Friday, December 17th, 2021
My Dear America:
My Wife said something the other day that really struck me.
I can't recall exactly what she said but what it amounted to was that we should really give credit where credit is due to Former Vice President, Mike Pence for being a Decent Man who literally Saved Our Democracy from the corrupt intent of Donald Trump and his Dark and Dangerous Cronies who were insisting that Pence cooperate with their plan to initiate a Coup to end Democracy in our country and install Donald Trump as the First Unelected Dictator in United States History.
Certainly anyone watching the News Coverage of January 6th could see with their own eyes that Good and Decent Government in the United States of America was collapsing right before their eyes. My wife and I certainly saw it. It was Frightening and Disgusting and it was Certainly Approved of and Authorized by the man who was still the President of the United States on that day: Donald Trump.
What was clear on that day was that Something Was Radically Wrong in America on January Sixth of 2021.
What is becoming increasingly clear in December of 2021 is that what was wrong on January Sixth was the fact that Donald Trump, after exhausting all possible Semi - Legitimate attempts to lawfully steal the November 2020 Election from its Rightful Winner, Joe Biden, felt that he had one more Desperate Card To Play. That Wild Card was Mike Pence.
What is clear to me after reading Bob Woodward and Bob Costa's Book, "Peril" and other sources, as well, is that there was a Soul Crushing Assault on Mike Pence's Decency in an attempt to bring him over to the dark side of the White House where Trump and those Diabolical Zombies who were still supporting him were waiting to stomp out what was left of Mike Pence's Decency.
Woodward and Costa point out that Mike Pence was at least thinking about succumbing to Trump and his Allies Pressure and might well have done so were it not for the Good and Decent Advice given to Pence by former Vice President, Dan Quayle. Quayle did his best to keep his Indiana Friend on the right and Decent Democratic Path.
Could Pence legally stand in the way of counting electors as Trump Insisted, Pence asked his Predecessor, Quayle.
"Absolutely Not", Quayle insisted. All Pence could do legally, according to Quayle, was to supervise the counting of Electors from all the states.
What Trump was insisting that Pence do was not legal and was not democratic.
What was not really evident to those of us watching on January 6th was just how much incredible pressure that Trump and Company were putting on Pence during the time just before January 6th. Even on January Sixth while Pence and Congress were being shuttled out of the House and Senate to Safety , John Eastman, clearly one of the Most Important Trump Conspirators, was sending messages out blaming Pence for the Riots because, according to Eastman, Pence had not done the right thing.
I guess that Trump and company were really OK with the Gallows set up in front of the Capitol and the Blood Curdling Cries of "Hang Mike Pence."
Certainly in his Role as Vice President of one of the most legally and morally corrupt Presidential Administrations in the history of the United States in many ways Mike Pence still has much to account for. In many ways Mike Pence brought an air of decency to the Trump Administration. A lot of Christians who trusted and admired Mike Pence found it easier to admire Trump despite the moral chasm that existed between Pence and Trump.
To be honest, I never really cared too much for Mike Pence. I have always seen him as pretty much a Phony but I do admire some things about him. I think that he does try to be a Genuine Christian and I am sure that it was difficult to do so while being a charter member of the Trump Administration.
On January Sixth Mike Pence could have very easily bowed out of the process of counting Electors and stated that he was going home and the process could have been totally screwed. Pence did not do that, however, and with the cooperation of the Senate and House Leadership Pence returned in the evening of January Sixth and led the process to certify the Electors and Certify the Election of Joe Biden despite the disturbing and unnecessary delays in counting electors led by some of Trump's Congressional supporters.
When it comes to Covid Donald Trump does not get much credit in my book. Trump tried to downplay the disastrous infection and convince his followers that they didn't need masks leading to countless deaths of Trump lovers.
One thing that Trump did right with regard to Covid was to put Mike Pence in charge of it for a time. During that time Pence recognized the seriousness of the Pandemic and in many ways took serious and important actions to help our country deal with Covid. Pence was the one who did what was needed to encourage drug companies to shorten the process of coming up with needed vaccines to prevent Covid infections. When Pence began to get high marks for his Covid Fighting actions Trump Jealously came back to daily reporting sessions on the Pandemic that Pence had been successfully leading. Although Trump likes to take credit for the speedy development of the Covid Vaccines, Pence deserves far more credit than Trump.
One more reason that Mike Pence should get some credit is that when Donald Trump left town rather than do the right thing and show up for Joe Biden's Inauguration, Mike Pence did show up to Biden's Inauguration.
My wife was right. In a Presidential Administration that, for the most part was rotten to the core, Mike Pence might not have escaped with entirely clean hands but we who are Citizens of the United States owe a debt of gratitude to Mike Pence for his part in saving our Democracy from Destruction on January Sixth.
Thank You, Mike Pence, for doing the right thing on that day when many Republicans did not do the right thing and continue to fail to do the right thing. Unfortunately, Mike Pence seems to feel that his best bet these days is to once again prostrate himself at the feet of Donald Trump. That is a shame. But Pence is certainly not the only Republican to fail to remember what their party used to stand for.
Only time will tell if Americans will be able to continue to live in a free and democratic country.
If Democrats have their way we can continue to do it.
If Republicans continue to follow down their increasingly Power Mad Path, God Help Us.
The next time we may not have a Mike Pence to stand in the way of those who would not preserve our Democracy.
Thank You Mike Pence. You may be back on the Dark Side with Trump Again but you were there when we needed you on January 6th and we are truly grateful to you for keeping our Democracy Alive at least for a few more years.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
No comments:
Post a Comment