Mike Pence: ‘Our State Governments Are Not Territorial Outposts of the National Government.’

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence offered very state-focused address at the NRA Convention, touting his state to the audience assembled in Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium. He mentioned gun rights issues, but offered a broad review of the conservative policies he’s enacted so far, and why they’ve helped his state prosper.

He mentioned Indiana has the lowest taxes in the Midwest, with additional tax cuts scheduled to go into effect each year for every year until 2021.

A not so subtle jab at Common Core, Pence said, “In the Hoosier State, we believe education is a state and local issue, and we believe decisions about curriculum, lesson plans and other matters should be made in the communities by the parents and the teachers and those who are affected by themselves the most.”

“Some of you know I served 12 years in Congress. If I only had 12 years left to live, I’d want to spend them in Congress again… because those were the longest 12 years of my life.”

If, as some predict, Pence throws his hat into the 2016 presidential ring, we can expect him to emphasize federalist approach, a bit like Rick Perry’s theme in 2012.

“Washington is not only broke, it’s broken. The cure for what ails this country will come more from our state capitals than it ever will from our national capital. Despite what some may think in Washington, our state governments are not territorial outposts of the national government. The states are the wellspring of the American experiment. It will not be enough to cut federal spending; the next generation of leaders must permanently reduce the size and scope of the federal government by returning to the states the rights, resources, and responsibilities that are rightfully theirs!”

He closed, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And that means freedom always wins.”