This level of obsequiousness is something one might expect to be addessed to an unbalanced complete autocrat. Perhaps to Caligula or Saddam Hussein? Maybe Hitler would have fallen for it.
Somewhat more realistic autocrats would have either sneered or as chigu said after seeing Pence in full self-humiliation assume “he’s planning a coup”.
The real problem is why do they need to be that unctuous? Particularly senior elected officials?
I don’t understand how the US government works operates but I thought that senators and members of Congress, even in the same party are pretty much independent of the President as opposed to the dependence on the PM of same-party MPs in a parliamentary system.
It was, actually, rather embarrassing listening to those people. It was more what I would have expected some one to say when addressing or talking about Robert Mugabe while he was still in power.
Come to think of it, the moment the Donald starts wearing a shirt with his face emblazoned on it, it’s time to head for the airport or nearest border.
Mano Singhamsays
jrkideau,
Yes, in theory members of Congress are independent of the president. They are supposed to be an independent check on the president. But over time there has been an increasing veneration of the president, especially by members of his own party, treating him almost like a king. It seems to be getting worse with time and a president like Trump accentuates that tendency since he sees himself as a king.
Holmssays
I suspect Pence is doing whatever it takes to be seen as utterly loyal to Trump so that he never gets caught in the revolving door plaguing the rest of Trump’s staff positions. That way, he is ready to step in no matter what happens to Trump himself to enact his own fairly horrible agenda, and if not, he is still in a poisition to push for it with the tried and tested technique of brown nosing.
John Moralessays
Yeah, it’s ostensible obsequiousness, but it sure seems to me they’ve decided it’s the best way to manipulate Trump. It serves their own agenda.
Reginald Selkirksays
I suspect Pence is doing whatever it takes to be seen as utterly loyal to Trump so that he never gets caught in the revolving door plaguing the rest of Trump’s staff positions.
That’s now how American politics works. Pence is elected, not an appointee the president can fire at will.
Owlmirrorsays
That’s now how American politics works. Pence is elected, not an appointee the president can fire at will.
Pence might not be fireable, but he could be shut out from Trump’s inner circle of advisors. There’s no rule that says that the president has to listen to what the vice-president says, and Pence could just as easily still draw a salary (and so on) while having no influence on Trump at all.
richrsays
I know this is almost a week old now but to jkrideau at #1 regarding the independence of the senate and congress…there was a video clip (it might even have been here on Mano’s blog) of a congressman saying how he (and implied that congress) worked for President Trump and had to do what he said. I would not be surprised to find out that this congressman and others like him actually think they work for the president. There are a ton of elected officials who scream loudly about the constitution but know nothing about it or how our government is supposed to work.
This level of obsequiousness is something one might expect to be addessed to an unbalanced complete autocrat. Perhaps to Caligula or Saddam Hussein? Maybe Hitler would have fallen for it.
Somewhat more realistic autocrats would have either sneered or as chigu said after seeing Pence in full self-humiliation assume “he’s planning a coup”.
The real problem is why do they need to be that unctuous? Particularly senior elected officials?
I don’t understand how the US government
worksoperates but I thought that senators and members of Congress, even in the same party are pretty much independent of the President as opposed to the dependence on the PM of same-party MPs in a parliamentary system.It was, actually, rather embarrassing listening to those people. It was more what I would have expected some one to say when addressing or talking about Robert Mugabe while he was still in power.
Come to think of it, the moment the Donald starts wearing a shirt with his face emblazoned on it, it’s time to head for the airport or nearest border.
jrkideau,
Yes, in theory members of Congress are independent of the president. They are supposed to be an independent check on the president. But over time there has been an increasing veneration of the president, especially by members of his own party, treating him almost like a king. It seems to be getting worse with time and a president like Trump accentuates that tendency since he sees himself as a king.
I suspect Pence is doing whatever it takes to be seen as utterly loyal to Trump so that he never gets caught in the revolving door plaguing the rest of Trump’s staff positions. That way, he is ready to step in no matter what happens to Trump himself to enact his own fairly horrible agenda, and if not, he is still in a poisition to push for it with the tried and tested technique of brown nosing.
Yeah, it’s ostensible obsequiousness, but it sure seems to me they’ve decided it’s the best way to manipulate Trump. It serves their own agenda.
That’s now how American politics works. Pence is elected, not an appointee the president can fire at will.
Pence might not be fireable, but he could be shut out from Trump’s inner circle of advisors. There’s no rule that says that the president has to listen to what the vice-president says, and Pence could just as easily still draw a salary (and so on) while having no influence on Trump at all.
I know this is almost a week old now but to jkrideau at #1 regarding the independence of the senate and congress…there was a video clip (it might even have been here on Mano’s blog) of a congressman saying how he (and implied that congress) worked for President Trump and had to do what he said. I would not be surprised to find out that this congressman and others like him actually think they work for the president. There are a ton of elected officials who scream loudly about the constitution but know nothing about it or how our government is supposed to work.