Mike Pence probably has more power now than when he served as VP, with the possible exception of when he might have led the discussion about invoking the 25th Amendment. As for right now, Pence could play a huge role in the future of this country. The problem for the hard right at CPAC is that it likely would be the “wrong” role.
Mike Pence only has power to the extent he might walk into a place like CPAC, stare down the people in front of him, and speak strongly for himself and all that might have gone wrong after the election. He alone could make people really uncomfortable. He alone can say, “They came after me, but only because I followed the Constitution.”
But he chickened out, won’t do it, even with an invitation.
If Pence did it, he would invite people to line up behind the Constitution or line up behind everything Trump, which would inherently be an admission that CPAC was ready to go fascist (We are considering the opportunity Pence would have had, if he had gone.) That could be quite a powerful moment.
But no one needs to worry. According to Crooks and Liars [1]:
Former VP Mike Pence has declined an invitation to speak [2] at Matt Schlapp’s perverse CPAC conference. It’s not surprising, since CPAC represents most of the conspiracy theorists, QAnon, pro-Trump insurrectionists and purveyors of bogus voter fraud claims. Matt Schlapp was one of the provocateurs, along with Rudy Giuliani, promoting the many lies in Nevada, among other places, that led to an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
We aren’t entirely convinced that CPAC represents most of the conspiracy theorists and QAnons. Near all of them would agree that Trump won the election if only people had counted the votes right, meaning two white votes for every black vote. Schlapp was definitely involved with Rudy and others trying to get certain states overturned.
It would be quite a showdown. Perhaps Pence could discuss what it’s like living under the security threat that threatens him. Most MAGAs cannot be shamed, but having to listen to one of their own and what he went through? It would definitely have an impact. But neither CPAC nor Pence wants any impact. Pence was more likely to align with Trump again.
On the other hand, he’s not coming. Maybe that’s Pence’s assertion, “No, I don’t want any part of this.”
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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak