On my way to Iowa to steal your job. pic.twitter.com/MXJhZjRvN4
— Schooley (@Rschooley) August 5, 2017
Not even by his “boss”…
Pence advisers have told GOP donors they want to be ready — ya know, just in case >> https://t.co/fZmUkeMW4W
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) August 5, 2017
Pence plotting behind Trump's back is going to make for some awkward meetings in the White House https://t.co/NzLNeyo8q1
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 5, 2017
… Mr. Pence has been the pacesetter. Though it is customary for vice presidents to keep a full political calendar, he has gone a step further, creating an independent power base, cementing his status as Mr. Trump’s heir apparent and promoting himself as the main conduit between the Republican donor class and the administration.
The vice president created his own political fund-raising committee, Great America Committee, shrugging off warnings from some high-profile Republicans that it would create speculation about his intentions. The group, set up with help from Jack Oliver, a former fund-raiser for George W. Bush, has overshadowed Mr. Trump’s own primary outside political group, America First Action, even raising more in disclosed donations.
Mr. Pence also installed Nick Ayers, a sharp-elbowed political operative, as his new chief of staff last month — a striking departure from vice presidents’ long history of elevating a government veteran to be their top staff member. Mr. Ayers had worked on many campaigns but never in the federal government…
Mr. Pence has made no overt efforts to separate himself from the beleaguered president. He has kept up his relentless public praise and even in private is careful to bow to the president.
Mr. Pence’s aides, however, have been less restrained in private, according to two people briefed on the conversations. In a June meeting with Al Hubbard, an Indiana Republican who was a top economic official in Mr. Bush’s White House, an aide to the vice president, Marty Obst, said that they wanted to be prepared to run in case there was an opening in 2020 and that Mr. Pence would need Mr. Hubbard’s help, according to a Republican briefed on the meeting. Reached on the phone, Mr. Hubbard declined to comment.
Mr. Ayers has signaled to multiple major Republican donors that Mr. Pence wants to be ready…
Since Mr. Pence is such a self-advertised Godly man, I’m praying for injuries.
But he’s already consolidating his real constituency:
In a sign of an expanding alliance between the Trump administration and one of the most well-financed forces in conservative politics, Vice President Mike Pence has agreed to speak to a gathering of the billionaire Koch brothers’ advocacy network this month.
Mr. Pence will deliver the keynote address on Aug. 19 in Richmond, Va., to the annual meeting of activists and donors organized by Americans for Prosperity, the group announced on Friday. The nonprofit advocacy group is financed by the industrialist brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch, and their allies.
The Koch brothers steer a network of groups that spent between $720 million and $750 million to bolster conservative policy positions and politicians in the run-up to the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the spending. Yet the groups withheld support from President Trump’s campaign out of distaste for his populist and protectionist rhetoric, which clashed sharply with the Kochs’ support for free-market policies.
But in recent weeks, the Kochs’ groups — as well as other deep-pocketed conservative outfits — have expressed increasing support for Mr. Trump’s plans to overhaul the tax code…
Bookmark this, libs!
My statement regarding the absurd @NYtimes article. pic.twitter.com/htvYSbS2dy
— Vice President Pence (@VP) August 6, 2017
(And of course, lest we forget…)
"A paper trail leads directly back to Mike Pence—Pence knew Michael Flynn was a foreign agent" @Funder on #AMJoy https://t.co/mK7L0yJI2Y
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) July 15, 2017
debbie
Trump won’t care. He’s having too much fun crashing wedding parties at his NJ resort.
Felonius Monk
Wonder when the alleged Pence dick pics will come to light.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@debbie: I’m sure he’s insisting on two scoops of ice cream there too; the bride and groom only get one, of course.
schrodingers_cat
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That is so silly and petty at the same time. Didn’t his parents teach him nothing?
debbie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
And he’ll whine until they let him cut the cake!
grillo
@schrodingers_cat: YES! His parents taught him nothing. Really. Nothing. Nothing.
Wag
I remember well how embarrassed I was in 83 going to school in England and having Reagan as our president. I can only imagine the feelings that current American students have.
Waratah
Have been wondering if some of those leaks have come from Pence, and have always believed he knew about Flynn.
kilo50
Pence scares me death. My brother is a hard core fundamentalist Christian. He sloughs off Trump as necessary to enable a pence presidency. Which just goes to show how much immorality the evangelicals are willing to stomach in order to get what they want. They want a theocracy. Under Pence they have good chance in getting what they want.
A Ghost to Most
@kilo50:
This times 20. If we bend towards Gilead, I will be part of the blowback.
Chris
@kilo50:
Yeah, he’s partly why I’d rather Trump have a slow burnout than be impeached this year.
Villago Delenda Est
If these “Christians” don’t watch out, and butt the fuck out of politics, they’re going to get repression such as they only experience in their wildest dreams.
JMG
Pence is as if the role of Iago was played by Elmer Fudd.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Bootlicking little shit
efgoldman
@Felonius Monk:
Allegedly Pence?
Allegedly his junk?
Allegedly pix?
Inquiring minds want to know.
A Ghost to Most
@Villago Delenda Est:
Wanna worship YOUR deity? Great.
Leave OUR government the fuck out of it.
A Ghost to Most
@efgoldman:
It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
hellslittlestangel
I agree with Pence that the idea of a Pence presidency is laughable and absurd. Unfortunately, it isn’t nearly as laughable and absurd as the idea of a Trump presidency. So, yeah, laughable, but I ain’t laughing.
No Drought No More
“A paper trail leads directly back to Mike Pence—Pence knew Michael Flynn was a foreign agent” .
I remember when Spiro Agnew was deemed a factor weighing in Nixon’s favor as the Watergate gained momentum, so repulsed were democrats at the thought of him ascending to the presidency.
Then on one notable day in 1973, quite out of the blue, Americans everywhere learned the meaning of the legal phrase “nolo contendere”, and what it meant when a defendant entered it as a plea in a court of U.S. court of law.
Cheryl Rofer
@No Drought No More: Thanks. This is an important point.
OT – Our Blogfather HAS HAD IT WITH THESE PEOPLE. Righteous tweet-rant.
Roger Moore
@schrodingers_cat:
They taught him he’s best and deserves the best. Somebody doesn’t wind up like Trump without a lot of parental encouragement.
germy
– Dave Barry
kilo50
@Villago Delenda Est: It is truly strange to watch the schism among the evangelicals. The Trump believers now like big government and readily push for politicizing the pulpit. The more elderly are often aghast at the idea. They remember a time when politics was not included in a sermon. My brothers church has regular sermons espousing not just a political party but even going so far as to promote a candidate. That is beyond what I learned in Sunday School.
NotMax
Pence and his wife have kids.
Thus he is, by his own admission, a literal “Mother” f*cker.
John Revolta
@JMG: Beware, my wod, of jeawousy;
It is the gween-ey’d monsteh, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. That cuckold wivves in bwiss,
Who, certain of his fate, woves not his wonger. Heheheheheheheh………………
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: Ignorance is bliss, efg.
Yarrow
@NotMax: Not necessarily. Assisted reproductive techniques could have made the children possible.
barb 2
@Cheryl Rofer:
These bernie bro creeps took over WA state dems. I greatly despise the whole cult like movement. If Putin couldn’t get Trump his fall back chaos fella was mostly likely bernie. Something to do with his campaign manager with links to icky people.
It is amazing how many people keep falling for the cult-speak — it keeps happening. Don’t people hear the bull-sh*t???
Villago Delenda Est
@A Ghost to Most: It’s like these idiots have never heard of the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, the English Civil War, the 30 Years War. The latter two were very much in the Founders’ thoughts when they didn’t mention religion but once in the Constitution, and that was to ban religious tests for public office.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@kilo50:
They believe Trump is God’s tool. Every politician with an R after their name is too. Remember the Moral Majority?
Bill Arnold
@Felonius Monk:
Doesn’t seem like the sort of kink that would capture his libido.
(One could speculate, but I won’t, at least not in writing.)
kilo50
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Good reminder that this virulent strain has been with us a long time. It is now that their payoff begins. They worked hard for it. The advent is now here.
Roger Moore
@kilo50:
I guess in their version of the Bible, Jesus kicked the money changers out of the Temple to make more space for the politicians.
Mike in NC
Pence had better pray that he doesn’t ever end up on the cover of TIME magazine, or his days will be numbered.
Chris
@Wag:
You had nothing to be ashamed of. Not with the gaggle of brainiacs that elected Thatcher.
Roger Moore
@Mike in NC:
How? He’s the one person in the Administration who Trump absolutely does not have the power to fire.
kilo50
@Roger Moore: The word Jesus only involves personal salvation. Sermon on the mount, they’ve never heard of it. For keeping the poor sinner fed and alive they adhere to Old Testament solutions. ( If you don’t work, you don’t eat. )
opiejeanne
@kilo50: The “no work no food” thing is also from a New Testament verse that is taken out of context. If I remember correctly, early Christians formed a commune, gave up their worldly goods for the commune, and then some thought they didn’t have to work. The admonition was directed specifically at those individuals, only belongs as a historical footnote.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@kilo50:
Just remember, there’s more of us than there are of them. We’ll survive this. Just like the song says.
opiejeanne
@kilo50: They’ve shrunk Jesus/God down to where they can carry Him around in their pockets. The idea is obnoxious.
kilo50
@opiejeanne: Personal Jesus for every one! It is sad to see a theology that had some integrity and compassion for the poor and ill fall into nothing but induced emotional hysteria. Praise Jesus my ass.
Shalimar
I’m actually surprised that Pence is making his move now, even behind the scenes. Yes, he is the money men’s obvious choice for 2020, but it makes a lot more sense to wait for after Trump implodes and after a midterm bloodbath so the base doesn’t turn on Pence for hurting Trump.
Pence would be the party savior if he waiting 16 months for all of this. He’s raising too much money too early and spending too much time in Iowa. The Kochs aren’t going to let him lose the money race even if he got started much later.
kilo50
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I am having my doubts about that survivability issue. It’s truly Godwinish ,but I am reminded that the Brownshirts were a fraction of the electorate and they were passionate political activists. We are one recession away from legal fascism carrying a cross.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Shalimar:
Shhh. Don’t help him. He’s not “Dense” for nothing. Has a VP ran against a sitting president seeking re-election, assuming Trump makes it to 2020?
Bex
@opiejeanne: It’s from St. Paul’s second letter to the Christians in Thessalonica. He was referring to people who were expecting the world to end any minute and figured they could just sit on their asses because why not? Paul was not impressed with their attitude.
kilo50
@Bex: It figures it was a Paul thing. That man was a straight up scold.
Bex
@kilo50: Kind of a broad brush, Kilo50.
NotMax
@Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe)
In the modern era, v.p. John Nance Garner ran for the nomination in 1940. But there’s an asterisk to that, as FDR didn’t really announce he was running for a third term until the convention, which he had engineered to “spontaneously” nominate him, so to bluntly say that Garner ran against Roosevelt is not entirely accurate.
kilo50
@Bex: I am remembering Paul’s misogynist edicts concerning women’s authority within the emerging church. That is just one issue i have with him. If the shoe fits….
germy
from the nytimes article:
a deep bench seems to be deepening…
Anonymous At Work
Trump’s MO has to been to compromise anyone working for him, in fatal ways, to insure their slavish loyalty. Why people didn’t think that applied to Pence is beyond me.
Feebog
Pence is obviously counting on DOLT45 biting the dust well before 2020. Maybe he knows something we don’t know?
A Ghost to Most
@No Drought No More: Boy, I hope that is true. I really hate that pious asshole.
RobNYNY
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Perhaps that is the assumption he is making: That Trump won’t last until 2020.
Jinchi
Trump is going to blow a fuse when he learns that he can’t actually fire Pence.
momus
Can’t wait until Trump “you’re fireds Pence.”
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Felonius Monk:
This snark or a real rumor? I mean it’s way to believable with Peance.
MikeifromArlington
How do we get Trump to distrust Pence so much to force hik to resign and put in place some non-religious nut job?
Or maybe leave it vacant cause nobody can be trusted.
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Presidential_line_of_succession If anyone is interested