Sacramento Bee Logo

The vacuity of the vice president | The Sacramento Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • SacBee Rewards
    • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube
    • News in Education (NIE)
  • Newsletters

    • Sacramento Region
    • Arena
    • City Beat
    • Crime
    • Local Govt Salary Database
    • The Homeless
    • Marcos Bretón
    • Transportation
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health & Medicine
    • Traffic Conditions
    • Weather
    • Communities
    • Elk Grove
    • Folsom/El Dorado
    • Roseville/Placer
    • Yolo
    • Sports
    • Kings
    • NBA News
    • 49ers
    • Giants
    • Oakland A's
    • High School Sports
    • Joe Davidson
    • More Sports
    • Raiders
    • NFL News
    • MLB News
    • River Cats
    • Soccer
    • Colleges
    • Golf
    • Autos Racing
    • Politics
    • Capitol Alert
    • State Workers
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Local Elections
    • PoliGRAPH
    • State Worker Salary Database
    • Legislative Gifts
    • Local Elections
    • California Elections
    • Election Endorsements
    • Election 2018
    • Voter Guide
    • Investigations
    • Data Tracker
    • Public Eye
    • Afghan Refugees
    • Nursing Homes
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Election Endorsements
    • Viewpoints
    • Influencers Opinion
    • California Forum
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Submit a Letter
    • Jack Ohman
    • Editorial Board
    • Entertainment & Life
    • Arts & Theater
    • Books
    • Home & Garden
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Outdoors
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Horoscopes
    • Comics
    • Puzzles
    • TV Listings
    • Sacbee Rewards
    • Food & Drink
    • Restaurants News & Reviews
    • Restaurant Directory
    • Cooking & Recipes
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Appetizers Blog
    • California
    • Big Valley
    • Marijuana
    • Wildfires
    • Water & Drought
    • Lottery
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Market Summary
    • Cathie Anderson
    • Nation & World
    • National
    • World
    • Technology
    • Family
    • Celebrities
    • TV news
    • Weird News
    • Video Break
    • News Obituaries
    • Death Notices
    • FAQ
    • ObitMessenger
    • In Memoriam

    • The Sacramento Bee Store
    • Golf Card
    • Farm to Fork Dining Card
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Legal Notices
  • Place an Ad
  • Advertise
  • Mobile & Apps

Viewpoints

The vacuity of the vice president

By Timothy Egan The New York Times

    ORDER REPRINT →

November 10, 2017 08:45 AM

With Donald Trump in Asia plugging his golf resort and telling his hosts “I never knew we had so many countries,” the leaderless United States has had a week to try out President Mike Pence. Make that Pastor Pence.

 
Opinion

It’s not a problem that Pence is a sycophant in chief, perhaps the greatest bootlicker to take up residence at the Naval Observatory. His little stunt, on Trump’s orders, of flying halfway across the country to walk out on people exercising their First Amendment rights at a football game cost taxpayers a pile. So. Veeps are expected to be slavish.

Nor am I overly troubled that Pence reportedly calls his wife Mother or refuses to dine with a woman alone who is not Mom. (Angela Merkel, bring your chaperone.) Ronald Reagan called his wife Mommy.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

The big problem with Pence is the vast empty space between his ears and the articulation of thoughts formed in that space. His biblical bromides make Ned Flanders of “The Simpsons” sound like Voltaire. And because his mind is closed to rational thought outside his theocratic construct, everything he says comes out like platitudinous mush.

Take the last week. (Please.) At least, take the part that started on Sunday with a man using a semi-automatic rifle to murder eight children among his 25 victims at a church in Texas. This outrage should stir conscience-stricken leaders to do something – anything – to ensure that it never happens again.

Pence’s response? “We grieve with you and stand with resolve against evil,” he said. I’ll grant him the grieving part. But the resolve has translated into squat. His best solution to the scourge of mass killings, as he told heartbroken families in Texas, is more prayer.

Not even six weeks ago, Pence had a similar answer to the massacre of 58 people in Las Vegas. In a radio interview, he dwelled on how great it was that people sang “God Bless America” just before they were slaughtered by a civilian who converted his rifle into a machine gun. Moving forward, Pence offered this suggestion: “I have to tell you, we find comfort in the Good Book.”

The host, Storme Warren at Sirius XM, asked Pence if we could be assured of never seeing this kind of thing again. Pence fumbled for an answer, then said, “We’re united in our resolve to end such evil in our time.”

But there is no resolve. No legislative action. No executive action. Nothing but meek, passive acceptance of the great horror that makes the United States stand out from every other civilized country. Oh, and since Pence expressed resolve to end evil after Las Vegas, more than 900 Americans have lost their lives to guns.

In Texas this week, Pence told families, “We are working with leaders in Congress to ensure that this never happens again.” That’s a lie, which should be surprising for a man who wears his faith on both sleeves. But it is not unusual for Pence. PolitiFact rated 48 percent of his statements false or mostly false. He has learned from his master.

Here’s what the administration is actually doing: In one of his first acts as president, Trump signed a bill making it easier for the mentally ill to buy guns.

Pence can sound insipid on any topic. When the tape emerged last year of Trump boasting about how to be a sexual predator and get away with it, Pence urged his ticket mate to pray. His piety is the cover for Trump’s amorality.

I’m not against people of faith in public life. The left should be faulted for intolerance of those who express belief in a higher power or religious tradition. But I’m with the first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, who famously said, “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.” In that, he stands with the Constitution.

Pence calls himself a Christian first, a conservative second and a Republican third. Since taking the oath of office, he’s supposed to be a citizen first. But Pence is a theocrat – one who hasn’t had a new thought in years – and that’s why he sounds so vacuous.

As governor of Indiana, he signed a measure that legalized discrimination against gays and made his state a pariah. It was only under pressure from the business community that he was forced to retreat. Still, his long record of anti-gay actions prompted even Trump to joke that Pence wants to “hang them all.” The White House denied the quote.

As Jane Mayer documented in her portrait of Pence in The New Yorker, he is also the ultimate corporate tool. The Koch brothers own him. He has called climate change “a myth” and has helped to plant fossil-fuel toadies in crucial Trump administration posts.

Pence learned gasbagging for God as a talk-radio host, calling himself “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” It’s a job that requires someone to fill hours of empty air with hours of empty nonsense. As vice president, he has refined the role.

 
Sign up
Get on The Take. Read the influential voices on California and national politics and issues. Sign up here.

  Comments  

Videos

Painting the Delta

Homeless in Sacramento

View More Video

Trending Stories

An unsettling sight: Someone strung dead coyotes along a fence near Oakdale

February 20, 2019 12:04 PM

Reports of ‘homophobic’ emoji set off online uproar. What’s going on?

February 20, 2019 07:44 AM

El Dorado Hills woman found dead in church parking lot, sheriff says

February 20, 2019 02:08 PM

Vlade Divac won DeMarcus Cousins trade and Kings are playing ‘beautiful basketball’

February 21, 2019 03:55 AM

No speed limit? That could become a reality for two California highways

February 21, 2019 01:14 PM

Read Next

We need a child care system that keeps California working and children learning

Viewpoints

We need a child care system that keeps California working and children learning

By Monique Limón Special to The Sacramento Bee

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 21, 2019 12:01 AM

I’ve introduced legislation, Assembly Bill 378, which would allow child care providers to collectively bargain with the state so they can more effectively advocate for California families, including their own.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE VIEWPOINTS

California kids need $17 million to close digital divide, Newsom can make that happen

Viewpoints

California kids need $17 million to close digital divide, Newsom can make that happen

February 21, 2019 12:01 AM
Tyranny is un-American.  It is time to kick our wannabe dictator out

Viewpoints

Tyranny is un-American. It is time to kick our wannabe dictator out

February 20, 2019 12:01 AM
Commentary: Has Newsom become Governor Gaslight?

Viewpoints

Commentary: Has Newsom become Governor Gaslight?

February 20, 2019 03:30 AM
Inland California: the backbone of our state

Viewpoints

Inland California: the backbone of our state

February 18, 2019 12:01 AM
Gov. Newsom’s decision to change high-speed rail plan doesn’t go far enough

Ben Boychuk

Gov. Newsom’s decision to change high-speed rail plan doesn’t go far enough

February 17, 2019 12:01 AM
Lots of luck to Amy Klobuchar. History shows she’ll need it

California Forum

Lots of luck to Amy Klobuchar. History shows she’ll need it

February 16, 2019 12:01 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Sacramento Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Place a Classified Ad
  • Place a Legal Notice
  • Place a Digital Ad
  • Place a Newspaper Ad
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Corrections Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story