Mike Pence (who I love on so many issues…) is subject of a New Yotk Times piece today. His office just sent it around quoting the first two graphs.

MUNCIE, Ind. — He supports tax cuts and the war in Iraq. He opposes stem cell research and the Medicare drug plan. He is a master of his movement’s medium, talk radio. Jesus Christ is his personal savior and Ronald Reagan his political idol.
Conjure what might be called the perfect conservative, and chances are he would look a lot like Representative Mike Pence, the Indiana Republican who in just three terms has turned 100 House allies into a vanguard and himself into one of his party’s rising stars.

The next graph takes a bit of a turn though:

Or that was the case until this spring when he sought compromise in the rancorous immigration debate. His complicated plan would strengthen border security and send illegal immigrants home, but let most of them quickly return. Since then, Mr. Pence — named last year’s Man of the Year by the conservative weekly Human Events — has looked to some conservatives like this year’s Benedict Arnold. They say he has lent his conservative prestige to a form of liberal amnesty.

Unfortunately, though, the Times continues on quoting emotive conservative responses to him, giving him the opportunity to dismiss the criticisms as “invective” — something that so often happens in the immigration debate.

But, for the record, we’ve criticized the Pence immigration plan without calling it “a sick joke.”