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James Comey testified earlier this week about Donald Trumps apparent attempt to obstruct justice, and once again the word impeach is showing up in my Facebook feed.

It might seem like there has to be an end to this, that this cataclysm of awful and probably true accusations will break the system. The problem is that the system only breaks if people are motivated to break it.

Impeachment is the word people run to, but its important to remember a few simple truths about the possibility of Trump being impeached:

I want to focus on the third. Maybe its because Pence actually had a job in politics before becoming Vice President that he seems less destructive than Trump. But thats unlikely.

There is very little ideological diversity in the GOP. There may have been a couple dozen Republican primary candidates in 2016, but it wasnt because there was much disagreement about policy.

Pence appears to pride himself on his conservative orthodoxy. I could go through the issues with Pence like his staunch and long-standing opposition to LGBTQ rights but this comment from last week about climate change sums it up:

For some reason or another, this issue of climate change has emerged as a paramount issue for the left in this country and around the world, Pence said during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

Pences identity is so dependent on being conservative that he sees predictions of millions dying as an issue for the left. Someone like that isnt going to break ranks with the GOP on anything important, just as Trump isnt going to break ranks with the GOP.

For different reasons, Fox News rules both of their worlds.

That said, there are minor points of competence, and it hardly seems possible that Pence would be more incompetent than Trump.

On the other hand, one of the reasons the transition to the Trump Administration has been so slow is Trumps laziness when it comes to appointing people to jobs. Trumps inability to stick to a single topic makes passing sweeping legislation hard. While he might accidentally start a war with a country just because he doesnt really know whats going on, theres a case to be made against competence.

Anyway, this topic is really just academic. Trump is only leaving office if he chooses to or if he gets voted out in 2020.

More:
Forget about impeaching Trump, Mike Pence would be worse - LGBTQ Nation

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sunday, June 11, 2017, 12:13 AM

Vice President Mike Pence lost a member of his Naval Observatory menagerie.

Second Lady Karen Pence said Saturday that Oreo the cat had died, without elaborating the cause of death.

Rest in peace Oreo, Pence tweeted, sharing photos of the black-and-white feline. You touched a lot of hearts in your little life. Our family will miss you very much.

In one image, the Vice President can be seen nuzzling the tuxedo-striped kitty, while Pence wears his own tuxedo.

Nobody in W.H. can say whether Trump believes in global warming

Oreo lived with the former Indiana governor in Indianapolis and flew to Washington with the Pence family in January.

Oreo was 13 years old and was a favorite of the couples 23-year-old daughter, Audrey, according to CNN.

The Vice Presidents family still has another cat named Pickle and a rabbit, Marlon Bundo.

Under President Trump, the White House is currently void of pets.

Follow this link:
Vice President Mike Pence's family cat, Oreo, dies: 'You touched a lot of hearts in your little life' - New York Daily News

Vice President Mike Pence promised President Trump would continue to fight for the rights of the faithful, including rolling back the Johnson Amendment so churches can take more political stances.

Speaking to the annual gathering of the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, Pence touted the administration's progress on a number of issues. For the gathered crowd, religious freedom was top of the list.

The Johnson Amendment, named for then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, prohibits 501(c)3 non-profit organizations religious entities like churches from endorsing particular candidates in political races. Trump has promised to end that amendment, and purported to do so in a showy White House press conference last month that had little legal effect.

However, Pence said that fight isn't done and Trump, who spoke to the group two days earlier, would spearhead an effort to repeal the amendment.

"Free speech shouldn't stop at the door of our churches, synagogues and places of worship," he said.

Pence touted other aspects of the Trump administration's religious agenda, such as the persecution of the free practice of religion becoming a major part of the administration's foreign policy.

Pence said the administration is committed to ending religious persecution around the world.

"Under President Donald Trump, America has made it clear this nation condemns persecution of any faith, in any place, at any time and we will confront it," he said.

Pence praised Trump's willingness to fight for the issues he believes in and ran through a litany of accomplishments from the early days of the Trump administration. The majority of his speech focused on an area he spoke about earlier in the day in Wisconsin the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.

Pence also promised a tax cut was coming that would put more money in the pockets of American families.

But, the message Pence sent the crowd home with was one that was a bit more melancholy.

He alluded to the widening partisan gap in government and politics, which appears to be spreading beyond political circles to the country at large. He called the country uncharacteristically divided and asked the crowd to go home and pray.

"In these times of widening challenges at home and abroad, seemingly unknowable threats and also a time of uncharacteristic division in America, I know you're the right people to encourage to do one more thing," he said. "And that is pray for America."

Read more here:
Mike Pence: Trump will roll back Johnson Amendment, but we must 'pray for America' - Washington Examiner

MILWAUKEE

Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Milwaukee on Saturday morning for a scheduled listening session and speech on former President Barack Obama's health care law.

He'll join Gov. Scott Walker at Direct Supply, a medical supply business that services the senior living industry, and business leaders and their families to discuss the "adverse effects" of the law, his office said.

Air Force Two is scheduled to arrive in Milwaukee at 11 a.m. with the Direct Supply meeting to follow about 45 minutes later. He'll give public remarks at about 12:30 p.m.

Pence, whose birthday was Wednesday, has been holding Obamacare events as the Senate works on its own version of a health care bill passed by the House. The legislation faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

President Donald Trump has urged the Senate to send him a health care bill and criticized congressional Democrats as "obstructionists."

Trump will be in Milwaukee next Tuesday.

You will be able to watch Pence's public comments live today on WISN.com and the 12 News app.

Originally posted here:
VP Mike Pence arrives in Milwaukee - WISN Milwaukee

Its good to maintain perspective on the current chaos in Washington and so I look to a number of sources for input.

They include The Washington Post, The New York Times, the television networks, occasionally Fox News, and also comedian Albert Brooks. Heres a tweet he put out in March:

President Mike Pence. The president, Mike Pence. President Pence. President and Mrs. Michael Pence. I was just practicing.

Brooks is a comedian, so its a joke, right? In fact, I borrowed it for use at this years Gridiron Dinner. Thanks, Albert. It got some laughs.

Yet it now appears, all joking aside, that a President Pence is a real possibility, what with the Russia investigations, talk of impeachment and all. And it could be that one Michael R. Pence is preparing for that possibility. More on that in a little bit.

First, lets just contemplate how the fortunes of Mike Pence have changed in the last year. He went from a guy struggling to be re-elected as governor, to vice presidential nominee, to surprise winner on Nov. 8. I can tell you he was surprised, if you werent, because he previously committed to be at a reception for my retirement from WISH-TV Channel 8 on the 11th. He sent a Sagamore of the Wabash (I have found the opportunity to thank him personally) but no one was there to present it. He was otherwise occupied as the VP-elect and didnt have a Plan B.

Meanwhile, we all know Pence had his sights on the White House for some time. When he publicly debated over a run for re-election to Congress versus a run for governor in 2012, he was careful to remind reporters that he was also weighing a possible run for the highest office in the land.

When he became governor, public appearances suddenly looked more and more presidential. The state seal adorned every rostrum he stood behind. News conferences and bill signings had themes with signage to match. House Minority Leader Scott Pelath told me that, when legislative leaders would meet in the governors office, it was like going to the White House. There were eight people taking pictures, he said.

(By comparison, Pelath said meetings with Mitch Daniels were like a trip to the principals office and meetings with Eric Holcomb are surprisingly normal.)

Now, back to what Pence is doing currently. He has started a political action committee and he recently established a plan to make political appearances around the country over the summer. They are moves that are within the realm of vice presidential duties but some pundits see Pence positioning himself for bigger things. Denials mean nothing at this point.

So, lets speculate a little bit. A Pence presidency would be good for Indiana. Make no doubt about it. Every civic leader in this state would suddenly be on a first-name basis with the commander-in-chief. The president would have a clear understanding of every issue facing the state.

But how long would it last? Would a President Pence be forced to pardon his predecessor, as Gerald Ford did? Would that doom his career?

Would he display the sort of leadership failures that marked his term as governor? Would he be steered by ideology?

Or, would he rise to the occasion?

That would be good for America and it would also increase the value of my Sagamore.

__________

Shella hosted WFYIs Indiana Week in Review for 25 years and covered Indiana politics for WISH-TV for more than three decades. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

Read more here:
SHELLA: President Mike Pence. The president, Mike Pence? - Indianapolis Business Journal