Mike Pence to headline GOP pre-Obama rally

Indiana Congressman will appear live via video from Washington, D.C.

By Lynda Waddington 3/24/10 12:13 PM

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican, will serve as the featured speaker Wednesday night in Iowa City when state and college Republicans host a rally on the eve of a scheduled visit by President Barack Obama.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. (LAUREN VICTORIA BUKRE/wdcpix.com)

The rally, dubbed “Stand Up for Freedom,” is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the University of Iowa campus and also features the four individuals engaged in a GOP primary for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. While other scheduled guests will appear in person, Pence, considered by many to have 2012 presidential aspirations, will appear via Skype from Washington, D.C.

“I’m proud to have Congressman Pence standing with Iowans tonight and standing up against the continued assault on our personal and economic freedoms from the Obama administration and Iowa’s congressional Democrats,” said Matt Strawn, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa.

On Tuesday, Pence promised that the “fight is not over” and that “House Republicans are determined to take our case on this government takeover of health care to the floor of the Congress and to the American people.”

Pence also promised that, should there be a Republican majority in Congress following the 2010 elections, that he and his colleagues would work to repeal the legislation.

Prior to members of the passage of the health care reform legislation, Pence appeared on FOX News to blast the bill and Obama as pro-abortion.

“It’s disappointing to see member of Congress exchange 30 years of pro-life law for a piece of paper from the most pro-abortion president in American history, but we are going to stay in this fight” Pence said. “We really believe the American public knows now that there is public funding for abortion in this bill.”

Obama and anti-abortion House Democrats, led by Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, struck a deal that included an executive order that would continue the status quo in relation abortion services, which has been historically managed by the Hyde Amendment. According to Pence, however, the executive order is a piece of paper that holds no promise because it can be legally challenged and overturned by the court.

Local Republicans are billing the rally as a preemptive strike to Obama’s scheduled visit to the University of Iowa on Thursday. Dane Nealson, chairman of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans, announced Tuesday on Twitter that “President Obama is becoming the biggest recruiting [t]ool” the University of Iowa College Republicans have ever had. The organization has been particularly engaged in promoting and hosting the rally.

In addition to Pence, confirmed speakers at the rally are Strawn, UI College Republican Chairman Natalie Ginty, Iowa attorney general candidate Brenna Findley, and the four 2nd District congressional candidates – Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Steve Rathje, Christopher Reed and Rob Gettemy.

Mike Pence: Path to repeal begins in Iowa

By Lynda Waddington 3/25/10 6:48 AM

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence set a clear task before Republicans Wednesday night in Iowa City: “Give the president and Obamacare the kind of welcome that it is going to deserve across the country.”

The Indiana Republican, who is believed to be a 2012 presidential contender, said that if Iowans fulfill their task that he guarantees that the rest of the nation will follow suit.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. (LAUREN VICTORIA BUKRE/wdcpix.com)

“I don’t think there is any mistake that the president has chosen Iowa City in your fair state to start making his case for this government take-over of health care to the American people,” said Pence, who spoke via the Internet to roughly 150 people gathered for rally on the campus of the University of Iowa. “Iowa is use to leading the nation. … It is time for the people of Iowa who believe in conservative values, who believe in limited government and who believe we can do better on health care reform to lead this nation again.”

Pence’s remarks came at an event jointly organized by the Republican Party of Iowa and the Federation of Iowa College Republicans on the eve of a visit by President Barack Obama. In May 2007, then-candidate Obama first outlined his plan for reforming the nation’s health care system at a presidential campaign rally in roughly the same location.

In less than 10 minutes of public remarks, Pence referred to recently passed health care reform legislation as Obamacare eight times and as a “government take-over” seven times. He also noted, no less than four times, that he and other Republicans in the U.S. House are determined to repeal the bill and begin the process anew.

“It was in the dead of the night on Sunday that Democrats in Congress and in this administration rammed through a government take-over of health care filled with individual mandates, job-killing taxes and a government-run insurance plan,” he said. “Some say we made history on Sunday night. Well, I said on the House floor that I think we broke history because we broke with our traditions of limited government, personal responsibility and the consent of the governed. The majority that will break these traditions is a majority that should be retired from Capitol Hill.”

Pence promised that if the bill was repealed and Congress — presumably with a Republican majority following the 2010 elections — was allowed to write a new bill that it would cut the cost of health insurance without growing government, provide “real malpractice reform” and use the savings to provide insurance for Americans with pre-existing conditions, and provide the type of reform “necessary to ensure the long-term solvency of our country and all the programs that are vital to those most vulnerable.” He did not indicate why such reforms were not proposed or debated when the Republican Party previously controlled Congress.

Congressman Mike Pence Discusses President Obama at GOP Retreat on Hardball

MIKE PENCE
RECLAIMING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
AND
THE AMERICAN DREAM
by
LTC Robert "Buzz" Patterson
and
Chris Dickson

http://mikepencethebook.blogspot.com

Pence on "Morning Joe," Discusses Senate Run and State of the Union

Pence says he'd give 2012 White House bid consideration

By Michael O'Brien

The Hill

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said Tuesday that he would consider a run for president in 2012 under the right circumstances.

Pence, who ruled out a bid for Senate in 2010 this morning, said he has thought about running for the GOP nomination for the presidency, though he emphasized that he's focused on Republicans' midterm elections this fall.

"Yeah, I've thought about that," Pence told a meeting of conservative bloggers at the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday. "Given the right circumstances, with prayer, I'd give that consideration."

Pence initially downplayed presidential rumors, saying he hoped anyone who grew up in the U.S. would think about running for president, before conceding that he'd take a look at a presidential bid.

The Indiana congressman, who has already made trips to traditional stomping grounds for primary races, asserted that he is "completely body and soul committed" to helping Republicans win back the House in 2010 before looking at a White House run.

"We do that in 2010, everything else will take care of itself," he said.

The White House question came from a blogger who identified himself as a member of the so-called "Tea Party" movement, who praised Pence as a hero of the conservative movement, a comment which Pence said "humbled" him.

Republicans had sought to draw Pence into a race to challenge Sen. Evan Bayh (D) this fall. The conservative blogger Erick Erickson first posted to his website, RedState, this morning that Pence would not run for Senate, but leave the door open to a presidential bid. Pence is currently the third-ranking GOP member of the House, who serves as chairman of the House Republican Conference. He credited his decision not to run to his belief that Republicans would win back the House this fall.

More government is simply not the answer

By Rep. Mike Pence

The strength of our nation is not found in the halls of Congress or in the offices of government bureaucrats. The enduring strength of the United States of America lies in the good will and common sense of the American people. It is discovered at dinner tables, churches, coffee shops and assembly halls across this great land.

This year began much like last year. Our nation continues to struggle through a difficult recession. Small businesses are trying desperately to keep their doors open. Workers worry that their job will be the latest casualty of this tough economy. And the American people still expect the federal government to get spending under control and to take decisive action to get our country moving again.

We need leadership that will lift the burden on struggling families and that respects our cherished national values. Washington should not enact bad public policy that will lead to more job losses and further economic decline.

Sadly, what we have seen instead are more of the same policies that got us into this mess. Voters rejected runaway federal spending under Republican control and they listened to Democrats who promised a new direction.

But this past year, Democrat leaders have unveiled one proposal after another that grows government and leaves a mountain of debt on the backs of our children. Last year was a record year for federal spending ($3.52 trillion) and deficits ($1.4 trillion). Today, every man, woman and child bears the burden of more than $39,000 in federal debt.

Our fiscal future is in crisis and there is not a lot of comfort to be found in recent headlines. It is reported that Democrat leaders will soon bring before Congress a bill to increase the debt limit by an historic $1.9 trillion, a tacit admission that they have abandoned any effort to restore sanity to the federal budget.

Likewise, the president is expected to announce that his administration is getting serious about deficit spending. Yet the president continues to advocate for a government takeover of healthcare that will cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion and his 10-year budget plan will raise our debt by $14.6 trillion! We are witnessing an absence of leadership and our children will pay the price.

The American people deserve better than a $787 billion so-called stimulus plan full of wasteful liberal spending priorities. They deserve better than a national energy tax and a government takeover of healthcare written by special interests behind closed doors. And they deserve better than more political posturing over fiscal responsibility.

The frustration we have witnessed across the country is neither directed at one political party nor even one policy proposal. People are fed up with a culture of borrowing, bailouts and takeovers that has consumed Washington.

It is time that we chart a course for the country that puts the people first. It starts by getting our priorities straight and focusing 100 percent on getting this economy moving again and healthcare reform that actually lowers costs by increasing competition.

Last January, as Democrats rushed through Congress their flawed stimulus bill, House Republicans responded with our own economic recovery plan. Our plan would have delivered immediate tax relief to working families and small businesses - the same principles that have always led to economic prosperity.

When the votes were counted, Democrats defeated our proposal and were stunned as every House Republican said no to more government and more debt. Republicans continue to offer solutions to address our challenges. We are ready to work for energy independence, fight for lower healthcare costs and fix our economy, but only in a way that puts the American people first. That is why we have introduced American solutions to the challenges we face, not government solutions. We proposed a comprehensive strategy to achieve energy independence, commonsense reform to lower healthcare costs, and a responsible federal budget that lowers deficits without raising taxes. House Republicans will seize every opportunity to bring these positive ideas before the president, the Congress and the people.

The path to economic prosperity does not run along Pennsylvania Avenue nor end at the doorstep of the United States Congress. It runs through the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people. Wednesday, the president will have an opportunity to present his views regarding the state of our union.

For the sake of our future, I hope he finds that the strength of our union rests not with the government but where it always has - with the people.

Pence is chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Mike Pence: Why is Deficit Commission barred from recommending discretionary cuts?

posted at 3:10 pm on January 21, 2010

by Ed Morrissey
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There are two ways to reduce deficits: spend less or take more. Looks like the new bipartisan deficit commission will be limited to just one option, according to Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), as he blasts the idea as “toothless” on the House floor today. Furthermore, the idea that Democrats want to get serious about fiscal responsibility after increasing spending 24% and demanding to lift the debt ceiling another $1,900,000,000,000 is nothing short of breathtaking:

Well, if you are concerned about runaway federal spending and a rising national debt, you won’t find a lot of comfort in today’s headlines. After passing a government takeover of health care costing over a trillion dollars and budget that will triple the national debt in the next ten years, Democrat leaders are now talking about actually bringing legislation that will raise our debt limit by $1.9 trillion. But we are told by the same Democratic leadership that they are going to get serious in 2010 about fiscal discipline. I guess along those lines, President Obama is expected to announce a bipartisan commission that will look for ways to reduce deficits in the future. Sounds like an appealing idea, but the devil’s always in the details in Washington, D.C.

The president’s commission, on close examination, actually looks like a guard dog with no bite. Looks like fiscal discipline but it could easily be ignored by Congress. Remarkably, the president’s proposal, as I have heard about it, is prohibited from recommending cuts in any discretionary spending. That will be about $1.4 trillion, and the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ that’s completely off limits. And as many of us know, with the partisan bias and the structure of it, as reported, it’s likely this commission would just be an excuse to raise taxes.

The American people don’t want more government, more taxes and more political posturing about spending. They want this Congress to show the character and the strength to make the hard choices to put our fiscal house in order.”

As I wrote last month, the entire notion of a bipartisan commission on budgeting is ludicrous. We already have one: it’s called Congress, and the citizens of the US send their representatives to Washington to make those decisions in the open, not in some smoke-filled backroom that allows Congress to escape accountability.

It’s expressly designed to hike taxes rather than cut spending, and the clarity of this is rather obvious if one thinks about it. Would Congress suddenly become wildly unpopular if it cut 10% from the federal budget in an open process? Would Congress become wildly popular if it raised taxes 10% in an open process? The answer to both questions is a resounding no, which tells you why Democrats desperately want the fig leaf of a bipartisan commission to provide cover for the tax hikes they need to pay for their radical legislative agenda.

Pence has this exactly correct — and it’s no accident that one of the voices demanding this commission is Evan Bayh, the man Pence may well challenge in this year’s Senate race in Indiana. Bayh’s attempt to look moderate is nothing more than a cover for a radical tax hike that will kill whatever weak economic recovery we can muster in 2010.

Joseph Farah's Yellow Tale

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Farah's yellow tale

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Posted: June 20, 2006
1:00 am Eastern

By Rebecca Hagelin
© 2010 WorldNetDaily.com

Joseph Farah's column published yesterday fails virtually every test of Journalism 101.

In "Mike Pence sells out," he makes numerous false charges and engages in character assassination based on sloppy research.

Other than that, it's a pretty good piece of journalism. Yellow journalism, that is.

Joseph is a friend and former colleague, and he usually does a pretty good job of getting things right. But this time, he's just plain wrong. Even so, I wouldn't dream of attacking his character. But I will boldly attack a Farah product that is faulty, especially one that maligns a good man and honorable statesman such as Mike Pence.

In delivering what he claims is "the whole story" about the congressman from Indiana and his stance on immigration, Farah concocts an extremely yellow tale – instead of investigating the facts.

For example, he initially claimed that Helen Krieble, who runs the Krieble Foundation, was the widow of founder Vernon Krieble. In fact, she's his granddaughter. (After someone pointed out this ridiculous error, Joseph did fix that part of the column).

A simple phone call, before publication, would have prevented this rookie error. But in committing this oversight, Joseph was only warming up.

Let's consider some other specifics:

1. FARAH FALLACY: Pence "sold out" because of Helen Krieble, who runs the Krieble Foundation. Mrs. Krieble, he says, runs a horse farm and needs immigrant workers, so she "gave a chunk of her money to the Heritage Foundation to devise a national immigration plan that would permit illegals to stay."

   FACT: Although the Kriebles have for many years donated to Heritage for general operations, neither Helen Krieble nor the Krieble Foundation has given any money to Heritage for immigration policy development.

   FACT: Neither Helen Krieble nor the Krieble Foundation has ever given Mike Pence money for any reason (according to the Federal Election Commission – a fact easily available to the public and inquiring journalists).

   Even though he made serious accusations, based on bad information, Farah still claims he has insider information that we're supposed to believe.

2. FARAH FALLACY: "Heritage dutifully responded and produced the Krieble plan, which bears a striking resemblance to the Pence plan."

   FACT: Mrs. Krieble delivered a March 1, 2006, lecture at Heritage in which she explained how she would structure a guest-worker program. And that's all we've seen of her "plan."

   FACT: On Oct. 19, 2004 – that's 2004, folks – Heritage produced guiding principles upon which any immigration reform must be based. We've also written analyses on nearly every aspect of the complex issue, all of which are easily available at heritage.org. But for journalists who don't know how to conduct basic Web research on the organizations and individuals they're slamming, here's a quick overview of our principles:

   • Consent of the Governed – Non-citizens do not have a right to American residency or citizenship without the consent of the American people.
   • National Security – Secure borders, especially in a time of terrorist threat, are crucial to American national security.
   • The Rule of Law – Immigration is no exception to the principle that the rule of law requires the fair, firm and equitable enforcement of the law.
   • Patriotic Assimilation – A successful immigration policy must include and emphasize a deliberate and self-confident policy that welcomes and assimilates permanent immigrants.

"The first priority is national security," Heritage experts Edwin Meese III and Matthew Spalding, Ph.D., write in an updated paper that applies our core principles to any temporary-worker program. "Congress must take steps to ensure that immigration policy, or the lack of immigration policy enforcement, does not undermine national security; and, from a national security perspective, preventing illegal entry and reducing unlawful presence in the United States is an imperative." Furthermore, "there should be no amnesty program for illegal immigrants." In fact, in an op-ed in the New York Times, Meese criticized the Senate immigration proposal for being an amnesty program.

No one could reasonably conclude that Pence is soft on border security after reading his plan (which incorporates the House security plan and is available on his website) or the May 23 lecture Pence gave at The Heritage Foundation. In both instances, he stresses that border security is Job No. 1. His Heritage lecture literally says "Step One: Secure Borders" and "Step Two: No Amnesty." Only then does he outline his temporary-worker program.

To the extent that Rep. Pence agrees with our principles, we're with him. We do have some serious reservations about his plan in its current form, and we're happy to work with him (as we would with any policymaker of any party) to make his plan better. For now, though, it remains a work in progress. And it bears mentioning that Heritage continues to adhere, on this issue and others, to its long-held policy of not endorsing specific pieces of legislation.

"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story," the saying goes. But Farah has done just that. In the process, he has maligned Mrs. Krieble and Rep. Pence – great Americans making great sacrifices to make America a better place.

There's no question that Joseph Farah is a red-blooded, true-blue American. But on this story, he comes out yellow.

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Related special offer:

"ALIEN NATION: Secrets of the Invasion – Why America's government invites rampant illegal immigration"

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Rebecca Hagelin is a media commentator, public speaker on family and the culture, and the author of "Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture that's Gone Stark Raving Mad." To learn more about her book or to invite Rebecca to speak at your event, visit HomeInvasion.org. Rebecca's next book, "30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family," will be released by Regnery on April 6. Rebecca also was a frequent guest on "The Dickson/Chappell Report"

MSNBC blog Weighs In On Pence vs. Bayh

by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2010

From NBC's Ali Weinberg
Both the liberal and conservative blogospheres weigh in on the whispers -- which First Read wrote about this morning -- that Republican Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana is considering challenging Sen. Evan Bayh (D). And while liberal writers and bloggers see Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s victory as a sign to ignore Republican gains, cease calls for bipartisanship and simply start passing legislation, conservatives see his win as a door-opener to future victories and Congressional clout.

Red State’s Brian Faughnan comments that a potential Pence move, which he writes might inspire strong Republican contenders in other vulnerable districts: “If Pence gets into this race, Bayh will have a top-notch opponent who can raise money, and who’s in tune with the mood of the voters. In a state that looks likely to be deep-red again, Bayh will face all he can handle. And in the next few weeks, we’ll likely see many more top-notch GOP challengers emerge for many races.”

On the liberal end of the spectrum, The Washington Independent’s David Weigel says a Pence move against Bayh is “the sort of thing the GOP needs -- credible threats against incumbent Democrats to scare them into voting down their party’s agenda. Bayh, who’s never lacking for a platform to trash his party for not governing in a 'moderate' enough way, is a good target for this.”

And the Center for American Progress’ ThinkProgress blog has this to say of Bayh: “Bayh is using the Massachusetts special election to tack to the right and lash out at the ‘left.’ In an interview with ABC News yesterday, Bayh called Brown’s win ‘a wake-up call’ that moderates and independents ‘don’t believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems.’ Whenever you have just the furthest left elements of the Dem party attempting to impose their will on the rest of the country -- that’s not going to work too well,’ said Bayh.”

Christian Heinze at GOP12 picks up on a new post-Brown victory Internet phenomenon. He excerpts from an article by The Hill’s Bob Cusack: “Several Scott Brown-for-president domain names have been purchased over the last week. The rights to scottbrownforpresident.com were bought last Friday, while scottbrown2012.com and scottbrown2016.com were acquired on Tuesday.” But Heinze points out that Brown’s pro-choice and pro-civil union positions were already GOP-tested during former New York Mayor Rudy and 2008 candidate Rudy Giuliani’s campaign, and failed.

Citing the early political setbacks of several other presidents, Jim Geraghty argues that President Obama’s pre-White House career never afforded him an opportunity “when the voting electorate has given them the thumbs-down and [he] recalibrated, taking a more thorough measure of what the public thinks....

“Now the public is yelling, as loud as it can, to Obama to stop and reverse direction. Can Obama move back to the center? He might, and for all our sakes, I hope he does. But unlike many, many other folks who have sat in his office, he's never had to do it before.”

The Nation’s Katrina Vanden Heuvel on the Democrats’ best strategy going forward: “This special election is a wake up call and should lead to a course correction. The Democratic party can no longer run as a managerial and technocratic party. Going populist is now smart politics and good policy… here's a no-brainer: Isn't it time to give up on that faith in genteel post-partisanship when the GOP knifes you at every turn? Nice isn't going create more jobs or get health care reform. Before pivoting to a laser-like focus on jobs and the economy, passing the strongest possible healthcare bill as quickly as is feasible is a top priority.”

More: “What comes next will test the President's willingness to learn the lessons of this last year. Get tough, get bold, kiss 'post-partisanship' goodbye and fight hard for jobs and a just economy of shared prosperity. And put yourself squarely back on the side of working people.”

Michelle Malkin: Run, Mike Pence, run!

MIKE PENCE
RECLAIMING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
AND
THE AMERICAN DREAM

http://mikepencethebook.blogspot.com

Run, Mike Pence, run!

By Michelle Malkin • January 20, 2010 11:44 AM

I want this to happen, don’t you?

Don’t worry about the support of the NRSC or Beltway Republicans. The money will come, Rep. Pence — from grass-roots conservatives across the country who have appreciated your stalwart, unwavering, unapologetic, explicit, and proven commitment to the Constitution and conservative principles.

Go for it:

In the wake of winning MA, GOPers are looking to put 1 more state in play if they can convince House GOP Conference chair Mike Pence to run against Sen. Evan Bayh (R-IN).

Pence and his aides will meet with top staffers at the NRSC tomorrow, several sources tell Hotline OnCall, where they will discuss a possible bid. The NRSC has polled IN, and their survey shows Pence in a competitive position, though he trails Bayh in initial matchups.

GOPers have failed to recruit a top-tier challenger against the popular 2-term incumbent, thanks largely to Bayh’s bankroll. He had $12.7M in the bank as of Sept. 30, and GOPers expect he would be able to raise many more millions before Election Day.

But Pence has a base, especially as the number 3 GOPer in the House, and top Senate strategists believe he would be able to raise the money to compete with Bayh. He also has the national ambition, and Senate strategists plan to point out those ambitions are difficult to achieve without a Senate seat.

Yet Pence’s team is acutely aware of the financial challenge such a race would pose, and he had just $462K CoH at the end of the 3rd quarter. Pence’s decision will rest heavily on whether the NRSC would make a financial commitment to help make up the early difference, a source close to Pence said. The source also said Pence is unlikely to turn down the offer soon, indicating he is taking the notion seriously.

Mike Pence Eyes Senate Run

Alarm bells: Brown upends 2010 – Pence eyes Senate run – 2012-ers congratulate Brown – GOP and Dem insurgents take heart – Ford takes leave from Merrill

By: ALEXANDER BURNS on January 20, 2010 @ 6:00 AM

“ON NOTICE” — The first election of 2010 is over. The White House is reeling. Republicans are cocky again. Democrats are reaching for the panic button. And Scott Brown is the new senator-elect from Massachusetts. The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s John Cornyn warned in a statement: “Democrats nationwide should be on notice: Americans are ready to hold the party in power accountable for their irresponsible spending and out-of-touch agenda, and they’re ready for real change in Washington.”

“We had the machine scared and scrambling, and for them it is just the beginning of an election year filled with surprises. They will be challenged again and again across this country,” Brown said in his victory speech.

As Republicans bask, Dems fret and Bay Staters take stock of their new senator, here’s POLITICO’s Morning Score, by Alexander Burns, Mike Allen and the POLITICO national politics team.

Sign up for the daily e-mail here: http://www.politico.com/morningscore

RALLYING ‘ROUND THE WINNER: Republican leaders sent out a flurry of statements cheering Brown’s 52 percent to 47 percent win over Democrat Martha Coakley on Tuesday night. “The voters in Massachusetts, like Americans everywhere, have made it abundantly clear where they stand on health care,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The National Republican Congressional Committee’s Pete Sessions agreed: “Should Democrats continue to ignore these results and double down on their attempt to ram a government health care takeover down the throats of the American people, they will have far more at stake than a Senate seat in Massachusetts.”

GOP candidates across the country tried to tie themselves to the Brown campaign — from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who released a statement demanding “no delay in seating our newest Republican senator,” to Marco Rubio, who reacted: “In 2010's first major election, voters have demonstrated that ideas and issues reign supreme in our democracy and that nothing comes easy when you stand for the wrong things.”

PENCE FOR SENATE? POLITICO's Josh Kraushaar reports that at least one Republican might do more than cheer for Massachusetts: House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence is now considering a campaign of his own against Sen. Evan Bayh. The outspoken conservative could effectively clear the Republican primary field and give his party a top-tier opponent for one of the best-funded Democratic incumbents. Pence issued a statement on the Massachusetts race, saying the “American people are telling Washington, DC enough is enough. In this special election in Massachusetts, they have sent a deafening message to the political class.”

MENENDEZ TAKES IT ON THE CHIN: “I have no interest in sugarcoating what happened in Massachusetts,” the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman said in a statement. “We will sort through the lessons of Massachusetts: the need to redouble our efforts on the economy, the need to show that our commitment to real change is as powerful as it was in 2008, and the reality that we cannot take a single thing for granted and cannot afford even a second of complacency.”

WHEN IN ROME … Patrick Kennedy said Tuesday the election showed voters are looking to inflict damage on politicians in 2010: “It’s like in Roman times; they’d be trotted out to the coliseum, and the lions would be brought out. ... I mean, they’re wanting blood, and they’re not getting it so they want to protest, and, you know, you can’t blame them. But frankly, the fact is we inherited this mess, and it’s becoming ours.”

“ALARM CLOCK” RINGS — POLITICO’s Smith, Martin and Harris capture the choices facing Democrats in the wake of the Massachusetts defeat: “The same forces of disgust with establishment politicians and hunger for change in Washington that vaulted Obama to power 14 months ago can be harnessed with equal success by people who want to stop his agenda in its tracks. The argument that will now consume Democrats is over the remedy — a disagreement that once again opens up the party’s ideological gulf and vastly complicates Obama’s task in trying to push his signature health care agenda to final passage. ... ‘The alarm clock has gone off,’ said Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, who called for a sharper and more confident leftward tack. ‘We fell into the trap of postpartisanship.’ ... But other Democrats were already urging caution, and a shift toward lower spending and lower expectations that would severely cramp Obama's ambitious agenda. ‘There’s going to be a tendency on the part of our people to be in denial about all this,” Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who is up for reelection this year, told ABC News.”