Pence is in the Limelight as Trump Increases Pressure

Trumpian Lie of the Day

The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2021

Pence has no such power. Pence gets to count the votes. That’s it, and we already know what the votes are.

Pence Faces Dilemma

The Wall Street Journal reports Pence Faces Dilemma Over Biden Election Confirmation, as Trump Digs In.

Rallying voters in Georgia ahead of Tuesday’s Senate runoff elections, President Trump delivered a political message to an entirely different audience: his vice president.

“I hope that Mike Pence comes through for us,” Mr. Trump said to cheers. “He’s a great guy. Of course if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.”

Mr. Pence’s team had already sought to manage the tricky situation. Chief of staff Marc Short issued a statement Saturday after a group of Senate Republicans said they planned to raise challenges to some of the states’ results. He said the vice president welcomed the efforts of congressional members to “use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence.”

At his own rally earlier Monday in Georgia, Mr. Pence responded to voters shouting “stop the steal,” saying: “We all got our doubts about the last election. And I want to assure you, I share the concerns of millions of Americans about voting irregularities. And I promise you, come this Wednesday, we’ll have our day in Congress.”

Complicated and Difficult Position

Conscious of his own political future, Mr. Pence, 61 years old, must balance the constitutional requirements of his position and the concerns of Mr. Trump’s sizable base. He has been thrust into a growing Republican divide over the president’s relentless push.
 

“He is in a very complicated and difficult position,” said Republican pollster Dave Winston. “He needs to come off as being fair and balanced, focused on what the Senate needs to do, what the Senate represents in a very contentious situation.”

Vice President’s Oath of Office 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

To say that it is complicated and difficult says that it is complicated and difficult to follow the Constitution.

Both Trump and Pence took an oath to do so. 

Pence accepted the role of vice president and although he says he will uphold the Constitution, so far he hasn’t.

The Choice

On February 7, 1839: Henry Clay, Speaker of the House declared “I would rather be right than president.”

Henry Clay was a candidate for President three times, once falling only 5,000 votes short.

That’s the choice facing Pence, or so he believes, to be acting the way he is. 

Recall that Clay was called ‘the Great Compromiser‘ because he played a major role in formulating the three landmark sectional compromises of his day: the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Tariff Compromise of 1833, and the Compromise of 1850.

Dilemma of His Own Making

Pence is in a dilemma is of his own making. He has so far refused to say or do the right thing. 

Ironically, by attempting to sit in the middle of Trump’s feud, just as Clay did with the abolition of slavery, Pence has proven himself to be unsuited to be president.

Stop the Steal

I endorse the slogan, stop the steal. However, the attempted steal is not by Biden or Democrats, but by the President and his supporters.

Trump should be prosecuted for election tampering in Georgia and tax evasion in New York.  

For further discussion of election tampering, please see Trump Sues Georgia Sec of State Over Leaked Phone Call.

Mish