Patterico's Pontifications

4/1/2017

A Former Press Secretary To Mike Pence Speaks Up: His Personal Policies To Safeguard His Marriage Never Held Me Back

Filed under: General — Dana @ 5:59 pm



[guest post by Dana]

I wanted to point your attention to a response to the Pence marriage kerfuffle written by Mary Vought, who served as Press Secretary to the House Republican Conference under then-Chairman Mike Pence:

Washington will swallow your soul if you let it. It’s a place where many moral compasses go to die. So maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Vice President of the United States is ridiculed when it’s reported that he’s spent his time in office choosing to live his life differently from the D.C. status quo.

Since a Washington Post profile of Karen Pence, the vice president’s wife, appeared last week, critics have obsessed over a single line, which reported that, as of 2002, the vice president doesn’t dine alone with women other than his wife. At the Atlantic, the New Yorker and other venues, writers have argued that Pence’s preference amounts to a discriminatory policy against women employees, leading to them being left out of important meetings that could boost their careers.

But it’s not true. And I would know: I’m a woman, and I worked for Pence while he served in Congress.

Pence’s personal decision to not dine alone with female staffers was never a hindrance to my ability to do my job well, and never kept me from reaping the rewards of my work. In fact, I excelled at my job because of the work environment created from the top down, and my personal determination to succeed. I engaged in senior staff meetings and strategy sessions side-by-side with the congressman and my colleagues, and I never felt sidelined because of my gender. My proposals and suggestions were always valued as equal with those of my male counterparts.

As time went on, I was able to prove that I could handle increased responsibilities, and so more responsibilities were provided to me. My gender never factored into how my work was evaluated, or whether my responsibilities were expanded. In fact, the congressman would sometimes send me to GOP leadership communication meetings to represent his voice — and more often than not, I was the only woman in the room. My work product determined my success — not private dinners with the congressman. When looking back on my time in the office of the man who is now vice president, I don’t consider it to be a period of missed opportunities.

The fact of the matter is, it’s not as though then-Congressman Pence was out having private dinners with male staffers and I was excluded. He wasn’t having private dinners much at all. He had children at home, so as often as possible, after voting and his daily duties, he’d race home to share a meal with the people that mattered most to him most: his family. Frankly, he modeled for male and female staffers alike that it was possible to serve in a public role with excellence while being wholly dedicated to his family.

This is by no means a partisan issue. Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or couldn’t care less, if you choose to prioritize your marriage and esteem your family while faithfully carrying out public service, you should be praised. If the only woman you want to dine alone with is your spouse, you should be commended. With his choice about how to divide up his time, Pence made a strong statement about work-life balance, the importance of family time, and respect in the workplace: values we can all get behind.

Considering that the place where Democracy Dies in Darkness, er, uh, I mean The Washington Post published no less than 5 articles about the Pence marriage since the original profile of Karen Pence ran last week, it’s a bit telling that Vought’s response didn’t receive a more prominent position on the front page, but was instead relegated to the bottom.

Further, to wrap up the subject, I could care less what safeguards the Pences have put in place for their marriage. It’s not my business. But I’ll say this, any couple working at protecting their sacred union is a smart couple, and a couple that gets three cheers from me.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

44 Responses to “A Former Press Secretary To Mike Pence Speaks Up: His Personal Policies To Safeguard His Marriage Never Held Me Back”

  1. Anyway, his solid marriage aside, it’s disquieting that he has politically lined himself up with with Trump.

    Dana (023079)

  2. On the contrary, it’s reassuring that we have a common sense, level headed man providing advice and counsel to a neophyte politician.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  3. Well, it’s a little bit nutty. He can only have private interviews with men and the president must have private one on one interviews regularly. Pence could never win an election so Trump better stay safe.

    jcurtis (aed4c3)

  4. it’s interesting that Meghan’s disgustingly cowardly daddy who weighs in on EVERYTHING BUT GODDAMN EVERYTHING

    has been quiet as a mouse on this subject

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  5. . He can only have private interviews with men and the president must have private one on one interviews regularly.

    Where do you get that bit of stupidity from? First of all dinner is not an interview. Secondly, the VPOTUS will decide who will and who will not attend his meetings. Not you, not the media and not even his staff. What’s a “little bit nutty” is guys like you who find it a little bit nutty.

    1.Anyway, his solid marriage aside, it’s disquieting that he has politically lined himself up with Trump.

    He didn’t Dana. He politically lined himself up with the Republican Party and thought the best way to serve his country was to accept Trumps offer as a VP running mate to fulfill that goal. So not only is he a good and moral man but he also was willing to take the abuse of being beat up daily by every treasonous leftist in America to do his duty.

    What’s the matter, not enough to beat up on Trump about today now it’s time to shove it to Pence?

    Breaking News! Trump won. The Republicans are in charge but won’t be if you keep allowing the left to smear every move and every person in the administration. The left and their minions are going after every person in the administration in case you haven’t noticed. If the Republicans continue to fight the Primary amongst ourselves we will loose and never win another election. Once they bring in enough illegals and “refugees” (undocumented Democrats) the demographic will be irrevocably altered. If you like France you’ll love the leftist America.

    Rev. Hoagie® (785e38)

  6. A Hoosier friend of mind had soured on the vice president because of some of his missteps re that religious liberty bill, among others, but she’s been reasonably impressed with his subsequent actions.

    So parker, is a prototypical mean girl, typified by her behavior re Romney and Clara neggrey is just crazy!!! As for Jessica valentinthe dsm is not large enough to cover all her faults

    narciso (677d38)

  7. @ Rev. Hoagie,

    1.Anyway, his solid marriage aside, it’s disquieting that he has politically lined himself up with Trump.

    He didn’t Dana. He politically lined himself up with the Republican Party and thought the best way to serve his country was to accept Trumps offer as a VP running mate to fulfill that goal. So not only is he a good and moral man but he also was willing to take the abuse of being beat up daily by every treasonous leftist in America to do his duty.

    What’s the matter, not enough to beat up on Trump about today now it’s time to shove it to Pence?

    It’s disappointing to have you come at me like this. We’ve always been on very good terms in spite of disagreement. Be that as it may, I don’t “beat up on Trump”. If there is something that catches my eye that doesn’t seem right, I’m going to say it. I am not a frivolous person, nor prone to hysterics. And, I am not shoving it to Pence either. I was going to say that you raise an interesting point that I was going agree with (he lined himself up with the Republican Party), and perhaps he honestly believes that the best way to serve his country is to be Trump’s VP. Where the conflict comes in is that Trump is by far, an immoral man. We’ve seen evidence of this, and there is no reason to re-hash it. For me, it presents an interesting moral dilemma, and one with which I’ve never come to a place of resolution.

    Anyway, I wish you well.

    Dana (023079)

  8. The lion’s share of attacks against trump have been by liberals who feel threatened by his embrace of many populist policies of the new right, as opposed to his previous philosophical orientation albeit clumsily done

    narciso (677d38)

  9. The notion voiced here on a number of occasions, we’ll just impeach trump and you have pence; we’ll we’ve already seen this film before.

    narciso (677d38)

  10. I don’t think he was coming at you, Dana. The way I read it his response was aimed at Curtis.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  11. The left doesn’t do nuance take Janet Dr (she thought dzokar was so dreamy’ reitman and her slash and burn profile of devos in rolling stone. But you say they are frauds yes but so is Bezos and time magazine to varying degrees

    narciso (677d38)

  12. Picture of a college cheerleading squad.

    Take a look. It’s not dirty or anything.

    Now here’s the story. Coastal Carolina University suspended its cheerleading team pending a conduct investigation.

    WMBF News reports Coastal Carolina received an anonymous letter accusing the school’s cheerleaders of a ‘long list’ of malfeasances, including prostitution.
    A cheerleader who spoke on the condition of anonymity said an investigator with the CCU Department of Public Safety came to their practice Wednesday night. The cheerleader said the investigator explained to the team an anonymous letter was mailed to school president David DeCenzo on March 7 alleging that team members were involved in “a long list of things,” including prostitution, purchasing alcohol for underage team members, and paying others to complete their homework assignments.

    Coastal Carolina confirmed the suspension. Per WMBF, the school canceled a cheerleading showcase and removed the team’s web page from its athletics site. A cheerleader told WMBF they were also banned from going to a national competition in Florida, although they have not yet been pulled out of the competition.

    A former CCU cheerleader was arrested in January for allegedly trying to hide a gun when her boyfriend was arrested.

    Reads to me like a Duke LaCrosse redux; sorority edition.

    Just an innuendo from an anonymous, and the media crushes these ladies reputation, the school erases their existence, and moves right to execution. No trial, no evidence, no witnesses,or accusers.

    If this standard were applied to the school, they would be sending out settlement checks to the student body every time there was a phoned in bomb threat.

    There are nefarious people out there who weaponize anonymous accusations and cowards in school admin who are willing to abet the crime.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  13. @2. Yes, Jared is a swell fella.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  14. I continue to be amazed at how the Left applies the “freak” label to anyone who has conservative values (i.e., a belief in traditional marriage, monogamy, etc). At the same time, the Left not only “accepts” but celebrates every deviant lifestyle under the sun (homosexuals, transvestites, transsexuals, the bathroom-challenged, etc).

    We’re in a war, folks. Never forget that. And Trump, with all of his flaws, is a thousand times more palatable than Hillary would have been. Don’t forget that, either.

    Deuce Frehley (34e733)

  15. ” There are nefarious people out there who weaponize anonymous accusations and cowards in school admin who are willing to abet the crime. ”
    -papertiger (c8116c) — 4/1/2017 @ 8:00 pm

    Which is another SWELL reason for Pence to -NOT- be alone with women who are not his immediate family members. There are just TOO MANY Unnanounced Democrat Operatives (“Power By Any Means!!”) swimming in those murky Beltway waters.

    Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah (d57145)

  16. Romans 1, and then moving on, now does best Stephens follow his own admonition.

    narciso (4abc80)

  17. Speaking of nefarious people – Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday just got done shoving the Obama Administration’s list of supposed climate harms to public health at Scott Pruett without ever questioning the climate change gospel even once.

    Asserting Obama’s list as if it were fact, instead of facile political bull sh1t.
    (Here is a full transcript so you can look between the bits I’m highlighting.)

    Here’s what Chis said:

    Wallace: When the Obama EPA announced its Clean Power Plan, it said that the reduction in carbon pollution would have the following health benefits. I want to put them up on the screen.

    By 2030, it said there would be 90,000 fewer asthma attacks a year, 300,000 fewer missed work and school days, and 3,600 fewer premature deaths a year.

    Without the Clean Power Plan, how are you going to prevent those terrible things?

    Pruett answered with boilerplate about removing needless regulations (which are not being enforced anyhow due to Supreme Court stays) to stimulate the economy, but I want to answer in detail the substance of Wallace’s assertion (would have answered him directly but Fox News Sunday doesn’t host a talk back feature – hides from public push back).

    Wallace: When the Obama EPA announced its Clean Power Plan, it said that the reduction in carbon pollution would have the following health benefits.

    Carbon is an element from the periodic table. “Carbon pollution” is a political term deployed by Democrats, focus tested as more effective than saying Co2. To say that carbon is a pollutant is to claim that you, me, and every living thing, past and present, is a pollutant. Chris Wallace in effect is calling all of us garbage, a pestilence, a blight on the face of the world.
    Holding these views one wonders why he would concern himself with public health at all, and in fact he doesn’t. “Public health” in Chris Wallace’s (and Obama’s) context is a club to pound through their noxious political agenda.

    Wallace: By 2030, it said there would be 90,000 fewer asthma attacks a year, 300,000 fewer missed work and school days, and 3,600 fewer premature deaths a year.

    For hundreds of years, before Doctors had even given a name to the condition (they use to call it “strangles”), people have been counciled to move to milder climates as treatment for asthma, for good reason! Cold weather is the main trigger of asthma attacks.

    http://asthma.ca/teamasthma/asthma_coldair_manage_eng.pdf

    Cold air entering the lungs can cause airway constriction and is therefore a common trigger for asthmatics. The effects of cold air can be anticipated and prevented by some pre planning. To help manage asthma in cold weather, consider these following tips:
    • Keep your asthma well controlled at all times and carry your prescribed reliever
    medication with you.
    • If cold air is a trigger for you, take your reliever medication 10 – 15 minutes
    before exposure to cold air.
    • Check weather conditions before going out and dress for the weather conditions
    by covering up. Wear gloves, a scarf and a hat.
    • Breathe in through your nose. Your nose is designed to warm and humidify air.
    • A scarf that covers both your nose and mouth will help keep the air you breathe
    warm and moist.
    • Avoid outdoor exercise in extremely cold weather.
    • Talk to your doctor about your asthma control.

    Don’t get me wrong. There is absolutely no way that meteorologists can predict the weather 10 days out, a month, a year, and certainly not decades from now, but even if they could, Chis Wallace, Obama, and the Democrat Party as a platform are asserting harms that are exactly 180 degrees counter to a thousand or more years of medical experience.

    Humans are extraordinarily adapted to warm climates. Obama’s list of public health harms of slightly warmer weather are FUBAR.

    I wish Scott Pruett would have called Wallace on it. Chis deserves an ear boxing.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  18. I have a non-religious male acquaintance who practices the “Billy Graham rule” in the corporate environment to avoid any possibility of a false accusation of sexual harassment. If he’s never alone with a woman not his wife, such an accusation can’t stick.

    CrankyBeach (736ed9)

  19. The Democrats care so much about asthma sufferers that they banned the cheap over the counter drug treatment for it, and force asthmatics to get the prescription only, not covered by insurance, ineffective substitute, at triple the cost.

    Asthma patients who rely on over-the-counter inhalers will need to switch to prescription-only alternatives as part of the federal government’s latest attempt to protect the Earth’s atmosphere.

    The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday patients who use the epinephrine inhalers to treat mild asthma will need to switch by Dec. 31 to other types that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons, an aerosol substance once found in a variety of spray products.

    The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun.

    But the switch to a greener inhaler will cost consumers more. Epinephrine inhalers are available via online retailers for around $20, whereas the alternatives, which contain the drug albuterol, range from $30 to $60.

    MSNBC link.

    Democrats care enough to charge children triple at the behest of the AMA.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  20. 20. That’s from 2011.

    According to “Death by Liberalism” by J. R. Dunn (HarperCollins, 2011) pages 107-114, the real damage was done at the end of 2008, when they got rid of CFC propellants for inhalers.

    He aays the FDA set aside some of its usuaul rigorous approval process in approving the sustitute, and people using them, by and large, didn’t know about this.

    Sammy Finkelman (bd89d5)

  21. Failure to prepare is to prepare for failure.

    Pence sets himself up to avoid appearances of impropriety, knowing full well he is a juicy target for Dems who love nothing more than to knock down virtuous Christians. And Pence is mocked.

    The enemy is, indeed, us.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  22. the enemy is the adorably porcine freedom-hating fascist Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  23. We’re in a war, folks. Never forget that. And Trump, with all of his flaws, is a thousand times more palatable than Hillary would have been. Don’t forget that, either.

    Deuce Frehley

    When it comes to family values, why is Trump better than Hillary? Look at their own moral choices and their own family values. I think this is pretty absurd.

    If you had said Pence is better than Hillary I would have been nodding my head, and Pence was the subject of the post, so why is this an opportunity to pretend Trump hasn’t been despicable on this issue? “grab then by the pussy” Trump? Vs “Stand by your marriage vows” Hillary?

    Dumped the mom of my kids “for a hot piece of ass” Trump? Walking in on minors dressing for their pageant Trump?

    We were in a war, and Trump’s loyalists surrendered.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  24. It’s as sincere as the http://www.cpusa.org/article/hillarys-hour/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  25. Tina fey, has a sad that molochs minions don’t get there appointed stipend, as with berlusconi, reforms focused on traditional policies

    narciso (d1f714)

  26. He aays the FDA set aside some of its usuaul rigorous approval process in approving the sustitute, and people using them, by and large, didn’t know about this.

    Is that to mean people didn’t notice a price difference, that insurance doesn’t cover the plethora of new less than effective products, or that people didn’t notice how they have to get a doctor’s prescription?

    papertiger (c8116c)

  27. Trick question. People notice the new product costs more, doesn’t work as well, and that they have to get a pricey appointment with the Doctor that isn’t covered by insurance.

    Clean sweep.

    For some reason I can’t post the link. Weird.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  28. Let’s try it this way.

    Bing search for Albuterol prices – first link after the ads.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  29. Happy, I’m more mad at should be NYC mayoral contender Dan Donovan.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  30. isn’t Donovan a bought and paid for slut for unions

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  31. If Trump ever outlaws a necessary drug, to promote a less effective substitute at double or triple the cost in the retail market, primarily at the expense of families with asthmatic children, based on the pretext of saving the planet, then I will renounce him in a vociferous manner.

    Dustin will have competition in his turpitude under those conditions, I promise you.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  32. The “good” unions – first responders and trades – that line the streets of Richmond County better known as Staten Island.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  33. 32: That particular move would invoke Shays Rebellion level turpitude from I (for my daughter).

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  34. This is like a Democrat Fan Fiction mash up of Tomorrow Never Dies and The Aviator. And just as unlikely.

    Pinandpuller (ba5ff1)

  35. Which parts, all the other thread reminded ne golden eye, but it raisers a question who. Really wants a confrontation with Russia.

    narciso (d1f714)

  36. “1. Anyway, his solid marriage aside, it’s disquieting that he has politically lined himself up with with Trump.”

    Or maybe he knows something you don’t.

    “Where the conflict comes in is that Trump is by far, an immoral man.”
    Yeah, we should have let Hillary get elected.

    Better to lose with dignity than to win with an imperfect person?

    Good thing that you folks weren’t around to give Lincoln advice on picking his Generals.

    fred-2 (ce04f3)

  37. @36 narciso

    Whoops, wrong thread lol.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  38. Do you expect me to cheat?

    No, Mr Pence,I expect you to promote me!

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  39. If this is true, assuange would have to find new accomodations

    https://faustasblog.com/

    narciso (74fb4e)

  40. Not to be, seems to be baked in well in advance like modern day Washington,Oregon and Colorado: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1740F8

    One could hope for a conservative version of the Lopez Obrador 2006 hootenanny.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  41. 42. They are not saying what this is about, except that Byron York seems to be saying you can deduce she is not yet at the point where they have concluded that there is a serious likelihood of discipline being imposed, because an investigator and a Bar prosecutor from the Enforcement Unit have not taken over the investigation.

    Sammy Finkelman (dfe091)

  42. She slept with Stewart Granger… what a Deborah Kerr-fuffle that was.

    DCSCA (797bc0)


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