GOP VP nominee Mike Pence takes on Hillary Clinton in local stop

The first order of business if voters elect Republican businessman Donald J. Trump president is to unwind much of what President Barack Obama has done, said Trump running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, during his Wednesday appearance in Moraine.

“On day one of the Trump administration Donald Trump will rescind all of the job destroying executive orders that Barack Obama has put into place,” said Pence, speaking at the Mandalay Banquet and Catering Center to a crowd of about 350 people.

Pence said Obama has engaged in a “war on coal” that Trump will end and that he will revive construction of the Keystone Pipeline. In one of his most crowd-pleasing lines, Pence said he would “repeal Obamacare lock, stock and barrel.”

Pence said this election is a choice of keeping “the same failed policies” or “doing something different” and he said Trump would “upend the status quo and uphold the Constitution.”

Prior to the Pence event the Hillary Clinton Ohio campaign held a news conference in downtown Dayton at the IUE-CWA Service Center.

Whaley denounced Trump’s economic plan and said it would lead to job losses.

The Clinton campaign says that a new analysis by economist Mark Zandi, former economic advisor to Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain, shows that Ohio’s economy would add 376,000 jobs under Clinton’s plan, but lose 123,000 under the Trump-Pence plan.

“Hillary Clinton is committed to building an economy that works for everyone in Ohio, not just those at the top,” Whaley said.

She said that Dayton is always harder hit when jobs are lost and so “there is lot at stake for the Dayton region in this election.”

Pence said that Trump’s plan would lead to an economic boom.

“When you put conservative principals into place they work every time,” Pence said.

Pence also bashed the media, which he said doesn’t report negative stories about Clinton but does with Trump.

“It seems just about every day the national media latches onto some issue that they end up talking about endlessly on all of these cable TV shows,” Pence said.

He did not address the latest controversy over remarks Trump made about supporters of the Second Amendment that Democrats said implied a threat of violence against Clinton. Trump has denied any implied threat and said he was talking about the power of the vote.

Pence took a few questions from the audience, including one from a woman who asked if Pence if Trump would restore limits on gay marriage. Pence didn’t directly answer that question but said the Supreme Court is “hanging in the balance in this election” and electing Trump is crucial for protection of gun rights and for those who value the “sanctity of life.”

Pence said the death of Justice Antonin Scalia earlier this year was tragic and he criticized former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland for saying on Monday that Scalia died “at a good time” because it prevented a ruling that would have hurt unions.

“Those remarks are appalling and they are one more reminder of why Ohio must re-elect (U.S.) Sen. (Rob) Portman,” Pence said.

Strickland, a Democrat seeking to unseat Portman, has since apologized for making the “insensitive” remark during an appearance before the Cleveland chapter of the AFL-CIO.

Kathy Arquilla, 66, of Kettering, said she liked that Pence is emphasizing the Supreme Court vacancy as an issue. She said many voters are educated, but might not “recognize the importance of the Supreme Court.”

She also noted that while Pence and Trump speak in different styles, both men “are bringing across a good message and the same message.”

“Sometimes Donald may say something in one way, Pence may say it in a very different way, and they’re actually saying the same thing,” she said. “Donald sometimes just off-the-cuff makes a remark, and it’s his style, and that’s what he’s used to.”

Renea Turner, 50, of Springfield, said Pence and Trump will “level each other out” and “learn from each other.” She was impressed by Pence’s record and devotion to Indiana and the campaign.

“He’s got a lot of support, he’s very passionate and you can tell his heart is in it,” she said.

In a minor flap, Pence called State Rep. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, after the event to apologize for the campaign denying him VIP seating. Antani, a delegate for Gov. John Kasich in the primary, alleged the snub was due to a tweet last week, in which the state lawmaker said he’d been meeting voters and “not one of them has been happy with Trump.”

“He said he just got off stage and wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding,” Antani said, adding Pence said he will continue to try and bring Kasich primary supporters like Antani into the fold.