Mike Pence, you’ve got to be kidding
Often, the image that we see of someone is not who they really are. These images can often appear charming, sometimes slick, and very frequently misleading — especially in the wild sport known as politics.
And it is this writer’s humble opinion that there is a mirror image reflecting courage and competence right now that isn’t the correct image. Let’s break this down. The person I speak of is former VP Mike Pence. In a recent article, there was the suggestion that Pence should run for President come the next election cycle. His courage in upholding the vote count on January 6 was mentioned, as was his boldness in so doing.
I’d like to politely object. Is this really how low we’ve fallen? When normalcy is so unusual that it is lauded as exceptional? Look, I don’t want to take anything away from Pence. Yes, he stood up and counted the votes. Yes, he did that, and we’re all glad he did. We are also glad he and his family were not murdered and are OK.
However, let us not forget that reported call to Dan Quayle. Let us not forget those four years with Trump where Pence was happy to play the sycophant to Trump’s tyrant. And let us not forget his recent comments.
Some folks are still very angry at Pence. Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell is one of them. Pence has spoken out about January 6 and attempted to minimize the horror of that day. In one of his comments, he said “one tragic day in January” was being weaponized against Maga.
Gonell begs to differ. Gonell was there that horrible day. He witnessed for himself the violence, the tyranny, and the hate. The day left him, and many Capitol police traumatized and with injuries. Gonell called the remarks by Pence a “disgrace.” This was during an interview with NPR. “That one day in January almost cost my life,” the officer and war veteran said.
So back to imagery. It would be tempting, I think, for many to assign Pence the image of protector. There are not many sane Republicans left, and some are looking for saviors. But Mike Pence is no savior. He’s a meek and malleable man who acted sanely and competently on one day. That’s all there is to it.
