a third outcome for his political career -- Trump and Pence Make America Great Again! -- and in 2024, Pence becomes the 46th president of the United States. 
 
 Anything's possible. ||||| ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 If Donald Trump confirms that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) is indeed his running mate, it's a very strange choice. 
 
 Pence doesn't strike anyone as an especially capable media defender of Trumpism, particularly not compared to Newt Gingrich or Chris Christie. Nor does he really excite restive conservatives. In fact, Pence may excite more hatred from the left than affection from the right. And he probably wasn't Trump's first choice. Some are reporting that more surprising and interesting figures, including Condi Rice, declined Trump's consideration. 
 
 The theory behind Mike Pence would go something like this: Pence is a religious man, which will be reassuring to the remaining church-going Republicans who are skeptical of Trump. And perhaps more importantly, Pence is a good fundraiser and much admired by the deep-pocketed donors on the Republican side. 
 
 But Pence's potential downsides are terrible. 
 
 Ann Coulter, in a column predicting Trump may make a mistake with the pick, wrote, "The moment Trump chooses his vice presidential candidate, every person in the media will be handed a personalized crowbar to pry daylight between Trump and his nominee." 
 
 And so it came to pass. Within minutes of the rumor breaking, journalists were unearthing Pence arguing for free trade during the days and weeks Trump was impugning NAFTA and other trade deals. Or Pence saying that a blanket ban on Muslim entrance into the U.S. — a policy Trump floated — was unconstitutional and offensive. 
 
 It certainly doesn't feel like a united ticket. Pence has also been a big promoter of comprehensive immigration reform, which conservatives read as a three-word euphemism for amnesty softened by a false promise to attempt border enforcement at an unspecified date. Pence has supported a version of "touchback amnesty," a policy Trump has flirted with in the past and which restrictionists hate. 
 
 And even if Pence qualifies, in some minds, as a normal Republican, he is not a particularly inspiring one. Activists hated it when he gave wide berth to Common Core education standards. And in his one brush with the national spotlight — a 2015 fight over Indiana's proposed law modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act — he managed to screw it up. He could have paired religious liberty protections with LGBT-backed non-discrimination measures, like Utah. Or he could have fought the business and media pressure, likely winning. Instead, he fought for a few days, earned all the bad press, and then backed down. Along the way, he seemed, well, rather dim-witted about it all. He gave the impression of a politician that could deliver a well-scripted line, but would be lost writing one of his own. 
 
 And the ways in which Pence is a "normal Republican" will reflect badly on him. For instance, there was his humiliating obeisance to tobacco lobbies. Or his long history of taking deeply socially-conservative positions that will be used to humiliate him during the campaign. As in his RFRA battle, the safe bet is for Pence to just look vacant and go blank when challenged on them. Pence is not even particularly popular in his own state. 
 
 But looked at symbolically, it is a fitting match. Mike Pence represents the Republican Party's slow-witted, mercenary, and substance-free style; he embodies its mediocrity, greed, and cravenness. And his selection as Trump's running mate is like an arranged marriage in which no one expects real happiness, but instead comforts themselves with the hope of proximity to money and a whiff of power. ||||| _____ 
 
 Abortion 
 
 As governor, Mr. Pence signed into law several regulations that add broad limits to women’s access to abortions. He approved a bill in March that outlawed abortions based on a fetus’s “race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, or diagnosis or potential diagnosis of the fetus having Down syndrome or any other disability.” The bill led to backlash on social media from opponents of the regulation. Mr. Pence also called for an investigation of Planned Parenthood after footage leaked by abortion rights opponents that outraged many abortion rights advocates. The videos turned out to have been altered by the people who released them and the videographers were later indicted on a charge of tampering with a government record. 
 
 Where they differ Mr. Trump supported abortion rights until 2011. Earlier this year, he said that abortion should be banned and then said that women violating the ban should face “some sort of punishment.” He recanted within hours, after he was criticized — even by some conservatives — and said that doctors who perform abortions should be held legally responsible; women, he said, were the victims. 
 
 _____ 
 
 Foreign Policy 
 
 Mr. Pence’s foreign policy views mesh well with Mr. Trump’s “America First” framework, which is built around the idea of a robust American military. The Indiana governor called for big increases in military spending during a speech in 2015 and he has criticized Democrats who do not use the phrase “Islamic extremism” when discussing jihadists. As a member of Congress, where he was on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Pence was a strong supporter of Israel and a proponent of tough interrogation measures for prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. Mr. Pence voted to authorize military action in Iraq in 2002 and opposed proposals to set a date to withdraw troops from Iraq. 
 
 Where they differ The biggest difference between the Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence when it comes to foreign policy is their respective stances on the Iraq war. Mr. Pence supported it, while Mr. Trump claims that he was against it from the beginning. 
 
 _____ 
 
 Gun Rights 
 
 Mr. Pence has received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, which has financially supported his campaigns for the House and for governor. He supports a national right to carry a firearm in public and in 2004, as a member of the House, he voted to repeal gun control laws in Washington, D.C. He wrote on Twitter in June that he “will always be a strong proponent of the Second Amendment.” 
 
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 Where they differ Mr. Trump is also very pro-gun, but he has expressed openness to restricting people on terrorist watch lists from buying firearms. 
 
 _____ 
 
 Trade 
 
 Mr. Pence has said he supports free trade, but he has also raised concern over the enforcement of trade agreements with China. Specifically, he asked the federal government to investigate allegations that Chinese steel companies were dodging tariffs in deals with American businesses. As governor, Mr. Pence visited nations like Japan and Germany on trade missions meant to stoke Indiana’s trade relationships with international businesses. 
 
 Where they differ While Mr. Pence has expressed support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Mr. Trump regularly rails against it. Mr. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on imports from foreign countries to protect American jobs. 
 
 Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 _____ 
 
 Economy and Budget 
 
 The Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning group, called Mr. Pence a “champion tax cutter” and lauded his “frugal” spending record. As governor, he repealed Indiana’s inheritance tax and lowered taxes on corporate income and business property. In 2010, Mr. Pence proposed a bill in the House that would have instituted a limit on federal spending, but the idea did not have enough support to pass. 
 
 Where they differ Mr. Trump has promised big tax cuts, but he does want to close some loopholes, such as the one on carried interest, that benefit the rich. 
 
 _____ 
 
 Environment 
 
 In 2015, Governor Pence threatened to disobey the Obama administration’s orders to lower carbon emissions unless the regulations underwent extensive changes. Mr. Pence said the regulations would “raise electricity costs on Hoosiers, result in less reliable electricity and impede economic growth and prosperity in Indiana and the rest of the country.” He said the Clean Power Plan was “ill conceived and poorly constructed,” and he accused the Environmental Protection Agency of going beyond its legal authority in enacting the rules under the plan. Under Governor Pence, Indiana joined several other states that have tried to block the Clean Power Plan in court. 
 
 Where they differ Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence are largely in agreement on energy and the environment. Mr. Trump is also against regulations to limit carbon emissions. Like Mr. Pence, he has doubts about the reality of climate change. And he has expressed concern about the dangers that windmills pose to birds. 
 
 _____ 
 
 Education 
 
 Mr. Pence was one of only 25 Republican congressmen who voted against President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy. As governor, he challenged conservative Republicans in the State Senate to support legislation to establish a preschool program that would primarily serve children in poor families. He vocally supported school choice and setting learning standards at the local level, and pushed to direct state support toward technical and vocational education programs. 
 
 Where they differ Mr. Trump has said little about his education plans other than that he is against Common Core and that “education has to be at a local level.” ||||| It’s no secret that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s running mate, opposes abortion rights. Pence basically invented the Republican Party's war on Planned Parenthood while he was in Congress. He wants Roe v. Wade to be overturned. He signed every anti-abortion bill that crossed his desk as governor of Indiana. 
 
 But Pence signed one anti-abortion bill in March of this year that was so extreme, even some pro-life Republicans opposed it. And it was eventually blocked from going into effect by a federal judge for violating women’s right to choose. 
 
 The law did something truly bizarre. It would have basically forced women to seek funerary services for a fetus — whether she’d had an abortion or a miscarriage, and no matter how far along the pregnancy was. 
 
 The law Pence backed would have required all fetal tissue to be cremated or buried, an unprecedented measure in state law. The law also banned abortion if the fetus had a "disability" — which would have denied women the right to end a pregnancy even in case of serious fetal anomalies. 
 
 The wording of the burial provision meant that technically, even if a woman had a miscarriage at eight weeks of pregnancy at home, she would have to keep the blood and tissue, take it to a hospital or clinic, and have it buried or cremated by a funeral home. The law would have also dramatically increased the cost of an abortion, since providers would have had to spend time and money on arranging the funerary services. 
 
 And since about half of miscarriages happen shortly after a fertilized egg is implanted, and occur at roughly the same time a woman would expect her period, many women could be having a miscarriage and not even know it — and thus, technically be violating the law if they didn’t cremate or bury the resulting tissue. 
 
 As a protest against the new law's extreme requirements, women who opposed the law started a Facebook group called "Periods for Pence." Members of the group started calling Pence’s office in droves to tell him about their periods in graphic detail. 
 
 "Any period could potentially be a miscarriage," wrote the anonymous founder of Periods for Pence in an introductory post. "I would certainly hate for any of my fellow Hoosier women to be at risk of penalty" if they don't properly dispose of or report a potential miscarriage. 
 
 The idea of women reporting their periods as a legal precaution sounds absurd and Orwellian. But it's also what happens when you take a law as bizarre and medically incoherent as Indiana's to its logical conclusion. 
 
 Anti-abortion laws like the one Pence signed are often criticized for being medically incoherent — for requiring doctors to do things that make no sense from a medical perspective, or restricting abortion in ways that fail to account for the medical realities of pregnancy. 
 
 Pence also fell afoul of medical reality in 2015, when Indiana faced a devastating HIV outbreak. Pence arguably helped prolong the outbreak by waiting two months to authorize a clean needle distribution plan. And Pence's budget cuts that shuttered a rural Planned Parenthood arguably helped cause the outbreak in the first place. 
 
 Trump often comes across as incoherent and inconsistent on the issue of abortion. But Trump's choice of Pence as running mate helps indicate that Trump is willing to go all in on banning abortion in America. 
 
 Americans don't know much about abortion ||||| Donald Trump has picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be his vice presidential running mate as he prepares to head to Cleveland for his nominating convention. In Pence, he has picked a veteran politician who is familiar to a Republican Party that remains wary of Trump and his policy positions. 
 
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 While Pence may help calm some of those nerves, there are some glaring differences between the running mates on some of the issues at the forefront of the 2016 presidential campaign (of note: Pence endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during the primary season). Here are some examples of where Pence has parted ways with Trump: 
 
 The Proposed Muslim Ban 
 
 Last December when Trump called for the "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what's going on" in the wake of the San Bernadino shootings, Pence called the idea "offensive and unconstitutional." 
 
 Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional. — Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) December 8, 2015 
 
 The Wall 
 
 Pence continually dodged the question Wednesday when asked repeatedly about whether he supported Trump's plan to build a wall along the southern boarder, offering only that "I think it's absolutely essential that we have border security and I strongly supported that throughout my career." 
 
 Video of Mike Pence being pressed on whether he agrees with the proposal to build the border wall: pic.twitter.com/1dWMhaXvat — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) July 13, 2016 
 
 Judge Curiel 
 
 In June, Pence rebuffed Trump's suggestion that federal judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University, could not conduct a fair trial because of his "Mexican heritage." Pence called the assertion "inappropriate." 
 
 Trade 
 
 Pence hasn't addressed the TPP trade deal recently but in September, 2014, he tweeted: "The time has come for all of us to urge the swift adoption of the Trans Pacific Partnership." 
 
 Pence was not in the House when NAFTA was passed but as a congressman he spoke in support of the trade deal on the House floor, saying "as the nation's sixth-largest corn producer, Indiana benefited directly under the North American Free Trade Agreement." Watch the video here. 
 
 Trump has called NAFTA "the worst trade deal ever signed in the history of our country" and has said he would renegotiate the deal. 
 
 The Iraq War 
 
 Along with nearly all of his House Republican colleagues in October 2002, Pence voted to authorize the use of military force in Iraq. That vote runs up against Trump's adamant insistence that he long opposed U.S. military intervention in Iraq. The presumptive nominee's claims have been challenged and scrutinized for months, however, based on his own statements around the time of the invasion. ||||| UPDATE (July 15, 10:57 a.m.): Donald Trump has made it official, choosing Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. The article below has been updated accordingly. 
 
 Donald Trump announced on Friday that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is his vice-presidential pick. Trump has done all sorts of unconventional, controversial things during this campaign, but making Pence his running mate is one of the least puzzling. Trump didn’t need to make a splash with his pick, and vice-presidential selections usually don’t matter. Moreover, Pence satisfies two key needs for the Trump campaign: He is less likely to harm the ticket than the other candidates on Trump’s VP shortlist, and he will likely make the conservative base of the Republican Party happy. 
 
 Pence has a lot of experience in politics. The worst thing a vice-presidential candidate can do is make the presidential candidate look bad, e.g., Sarah Palin’s embarrassing moments during the 2008 campaign. Indeed, there’s some research to suggest that she cost Republican John McCain votes in 2008. Palin was a candidate with minimal experience in major elected office and was selected in a rushed vetting process that didn’t expose her flaws. Pence, on the other hand, served in the House from 2001 to 2013 and has been governor of Indiana since 2013. He has a well-established record. Trump knows what he was getting with Pence. 
 
 Among the broader electorate, however, Pence is less well known. According to the most recent Marist College survey, 67 percent of Americans could not form a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him. That makes him look like a lot of vice-presidential selections since 1976 around the time of their selection. 
 
 OPINION OF CANDIDATE YEAR PARTY VP CANDIDATE FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE NET FAV. HAVE AN OPINION 1976 D Walter Mondale 14% 6% +8 20% 1980 R George H.W. Bush 25 23 +2 48 1984 D Geraldine Ferraro 5 2 +3 7 1988 D Lloyd Bentsen 16 6 +10 22 1988 R Dan Quayle 24 18 +6 42 1992 D Al Gore 29 9 +20 38 1996 R Jack Kemp 33 14 +19 47 2000 D Joe Lieberman 33 6 +27 39 2000 R Dick Cheney 29 10 +19 39 2004 D John Edwards 26 11 +15 37 2008 D Joe Biden 27 22 +5 49 2008 R Sarah Palin* 22 9 +13 31 2012 R Paul Ryan* 25 25 0 49 2016 R Mike Pence* 9 15 -6 23 Mike Pence is relatively unknown and disliked *Averaged from two polls. All percentages rounded to the nearest whole number. 
 
 Pence is somewhat unpopular among the people who can form an opinion about him, particularly compared with past vice-presidential nominees. His net favorability rating would be the worst of any vice-presidential selection since 1976 at the time of their selection. But the other reported finalists, Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich, are well known and disliked by the American public. In the Marist College poll, Christie had a favorable rating of 34 percent and an unfavorable rating of 50 percent. Gingrich clocked in at 33 percent favorable and 53 percent unfavorable. Both are disliked by at least half of voters. The vast majority of voters, by contrast, don’t have an opinion on Pence, so the Trump campaign will have more of an opportunity to fashion a positive image for him (of course, that cuts both ways — Hillary Clinton’s campaign will also try to define Pence). 
 
 Pence also is the most likely of Trump’s finalists to satisfy the conservative base. You can see this using three measures that I have used in the past to rate candidates’ ideology: DW-Nominate common-space scores (which are based on a candidate’s voting record in Congress), fundraising ratings (based on who donates to a candidate) and OnTheIssues scores (based on public statements made by the candidate). Pence scores a 50 or above on all three metrics (-100 is the most liberal, and 100 is the most conservative). 
 
 His average score, 60, is higher (more conservative) than any other Republican vice-presidential nominee since 1976. Additionally, it’s higher than any of the other candidates that Trump was supposedly choosing among. Gingrich averaged a 49; Christie a 22. 
 
 Although there’s certainly a danger in selecting such a conservative running mate (see Pence’s problems after Indiana passed its Religious Freedom Restoration Act), it is probably be a smart move in a season in which Trump’s main competition for the nomination, Ted Cruz, consistently did best among very conservative primary voters. Pence’s selection could make it a little easier for Trump to hold onto and energize Cruz’s voters, not to mention conservative leaders. You’ll note on the chart that the closest comparison to Pence is now House Speaker Paul Ryan. Ryan has endorsed Trump, though he’s clearly not Trump’s biggest fan. Pence, however, is well-liked by Ryan — in part because they share a similar ideology. 
 
 Overall, Pence seems like the safest pick for vice president among the candidates on Trump’s reported shortlist. He has governing experience at the state and federal level. He isn’t hated by the American public like Gingrich. And he won’t make the base run away screaming like the moderate Christie would. 
 
 VIDEO: The Pence pick “calmed a lot of people down” ||||| For more years than I can remember, The American Spectator has hosted dinners with political notables for the enlightenment of conservative journalists. We call it “The Saturday Evening Club.” One of the most notable of those notables has been Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, whom Donald Trump has just selected as his running mate. 
 
 He is an excellent choice. 
 
 Pence was from 2001 until 2013 a member of Congress. Before that, he evangelized for free-market economics at an Indiana think tank. He also hosted a radio show. And he has always been defending and advancing the conservative and free-market cause. 
 
 He’s somewhat of a pioneering conservative. From 2009 to 2011 he served as chairman of the House Republican Conference. Those were grim times for conservatives, but he labored mightily to fashion and advance a conservative agenda as the Obama years picked up steam. He also joined the Tea Party movement and was even suggested as a presidential candidate himself. 
 
 In 2010, he won the presidential straw poll at the Value Voters Summit. Yet ultimately he returned to Indiana — where I lived for 25 years — and ran for governor. 
 
 Pence is a strong Evangelical. Like Trump, he’d maintain our borders and clamp down on illegal immigration. 
 
 He’s also for a strong foreign policy. On Nov. 20, 2009, when he spoke at our Robert L. Bartley dinner in Washington, he declared: “On the foreign stage, the American people know that weakness arouses evil. They know that bowing and kowtowing to foreign dictators only diminishes our standing in the world. 
 
 “And they know that standing idly by while the ayatollahs in Iran crush innocent civilians clamoring for free elections is totally inconsistent with our history.” 
 
 At that dinner he also spoke out on one of the themes of his public life, capitalism and forging economic growth. 
 
 “While some are prepared to write the obituary of capitalism and conservative values, I believe we are in the midst of a great American awakening,” he said. 
 
 It probably took longer than he foresaw, but finally “the American people know we can’t borrow and spend and bail our way back to a growing economy.” 
 
 He knows what he’s talking about: Back in Indiana he, along with his predecessor Mitch Daniels, has made the state economy a model for the country. 
 
 Trump needs at his side a fellow who can demonstrate solid conservative values. I believe the billionaire has those values and those he lacks he is acquiring every day on the field of battle. But with only a little over a year in politics, he needs a solid conservative with him. 
 
 Pence, who can look back on a lifetime of conservative achievement, is a wise choice. Moreover, Pence brings with him proven political skills at both the state and national levels. 
 
 While Trump was building his businesses, he doubtless kept an eye on government. You cannot build a fortune without keeping an eye on the regulators and the other authorities of the state. But Pence has worked with them — or should I say, he has worked against them. His experience in Washington as a congressman and in Indianapolis as a governor will be invaluable. 
 
 Skeptics believe Trump has still to prove himself as worthy of being president. With Pence as his vice-presidential pick, he has proved himself yet again. 
 
 Seasoned political observers usually say a person familiar with the executive powers of government, namely a governor, is best suited for the presidency. Trump seems to agree. At least he seems to agree on the wisdom of having a governor at his side in the White House. 
 
 R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator.
– Donald Trump made it official Friday: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will be his running mate when he attempts to stop another Clinton from sitting in the White House this November. Here's what you need to know about the vice presidential candidate: NBC News explains some of the key disagreements between Trump and Pence, including Pence calling plans to ban Muslims from the US "offensive," his recent reluctance to support Trump's border wall, and him saying Trump's attacks on a judge over his "Mexican heritage" were "inappropriate." As governor, Pence signed an anti-abortion bill that "would have basically forced women to seek funerary services for a fetus" following abortions or even miscarriages, Vox reports. The law, which was blocked by a federal judge, called for women to bury or cremate any and all fetal tissue. The Washington Post looks into one of the most controversial moments of Pence's political career—a religious freedom bill he signed in 2015 allowing businesses to refuse service to gay people. Before he modified it, the measure nearly resulted in the NCAA leaving Indiana and taking the Final Four with it. Pence is "really conservative and mostly unknown," FiveThirtyEight concludes. And many of those who do know of him have an unfavorable view of him, as he's relatively unpopular compared to vice presidential picks dating back to 1976. The New York Times has a helpful list of Pence's positions on the issues, including his opposition to gay rights, gun control, and amnesty for illegal immigrants and his support for increased military spending. SE Cupp writes for CNN that Pence, of whom she was once a big fan, agreeing to be Trump's running mate will wreck his political future. He will either “wither in irrelevance” under an “unpredictable, egomaniacal political neophyte” or he, along with Trump, “will crash in spectacular fashion” while losing the election. An editorial at the New York Post calls Pence a great pick for Trump. “Skeptics believe Trump has still to prove himself as worthy of being president. With Pence as his vice-presidential pick, he has proved himself yet again.” Finally, the Week just tries to make sense of the whole thing, arguing that Pence doesn't really help Trump much and is likely to "excite more hatred from the left than affection from the right.”