Mornin’ Politocadoes!
Former Vice President Mike Pence officially, hah, kicked off his Presidential campaign on Wednesday. The former radio host, congressmen, Trump lacky, and almost Trump victim remains in unaccountably high spirits as he began his quest in Iowa. Pence is, perhaps, starting in the worst position than any previous former Vice President seeking the office. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons.
One, he’s facing off against his own former boss in the Primaries. Trump, having been denied a second term, is naturally running again. In the modern day, it’s far more common for a former Veep to try to assume command of the party. But then, we haven’t had a one-termer since Bush and even then, both Bush and Quayle seemed to have enough dignity to stay out of the way for the 1996 election. Pence is the ninth former VP to run for the Presidency and six succeeded in gaining the nomination. That should make the odds good for him, yes?
Well, no. He’s polling at 5%. Only Dan Quayle’s efforts at earning the 2000 nomination are on parity with him. Trump is running and he is not Trump. Not only is he not Trump, he also *crossed* Trump. He refused to be a part of Trump’s fake electors scheme on January 6th, earning the ire of both Trump and his supporters.
Pence has also failed to adequately differentiate himself in the race up until now. His announcement in the campaign has shown a sharper break with Trump, clearly saying that the 2020 election scheme was disqualifying and that Trump should never be President again. Which, I mean, that’s good had he been on that precise messaging for the past two years, but he hasn’t. He’s been testing the waters to see where he might fit, where the wind might blow. He can’t “out-MAGA” like DeSantis and he isn’t Trump, so now he’s going to be the righteous politician aggrieved by Trump’s actions? Now?!
Precisely what Pence thinks he’d be doing in charge of the GOP is unclear, if he’s trying to guide it back to a more mask-on theocratic conservatism, I suspect that he will be disappointed. Despised by Trump fans, found contemptible and piteous by the Left and the Center, Pence is a man without a way forward. He is utterly convinced of his own importance, of being such a Special Boy, a Kendall Roy if you will, that clearly he should be President. No matter how you slice it, Pence is a persona non grata in the GOP and it will be damnably fascinating to see him run and fall and fail.