While it's tough to come back from a mob chanting about hanging you, Mike Pence reminded viewers at last Wednesday night's GOP presidential debate that he can still preach a good sermon. And one that, in a few short sentences, used some tried-and-true strategies to present his own viewpoint as the unassailable truth.
About half an hour into the debate, the topic turned to abortion and whether the assembled Republican candidates would support a federal ban, now that Roe v. Wade is no more. There was some hemming and hawing from Nikki Haley about the inarguable fact that Republicans are well short of the 60 votes required in the Senate to support a ban, and some bobbing and weaving from Ron DeSantis for unclear reasons. But when the question came to Pence, the former vice president turned solemn. He first reminded DeSantis, "I'm not new to this cause," and then pivoted to deeply religious conversion language.
