NEWS AND OPINION:
Former Vice President Mike Pence is running for president in 2024, and his campaign theme is “Rediscover America’s Promise.” Mr. Pence took time off the campaign trail to appear at a town hall event hosted by SiriusXM.
He also weighed in on his experiences in the White House — including time spent with then-President Donald Trump.
“We had a very good, successful working relationship. I’m incredibly proud of the record of the administration,” Mr. Pence said in the hour-long meeting.
“While we were different men with different styles, I’m someone that believes that democracy depends on heavy doses of civility. The president had his own style and he’d won the White House. He had every right to conduct his presidency the way that he saw fit. And it was my privilege to be able to support that agenda and move that agenda forward,” Mr. Pence advised.
He also cited conservative values during the interview.
“Within the Republican Party, I think we have a choice to make. And that is whether or not we’re going to offer the American people a candidate and a standard bearer who will carry forward the common sense conservative agenda of a strong national defense, American leadership in the world, fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies, a commitment to traditional values and liberties in life — or whether or not we’ll follow the siren song of populism, unmoored to conservative principle,” Mr. Pence summarized.
The meeting took place Wednesday at New England College, located in Henniker, New Hampshire.
‘JUVENILE AND INEXCUSABLE’
Here we go again? Headlines now suggest that combative lawmakers could be flirting with a government shutdown, a situation which could prove unnerving to an already nervous public.
Opinions about the possibility are many — and here’s just one:
“There are just a few weeks left to avoid a government shutdown. Without either a continuing resolution or appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024, the government will shut down at midnight on October 1, with non-essential services delayed and federal employees either furloughed or reporting to work without pay,” advises the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan organization.
“The government needs to avoid a shutdown. They also need to deal with our national debt. Our deficit is set to double this year; our debt has been downgraded, and the rest of the world is watching either with concern or smug satisfaction as our lawmakers fail to govern responsibly,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the organization, said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.
“It is time for our leaders to confront the ongoing fiscal challenges and put their political differences aside for the good of the country. Fund the government on time either through appropriations or a continuing resolution, but absolutely avoid a juvenile and inexcusable shutdown. And they need to turn their attention to creating a bipartisan effort to confront our fiscal challenges,” Ms. MacGuineas said.
ON THE RADAR
The Richard Nixon Foundation will host its second annual “Grand Strategy Summit” at a historic hotel in the nation’s capital on Oct. 18-19. There’s some history to consider.
“Established in 2022 — 50 years after President Nixon’s grand strategy resulted in groundbreaking trips to the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union — the Grand Strategy Summit is dedicated to developing actionable foreign policy objectives to comprise a 21st Century American Grand Strategy: a long-term strategic direction for American statecraft that President Nixon called “the long view’,” the organization said in a mission statement shared with Inside the Beltway.
“This nonpartisan, two-day public policy conference gathers senior government officials (past and present), champions of American business, senior diplomats, media personalities, and thought leaders to discuss topics including, but not limited to: the return of great power competition, the future of the Western World’s role in the ongoing war in Ukraine, China’s growing geopolitical threat, strategies for engagement with developing nations, America’s national economic interest; the effectiveness of international economic sanctions, and rapidly-changing energy policies,” the organization said.
Former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo will deliver keynote remarks. The wide-ranging list of participants include Rep. Mike Waltz, Florida Republican; former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie; and former National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien.
The Richard Nixon Foundation — which includes Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Patricia Nixon Cox on its board of directors — is located in Yorba Linda, California. Find the organization at NixonFoundation.org.
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POLL DU JOUR
• 63% of U.S. voters say they are “extremely motivated” to vote in the 2024 presidential election.
• 73% of Republicans, 52% of independents and 61% of Democrats agree.
• 19% overall say they are “very motivated” to vote in the election; 16% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 20% of Democrats agree.
• 12% are “somewhat motivated” to vote; 8% of Republicans, 15% of independents and 14% of Democrats agree.
• 5% say they are “not too motivated”; 2% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 4% of Democrats agree.
• 1% say they are “not at all motivated”; 1% of Republicans, 2% of independents and 1% of Democrats agree.
SOURCE: A CNN/SSRS poll of 1,503 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 25-31.
• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.