Now that we know that it was Vice President Mike Pence who was behind this newest ban against transgender troops and we know how he pushed for it (overruling Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis who thought that transgender troops should serve, gathering together his own committee filled with anti-LGBTQ activists to create reasons for the ban, and ignoring the committee who was set up to look at the issue), this supercut of a 2015 interview when he was governor of Indiana has a new poignancy.
Pence at the time had signed an anti-gay "religious freedom" bill and eight times during the interview, he refused to say if he was opposed to anti-LGBTQ discrimination. I think it's safe to say based upon his actions regarding the transgender troops ban, we now have our answer.
I personally never felt for the "aw, shucks" bullshit Pence tried to project throughout his political life. While he does it better than Mike Huckabee, his soft-gloved approval of homophobia is still there. And this case, more dangerous. Let's not get so distracted by Trump's antics that we don't keep an eye on this charlatan.
1 comment:
Of course we can't trust Mike Pence.
But we still want to get Trump out of office, even if resignation (possible if Trump gets cornered and can't bomb his way out of trouble) or impeachment (possible only if Democrats win big this fall) makes Mike Pence president.
Remember: Pence, odious as he is, lacks Trump's rabble-rousing powers. The masses on the right just wouldn't rally around him in the longer term, and he lacks the power Trump has to arouse the mass hatred that so frightens Republican politicians.
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