Las Vegas Review-Journal

Former vice president does the right thing for the wrong reasons

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LPence may rightly point the finger at Trump for endangerin­g his family that day, but the former vice president bears responsibi­lity for his silence during the Trump administra­tion and since, which contribute­d to a climate that endangered the lives of millions of other Americans, including immigrants, Black and brown people, LGBTQ+ people, law enforcemen­t officers, journalist­s, educators and more.

ukewarm kudos to Mike Pence for finally recognizin­g that it was in his own opportunis­tic best interest to speak the truth about his former running mate, Donald Trump. For years we watched as Pence groveled at Trump’s feet. At his best, Pence was a spineless coward who sat back and watched as Trump enjoyed the benefit of foreign dictators manipulati­ng U.S. elections and returned the favor by prostratin­g himself before the dictators. At his worst, Pence was an active participan­t in the destructio­n of long-standing civil rights and democratic norms, a lapdog and willing participan­t in multiple plots to silence opposition and even overthrow American democracy.

Pence remained Trump’s loyal companion right up to the moment he was forced to choose between knowingly violating the Constituti­on or engaging in an insurrecti­on to overthrow the U.S. government. Pence ultimately followed the law and certified the election, though his statement explaining the decision was far from a rebuke of Trump’s conspiracy-laden election denialism.

It took another two years, but this month at the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, D.C., the former vice president took another step forward in his pursuit of doing the right thing, when he called for accountabi­lity for Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the Capitol.

“History will hold Donald Trump accountabl­e for Jan. 6,” Pence said. “Make no mistake about it: What happened that day was a disgrace and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way. President Trump was wrong. His reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.”

Yet again, Pence’s words and actions are too little, too late.

Pence may rightly point the finger at Trump for endangerin­g his family that day, but the former vice president bears responsibi­lity for his silence during the Trump administra­tion and since, which contribute­d to a climate that endangered the lives of millions of other Americans, including immigrants, Black and brown people, LGBTQ+ people, law enforcemen­t officers, journalist­s, educators and more. The people who hung a noose on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol may have done so at the behest of Trump, but it was Pence who was Trump’s eager helpmate as the president created a climate of lies, resentment and anger to tear our nation apart.

Of course, he isn’t alone. The next generation of GOP leaders is essentiall­y a combinatio­n of Pence’s cowardice and Trump’s authoritar­ianism.

Most of the presumptiv­e candidates for the GOP presidenti­al nomination have stoked the flames of divisivene­ss, misinforma­tion and conspiracy. They refuse to comment on whether the 2020 elections were legitimate and call the media response to the Jan. 6 attacks “overblown.”

They’re holding the government hostage and risking the full faith and credit of the United States government in order to force cuts to Social Security, Medicare and free lunch programs for impoverish­ed children.

They’ve accused teachers of being sex criminals and fought to ban books, educationa­l curriculum and art that discusses the history of civil rights in the United States.

MAGA and the GOP want to have government control thought, discussion, education and all aspects of life. Want evidence? Look no further than Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron Desantis wields government like a personal weapon to attack businesses that disagree with him, law enforcemen­t to intimidate officials who act independen­tly in the public interest, maul educators at all levels, deny women the right to control their bodies and persecute Black and LGBTQ+ citizens.

If you want government out of your life, today’s GOP is not your party. The GOP believes in maximal government power intruding on your lives, just as long as it’s their power.

And if all of that weren’t enough, they’re also trying to restrict the voting rights of seniors, students, people of color and people with disabiliti­es, so that the very people whose livelihood­s they are targeting cannot vote them out of office.

These are not simply disagreeme­nts about policy. The Republican Party is attacking the very foundation­s of freedom and democracy in the United States, including free speech, public education, equality under the law and the right to vote. In fact, the only constituti­onal right Republican­s appear interested in preserving is the unlimited right to bear arms.

Of course, that makes strategic sense. Without guns, how will the GOP white nationalis­t goons be able to intimidate the rest of us?

The American people deserve better than Trump, better than Pence and better than the GOP.

As the first primary elections draw closer, Pence and every other candidate for the GOP nomination should be asked about each of these topics directly. Former Trump officials like Pence should also be asked what took them so long to finally speak out against their failed leader and his MAGA cause. And the American public should hold them accountabl­e for their responses. If we don’t, then vengeful opportunis­ts like Pence and Trump will continue to lead the GOP down the road of tearing the nation apart.

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