Please don't bring up politics here as this post is intended to be completely non-political.

Just over four years ago was the first time I ever heard of Mike Pence. I knew nothing about him until he was chosen to be the Vice Presidential candidate. My first and lasting impression of Pence brings to mind, the protestant preacher with the white collar in the pre-1990 temple ceremony, in the movie version of the ceremony (not with actors). The preacher in that movie seems rather clueless and very prone to believing and doing whatever he is told to believe and do. I don't know if Pence has this trait, or exactly what it is that causes me to think this about Pence. Did anyone else here get or see a similar impression from Pence? If so, why? Please no partison politics here except as relates to this guy specifically to back your opinion. Truthfully, since he appeared as Vice President, I've seen him more as a placeholder than as a real political force in any direction. He might just as well have been Obama's or Bill Clinton's VP and been just as effective in his job from what I can tell. So it doesn't matter to me if others here either like or hate him. But every time he opens his mouth, I see that preacher from the temple movie and am not sure why.

I can’t unsee the fly.

I see a boot licking mannequin with a fly on it.

Actually, I see that zombie look you are describing in lots of preacher types.

I dunno, I saw a different side to him recently when he conceded the presidency and tried to stop the madness. I feel he has been used and portrayed but there is some decency and honor in the man if you step outside party straitjackets

It is a shame a lot of Americans these days won't even speak to folk who vote differently.

* betrayed

I don't give him that much credit.
Consider how big of a sycophant he would you have to be that, even after your boss sent terrorists to try and kill you, you still refuse to use your constitutional right to have him removed from office.

He's spineless. I will happily change my mind if he actually takes action instead of putting his politics first. He's been an enabler all this time.

And yes, this thread is impossible to keep off politics even though he is a religious zombie hypocrite IMO.

He's only been willing to diverge from Trump very lately, when he has seen how much damage Trump is doing. Even he's not that dense.

In his favor: He's very well groomed. I was impressed by his grooming and dress when he restarted the Congressional session after the riot. And he was suitably subdued. I'll give him that.

I disagree slightly.

> He's only been willing to diverge from Trump very
> lately, when he has seen how much damage Trump is
> doing.

That is too generous, summer. Pence has known for years how much damage Trump does. There was no sudden realization.

What made Pence decide to distance himself from Trump was his realization that Trump was falling. Pence has always aspired to the presidency, and when he saw the ship sinking he decided to jump.

It's about self-preservation, not protecting the nation's interests.

He enabled this shit show in a dumpster fire.
I only see a homophobic Victorian Era Mr. Doright who thinks electroshock therapy for gays is appropriate.

I think of him mostly the way the British political satire show Spitting Image sees him.

Now that you mention it . . .

As someone who went through the SLC temple in 1969 he is remarkably like the Methodist Minister playing Satan--sans cooler apron than we got. But it ends there. Satan was the one who knew what was going on and even God had to get the skinny from him. This Satan does what he is told up until God just plain went too far.

He is toothless homophobic lap dog in chief like no other VP has ever been whose main goal would be to marry Christian Right and State in an eternal marriage if he had the chance and make conversion therapy mandatory if you so much as even glanced at a rainbow.

How is this "non-political"??? You're discussing the vice president and what he has done in POLITICS!

This thread is extremely political. The OP is a liar.

I am the OP and have stayed true to my request to keep this thread non-political. We can discuss political figures in non-political contexts. This guy, I haven't quite figured out. I can't stop others from posting what they will post and have not tried to persuade nor restrain anyone's words in this thread. Only a few people in this thread have responded about their opinion about whether or not Pence reminded them of anyone in the temple ceremony. So maybe it's the religious zealot traits that I am seeing as a similarity. It's sad how many off-thread-related responses have occurred here. Even the mention of a political character where the OP claims to have no political opinion and asks to keep things non-political, sends some people over the edge in to a partison rage and even personal insults in a few cases. Is this really a 'recovery' board? The moderators here should be ashamed of themselves. This culture doesn't happen overnight. As strangers to Mormonism type various questions in to their favorite search engine (outside of this forum), these kinds of responses show up.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2021 05:09PM by azsteve.

> the OP claims to have no political opinion,

The OP's claims are not factual. He has extreme political opinions, as we all know.


---------------------
> sends
> some people over the edge in to a partison rage.

You mistake objective consideration for partisan rage. Saying that an insurrection is underway and threatens a coup is a statement of fact.

Disagreement with you is not "rage."

I haven't disagreed with anyone here in this thread and have no political opinions to express in this thread. If being called a "liar" is not an insult well... let the readers of this thread decide for themselves. Whether or not there is insurrection or a coup is a political matter, something I asked others not to talk about in this thread, as a means to direct the intended conversation toward figuring this public figure's personality out, politics aside. I was quite transparent about that in the original post. Some people just want to be angry and find others wrong. I get that even if it's not the purpose of the thread.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2021 07:34PM by azsteve.

You "have no political opinions to express in this thread?"

You accuse those who disagree with you of "partison [sic] rage."

That is, in fact, a political opinion.

You might have a point there about Pence alienating the left, center, and then his friends (message below - this post is out of chronological order). The creepy feeling I got from Pence recently increased based on his recent actions. After the election results were announced, when Trump said "...and quite frankly, we did win", Pence reacted spontaneously in a way that conflicted with his actions later. He immediately got a look of shock on his face and stepped away from Trump with body language and a look on his face that says 'I am not with him on that'. But then he rallied later to Trumps crowds later to "stop the steal". Now, to avoid the politics here, it should be either one way or another. But not both. Pence's eloquent speeches afterward were like that of the protestant minister in the temple who told his parishioners what to believe and do, by repeating what he was told to say to them. The world could be crashing down on him and he would speak like a tape recorded message with a message of whatever someone else told him to say. It's hard to understand his compass.

One thing I think that we all have in common here is this. When the number one most powerful person on earth is in the middle of a controversy (Call it what you want. I am trying to keep the term neutral and not political), you might want to know more about what motivates the number two most powerful person on earth.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2021 08:07PM by azsteve.

Mike -- another empty suit that believes in Christ.

And is terrified of all women and gay men.

Not even Indiana wanted him anymore as a politician. I think now would be a good time for him to retire from politics and hit the speaker's circuit. He would both make more money and do less damage. Win-win.

Can you imagine what would happen at public speeches by this man? Despite his years of abject servility, he would be savaged verbally and perhaps physically for having refused to take the last step of self-abnegation by overruling a constitutional election.

"Hang Mike Pence," they chant.

Finally doing the right thing carries the added bonus of a coffin strapped to the back?

Yes. Pence capitulated dozens of times, thereby alienating the left and the center. Now he alienates conservatives by standing on the unfamiliar territory of principle. Don't cry for me, Argentina.

It reminds me of what David Gergen once said about John Deane: "he betrayed his country and then he betrayed his friends."