Under the Bus

Under the Bus1

Poor Comparison

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There is something just wholly wrong and distasteful about bad people trying to justify bad policies using the words of heroes. This is a significant week for many Americans. Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He was a great man whose contributions to the civil rights movement and social discourse and our societal mindset is…well It’s incalculable. His influence was so powerful, and so inspirational, that generations of young people can tell you the preamble to his most famous speech easier than they can tell you the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. So when Mike Pence when on Face the Nation last Sunday, and used Reverend King’s words to advocate for a border wall…well that left a shameful taste in a lot of people’s mouths. Because building walls and dividing people was not his way. It is the driving strategy of our current administration, but it was a stark betrayal of the philosophy of one of the greatest orators of the last 200 years.

Clear Conscience

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That New York Times Op-Ed from an unnamed staffer from inside the White House undoubtedly riled up everyone across the administration. We all saw Donald Trump publicly melt down over the piece within minutes of it’s debut. But I would imagine it wasn’t smooth sailing in the West Wing for anyone. With the anonymous source in the wind, trust was likely shaken between co-workers, and with an already notoriously catty, chaotic West Wing. A weird amount of speculation has fallen on Mike Pence and his office as the source of the Op-Ed, based on some word choices in the article. Of course Mike Pence vehemently denies involvement, and for what it’s worth, I don’t believe he was. But identifying the “traitor” (or patriot, depending on your personal context) is clearly a high priority for Trump. He’s pushed his Attorney General to open investigation, and rumor came out that lie detector tests were perhaps on the table. Mike Pence, the stalwart tall drink of water of course jumped at the chance to prove his innocence. Take a polygraph test? No problem! Of course, when I watch Pence offer to take a polygraph, I have no doubt he’d pass it even if he WAS responsible for the article. I don’t know that has emotional reactions, feels fear or…you know…has a pulse.

Space Force Strikes Back

Oh goodness, Space Force is still a thing. Initially it was a stupid joke made by Trump. But as with most things that come out of his mouth, upon his own further reflection, he decided it was actually a stroke of genius. Despite being told by his generals that this was a colossal waste of time and money, Trump apparently kept pushing, assigned the task of assembling the Space Force to disinterested high ranking military officers and now, Mike Pence announced that they are aiming to have an operational branch of the military by 2020. What’s more, Pence is talking about having a Special Forces unit to…do what exactly? Ransack a space station? He then went on this ominous sounding rant about making peace through strength, and having the US rule over space with strength…it all sounds a little like the Empire in Star Wars to me, which the more I think about, the more sense that interpretation starts to make.

Running Mate

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So, news outlets have been noting that Mike Pence has been taking a number of interesting political maneuvers in recent weeks. There has been some open tension between Pence’s aides and Trump’s and Pence seems to be leveraging his own political movement from inside the White House. He’s even recruited Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, as the new leader of his PAC. Multiple reports use the term “Political apparatus” in reference to what Pence is trying to do, and the idea of him being a shadow candidate in the 2020 election seems to be the primary assumption in media speculation. But the weird thing is that with this White House, this administration, none of this seems shocking or out of the blue. Duplicity and cynicism have become far too normal for comfort.

It Takes a Good Guy with a Gun

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So over the weekend, Mike Pence showed up at the NRA convention in Dallas and gave a speech. Now, rather famously, people were not allowed to bring their guns into the speech. Well, no one but the Secret Service. Now, obviously, I think that’s reasonable. It’s a reasonable expectation that people shouldn’t be allowed to bring weapons into a crowded event. BUT I do have to admit, it’s a pretty hypocritical stance for the NRA to take in light of their constant message in the wake of literally every mass shooting, where they say, rather blatantly, that had more people been armed, tragedy would always be averted. One more stab in that respective back was Pence, in his speech, telling the crowd of people that it takes a good guy with a gun to beat a bad guy with a gun. Just twisting the heck out of that knife.

The Wrong Side of History

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Mike Pence called out Russia for being on the wrong side of history on Sunday, in regards to Syria. And you know, that’s probably true. History will not look favorably on Russia for supporting Assad’s regime. But let’s be fair, Pence is on the wrong side of history about basically everything in his own right. He supports insane legislation against the LGBTQ community, and is personally offended by gay marriage, and he supports the more insane of Trump’s policies, including a big, useless wall across the Mexican border. He fully supports the tax bill that railroads the vast majority of Americans, and in general, holds mean spirited views on anyone who doesn’t view the world through his very narrow lens. Calling someone out on being on the wrong side of history feels, if not ironic, then entirely hypocritical.