In what must be an ideologically and emotionally confusing
read for liberals, the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer goes on the attack against Vice
President Mike Pence and, in the process, manages to paint President Trump in a
somewhat sympathetic light for social liberals who are critical of the
Christian right.
The article, “The
Danger of President Pence,” is essentially a hit piece on the vice
president and a cautionary tale. “The worse the President looks, the more
desirable his understudy seems,” Mayer writes, but then warns, “If the job is a
gamble for Pence, he himself is something of a gamble for the country.”
It seems that, in spite of his loyalty to the unorthodox President
Trump, Mike Pence is (gasp!) “’a full-spectrum conservative’ on social, moral,
economic, and defense issues.” Mayer notes that Pence could be easily considered
an establishment Republican who has strong connections to deep-pocketed
Republican donors including the bogeymen of leftist dark money concerns, the
Koch brothers.
Anti-religious leftists will enjoy the most-quoted sections
of Mayer’s piece, those which detail how President Trump mocked Pence’s
Christian beliefs. Mayer quotes several associates and staff members who say
that Trump likes to “let Pence know who’s boss.” Trump reportedly asks people
who have met with the vice president, “Did Mike make you pray?”
The president also reportedly teased Pence about his
pro-life views and his opposition to the gay rights movement. Sources say that
in a meeting with a legal scholar who pointed out that states might choose to
legalize abortion if Roe v. Wade were
overturned, Trump said, “You see? You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it,
and it’s not going to end abortion anyway.”
When talk at the same meeting turned to homosexuality, Trump
gestured toward Pence. “Don’t ask that guy,” Trump said. “He wants to hang them
all!”
The New Yorker article paints Vice President Pence as
someone who believes what he says and who acts on those beliefs. Mayer includes
a laundry list of socially conservative issues where Pence took stands as
governor of Indiana, from tax cuts (“Pence’s commitment to the Kochs was now
ironclad”) to the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, although he does
get a pat on the back from her for opting in to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
Interestingly, Mayer points out that both the height of
Trump’s campaign and the biggest scandal that he has faced are both linked to
Mike Pence. Pence’s connections to Republican donors made Trump’s election
victory possible. Pence also helped make Trump palatable to Midwestern and
Christian voters who were not natural supporters of the brash New Yorker.
At the opposite extreme, Pence was embroiled in the Michael
Flynn firing that ultimately grew into the full-fledged Russia investigation.
Unlike the other potential VP candidate, Chris Christie, Pence did not raise
objections to Flynn’s appointment as National Security Advisor. Flynn was fired
in February for lying to Pence about contacts with the Russian ambassador
during the transition period.
Although Trump’s mocking comments are what has generated the
headlines, Mayer’s main message is that, if Trump is impeached or forced to
resign, liberals might like Pence even less. “Democrats should hope Trump stays
in office,” said Democrat strategist Harold Ickes, noting that Pence would
likely be much more effective at working with Congress and implementing a
conservative agenda.
Originally Published
On The Resurgent
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