Mike Pence is No Hero

In an article in The Atlantic earlier this week, Jonathan V. Last of The Bulwark proclaimed former Vice-President Mike Pence a hero for certifying the 2020 election:

Here is another idea the committee might consider: Take a moment to praise Mike Pence. Congress can name a building in his honor. The House and Senate could propose nonpartisan resolutions recognizing Pence for his service to democracy. And then Joe Biden could give Pence the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Because while Pence may not be the hero you or I might have wanted, he was the hero America needed.

Why? Because he carried out his duties as set out in the U.S. Constitution? 

Needless to say both Jack Holmes of Esquire and Ed Kilgore of New York Magazine were less than impressed with Last's line of reasoning.  Let's start with Holmes:

Congress should formally acknowledge that Mike Pence is The Batman. And why must they put some respect on his name? Because he repeatedly did the absolute bare minimum we expect from anyone who holds elected office in this country—namely, that when they lose an election, they fucking leave.

Kilgore is more diplomatic, but is no less skeptical:

I’ll say it again: Thanks, Mike. I’m glad that, like most Americans, you managed to do your job without (on at least one fateful day) undermining its very purpose. We’re the better for it. But you don’t get a medal for refusing to lead a coup d’etat, and I hope you’ll have a few thousand more second thoughts about the president you served so fervently before applying for the same job yourself. 

With that said, Last is not the first person who has called Pence a hero for his role on January 6th. Indeed, just after the New Year, no less than January 6th Committee member Jamie Raskin not only proclaimed Pence a hero, but for good measure deemed him "a constitutional patriot." 

When Raskin made that claim, I felt compelled to disagree:

While I admire Rankin greatly, I must disagree with his assessment. Being a hero is when one goes above and beyond the call of duty. Pence did what he was supposed to do and he did so reluctantly. He was prepared to go along with Trump's shenanigans until former Vice-President Dan Quayle told him to knock it off. Pence is no hero let alone a constitutional patriot.

Yes, it's true there were thousands of people outside The Capitol prepared to hang Pence. Certifying the vote still doesn't make him a hero. Pence would be heroic if he told Trump supporters they were wrong and that Biden won the election. 

Instead, Pence panders to them by questioning the very purpose of the January 6th Committee claiming, "They want to use that one day to try and demean the character and intentions of 74 million Americans who believed we could be strong again and prosperous again, and supported our administration in 2016 and 2020.”

Indeed, as Holmes points out, Pence himself claimed in an article in The Daily Signal that the 2020 election was "marked by significant voting irregularities and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law." The op-ed was titled "Election Integrity is a National Imperative" and was written nearly two months after Trump supporters wanted to hang Mike Pence. 

Of course, in February 2022, Pence would publicly rebuke Trump's election fraud claims. Yet I had questions of my own:

1. Why did it take 13 months for Pence to make a statement this forceful?

2. Was this statement a one-off remark or will Pence continue to be critical of Trump where it concerns the 2020 election?

3. If it is the latter is this an opening salvo for a quixotic bid for the White House?

4. If it is the latter then will Pence support the work of the January 6th Committee?

5. Or will Pence walk back his statement after he is taunted by Tucker Carlson?

OK, Pence hasn't pulled a Ted Cruz and prostrated himself before Carlson. But it's pretty clear he has political ambitions of his own and hasn't exactly extended an olive branch to the January 6th Committee. While Pence did say there was no room in the Republican Party "for apologists for Putin" after Russia invaded Ukraine, the fact he served under a President who believed Putin over his own intelligence community gives Pence's statement little weight.

Last does make the case that honoring Pence might bring a sliver of Republican voters who know Trump lost the 2020 election into the Democratic column. While the sight of President Biden placing the Presidential Medal of Freedom around Pence's neck will undoubtedly provoke another temper tantrum from Trump the gesture would also likely have the effect of alienating as many Democratic voters who believe Biden has fallen short on his domestic agenda. One must also pose the question whether Pence wants to be viewed as closer to Biden than to Trump.

Heroism should be bestowed upon those who go above and beyond what is expected and do so without regard to one's personal safety or political expedience. By these standards, former Vice-President Mike Pence is no hero.