Pence has made a career of self-righteous preening. In reality he is the worst sort of calculating politician. Nothing he has done takes him a single inch away from this truth.
Pence is quoted as saying "I know the media wants to distract from the Biden Administration's failed agenda by focusing on one day in January". Really? Let's change the one day to 9/11 and Bush's administration or December 7, 1941 and FDR's administration. Apparently one day that will live in infamy is no big deal to the former VP. It's only one day after all. Forget the jubilant cries of "he told the truth". He made a self serving statement which was fact.
When I see heroes on the news, I always like to practice in my mind what I would do, so that if called upon, I would (I hope) do the right thing. Is political courage as difficult as it appears? People like Fiona Hill, Maria Yovanovitch and Alexander Vindman seemed to have been able to find it. Where is the difference between them and so many of our political leaders?
Perhaps more than most I have a bit on an insight into pre-Pence by being a late-in-life Hoosier having lived through his underwhelming term as governor of our state.
Let me set the stage. Pence was born and raised as a Catholic (RC). He decided to attend a religious college (same one as Woody Harrelson - talk about polar opposites). He was originally inspired by people John F. Kennedy (obvious) and Martin Luther King Jr. Easy to state in his hometown that has a 3.7% black population.
While in college, Pence left the Catholic Church and became an evangelical, born-again Christian, to the great disappointment of his mother, when he married once married (also former Catholic) Karen Batten-Whittaker).
Note: parents and siblings had no problem with the Pence businesses profiting from sales of lottery tickets, alcohol, and "loose" cigarettes, which outraged Mike and Karen, while accepting their share of the family business profits (Think Captain Renault from the movie Casablanca).
Mike realizing he has no discernable skills after receiving a law degree, turned to an overwhelming AM-radio "religio-consevatative" radio station in southern Indiana (i.e Northern Kentucky) to offer a Limbaugh type hate-show, except Mike mused he was "decafe" Rush.
That "humorous" throw away says everything about Pence. As governor of Indiana:
~ His ten years of Congressional service offered not one of his introduced legislative bills into law.
~ He "lead" from behind, getting somewhat tepid Republican support, before dying the death of reality.
~ He was willing to get his taking points from actual thinkers, until the populous went batshit. And then he went tepid again.
~He often tried to change his horrific policies stands with a softened versions, explaining why people really didn't understand him!
~ He took credit for popular policies that he stood against!
Pence is an empty vessel that "Mother" fills in order to to use him as a way for her to move up in the hierarchy of 20% (republican percentage of American voters) of the American population. He was on his way to political Palookaville until Trump offer him the role of shoeshine boy.
Why anyone would take this loser in so many ways seriously is mystifying.
All of the above commentators have a point. I think it's fair to say that Pence did the very minimum he could get away with, defending himself, primarily, from Trump's attacks, while failing to finally jump off the fence he's been straddling.
It's also fair to say, as Stuart Stevens did the other day, that Pence sat in the White House while this coup was being planned. He knew what Trump and his minions were up to. He didn't call the FBI. He didn't make a public statement. He kept quiet. Until it was clear Trump's coup would fail. Only then did he act.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he did the right thing. In the end. But that's a VERY low hurdle to jump. It certainly doesn't make him a hero. He only looks like one because so many others in his party are still not doing anything.
Heh. Pence's circumstances of bravely following the Constitution remind me of Chris Rock's famous black people hate n___s routine.
" You know the worst thing about n___s? A n___ will brag about things you're supposed to do. A n___ will take credit for things a normal man just does. Like a n___ be sayin', "I take care of my kids." [Yelling] you're supposed to you dumb motherf__ker!!!
"So much of the political commentariat is looking for smudged fingerprints on a crowbar found near the scene of a break-in even as that crowbar is clearly labeled “property of Donald Trump” and Trump is selling a bunch of obviously stolen merchandise at a yard sale across the street…."
Bump has it right. The over-educated, under-intelligent, otherwise-unemployable trust fund babies of the Press Corpse are a major part of the problem we face. They completely fail at the job the Press is supposed to fill that was why freedom of the press is in the First Amendment. These are the people who would tell you Hitler couldn't possibly be that bad, since he liked dogs.
As far as Pence is concerned, he's a Putz (Putz: yiddish - "A penis that thinks it's a person"). He's been a Putz since the day he was born. He will be a Putz the day he finally does the one thing he can do to Make America Great Again.
I wonder how Room Rater would rate Bannon's digs. Putting on your mantle a quote, that you yourself made? It's not even a good quote.
But Bannon has a point. Pence did the honorable thing on 1/6/21, but it was not the courageous thing. He's not as shameless as the crowd he fell in with. Pence had a choice: do what every Vice President has done, upholding centuries of norms, or ignite a constitutional crisis by trying to change the duly elected President. Pence chose the path of least resistance. It's not in him to be as bold and shameless as to do what Trump was demanding, in front of the entire nation and world.
Charlie, Great perspective on Pence: we don’t give gold bars to those who refuse to run over people in wheel chairs! Pence is a pusillanimous pussy, unwilling to stand up to his former partner whose mob had constructed a gallow and was voicing their desire to hang him. To which Pence said nothing! Pence has the spine of a chocolate eclair!
Pence’s little speech raises what seems to me to be an important question about electoral strategy, which is: how to decide about supporting Republicans or the Republican Party at all?
For the upcoming midterms, I have seen never-Trump Republican groups working to support “moderate” Republican candidates, especially against Trumpy ones. And then we have the entire Dem apparatus trying to defeat pretty much all Republicans. If we take the essence of these two positions, the first presumes that electing moderate Republicans is good and will dilute the impact and influence of Trumpsters. The second presumes that the fewer Republicans elected, the better for our country. These are not very compatible and may be working at cross-purposes, depending on how you look at the elections.
Given that so-called moderate Republicans (with a couple of strong exceptions — but only a couple) have essentially been intimidated into acquiesce with the Trumpist takeover of the party, what good does it do to support a few more of them? Given that the RNC, with barely a whimper of “concern” from moderate Republicans (which makes no difference, anyhow), has used their resolution against Cheney and Kinzinger to endorse political intimidation, mayhem, and violence, how can one justify supporting the Republican Party in any way?
I understand the concept that having more moderates might help to balance the wackos — IF the Republicans don’t take control of either or both Houses. But this looks like a difficult election for Dems holding one or both, so shouldn’t anti-Trump Republicans and independents bite the bullet and work and vote for Dems in this cycle — at least so that, perhaps with a solid loss at the polls, the Republican wackos will lose traction, giving moderates the opening they need to wrestle control back from the wackos?
The bottom line is: what is the theory of the moderate Republican case for trying to win races in the upcoming elections? What is the strategy that can bring back a viable Republican Party such that we have two parties committed to American Democracy? I have yet to see any real serious discussion of this. I think you guys can and should lead this discussion.
Pence's political ambitions are toast. Even if Trump doesn't run in 2024 he will never endorse Pence. It's not to late for him to get on the right side of history. Tell the full story to the J6 committee. Unfortunately it's not in his cowardly DNA.
Bannon: Pence is "ratting" Trump out. Not lying. "Ratting". Gangsters. What a Hell they will make of America when they get back in power with only their malice and ruthlessness as constraint.
I have maybe a little sympathy for Pence, but only a tiny bit. He is a fool whose return for surrendering his soul turned out to be a hollow, papier-macher counterfeit piniata with no candy inside. Still prisoner of the corrupt appetite that allowed them to gull him in the first place, he ever longs for the promised nugatory reward. Yet the stench of knowing his acts have parted him forever from any hope of attainment fills his nostrils with each breath.
And this is forever. Unlike an opiate addict, he has not even the prospect of going through cold turkey to a place of less anguish. The longing only intensifies with knowledge it is beyond reach.
I think of him as a kind of madman whose drug abuse has afflicted him with incessant voices. that taunt him for his folly, like implacable furies. The only thing he can do is try once in a while to say something aloud to sort of drown them out. But of course to no avail. And try to pretend that the horrible story really never actually happened, or it's an entirely different story with some sort of fifth act redemption because it's part of an inscrutable Plan. What you tell yourself knowing it is false.
And if he is actually the sort of Christian he purports to be, he necessarily worries that the Hell he has made for this may be followed by a Hell to come.
Pence has made a career of self-righteous preening. In reality he is the worst sort of calculating politician. Nothing he has done takes him a single inch away from this truth.
Fuck Mike Pence.
Pence is quoted as saying "I know the media wants to distract from the Biden Administration's failed agenda by focusing on one day in January". Really? Let's change the one day to 9/11 and Bush's administration or December 7, 1941 and FDR's administration. Apparently one day that will live in infamy is no big deal to the former VP. It's only one day after all. Forget the jubilant cries of "he told the truth". He made a self serving statement which was fact.
When I see heroes on the news, I always like to practice in my mind what I would do, so that if called upon, I would (I hope) do the right thing. Is political courage as difficult as it appears? People like Fiona Hill, Maria Yovanovitch and Alexander Vindman seemed to have been able to find it. Where is the difference between them and so many of our political leaders?
Thomas Kasza didn't provide a way to contribute to helping the cause of Afghan NMRG members. So I went Googling and found this Go Fund Me link, in case anyone else, like me, would like to help: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sustain-team-11-through-the-afghan-winter
Charlie,
Great analysis of the aspects of Pence's speech.
Perhaps more than most I have a bit on an insight into pre-Pence by being a late-in-life Hoosier having lived through his underwhelming term as governor of our state.
Let me set the stage. Pence was born and raised as a Catholic (RC). He decided to attend a religious college (same one as Woody Harrelson - talk about polar opposites). He was originally inspired by people John F. Kennedy (obvious) and Martin Luther King Jr. Easy to state in his hometown that has a 3.7% black population.
While in college, Pence left the Catholic Church and became an evangelical, born-again Christian, to the great disappointment of his mother, when he married once married (also former Catholic) Karen Batten-Whittaker).
Note: parents and siblings had no problem with the Pence businesses profiting from sales of lottery tickets, alcohol, and "loose" cigarettes, which outraged Mike and Karen, while accepting their share of the family business profits (Think Captain Renault from the movie Casablanca).
Mike realizing he has no discernable skills after receiving a law degree, turned to an overwhelming AM-radio "religio-consevatative" radio station in southern Indiana (i.e Northern Kentucky) to offer a Limbaugh type hate-show, except Mike mused he was "decafe" Rush.
That "humorous" throw away says everything about Pence. As governor of Indiana:
~ His ten years of Congressional service offered not one of his introduced legislative bills into law.
~ He "lead" from behind, getting somewhat tepid Republican support, before dying the death of reality.
~ He was willing to get his taking points from actual thinkers, until the populous went batshit. And then he went tepid again.
~He often tried to change his horrific policies stands with a softened versions, explaining why people really didn't understand him!
~ He took credit for popular policies that he stood against!
Pence is an empty vessel that "Mother" fills in order to to use him as a way for her to move up in the hierarchy of 20% (republican percentage of American voters) of the American population. He was on his way to political Palookaville until Trump offer him the role of shoeshine boy.
Why anyone would take this loser in so many ways seriously is mystifying.
Allowing the bar to be Pence's level is how we got Trump
All of the above commentators have a point. I think it's fair to say that Pence did the very minimum he could get away with, defending himself, primarily, from Trump's attacks, while failing to finally jump off the fence he's been straddling.
It's also fair to say, as Stuart Stevens did the other day, that Pence sat in the White House while this coup was being planned. He knew what Trump and his minions were up to. He didn't call the FBI. He didn't make a public statement. He kept quiet. Until it was clear Trump's coup would fail. Only then did he act.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he did the right thing. In the end. But that's a VERY low hurdle to jump. It certainly doesn't make him a hero. He only looks like one because so many others in his party are still not doing anything.
Heh. Pence's circumstances of bravely following the Constitution remind me of Chris Rock's famous black people hate n___s routine.
" You know the worst thing about n___s? A n___ will brag about things you're supposed to do. A n___ will take credit for things a normal man just does. Like a n___ be sayin', "I take care of my kids." [Yelling] you're supposed to you dumb motherf__ker!!!
"So much of the political commentariat is looking for smudged fingerprints on a crowbar found near the scene of a break-in even as that crowbar is clearly labeled “property of Donald Trump” and Trump is selling a bunch of obviously stolen merchandise at a yard sale across the street…."
Bump has it right. The over-educated, under-intelligent, otherwise-unemployable trust fund babies of the Press Corpse are a major part of the problem we face. They completely fail at the job the Press is supposed to fill that was why freedom of the press is in the First Amendment. These are the people who would tell you Hitler couldn't possibly be that bad, since he liked dogs.
As far as Pence is concerned, he's a Putz (Putz: yiddish - "A penis that thinks it's a person"). He's been a Putz since the day he was born. He will be a Putz the day he finally does the one thing he can do to Make America Great Again.
I wonder how Room Rater would rate Bannon's digs. Putting on your mantle a quote, that you yourself made? It's not even a good quote.
But Bannon has a point. Pence did the honorable thing on 1/6/21, but it was not the courageous thing. He's not as shameless as the crowd he fell in with. Pence had a choice: do what every Vice President has done, upholding centuries of norms, or ignite a constitutional crisis by trying to change the duly elected President. Pence chose the path of least resistance. It's not in him to be as bold and shameless as to do what Trump was demanding, in front of the entire nation and world.
Charlie, Great perspective on Pence: we don’t give gold bars to those who refuse to run over people in wheel chairs! Pence is a pusillanimous pussy, unwilling to stand up to his former partner whose mob had constructed a gallow and was voicing their desire to hang him. To which Pence said nothing! Pence has the spine of a chocolate eclair!
If Pence has cleared a dismally low bar and wants to continue to play we need to raise the bar.
Pence’s little speech raises what seems to me to be an important question about electoral strategy, which is: how to decide about supporting Republicans or the Republican Party at all?
For the upcoming midterms, I have seen never-Trump Republican groups working to support “moderate” Republican candidates, especially against Trumpy ones. And then we have the entire Dem apparatus trying to defeat pretty much all Republicans. If we take the essence of these two positions, the first presumes that electing moderate Republicans is good and will dilute the impact and influence of Trumpsters. The second presumes that the fewer Republicans elected, the better for our country. These are not very compatible and may be working at cross-purposes, depending on how you look at the elections.
Given that so-called moderate Republicans (with a couple of strong exceptions — but only a couple) have essentially been intimidated into acquiesce with the Trumpist takeover of the party, what good does it do to support a few more of them? Given that the RNC, with barely a whimper of “concern” from moderate Republicans (which makes no difference, anyhow), has used their resolution against Cheney and Kinzinger to endorse political intimidation, mayhem, and violence, how can one justify supporting the Republican Party in any way?
I understand the concept that having more moderates might help to balance the wackos — IF the Republicans don’t take control of either or both Houses. But this looks like a difficult election for Dems holding one or both, so shouldn’t anti-Trump Republicans and independents bite the bullet and work and vote for Dems in this cycle — at least so that, perhaps with a solid loss at the polls, the Republican wackos will lose traction, giving moderates the opening they need to wrestle control back from the wackos?
The bottom line is: what is the theory of the moderate Republican case for trying to win races in the upcoming elections? What is the strategy that can bring back a viable Republican Party such that we have two parties committed to American Democracy? I have yet to see any real serious discussion of this. I think you guys can and should lead this discussion.
If not you, who? If not now, when?
Pence's political ambitions are toast. Even if Trump doesn't run in 2024 he will never endorse Pence. It's not to late for him to get on the right side of history. Tell the full story to the J6 committee. Unfortunately it's not in his cowardly DNA.
Bannon: Pence is "ratting" Trump out. Not lying. "Ratting". Gangsters. What a Hell they will make of America when they get back in power with only their malice and ruthlessness as constraint.
I have maybe a little sympathy for Pence, but only a tiny bit. He is a fool whose return for surrendering his soul turned out to be a hollow, papier-macher counterfeit piniata with no candy inside. Still prisoner of the corrupt appetite that allowed them to gull him in the first place, he ever longs for the promised nugatory reward. Yet the stench of knowing his acts have parted him forever from any hope of attainment fills his nostrils with each breath.
And this is forever. Unlike an opiate addict, he has not even the prospect of going through cold turkey to a place of less anguish. The longing only intensifies with knowledge it is beyond reach.
I think of him as a kind of madman whose drug abuse has afflicted him with incessant voices. that taunt him for his folly, like implacable furies. The only thing he can do is try once in a while to say something aloud to sort of drown them out. But of course to no avail. And try to pretend that the horrible story really never actually happened, or it's an entirely different story with some sort of fifth act redemption because it's part of an inscrutable Plan. What you tell yourself knowing it is false.
And if he is actually the sort of Christian he purports to be, he necessarily worries that the Hell he has made for this may be followed by a Hell to come.
What a fuck-up!
In the letter section, in such a letter which wants to inform it would be helpful to explain the acronyms to the general public reader.