Vice President Mike Pence came to Colorado Thursday to rally fellow Republicans at a state GOP fundraiser and to pitch President Donald Trump’s tax plan.
The vice president’s day started with a tour of Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton. There, Pence proclaimed that America would lead in space again and viewed projects like the Mars InSight lander and the Orion spacecraft.
The next stop was the Marriot Denver Tech Center. Outside, more than a hundred protesters, most dressed in red capes and white bonnets — a motif adopted from “The Handmaid’s Tale” — rallied against the visit. Speakers criticized Pence's position on women's rights and opposition to abortion.
“To see the women all dressed up, you know, just like the Margaret Atwood book, I mean, I really do feel that this is what Mike Pence is wanting to take us back to — the 1950s,” said Karen Duggan, a member of Indivisible Colorado.
VP Mike Pence's arrival was met with protesters chanting, "Shame." pic.twitter.com/vzundBE2IN
Inside, speaking to the dinner crowd in support of the Colorado Republican Party, Pence focused on tax reform. He promised that Congress will pass what he called the largest tax cut in American history before the end of the year.
“We have set the stage to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses, family farms and ranchers,” Pence told supporters.
The tax pledge was met with applause, but it that was far from Pence’s biggest applause line for the night. A locally-focused pledge helped rally the faithful.
“We're gonna elect a Republican governor to the great state of Colorado in 2018.”
The race to replace Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is term-limited, is shaping up to be an expensive and hard fought one. Beyond the large field of Democrats, there are seven Republicans vying to represent their party for the governorship.
