For the last 10 years of the Trump era, I have often asked the question: “Can you believe that?”
It was never more appropriate than in the following case.
Former Vice President Mike Pence will be the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Foundation’s “Profile in Courage Award” for certifying the 2020 election. It will be presented May 4 at the Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. I am delighted I have a previous engagement and cannot attend.
“Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol,” the Foundation’s Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, said in a statement.
“Upholding his oath to the Constitution and following his conscience, the Vice President put his life, career, and political future on the line,” the pair continued. It is “an example of President Kennedy’s belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history.”
The Kennedys continued: “Political courage is not outdated in the United States. At every level of government, leaders are putting country first, and not backing down.”
The award honors public officials who take principled stands despite the potential political or personal consequences. It is named for a book, “Profiles in Courage,” Kennedy published in 1957, before he became president.
Past recipients of the award include former President Barack Obama, Gerald Ford, George W. H. Bush, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.
Pence said he was “deeply humbled and honored.”
“I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past,” he added.
When I first read the news stories on Pence receiving this acclaim, I thought I had been hacked. Someone was sending me “fake news.”
Pence is being honored for honoring the Constitution. He did not “decide to certify the election,” as the Foundation says. His role as vice president in certifying the election is ceremonial and constitutionally required.
Pence himself acknowledged, “I had no right to overturn the election.” You don’t honor someone for not doing something they had no right to do any more than saluting someone for not committing crimes.
While Pence was wrestling with his conscience on what to do — should he or not be courageous and obey the Constitution — former Vice President Dan Quayle called him and advised that he (Pence) must abide by the Constitution.
But more important, for four years, as vice president, he stood next to Donald Trump endorsing all his lies and corruption. As Trump held briefings, Pence stood next to the president, smiling and nodding his head in support.
Kenneth Adelman, who served in the Reagan administration, once observed, “I’d like my wife to look at me just for one day the way Mike Pence looks at President Trump every day they’re together. That would be special.”
OpticsPolitics was harsher, stating, “Mike Pence ass-kissing of Donald Trump is like watching soft-porn on a scrambled screen.”
We can’t even begin to speculate about what Pence witnessed when meeting with Trump behind closed doors.
Moreover, all the sexual perversion did not bother this religious man. While I believe that discussing a public official’s religion is out of bounds, Pence made it part of his public persona. His autobiography is titled “So Help Me God” and he has described himself as “a Christian (emphasis mine), a conservative and a Republican” in that order.
Pence had the opportunity to show some courage. What if he had resigned the vice presidency, stating something along these lines:
“I cannot continue to be a party to all the lying and corruption I see in this administration. I deeply regret accepting President Trump’s invitation to be his running mate. In the future, I will try to make up for my grievous error and I hope Americans will forgive me.”
That would have been courageous and might just have turned the corner and saved the country from Trumpism. He could have taken a cue from several Trump officials who did resign such as Mattis, McMaster, Kelly and others. But a resignation of a vice president would have sent a much more powerful message.
Although out of office, Pence attended Trump’s second inauguration — without his wife, Karen. Michelle Obama, wife of former President Barack Obama, also boycotted the swearing-in ceremony.
Barack Obama attended along with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Joe Biden. They attended, as former presidents, probably to show respect, not necessarily for the man, but for the office and to uphold U.S. history in the peaceful transfer of power.
At the funeral of Jimmy Carter, Karen Pence remained seated when Trump approached and refused to shake Trump’s hand. Asked about his wife’s snub, Pence said:
“You’d have to ask my wife about her posture, but we’ve been married 44 years and she loves her husband and her husband respects her deeply.”
Maybe there is still time to rescind the award for Pence and give it instead to co-winners Karen Pence and Michelle Obama.
It was never more appropriate than in the following case.
Former Vice President Mike Pence will be the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Foundation’s “Profile in Courage Award” for certifying the 2020 election. It will be presented May 4 at the Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. I am delighted I have a previous engagement and cannot attend.
“Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol,” the Foundation’s Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, said in a statement.
“Upholding his oath to the Constitution and following his conscience, the Vice President put his life, career, and political future on the line,” the pair continued. It is “an example of President Kennedy’s belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history.”
The Kennedys continued: “Political courage is not outdated in the United States. At every level of government, leaders are putting country first, and not backing down.”
The award honors public officials who take principled stands despite the potential political or personal consequences. It is named for a book, “Profiles in Courage,” Kennedy published in 1957, before he became president.
Past recipients of the award include former President Barack Obama, Gerald Ford, George W. H. Bush, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.
Pence said he was “deeply humbled and honored.”
“I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past,” he added.
When I first read the news stories on Pence receiving this acclaim, I thought I had been hacked. Someone was sending me “fake news.”
Pence is being honored for honoring the Constitution. He did not “decide to certify the election,” as the Foundation says. His role as vice president in certifying the election is ceremonial and constitutionally required.
Pence himself acknowledged, “I had no right to overturn the election.” You don’t honor someone for not doing something they had no right to do any more than saluting someone for not committing crimes.
While Pence was wrestling with his conscience on what to do — should he or not be courageous and obey the Constitution — former Vice President Dan Quayle called him and advised that he (Pence) must abide by the Constitution.
But more important, for four years, as vice president, he stood next to Donald Trump endorsing all his lies and corruption. As Trump held briefings, Pence stood next to the president, smiling and nodding his head in support.
Kenneth Adelman, who served in the Reagan administration, once observed, “I’d like my wife to look at me just for one day the way Mike Pence looks at President Trump every day they’re together. That would be special.”
OpticsPolitics was harsher, stating, “Mike Pence ass-kissing of Donald Trump is like watching soft-porn on a scrambled screen.”
We can’t even begin to speculate about what Pence witnessed when meeting with Trump behind closed doors.
Moreover, all the sexual perversion did not bother this religious man. While I believe that discussing a public official’s religion is out of bounds, Pence made it part of his public persona. His autobiography is titled “So Help Me God” and he has described himself as “a Christian (emphasis mine), a conservative and a Republican” in that order.
Pence had the opportunity to show some courage. What if he had resigned the vice presidency, stating something along these lines:
“I cannot continue to be a party to all the lying and corruption I see in this administration. I deeply regret accepting President Trump’s invitation to be his running mate. In the future, I will try to make up for my grievous error and I hope Americans will forgive me.”
That would have been courageous and might just have turned the corner and saved the country from Trumpism. He could have taken a cue from several Trump officials who did resign such as Mattis, McMaster, Kelly and others. But a resignation of a vice president would have sent a much more powerful message.
Although out of office, Pence attended Trump’s second inauguration — without his wife, Karen. Michelle Obama, wife of former President Barack Obama, also boycotted the swearing-in ceremony.
Barack Obama attended along with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Joe Biden. They attended, as former presidents, probably to show respect, not necessarily for the man, but for the office and to uphold U.S. history in the peaceful transfer of power.
At the funeral of Jimmy Carter, Karen Pence remained seated when Trump approached and refused to shake Trump’s hand. Asked about his wife’s snub, Pence said:
“You’d have to ask my wife about her posture, but we’ve been married 44 years and she loves her husband and her husband respects her deeply.”
Maybe there is still time to rescind the award for Pence and give it instead to co-winners Karen Pence and Michelle Obama.
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