Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke during a stop at the Indiana State Fair, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Indianapolis:
“I don’t know if the government can meet the standard, the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt for criminal charges,” he said. “But the American people deserve to kno…
Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke during a stop at the Indiana State Fair, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Indianapolis:
“I don’t know if the government can meet the standard, the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt for criminal charges,” he said. “But the American people deserve to know that President Trump and his advisers didn’t just ask me to pause. They asked me to reject votes, return votes, essentially to overturn the election.”
That is like the one member of the cult who decided not to drink the Kool Aid explaining his choice not to do so to the dead bodies who had already drank it. After he had helped with passing out the straws.
I understand how one can form the the uncharitable conclusion you have formed about Pence. I am tempted in that direction as well.
However, I think Pence is just not exactly the brightest bulb in any room and, for whatever reason, unable to lead himself. A man like Pence is easily manipulated until the light comes on in his head. Which, to give him credit, the light DID come on and at a very important time in American history.
So, having met folks like Mike Pence before, who were led into situations that they could not foresee due to limited intelligence and experience, I would like to be more charitable and say:
Pence, when the real time of need presented itself, delivered a very brave, dare I offer, clutch, performance that risked and continues to risk his own life.
He is one of the most key witnesses against Trump. Do you think Putin might have plans for Pence? I sure hope he has good security.
Every GOP representative had a point in time when they had to decide to proceed with the coup or not, to take that final step and they all did take that step. 240 voted to reject the election results ( after the assault!) and each day they keep their mouths shut, breathes more life into this big lie. I was glad to hear Pence’s statement. If only I could hear others say that TFG does not belong in the White House. I don’t expect such a miracle.
My respect for Pence hovers around zero. I agree he is not the sharpest tool in the shed. And his evangelical Christian world view helps explain things (like his twisted version of reality - denial of global warming, denial of biological evolution, perhaps even denial of the age of the earth, anti-LGBTQ, etc etc). He's just not on the right page, and would make a bad president. On top of that - he is wishy washy and hypocritical. How can a man who seemingly places such weight on personal accountability and honor (just ask him), be the Trump lap dog that he was? Fortunately he had a breaking point, but as I understand it, he sought and got advise from others before coming to the conclusion that he needed to back out of the coup attempt. He needed some convincing apparently. Nope - no fan of Pence.
mike…he is bound to be right sometimes and, in this case, gloriously right…but surely that does not change Will’s apt descriptor? As a radio talk show host he was a defanged Limbaugh delivering a hard right, “unctuous” “POV”. (substituted “POV” for “punch”. ) As IN governor, you might recall, he supported extreme right conservative actions making a mess for businesses, using “public policy” to discriminate against marginalized sections of the population ( no doubt, “in the name of the ……….”.) He did it w the conviction of one who holds deeply held “beliefs”. Perhaps those personal beliefs have been meaningful for he and his family but his attempt to extract compliance w those beliefs from a divergent populace strikes me as repugnant and more than a little “unctuous”. But perhaps that is just my take on “wholly” Mr Mike Pence.
Totally two-faced…..Pence was ‘trying’ to find a way to accommodate Trump initially, Luttig set him straight …constitutionally……then Pence kept essentially denying the Jan 6th death threats as over zealous patriots…then a sycophantic support of post election Trump so as not to alienate MAGA voters Pence himself would need politically…then FINALLY the truth …when it appears Trump realistically faces JAIL.
Pence is a mealy mouth hypocrite with ‘religious overlay’…..
But the dog was nice to him when the big orange man moved out of range. Speaking of orange - it's white!! He must need some crowdfunding for hair and makeup.
He has shifted his look from “wishing orange is the skin tone of virile masculinity” to “hoping pasty white is the color of saintly, slightly frail, innocence”...
Let me see if I can remember correctly. The Trump PAC, Make America Great Again spent a quarter billion dollars so far on Trump's and co-defendants legal bills with the last FEC filing. He only has $4 million left.
Regarding the burden of proof, Jack Smith has alleged that Donald Trump knew that he (Trump) had lost the election, yet lied about it. Jack Smith, the Special Prosecutor, is not stupid. And, for Trump's attorneys to have even a small chance of persuading a jury that Trump didn't know that he had lost the election, they would have to prove that Trump is the most stupid man in America, perhaps the world. But, all of that is not going to be necessary, I think. And here's why.
Jack Smith, when he and his team drafted the indictment, they drew it up in such a way that they knew that they would have to prove to the jury that Trump did what he did knowing that he had lost the election. Why could they be so sure that they could prove this to the jury? I submit that they did this because there are several people extemely close to Trump who are not indicted: Mark Meadows, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Not being indicted means that they are most likely cooperating with the Special Counsel. And then there are those who are indicted - Rudy Giuliani, for one. Would Rudy sing like a songbird if he could avoid spending the rest of his life in prison? Does the Pope count his beads? The same holds true for the others as well.
The case may not go to trial. When Trump and his attorneys are confronted with the evidence against him, they may cut a deal - Trump to spend the rest of his life under house arrest confined to Mar-a-Lago. No participation in politics, period.
This is a case that MUST go to trial, if there is any hope for Tramp's supporters to come back to being Americans instead of cultists. A public trial, and certainly no plea deal until AFTER all witnesses are heard. And not sentenced to his gilt-over-plastic play palace, either; at the very least, a sentence of 3-5 in a minimum security prison.
Lynn, that would be much to be desired, but TFG does not want a shot of him in an orange prison jumpsuit. and the prosecution wants him out of American life and politics. Racism has infected a significant part of our population since its inception. Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland" makes it clear that the KKK racism of 100 years ago is the same today, reincarnated as MAGA. TFG's followers will not be swayed one iota by his being found guilty. They don't care because TFG advocates for what they want: white Protestant control of the government.
Sad, but true. Every day I wish every racist could spend time looking at the brilliant parade of every shade on MSNBC. The reporting is good to excellent, but it’s the variety of journalists, former judges, lawyers, politicians that is the true education for all who watch and learn.
Richard, thank you. Having watched almost no television except Monty Python, the Muppets, the occasional movie and Washington Week in Review for years (for 10 years in France we saw only one other boat on the canals with no TV), with the advent of Trump, alone I found MSNBC. It even got me through Covid (foggy brain reported by MD in Alabama one night when I was trying to understand what was wrong with my head). I am still learning law as the indictments come through. Didn’t know until today that Jack Smith gets a second chance if he gets a hung jury. After the indictment for DC, however, either the juror would be reprehensible or truly ill, mentally or physically, to vote against a guilty verdict. I salute the courage of the defense.
Richard, I think every thinking person wants that individual out of politics and out of the public eye forevermore - silenced permanently from continuing to corrupt the public discourse and our country. And fortunately this case will continue regardless of what that individual wants, and I hope all the way to a conviction. I don't really have any hope for the die-hard maggots, but there have to be some Tramp supporters who support that individual because they honestly and uncorruptly disagree with certain policies and actions of the Democratic party, and held their noses to vote for that stain on our national escutcheon for that reason. Those people, if there are any, are not beyond the pale, and it is to be hoped that a conviction following trial, or even a plea acknowledging guilt following testimony but before a verdict, will help the scales fall from their eyes. I really hope that not all people calling themselves republicans are in fact maggots, but that some of them still believe in the rule of law and deplore the way Tramp and the maggots (good band name for a very bad band?) have diverted their party into what it is today.
Lynn, I share your hope but there is a very hard core of KKK/MAGA types in this country that will not change, perhaps ever. DeSantis even had a Nazi symbol put up by one of his staff. When the March in 2017 in Charlottesville as going on, some were shouting "Jews will not replace us." That's Klan talk. Our schools and churches have failed miserably.
Just the appearance alone, in which he urged the crowd to march w him to the capitol and “to fight like hell, or we won’t have a democracy at all” was sufficient for those of us who watched w shocked tears in our eyes. Must say, he was the “eloquent” orator, as always.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Pres. G.W. Bush, White House Correspondents' Dinner, 3/31/2001
I was thinking about this same out for Trump, yesterday. But I said to my friend Lela that that then he would have to admit either that he is mentally ill or that he lost the election. Can a narcissistic as ill as he is really do that, and admit publicly that he isn't 'Perfect' ? I doubt it, and that is why there hasn't been a deal struck yet. I bet his lawyers have been trying to get him to take government offers for deals.
It is an interesting thought: is TFG's malignant narcissism so extreme that he would "go down with the ship" instead of saving himself. He may not be able to.
The best advice I have heard so far has been from George Conway if he was asked to defend the dumpster. Plead guilty and try to get the best deal he can. Of course, not going to happen. He wants a civil war, at least.
We don't know for sure at this point. TFG will have his "come to Jesus" moment and I can guarantee you that his attorneys are going to be pushing for a settlement - Trump pleads guilty, gets house arrest or something equivalent and is barred from ever holding public office again, or even running for office. He might even be prohibited from speaking to the media or broadcasting his lies.
"The lead prosecutor for the United States, Thomas Windom, asked the judge for a speedy trial; Trump’s attorneys refused to agree, saying it would take a long time to review the huge amount of evidence."
It seems to me that they met the burden of proof, handily.
that could very well be an understatement. That 52% of Republican voters favor Trump tells us that white Christian nationalism is the driving force, even at the prospect of bringing our democracy to an end. There is no way to reason with them. None.
“... This is why I refused to testify before the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, dismissing the probe as politicized,” Pence never said.
"When given no other real alternative, I declined to do what the poo-smearing mob chanting for my death was demanding, and bravely fulfilled my intended role as a historic non-entity. May I have another Eucharist cracker for good behavior?"
Somehow, Michael Pence discovered his manhood. Not exactly a profile in courage. I wonder if mother scolded him and told him that he has to tell the truth? His testimony and contemporaneous notes should be sufficient to convict the traitor Donald Trump.
It seems to me that the way to the Republican heart these days is to sell hate and force oneself on women who are not interested. Trump routinely has participated in both of those activities.
The two things Trump is most active with is selling hate and rape.
Conclusion: Republicans love hate and rape.
Sure seems odd that a bunch of evangelicals sitting in church getting their hair scorched off every Sunday about the many ways to hell, seem attracted to someone that all of those fire breathing preachers would seemingly assign to the hell bucket.
Pence, independent of his somewhat lackluster style, seems like a good guy and cannot attract ANY Republican support.
Kind of sad that half of America LOVES hate and rape. And Trump
Without his imprimatur, Trump would not have had the success with evangelicals that he did. He spent four long years groveling at Trump’s feet. He headed the White House’s disastrous Covid response team. Remember him visiting the Mayo Clinic and refusing to wear a mask? As Governor of Indiana, he did much to limit women’s rights, lgbt rights, and public education. He wants to eliminate the EPA and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. He advocates a 15 week national abortion ban and a ban on gender affirming care for minors. He promotes the use of coal and wants to roll back green initiatives. Can you imagine what his cabinet would look like? Not like America, that’s for sure - I imagine Mother wouldn’t allow any women.
While he may have done the right thing during that one important moment, and I’m grateful for it, his silence about it for the two and a half years since speaks volumes. Never mind his silence while it was all ongoing. Like all the rest of them, he didn’t report this scheme to the FBI. Protect and defend the constitution my ass.
I agree KR. I would like to add Liz Chaney to a similar list. She supported T***ps policy 90% of the time, but fortunately for the United States January 6th, was a step to far.
I am so conflicted about Liz Cheney. She was magnificent during the J6 hearings. And yet, I’ve heard her spout lies about Democrats killing babies. In the end, she did an honorable thing but the rest of it - those lies are not honorable.
Perhaps the best we can say is that these are NOT bad people. However, deeply held religious convictions have rendered them absolutely committed to upholding their version of “right”regardless of divergent thought on particular issues. “With god on your side…”
Pence as governor made an HIV outbreak in Indiana worse by, among other things, delaying a needle exchange program. As VP he was an extreme sycophant for a very bad man. That said, unlike Donald John, Pence actually has principles. They include opposing my existence, I’m not supporting the guy, but he does. Pence believes in honesty and democracy. Pence went along with a lot of trumpian garbage, but at a certain point the evil was too much and he refused to participate. Every right action matters.
Pence’s statement you quote is critical. He has said Donald Trump asked him to overturn the election. That is strong evidence of guilt. Do you think the government will subpoena Pence to testify? I’d be surprised if he’d do so voluntarily.
Thank you.
Maggie Haberman of The New York Times:
Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke during a stop at the Indiana State Fair, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Indianapolis:
“I don’t know if the government can meet the standard, the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt for criminal charges,” he said. “But the American people deserve to know that President Trump and his advisers didn’t just ask me to pause. They asked me to reject votes, return votes, essentially to overturn the election.”
That is like the one member of the cult who decided not to drink the Kool Aid explaining his choice not to do so to the dead bodies who had already drank it. After he had helped with passing out the straws.
The man is... unctuous.
Will,
I understand how one can form the the uncharitable conclusion you have formed about Pence. I am tempted in that direction as well.
However, I think Pence is just not exactly the brightest bulb in any room and, for whatever reason, unable to lead himself. A man like Pence is easily manipulated until the light comes on in his head. Which, to give him credit, the light DID come on and at a very important time in American history.
So, having met folks like Mike Pence before, who were led into situations that they could not foresee due to limited intelligence and experience, I would like to be more charitable and say:
Pence, when the real time of need presented itself, delivered a very brave, dare I offer, clutch, performance that risked and continues to risk his own life.
He is one of the most key witnesses against Trump. Do you think Putin might have plans for Pence? I sure hope he has good security.
Every GOP representative had a point in time when they had to decide to proceed with the coup or not, to take that final step and they all did take that step. 240 voted to reject the election results ( after the assault!) and each day they keep their mouths shut, breathes more life into this big lie. I was glad to hear Pence’s statement. If only I could hear others say that TFG does not belong in the White House. I don’t expect such a miracle.
Not a fan of Pence, but the last few days, he is saying the right things....finally. And he did refuse to go along on January 6th.
I agree.
My respect for Pence hovers around zero. I agree he is not the sharpest tool in the shed. And his evangelical Christian world view helps explain things (like his twisted version of reality - denial of global warming, denial of biological evolution, perhaps even denial of the age of the earth, anti-LGBTQ, etc etc). He's just not on the right page, and would make a bad president. On top of that - he is wishy washy and hypocritical. How can a man who seemingly places such weight on personal accountability and honor (just ask him), be the Trump lap dog that he was? Fortunately he had a breaking point, but as I understand it, he sought and got advise from others before coming to the conclusion that he needed to back out of the coup attempt. He needed some convincing apparently. Nope - no fan of Pence.
Good point, Mike S! Despite his unctuousness, he grabbed the bull by the horns at that one critical moment.
Good points, MikeS.!!
I worry that Pence may fall down some stairs when no one is watching, like poor Ivana did...
I wondered about Ivan’s as well.
mike…he is bound to be right sometimes and, in this case, gloriously right…but surely that does not change Will’s apt descriptor? As a radio talk show host he was a defanged Limbaugh delivering a hard right, “unctuous” “POV”. (substituted “POV” for “punch”. ) As IN governor, you might recall, he supported extreme right conservative actions making a mess for businesses, using “public policy” to discriminate against marginalized sections of the population ( no doubt, “in the name of the ……….”.) He did it w the conviction of one who holds deeply held “beliefs”. Perhaps those personal beliefs have been meaningful for he and his family but his attempt to extract compliance w those beliefs from a divergent populace strikes me as repugnant and more than a little “unctuous”. But perhaps that is just my take on “wholly” Mr Mike Pence.
Yeah, we wouldn't want to hold the rich, white, privileged, entitled man to any kind of reasonably high standard.
Sabrina. I get it. I don’t like Pence either.
But. Sit really still a close your eyes and imagine that Pence DID suspend the counting of the electoral votes.
What would have happened?
Pence is flawed. But. He deserves credit for that one day where he did the right thing.
Sure, I give him credit for being a luke warm body on that day otherwise I would just as soon piss on his leg.
Totally two-faced…..Pence was ‘trying’ to find a way to accommodate Trump initially, Luttig set him straight …constitutionally……then Pence kept essentially denying the Jan 6th death threats as over zealous patriots…then a sycophantic support of post election Trump so as not to alienate MAGA voters Pence himself would need politically…then FINALLY the truth …when it appears Trump realistically faces JAIL.
Pence is a mealy mouth hypocrite with ‘religious overlay’…..
Agree
Unctuous- oily. A fitting word to use for a slime ball like Pence. A new word added to my vocabulary, thanks!
This is a beautiful word. 👏
Oleaginous has a one word definition on my fridge: Pence
Charles I was JUST this moment thinking of that word as I was scrolling, and then I saw your post! Kismet!!
Another great word! :D
I love the definition of the word unctuous!
unc·tu·ous
adjective
1.
(of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily.
"he seemed anxious to please but not in an unctuous way"
Similar:
sycophantic
ingratiating
obsequious
fawning
servile
self-abasing
groveling
subservient
wheedling
cajoling
crawling
cringing
Uriah Heepish
humble
toadying
hypocritical
insincere
flattering
adulatory
honey-tongued
silver-tongued
gushing
effusive
suave
urbane
glib
smooth
smooth-tongued
smooth-spoken
smooth-talking
slick
slippery
saccharine
oily
oleaginous
greasy
cloying
nauseating
sickening
smarmy
slimy
bootlicking
forelock-tugging
phoney
sucky
soapy
brown-nosing
apple-polishing
saponaceous
pinguid
2.
(chiefly of minerals) having a greasy or soapy feel.
Kudos to whomever it was that compiled that list of synonyms. They must have been thinking of Pence when they came up with them . . .
But the dog was nice to him when the big orange man moved out of range. Speaking of orange - it's white!! He must need some crowdfunding for hair and makeup.
He has shifted his look from “wishing orange is the skin tone of virile masculinity” to “hoping pasty white is the color of saintly, slightly frail, innocence”...
Let me see if I can remember correctly. The Trump PAC, Make America Great Again spent a quarter billion dollars so far on Trump's and co-defendants legal bills with the last FEC filing. He only has $4 million left.
Perfect descriptor. To the max! IMHO..Always has been always will be.
He was the number one sycophant the entire time he was vice president. Trumpie would’ve been OK if the Jan 6 crowd had hung Pence.
One can only hope he starts speaking out loud and clear. I mean he hasn’t got a chance of being president. What’s he got to lose?
Agreed. He is the explicit expression of cowardice and complicity.
Unctuous.
Such a perfectly descriptive word!
😂🤣 so glad to enjoy your words again!
Regarding the burden of proof, Jack Smith has alleged that Donald Trump knew that he (Trump) had lost the election, yet lied about it. Jack Smith, the Special Prosecutor, is not stupid. And, for Trump's attorneys to have even a small chance of persuading a jury that Trump didn't know that he had lost the election, they would have to prove that Trump is the most stupid man in America, perhaps the world. But, all of that is not going to be necessary, I think. And here's why.
Jack Smith, when he and his team drafted the indictment, they drew it up in such a way that they knew that they would have to prove to the jury that Trump did what he did knowing that he had lost the election. Why could they be so sure that they could prove this to the jury? I submit that they did this because there are several people extemely close to Trump who are not indicted: Mark Meadows, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Not being indicted means that they are most likely cooperating with the Special Counsel. And then there are those who are indicted - Rudy Giuliani, for one. Would Rudy sing like a songbird if he could avoid spending the rest of his life in prison? Does the Pope count his beads? The same holds true for the others as well.
The case may not go to trial. When Trump and his attorneys are confronted with the evidence against him, they may cut a deal - Trump to spend the rest of his life under house arrest confined to Mar-a-Lago. No participation in politics, period.
This is a case that MUST go to trial, if there is any hope for Tramp's supporters to come back to being Americans instead of cultists. A public trial, and certainly no plea deal until AFTER all witnesses are heard. And not sentenced to his gilt-over-plastic play palace, either; at the very least, a sentence of 3-5 in a minimum security prison.
Lynn, that would be much to be desired, but TFG does not want a shot of him in an orange prison jumpsuit. and the prosecution wants him out of American life and politics. Racism has infected a significant part of our population since its inception. Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland" makes it clear that the KKK racism of 100 years ago is the same today, reincarnated as MAGA. TFG's followers will not be swayed one iota by his being found guilty. They don't care because TFG advocates for what they want: white Protestant control of the government.
Sad, but true. Every day I wish every racist could spend time looking at the brilliant parade of every shade on MSNBC. The reporting is good to excellent, but it’s the variety of journalists, former judges, lawyers, politicians that is the true education for all who watch and learn.
My thoughts and feelings, precisely.
Richard, thank you. Having watched almost no television except Monty Python, the Muppets, the occasional movie and Washington Week in Review for years (for 10 years in France we saw only one other boat on the canals with no TV), with the advent of Trump, alone I found MSNBC. It even got me through Covid (foggy brain reported by MD in Alabama one night when I was trying to understand what was wrong with my head). I am still learning law as the indictments come through. Didn’t know until today that Jack Smith gets a second chance if he gets a hung jury. After the indictment for DC, however, either the juror would be reprehensible or truly ill, mentally or physically, to vote against a guilty verdict. I salute the courage of the defense.
Richard, I think every thinking person wants that individual out of politics and out of the public eye forevermore - silenced permanently from continuing to corrupt the public discourse and our country. And fortunately this case will continue regardless of what that individual wants, and I hope all the way to a conviction. I don't really have any hope for the die-hard maggots, but there have to be some Tramp supporters who support that individual because they honestly and uncorruptly disagree with certain policies and actions of the Democratic party, and held their noses to vote for that stain on our national escutcheon for that reason. Those people, if there are any, are not beyond the pale, and it is to be hoped that a conviction following trial, or even a plea acknowledging guilt following testimony but before a verdict, will help the scales fall from their eyes. I really hope that not all people calling themselves republicans are in fact maggots, but that some of them still believe in the rule of law and deplore the way Tramp and the maggots (good band name for a very bad band?) have diverted their party into what it is today.
Lynn, I share your hope but there is a very hard core of KKK/MAGA types in this country that will not change, perhaps ever. DeSantis even had a Nazi symbol put up by one of his staff. When the March in 2017 in Charlottesville as going on, some were shouting "Jews will not replace us." That's Klan talk. Our schools and churches have failed miserably.
"That individual"
Correct.
I believe there is plenty of proof of what TFG’s intent was in his thousands of tweets.
Just the appearance alone, in which he urged the crowd to march w him to the capitol and “to fight like hell, or we won’t have a democracy at all” was sufficient for those of us who watched w shocked tears in our eyes. Must say, he was the “eloquent” orator, as always.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Pres. G.W. Bush, White House Correspondents' Dinner, 3/31/2001
And that fool thought it was a joke well received.
I was thinking about this same out for Trump, yesterday. But I said to my friend Lela that that then he would have to admit either that he is mentally ill or that he lost the election. Can a narcissistic as ill as he is really do that, and admit publicly that he isn't 'Perfect' ? I doubt it, and that is why there hasn't been a deal struck yet. I bet his lawyers have been trying to get him to take government offers for deals.
It is an interesting thought: is TFG's malignant narcissism so extreme that he would "go down with the ship" instead of saving himself. He may not be able to.
The best advice I have heard so far has been from George Conway if he was asked to defend the dumpster. Plead guilty and try to get the best deal he can. Of course, not going to happen. He wants a civil war, at least.
We don't know for sure at this point. TFG will have his "come to Jesus" moment and I can guarantee you that his attorneys are going to be pushing for a settlement - Trump pleads guilty, gets house arrest or something equivalent and is barred from ever holding public office again, or even running for office. He might even be prohibited from speaking to the media or broadcasting his lies.
I can see a gag order at least.
News from Neal Katyal is there is a change of venue to WV but my best guess is a mistrial.
"The lead prosecutor for the United States, Thomas Windom, asked the judge for a speedy trial; Trump’s attorneys refused to agree, saying it would take a long time to review the huge amount of evidence."
It seems to me that they met the burden of proof, handily.
that could very well be an understatement. That 52% of Republican voters favor Trump tells us that white Christian nationalism is the driving force, even at the prospect of bringing our democracy to an end. There is no way to reason with them. None.
“... This is why I refused to testify before the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, dismissing the probe as politicized,” Pence never said.
"When given no other real alternative, I declined to do what the poo-smearing mob chanting for my death was demanding, and bravely fulfilled my intended role as a historic non-entity. May I have another Eucharist cracker for good behavior?"
Too funny, Will. Just don't chomp the cracker, Mikey,
Hilarious. Had forgotten about the “don’t chomp” admonition.
🤣👍
Somehow, Michael Pence discovered his manhood. Not exactly a profile in courage. I wonder if mother scolded him and told him that he has to tell the truth? His testimony and contemporaneous notes should be sufficient to convict the traitor Donald Trump.
I hope Pence has good security because Putin will be looking for him with some of that nerve agent he throws around at opponents.
He should avoid stair cases unless his security detail is right there.
Yes. Ivana suffered that fate.
He has secret service and mother will protect him
Someone on FB said that mother must've let him borrow his cojones back for a few minutes. :D
😂
Seth, my thoughts exactly. Thank you.
Great quote and thank you.
It seems to me that the way to the Republican heart these days is to sell hate and force oneself on women who are not interested. Trump routinely has participated in both of those activities.
The two things Trump is most active with is selling hate and rape.
Conclusion: Republicans love hate and rape.
Sure seems odd that a bunch of evangelicals sitting in church getting their hair scorched off every Sunday about the many ways to hell, seem attracted to someone that all of those fire breathing preachers would seemingly assign to the hell bucket.
Pence, independent of his somewhat lackluster style, seems like a good guy and cannot attract ANY Republican support.
Kind of sad that half of America LOVES hate and rape. And Trump
Mike Pence is NOT a good guy.
Without his imprimatur, Trump would not have had the success with evangelicals that he did. He spent four long years groveling at Trump’s feet. He headed the White House’s disastrous Covid response team. Remember him visiting the Mayo Clinic and refusing to wear a mask? As Governor of Indiana, he did much to limit women’s rights, lgbt rights, and public education. He wants to eliminate the EPA and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. He advocates a 15 week national abortion ban and a ban on gender affirming care for minors. He promotes the use of coal and wants to roll back green initiatives. Can you imagine what his cabinet would look like? Not like America, that’s for sure - I imagine Mother wouldn’t allow any women.
While he may have done the right thing during that one important moment, and I’m grateful for it, his silence about it for the two and a half years since speaks volumes. Never mind his silence while it was all ongoing. Like all the rest of them, he didn’t report this scheme to the FBI. Protect and defend the constitution my ass.
I agree KR. I would like to add Liz Chaney to a similar list. She supported T***ps policy 90% of the time, but fortunately for the United States January 6th, was a step to far.
I am so conflicted about Liz Cheney. She was magnificent during the J6 hearings. And yet, I’ve heard her spout lies about Democrats killing babies. In the end, she did an honorable thing but the rest of it - those lies are not honorable.
I agree, but I am thankful for her one moment of clarity.
Perhaps the best we can say is that these are NOT bad people. However, deeply held religious convictions have rendered them absolutely committed to upholding their version of “right”regardless of divergent thought on particular issues. “With god on your side…”
Still feels too kind.
Perhaps. I can only speculate that, in this particular case, belief "trumps" reason even with the best of intentions.
Like the old saying says, even a broken clock, yada yada.
I can be grateful that he managed to get it together in time for the critical thing, even if I don't respect the guy.
Ok. Well written response. I concur.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Pence as governor made an HIV outbreak in Indiana worse by, among other things, delaying a needle exchange program. As VP he was an extreme sycophant for a very bad man. That said, unlike Donald John, Pence actually has principles. They include opposing my existence, I’m not supporting the guy, but he does. Pence believes in honesty and democracy. Pence went along with a lot of trumpian garbage, but at a certain point the evil was too much and he refused to participate. Every right action matters.
Pence’s statement you quote is critical. He has said Donald Trump asked him to overturn the election. That is strong evidence of guilt. Do you think the government will subpoena Pence to testify? I’d be surprised if he’d do so voluntarily.
Aptly put!!