President Trump may be a buffoon, but a President Pence would bring ruin upon the nation and turn the U.S. into a Christian theocracy.

As Trump’s troubles continue to grow, conservatives and liberals alike are wrestling with the very real possibility that Trump will be forced out of office due to scandal and/or incompetence, leaving a President Mike Pence in charge of the nation.

Many conservatives are happy with the prospect of Trump leaving office and a President Pence taking control. They see Pence as a traditional and predictable Republican, and many are sympathetic to his radical religious extremism.

However, for liberals, progressives, and others who value the secular values upon which this nation was founded, a President Pence would be a disaster.

In fact, the former Indiana Governor and current Vice President is a conservative Christian nightmare who rejects the separation of church and state, and places his Christian faith above the U.S. Constitution.

Pence, who is fond of saying he is “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order,” is an anti-science, anti-gay, anti-women, religious extremist.

Anti-Science

Pence believes that creationism should be taught in public schools.

When serving as a congressman, Pence made it clear that he opposes evolution, and believes that only creationism (intelligent design) provides a “rational explanation for the known universe.”

In 2002, Pence delivered a passionate speech on the floor of the House of Representatives arguing that evolution is “only a theory” and that public schools should teach the theory of intelligent design as well as the theory of evolution.

Pence told his colleagues:

I believe that God created the known universe, the earth and everything in it, including man. And I also believe that someday scientists will come to see that only the theory of intelligent design provides even a remotely rational explanation for the known universe.

In other words, for Pence, the only rational explanation is “God did it.”

In his speech, Pence also made the false and misleading claim that creationism is a valid scientific alternative to the theory of evolution, arguing that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the public school science classroom.

Pence is also a climate science denier. Media Matters reports:

On the February 21, 2014, edition of MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown, host Chuck Todd asked Pence if he is “convinced that climate change is man-made.” Pence responded: “I don’t know that that is a resolved issue in science today.” Moments later, Pence added: “Just a few years ago, we were talking about global warming. We haven’t seen a lot of warming lately. I remember back in the ‘70s we were talking about the coming ice age.” Pence similarly stated on the May 5, 2009, edition of MSNBC’s Hardball that “I think the science is very mixed on the subject of global warming,” as ThinkProgress noted. However, according to NASA: “Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.”

Anti-Gay

Pence thinks the government should pay for gay conversion therapy.

Pence is a rabid homophobe who wants to deny civil civil rights to LGBT people, and wants taxpayer money to pay for gay conversion therapy, the despicable attempt to force a child or young adult to reverse their sexual orientation or gender identity, often to satisfy the religious superstition and bigotry of ignorant parents.

As reported by PolitiFact, during his first successful run for Congress in 2000, Pence advocated for government funding of gay conversion therapy on his campaign website, under a section called Strengthening the American Family:

Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.

In other words, Pence wants taxpayers to pay for what many rational observers believe is child abuse.

HIV Outbreak

In addition to believing taxpayers should fund the cruel and immoral practice of gay conversion therapy, in 2015, as Governor of Indiana, Pence allowed an HIV outbreak to spread, choosing prayer over a clean needle exchange.

As an HIV outbreak exploded in a rural county of Indiana, for several months Governor Pence refused to allow a clean needle exchange, despite desperate pleas from local, state and federal health officials urging the governor to allow clean needles to be distributed to slow the outbreak.

Pence could have easily prevented or mitigated a great deal of human suffering; instead, he failed to act in a timely fashion, and citizens suffered.

Anti-Women

Pence is anti-women. Pence supports so-called personhood bills that would criminalize abortion nationwide. In addition, Right Wing Watch reports Pence has spearheaded congressional efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, even if it meant shutting down the government; signed anti-abortion measures into law in Indiana; and rallied opposition to President Obama’s effort to roll back prohibitions on stem-cell research.

In addition, Pence promises an end to safe and legal abortion if Trump is elected. Pence claims Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, will be overturned if Donald Trump is elected president. And he might be right, if Trump is elected he will be appointing the next Supreme Court justices.

Condoms

Perhaps one of the most dangerous and idiotic claims made by Pence concerns the use of condoms. In an interview with CNN, while advocating for abstinence only sex education, Pence said that condoms are too “modern,” too “liberal,” and offer a poor defense against sexually transmitted infections and diseases.

By disseminating false and misleading information about condoms, Pence demonstrates that he is willing to endanger the health and welfare of young people in order to promote his demented, right-wing, conservative Christian, puritanical agenda.

Bottom Line

Pence is an anti-science, anti-women, anti-gay, radical religious extremist – a cold, cruel, Christian extremist. If given the chance, a President Pence would ruin the nation and turn the U.S. into a Christian theocracy.

(Large portions of this article were previously published here)