Tears of joy cascade like rain as the newspaper takes a position on "horrirfying" Pence.

Well, not exactly; it's just a "Cheers and Jeers" piece, but still, it's always encouraging to see evidence of a pulse. Given its oft-stated proclivities in opposition to progress in such matters, perhaps the New Albany news desk can issue some variety of counterpoint, or go on strike.

A boy can dream. Thanks to Amy Huffman-Branham for this welcomed dose of reality.

SOUTHERN INDIANA — CHEERS

... Triple cheers and a little jump for joy to columnist Brian Howey for his column, “Cat and mouse with Pence on his moral agenda,” which appeared in the Monday, Sept. 24 edition of The News and Tribune.

I have been wondering when someone — anyone — would remind voters who Republican Indiana gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence is.

I certainly don’t blame Pence and his handlers for keeping the focus of his campaign on the economy and jobs in an effort to keep quiet on the candidate’s stance on social issues. Hoosiers who didn’t pay attention to Pence before he announced his run for the Governor’s Office might just fall for it.

But those who have been paying attention for the last decade know the Pence’s trademark is his far right stance on social issues. We’re not just talking about him tiptoeing into conservatism here, we’re talking an all-out assault on people who believe [and prefer] they have a right to make decisions for themselves when it comes to marriage, children and religion.

As Howey wrote, “In his 2011 campaign kickoff speech in Columbus, Pence said, ‘To restore our economy we must reaffirm our respect for the institutions and traditions that nurture the character of our people. As your governor, I will stand for the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and the importance of organized religion in everyday life. To build an even better Indiana, we must recognize every day that our present crisis is not just economic, but moral.’

When pressed by the Times of Northwest Indiana’s Dan Carden, Pence would only say, ‘I am who I am and I hold the views I hold, but if I have the privilege of being governor of the state of Indiana, we’re going to make job creation job one.’”

While I certainly can’t argue with making job creation job one, the prospect of what job number two might be under a Pence governorship is horrifying.

Hopefully Hoosier voters will take the time to read up on Pence’s career as a lawmaker before they head to the polls in November to see what he’s really about.