Pence love-in shows capacity for change
AT a time when ideological differences can cause major divisions even within the same political party, US Vice President Mike Pence’s recent Australia visit was an example of politicians putting their beliefs aside in service of a perceived greater good.
For some supporters this was smart politics, for others it was nothing short of betrayal.
Mike Pence is a man with a contentious political past, particularly by our beige Australian standards.
The former congressman and Governor of Indiana has denied evolutionary theory and climate change.
In 2015 he signed the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act to allow businesses to discriminate about LGBTQ people, and has described gay unions as a sign of “societal collapse”.
He issued an order barring state agencies from providing social services to Syrian refugees, an order that was later blocked by a judge.
He opposed gay people serving in the military and has supported gay conversion therapy.
He has attempted to deny funding to abortion providers and signed a Bill trying to block women from getting abortions based on foetus disorders or potentially lethal abnormalities.
But this week he stood beside Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said it was “a great honour” to welcome Mr Pence to the country and into his own home.
“It is a close relationship, it is a family relationship and our family gathering this morning underpinned the nature of this very deep friendship,” Mr Turnbull said.
Not long after, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten met with Mr Pence, accompanied by our own Corio MP and Opposition Defence spokesman Richard Marles.
Mr Marles told the Geelong Advertiser there was “good rapport” between Mr Shorten and Mr Pence.
“The single most important bilateral relationship we have is with the United States of America ... it is important that the alliance transcends partisan politics of the day in both countries,” he said.
But one person’s “partisan politics” is another’s fundamental human rights, so how does the ALP justify playing nice with a man who opposes key aspects of their policy?
Mr Marles said it was more about “respect for the office” than the person holding it.
“I disagree with Mike Pence on a number of issues,” he said, calling the Trump administration’s recent executive order on immigration “abhorrent”.
“(But) we would be dealing with the Vice President no matter who had won the election in the US, and it’s very important that we do.”
In Australia and the US, left-right schisms are tearing apart the political landscape and making bipartisan action more difficult than ever.
We’ve got Liberal MPs sniping Mr Turnbull’s conservative credentials, guys like Cory Bernardi taking their ball and going home, the US far-right US freedom caucus scuppering their own party’s health care bill, and the Greens and Democrats ready to split apart at the seams over their warring inter-party ideologies.
But, with the spectre of North Korea looming everpresent, our politicians have shown they’re willing and able to put aside differences and focus on the bigger picture.
Maybe they should consider doing it more often.