Pence: Election Is 'Fork In The Road" For Constitutional Protections

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the Republican candidate for vice president, returned to Indiana Friday to address the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC.

During his 20 minute talk to the conservative conference, Pence zeroed in on Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech Thursday at the Democratic national Convention and characterized it as filled with failed policies that will led to higher taxes and more regulations.

“The stakes really could not be higher in this election,” he said. “The choice couldn’t be more clear.”

Pence warned that the November election would be a “fork in the road." If Clinton is elected, he claimed, her administration could stack the U.S. Supreme Court with appointees who would damage constitutional protections on the “sanctity of life", the Second Amendment and the overall “rule of law” for the next 40 years.

Instead, Pence said, his running mate Donald Trump would appoint judges similar to the late, Antonin Scalia, a conservative who served for 30 years before suddenly passing away in February. Republican lawmakers have refused to consider any appointment made by President Barack Obama.

Many in the crowd endorsed Pence's vision and request to vote for Trump in November with applause throughout his speech at the JW Marriott.

The one-term governor also promised the ALEC attendees he and Trump would look to the states with "common sense conservative" policies for answers to the country’s problems. 

“And we both know and believe the cure for what ails this country will come as much from our nation’s state capitals as it ever will from our nation’s capital," Pence said. "And we shall aim to restore the balance between the federal government and the states in our constitution.”

After the speech, Pence met with his cabinet at the statehouse before heading back out on the campaign trail in Dayton, Ohio.