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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Early Morning Open Thread: Mr. Pence Goes to Hamilton

Early Morning Open Thread: Mr. Pence Goes to Hamilton

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Virtue signalling — and I don’t mean by the audience/cast. Per the Chicago Tribune:

Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Friday was the latest high-profile person to attend the Broadway hit “Hamilton,” but he became the first to get a sharp message from a cast member from the stage.

Actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, the nation’s third vice president, gave a speech Friday for his political descendant after the curtain call, telling Pence the multiracial and multicultural cast is worried about the Trump administration.

“We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” Dixon said. “We truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us. All of us.”

Pence ducked out before Dixon finished the unprecedented message. But a show spokesman said Pence stood in the hallway outside the entrance to the auditorium and heard the full remarks.

The vice president-elect’s appearance at the Richard Rodgers Theatre triggered both cheers and boos when he slipped into row F in the mezzanine.

“Vice President-elect Pence, I see you walking out, but I hope you will hear us, just a few more moments. There’s nothing to boo here, ladies and gentlemen,” Dixon said from the stage. “We’re all here sharing a story about love.”…

Mike Pence, Public Scold of All Immorality, showed up at Hamilton for two reasons. First, getting good seats at the most popular show in one of the world’s top theater cities shows that he, VP-Elect Mike Pence, is now a Very Important Person. (If you were Mike Pence, you wouldn’t believe it without outside confirmation, either.) Second — most important, I’m guessing — Hamilton is a musical about a bunch of New York City immigrants, played by a cast of not-white actors, many of them openly LGBT. People like Mike Pence go to Hamilton to confirm their conviction that New Yorkers have always been filthy immigrants who proudly mock God and “history” while celebrating their perversities with every variety of that noisy jungle music. Getting boo’d at Hamilton gives Mike Pence immense ‘street cred’ with the neo-Nazis clotting around Steve Bannon, official Trump strategist-in-chief; since Bannon has a lot more influence with Trump than Mike Pence will ever accrue, Pence probably enjoyed the public opprobrium more than he did the play itself.

Shortlist reminder of Pence’s governmental record to date, from Deadspin:

… Politicians do not deserve respect simply on the basis of the fact that they’re politicians. They do, however, deserve to be treated in accordance with their actions. And in the case of Mike Pence, he deserves nothing less than to be constantly—and publicly—criticized and humiliated. Because Mike Pence is a monster.

Mike Pence has opposed a bill that would protect LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination, refused to address the HIV epidemic in his state because of “moral qualms,” and in the 90s, published articles attempting to find links between homosexuality and pedophilia while the editor of a conservative journal. It’s worth noting here that the current lead in Hamilton is openly gay and HIV-positive.…

Mike Pence also signed a “religious freedom” bill that allowed businesses to explicitly discriminate against LGBTQ customers. And he backed several “personhood bills” that granted legal status to zygotes (zygotes!) and which would effectively ban abortion outright—along with some types of birth control. Pence also wanted women seeking abortions to have to undergo forced ultrasound exams where the provider would “describe the embryo in detail to her.” And of course, there’s also that law he signed requiring women to bury or cremate their aborted fetuses…

Reader Interactions

66Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I am very happy to read about all this pushback. Great way to start the day! Thanks for all this, AL — not sure I would have heard about it through the MSM.

  3. 3.

    MazeDancer

    Respones to Maggie Haberman’s outrageous tweet were swift and numerous. And centered prominently around Pence electrocuting gay children.

    John Harwood called the booing “not good” and got similar schooling about how if a man who tortures gay children to make them straight walks into a Broadway theatre to watch a cast full of gay people, including the lead, boos are appropriate.

  4. 4.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    I think Pence has been reading so much of the courtier press’ “Let the healing begin!” PR he is starting to believe it.

    Sorry, just watched “All About Eve” last nite and now everything looks like a showbiz axiom.

  6. 6.

    Mary G

    I liked the tweeters who said that this is WORST thing ever to happen to a politician in a theater.

  7. 7.

    SFAW

    On the “plus” side: up until this event, I would have thought Pence too fucking stupid to understand that people were booing him. From what I heard, when he was still a Rep, he had given Louie Gohmert a run for his money.

    Of course, I’m not sure that it’s actually a “plus” for the country to have an evil-prick VP with an IQ slightly above room temp.

    I write that with all the respect he is due, of course, because VP-cheatlect and all.

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    @Mary G:

    I liked the tweeters who said that this is WORST thing ever to happen to a politician in a theater.

    But how did his wife like the play?

  10. 10.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @Mary G: I’m not very awake yet, but I’m disappointed in myself that that bon mot didn’t occur to me independently.

  11. 11.

    Mary G

    #NameaPenceMusical is trending:

    The Lyin’ King
    White Side Story
    Pride and a Whole Lot of Prejudice
    Les Deplorables

  14. 14.

    JPL

    Trump said that he was not going to challenge the rights of gays to love and marry who they want, he’ll just let Pence challenge those rights.

  15. 15.

    low-tech cyclist

    Armando@Kos is right on target with the “Did a single @nytimes reporter ever condemn Trump supporters chanting “Lock her up”? comment.

    Because the MSM was pretty much silent about those chants, and far worse things shouted by the people at Trump rallies (“Cunt!” “Kill her!” “Hang the bitch!” reports Claire Landsbaum of New York magazine). And now the worthless Melanie* Maggie Haberman is upset that some people are merely impolite to Mike Pence.

    When people are shouting that he should be locked up and deported, she can get back to me.

    * You may remember her as Audrey Farberman…
    /Firesign

  16. 16.

    bemused

    I loved Hamilton’s Dixon message to Pence to “work on the behalf of all of us. All of us” but I have no doubt it fell on tone-deaf ears. It’s like Chris Christie, uber fanboy of Bruce Springsteen, who ignores the meanings in Bruce’s lyrics and his values.

  17. 17.

    SFAW

    @low-tech cyclist:

    Oh, you mean “Nancy.”

    Or was her name Susan Underhillman? How about … … … Betty Jo Bialoskyman? (Cue the organ)

    [What’s scary is that, as soon as I saw Melanie, I knew exactly what you were thinking.]

  22. 22.

    scottinnj

    Pence went to see this before the Electoral College meets – maybe Hamilton will give Pence some crazy plans in the electoral collage.

  25. 25.

    philadelphialawyer

    “Founding fathers like Hamilton, gave us freedom of expression, right to protest our leaders. I suspect Hamilton would be ok with the booing.”

    Hamiliton was a royalist, elitist, authoritarian, who was all about catering to the rich, and didn’t give a fig for the rights of the people. He had no part whatsover in “giving” us freedom of expression or the right to protest. Hamilton explicitly opposed the inclusion of a bill of rights in the Constitution. And he couldn’t wait to lead a bloody, repressive and almost entirely unnecessary military expedition against poor, marginalized farmers who were deliberately, unfairly targeted and oppressed by his regressive tax schemes. Finally, Hamilton almost certainly would not have approved of commoners booing their “betters.”

    Just sayin’.

  26. 26.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Good on the Hamilton cast. You do despicable things you deserve to get booed. He’s done and still doing despicable things so calling him out publicly is perfectly acceptable.

  27. 27.

    D58826

    well looks like the grift is already starting and within a short walk of the Capital –

    Donald Trump’s Biggest Conflict Of Interest Is A Half Mile From The White House
    The Trump International Hotel leases government real estate. How is that not a major problem?

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-conflict-of-interest_us_582f578be4b058ce7aaaf3c0

    And watching the conflict in real time:

    For foreign diplomats, Trump hotel is place to be

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/2016/11/18/9da9c572-ad18-11e6-977a-1030f822fc35_story.html

    I wonder if the guest lists, hotel registers, etc for the various Trump properties will now become part of the morning PDB.

    In the meantime Trumpers are celebrating the bankruptcy of a small company that made parody Trump caps. And Das Fuhrer has tweeted a demand that the theater issuer an apology over the booing of Pence last night. Seems it was impolite and Pence’s fee fees were hurt.

    A lot of comments about it being a long 4 years. It may well be the beginning of the new normal in which Trumpism never goes away even if it’s founding dictator does.

  29. 29.

    gogol's wife

    @philadelphialawyer:

    While you’re at it, maybe you should alert Tolstoy that General Kutuzov wasn’t a kindly old grandpa who expressed the will of the Russian people.

    To give the historical Hamilton his due, his misgivings about democracy are being borne out by the situation we find ourselves in today.

  30. 30.

    D58826

    And a quote from our possible new Sec of D James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis as he is called in the marines

    Among Marines, his direct comments are known as #mattisisms, and traded on military forums like pearls of wisdom to live, laugh and fight by, including: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

    You know there just might be a reason why so many people in so many parts of the world do not like the US policies very much. It may be great fun when you are on the side doing the killing. Not so much fun when you are on the side being killed. Seems we learned nothing about the pain of being on the receiving end on 9/11

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/19/general-who-thinks-it-s-fun-to-shoot-some-people-is-front-runner-for-trump-s-pentagon.html

  31. 31.

    Shalimar

    People keep saying Trump has conflicts of interest. It isn’t a conflict if he always chooses what is best for him over what is best for the country. I doubt Trump feels even a shred of confliction.

  32. 32.

    Frank Wilhoit

    Humiliation is one of theirs, it is not one of ours. First and last and in between, they are sadists. We must not allow ourselves to be dragged down to their level.

  33. 33.

    celticdragonchick

    Rod Dreher is very upset that the liberalNewYorkelitegheyzbrownskinnedpeoplewhatever were not respectful to their religious betters and he wants you to know that he will support Donald Trump to show up all he is veryveryvery angry.

  35. 35.

    celticdragonchick

    @philadelphialawyer:

    Hamilton explicitly opposed the inclusion of a bill of rights in the Constitution.

    Hamilton thought (with some good reason as history has shown) that a Bill of Rights would be taken to mean that anything not enumerated in that bill would not be construed as a right. From his perspective, if you do not specifically forbid it…it was allowed

    Also:

    For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do? Why, for instance, should it be said, that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed? I will not contend that such a provision would confer a regulating power; but it is evident that it would furnish, to men disposed to usurp, a plausible pretence for claiming that power..

    Also, Hamilton was an orphan plucked off a Caribbean dock was he was still a child by a powerful man who saw he had potential (the practice of patronage in colonial America was utterly fascinating and really could take an unknown orphan from nowhere and propel him into fine schools and lucrative work where he would be in a position to repay his benefactor). The idea he would be against poor people protesting their “betters” is spurious and not supported by any document I know of.

    Also, Washington and Hamilton were right to put down the Whiskey Revolt. Congress was acting well within its rights to tax alcohol.

  36. 36.

    SiubhanDuinne

    And of course, Trump’s (very, very short) fingers got right on the electric Twitter machine:

    “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “The theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!“

  37. 37.

    celticdragonchick

    @crawdad: @crawdad:

    This is for idiot authoritarian asshats like you.

    “If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. … May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”

  38. 38.

    LAC

    @SiubhanDuinne: I swear, if I could be bothered to go on Twitter I would ask that cheeto stain whether he remembers that he has a goddamn transition to focus on. Oh and irony…

  39. 39.

    mai naem mobile

    Shitgibbon tweeted this morning that WATB #2 Pence was harassed at “Hamilton” last night. Cannot wait for Shitgibbon to go on his first European trip. We may be dropping missiles on Berlin,London,Paris,Madrid and Rome.

  40. 40.

    D58826

    @celticdragonchick: Isn’t that covered in the much ignored 9th amendment?

    The amendment as proposed by Congress in 1789 reads as follows:
    The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.[1]

  41. 41.

    mai naem mobile

    @crawdad: hey asshole,I’ll raise you an “Obama’s a black blackity musleemy Kenyan” and “Beau Biden was a drug aduct and died because of it.”

  43. 43.

    dww44

    @mai naem mobile: Not only did he say that Pence was harrassed, but that it was the CAST that booed him. Kay’s right, this guy is liar-in-chief and I am petrified for the country and the world. Republicans, where is your patriotism when we need it most?

  46. 46.

    Suzanne

    @Citizen_X: Safe spaces are for Republicans. Anyone else who wants to feel safe is just a WATB special snowflake. Or something.

    It’s so hard to keep up with the alt-right’s carousel of hypocrisy.

  47. 47.

    Shalimar

    @mai naem mobile: If I recall George W. Bush’s European adventures, they cleared the area for many blocks around any place he would pass. Commoners never got within booing range.

  50. 50.

    D58826

    @Suzanne: I think the Clinton’s are going to need a safe space. Sessions at DOJ, Pompano at CIA. Comey at FBI, soon to be named US attorneys in NY and DC and soon to be named IRS commissioner. Sessions and Pompano will have access to all of the info that the House witch hunts have dug up. Sessions and Pompano are not just run of the mill Clinton haters. They have made it abundantly clear that they think the Clinton’s are criminals and have to be brought to justice. They will use every one of the vast tools available to them to go after the Clintons, the Foundation and any one who every worked for the Clinton. It will be Starr Chamber – the Sequel. The Clintons have the money to hire the best lawyers, but many of the people who would be dragged into this do not. Even if they are not indicted they will be destroyed financially and professionally.

  51. 51.

    Schlemazel

    @mai naem mobile:
    far more likely the places he visits are
    Berlin,Wisconsin
    (New) London,Connecticut
    Paris,Tennessee
    Madrid, Iowa and
    Rome, Indiana.
    He is less curious than Boy Blunder and travel would take him away from whatever evil he is receiving in Trump Tower that makes spending even a night away from it more than he can bear

  52. 52.

    Darkrose

    Pence went to see a show written by a Puerto Rican guy who campaigned for Hillary where the cast is made up of people of color, many of whom are the same ones Mike Pence wants to literally shock straight. The lead is currently being played by an HIV+ Latino actor. What the flying fuck did he think was going to happen?

    I’ve seen two theories: one that all he knew is that Hamilton was a popular show about American history and tickets are impossible to get, and he wanted to enjoy the perks of being VP. The other is that he knew something like this would happen and he wanted to be able to complain about how rude those mud people and queers were when he tried to understand their gyrating and race music. I think he’s too Stupid Evil for the latter, but I could be wrong on that.

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    @Darkrose:

    OT, but are you also in SF? I’m only here for the day, but I’m meeting ruemara and Major^4 for lunch at 12 noon at the KitTea Cafe.

  55. 55.

    Mnemosyne

    @philadelphialawyer:

    Hamilton explicitly opposed the inclusion of a bill of rights in the Constitution.

    And yet once the Bill of Rights was in there, he wrote 51 essays to defend the new Constitution and convince the voters of New York to ratify it, essays that are still used to guide our understanding of that document to this day. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?

  57. 57.

    Darkrose

    @Mnemosyne: Really? I may try to pop out of DevCamp. If you see a short chubby black woman with short hair and glasses wearing jeans, cowboy boots and a Hamilton t-shirt, wave!

  60. 60.

    D58826

    well I think we all need a good laugh. From Digby quoting a WSJ article on how Trump and avoid a conmflict of interest in his business dealings

    Mr. Trump’s best option is to liquidate his stake in the company. Richard Painter and Norman Eisen, ethics lawyers for George W. Bush and President Obama, respectively, have laid out a plan, which involves a leveraged buyout or an initial public offering.
    Mr. Trump could put the cash proceeds in a true blind trust. The Trump children can keep the assets in their name, and he can transfer more to them as long as he pays a hefty gift tax. Finally, Mr. Trump should stipulate that he and his children will have no communication about family business matters.

    Titanic will sail into NY harbor before any of that happens.

    equally funny

    But this is the modern world of Washington. And remember that Hillary Clinton lost in part because the public didn’t want a President who mixed politics and personal gain at the State Department and Clinton Foundation. Millions of Americans have put their trust in Mr. Trump to succeed as President and improve their lives, not treat this as a four-year hiatus from his business. The presidential stakes are too high for Mr. Trump to let his family business become a daily political target.

    The people that voted for him don’t care about what Trump does with his business. They didn’t care about anything else that he did during the campaign. About the only true things he said during the entire campaign were: 1. he was famous so he could grope women with impunity and 2. he could shot someone in Time Square and would not lose a vote. In the case of stmt 2 he would gain votes if the person he shot was one of the OTHER

    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

  61. 61.

    D58826

    @celticdragonchick: Since much of the culture war has been over things that are loosely grouped as privacy rights we could avoided most of it if SCOTUS had paid more attention to the 9th.

  64. 64.

    philadelphialawyer

    @celticdragonchick: So he said. But it seems rather disingenuous. Hamilton was all in favor of a strong, activist Federal government. The notion that in exercising all of the powers that it explicitly had, and that Hamilton thought (correctly, as it turned out, at least in the long run) it would obtain, it would not violate any of the rights set forth in the Bill of Rights is spurious. And the argument about unenumerated rights was dealt with by the Ninth Amendment.

    Hamilton was indeed poor by birth. But he consistently favored an elitist speculators and bankers and the rich in general in all of his policy positions.

    As for Hamilton and free speech and a free press:

    Wiki:

    “In November 1799, the Alien and Sedition Acts had left one Democratic-Republican newspaper functioning in New York City; when the last, the New Daily Advertiser, reprinted an article saying that Hamilton had attempted to purchase the Philadelphia Aurora and close it down, Hamilton had the publisher prosecuted for seditious libel, and the prosecution compelled the owner to close the paper.”

    The Whiskey Rebellion? Yes, the revenue laws were constitutional; they were also, just as I said, unfair, and deliberately discriminatorily targeted at marginal, poor frontier farmers. And, also just as I said, Hamilton jumped at the chance to crush the rebellion in a far bloodier manner than was necessary.

    I have no idea what view of Hamilton is put forward in the Broadway musical, and don’t much care either. The truth is, though, that Hamilton’s entire career was anti democratic, monarchist, and statist to the point of authoritarianism.

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