Trending
Why is JD Vance 'the chosen one'?
To the Editor:
In the July 29 edition of the Sentinel, columnist Josh Hammer anointed GOP Vice-presidential nominee JD Vance as "The Chosen One" -- the "clear heir to the throne in a post-Trump Republican party." This praise for Mr. Trump’s current running mate stands in stark contrast to the treatment his previous running mate ultimately received from his fellow Republicans.
In 2016, Mike Pence was selected to be Trump’s running mate, and was praised because of his impeccable credentials -- he was patriotic, staunchly conservative, and pro-life. His strong Christian faith helped reassure those in the GOP who were troubled by Trump’s dubious character and morals, and the Trump/Pence ticket won the 2016 election.
In 2020, though, it was a different story; the Trump/Pence ticket lost to Biden/Harris. President Trump immediately claimed that the election had been stolen, and pursued every legal remedy at his disposal to prove this claim. When those evidence-free efforts failed in the courts, Trump did not concede. Instead, he continued to try and overturn the election using a variety of means.
A focus of that effort was the Congressional session of January 6, 2020, when, according to the Constitution, the state-certified Electoral votes would be counted and the election certified. Vice-president Pence, in his role as President of the Senate, was in charge of that count. If Pence did what the Constitution said, then Biden’s electoral victory would be certified. So, to prevent this, President Trump pressured his Vice-president to not certify the election.
As January 6 arrived, President Trump kept up the pressure. He told the crowd at his rally that day "I hope Mike is going to do the right thing…I hope so because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election." When Pence indicated that he would obey the Constitution -- the actual "right thing" to do -- Trump then tweeted "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution." Pence, however, still held to his principles, and, in my opinion, exhibited real courage by not giving in to the President’s demand.
In the end, Vice-president Pence did not yield to Trump’s pressure campaign and did his duty. He had the integrity to uphold the oath he had taken to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same." But in doing so, he committed an unforgivable sin in the eyes of Trump supporters.
Because he held to his convictions, Mr. Pence was vilified by Trump supporters. In 2016, Pence was celebrated for his integrity, patriotism, and conservative values. In 2021, after four years of Trump’s leadership of the GOP, Mr. Pence was reviled for holding to those same values on January 6th. Instead of being deemed a hero for standing up for the Constitution, he has been considered anathema by the majority of the GOP.
In my opinion, the message that Mr. Pence’s treatment sends is clear: that a person holding to strong conservative values, reverence for the Constitution, truthfulness, and strong faith has no place in today’s Republican Party -- unless the person holding those beliefs is willing to compromise them by bowing down to Donald Trump.
In light of this, perhaps it would be wise to consider anew why JD Vance is now "The Chosen One," and not Mike Pence.
Philip Loewen
Lewistown