# When Pence said "I'm not getting in that car" **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 9, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942 "2022-06-09T23:31:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/21 "2022-06-10T23:43:38Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > “Political malpractice” isn’t a thing and the Presidential Medal of Freedom has a threshold above “doing your fucking job”. I would argue that Pence is FAR more deserving of it than at least half the people on this list. > **[President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom)** ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/22 "2022-06-11T00:09:07Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I can see the argument for giving Pence some sort of acknowledgment. There was a mob saying they wanted to hang him, and there were people in his own administration who wanted to prevent him from upholding the Constitution. The fact that he did his job in those circumstances is, in fact, noteworthy. Perhaps an appropriate acknowledgement might have been a [Profile in Courage Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profile_in_Courage_Award), which went to Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney recently. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/23 "2022-06-11T00:34:13Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I would argue that Pence is FAR more deserving of it than at least half the people on this list. Huh…let’s see: > Mike Pence > Michael Richard Pence is the former 48th Vice President of the United States, 50th governor of Indiana, and a member of the US House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013. Prior to that he ran for Congress in 1988 and 1990, and was noted for using [“political donations to pay the mortgage on his house, his personal credit card bill, groceries, golf tournament fees and car payments for his wife.”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mike-pence-used-campaign-funds-to-pay-his-mortgage--and-it-cost-him-an-election/2016/07/15/90858964-49ed-11e6-bdb9-701687974517_story.html). He was a conservative radio and talk show host from 1992 to 1999, hosing a daily talk show on WRCR in Rushville as well as a Saturday show on WNDE in Indianapolis\*. Pence described himself as the “Rush Limbaugh on decaf”. > > During his tenure in the US House of Representatives he opposed George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” as well as the Medicare prescription drug expansion promoted by the Bush Administration. During Pence’s twelve years in congress he introduced 90 bills and resolutions none of which were passed into law. After returning to Indiana to successfully run for governor he [cut $24 millions from state-supported colleges and universities, $27 million from Family and Social Services Administration, and $12 million from the Indiana Department of Correction in order to maintain a $2 billion surplus](https://www.tribstar.com/news/state-reports-budget-surplus-billion-in-reserves/article_311ce759-e38e-5b03-af6c-d7dfd0cecbd3.html) despite economic contraction following the 2007-8 financial crisis. [The Indiana Economic Development Corporation led by pence approved $24 million in incentives to ten companies which sent jobs abroad.](https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/28/under-pence-state-gave-incentives-companies-offshored-jobs/89260966/) While on the Trump-Pence ticket for the 2016 presidential election Pence equivocated and dodged questions about the credibility of the notorious “Access Hollywood” tape where his running mate Donald J. Trump bragged to former host Billy Bush about using his authority and celebrity to sexually assault women and its impact upon Trump’s moral authority to be a leader for the Republican party. Trump invoked his wife and daughters to deflect criticism that he did not speak up in outrage of these statements. > > That one time, Mike Pence did his lawful and obligatory Constitutional duty by certifying the 2020 presidential election even though it made some people angry and following the direction of then-President Trump resulted them to launch an ineffectual coup in which he was personally criticized by armed insurrectionists who threatened him among with the other 100 members of the US Senate. Pence has since been equivocal about whether these actions truly comprised a violent and criminal attempt to overthrow the election and is currently hiding under Mitch McConnell’s turtle shell. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/24 "2022-06-11T00:36:31Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I would argue that Pence is FAR more deserving of it than at least half the people on this list. > > [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom) Michael Jordan is largely responsible for Riley trademarking “three peat”. So he deserves some credit for the fact that Trump can’t use it in when elected to his third term in 2024. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/25 "2022-06-11T01:33:54Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Stranger Think of it like the Nobel Peace Prize. A shady past, and even a questionable future, doesn’t much matter when you are trying to encourage others. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/26 "2022-06-11T01:51:18Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Think of it like the Nobel Peace Prize. I think of the Nobel Peace Prize as the Lotto of international celebrity. It doesn’t matter if you are an international peace broker, advocate of indiscriminate bombing of civilians, leader of a movement to end decades of apartheid, or the spiritual father of aircraft hijackings, you all have an equal chance of winning a Nobel Peace Prize. President Obama [can’t even explain](https://youtu.be/aRQLU3IwNYs&t=249s) what he did to win a Nobel Peace Prize. So…not impressed. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/27 "2022-06-11T04:02:54Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I would argue that Pence is FAR more deserving of [the Presidential Medal of Freedom] than at least half the people on this list. More deserving than Rush Limbaugh even! ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/28 "2022-06-11T14:07:18Z")
I agree that Pence refused to get in the car because he thought he wouldn’t be allowed to returned, not because he was scared for his life. Pence still had a huge blind spot around Trump ( he still does, actually). If you remember, he was surprised and emotionally hurt that Trump didn’t call him during the melee to make sure he was OK. This happened at around the time Trump was agreeing he should be executed. There was some new evidence released from Eastman regarding Grassley’s role in an early version of scheme, and it was more complex than “If Mike won’t do it, then Chuck will”……the plan had Pence recusing under some bizarre legal theory that Grassley had more leeway to set the results aside, or something. > **[Email to Giuliani reveals plan to keep Trump in office on Jan. 6, court...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-news-giuliani-kenneth-chesebro-email-plan-january-6/)** > > A memo sent by a lawyer with ties to the Trump Campaign to Rudy Giuliani is now in the hands of the House Committee investigating the Capitol attack. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/29 "2022-06-11T14:20:24Z")
Also, remember that Pence asked Dan Quayle if there was any leeway, and Quayle had to shame Pence into doing his job. Sorry, but Pence doesn’t get any congratulations from me. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/30 "2022-06-11T14:39:24Z")
Good article laying out the scheme. Thanks for sharing it. * * * > [@medstar](#): > > Also, remember that Pence asked Dan Quayle if there was any leeway, and Quayle had to shame Pence into doing his job. It’s never far from my mind how much it says when _Dan Quayle_ is one of our saviors of democracy. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/31 "2022-06-11T14:40:44Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > Also, remember that Pence asked Dan Quayle if there was any leeway, and Quayle had to shame Pence into doing his job. Sorry, but Pence doesn’t get any congratulations from me. When Dan Quayle is the “adult in the room” there are no adults. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/32 "2022-06-11T15:07:49Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I can see the argument for giving Pence some sort of acknowledgment. There was a mob saying they wanted to hang him, and there were people in his own administration who wanted to prevent him from upholding the Constitution. The fact that he did his job in those circumstances is, in fact, noteworthy. Why won’t he testify on his own behalf at the hearings? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/33 "2022-06-11T15:09:47Z")
My guess is that he still wants to be the GOP presidential candidate in 2024 and he’s trying not to alienate too much of the party. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/34 "2022-06-11T16:05:10Z")
> [@Kelby](#): > > Why won’t he testify on his own behalf at the hearings? Because he’s a spineless grub in the skin of a man. Let’s be clear; even if Pence had refused to certify the election, or more correctly, preside over the Senate certifying the election results, the **president pro tempore of the United States Senate** would step in and preside over certification. Pence did his job because it would have been done anyway and he was marginally smart enough to realize that there was no upside to participating in an attempted coup. Should we give Pence an award? Nah, fuck that invertebrate enabler: [![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0535/6917/products/recognition.jpg?v=1448326696) ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0535/6917/products/recognition.jpg?v=1448326696) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/35 "2022-06-11T16:10:58Z")
> [@Kelby](#): > > Why won’t he testify on his own behalf at the hearings? Remember, too, that Pence was desperate to find a way he could do Trump’s bidding. He _wanted_ to participate in the coup as much as all the other schemers. He just didn’t want to be prosecuted for it, as @Stranger_On_A_Train points out. If he testifies, he may be asked about this element of eagerness on his part. Not a good look. There’s a reason flies land on this man’s head and make themselves at home. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/36 "2022-06-11T16:18:19Z")
> [@Kelby](#): > > Why won’t he testify on his own behalf at the hearings? What @Dewey_Finn said. I think Pence is delusional if he believes that any of the MAGA crowd will ever forgive him, but he’s trying anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/37 "2022-06-11T16:52:10Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > There’s a reason flies land on this man’s head and make themselves at home. Because they recognize him as one of their kind? > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I think Pence is delusional if he believes that any of the MAGA crowd will ever forgive him, but he’s trying anyway. For all of Lyndon Johnson’s awful treatment of Hubert Humphrey for privately disagreeing on Viet Nam, at least LBJ never inveighed his followers to knock off Ol’ Humps. If Pence thought the caset of _Hamilton_ calling him out publicly for spreading homophobic sentiment, wait until he faces off with armed MAGAzis. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/38 "2022-06-11T17:26:04Z")
An oldie but goodie — Here’s a statement from the fly the landed on Pence’s head. _Its also true that we love garbage and we love corpses and we love shit you don’t have to have one of those big ugly mammalian brains to tell which party is committed to materially improving our lives._ > **[I Am the Fly That Landed in Mike Pence’s Hair. Here’s Why I’m Supporting...](https://slate.com/culture/2020/10/debate-fly-mike-pence-hair-endorses-trump-death-decay-beelzebub-and-so-on.html)** > > Four more years! Forty-eight more life cycles! ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/39 "2022-06-11T19:08:16Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Because they recognize him as one of their kind? Yes. Yes, that’s what I was thinking. 😉 > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > An oldie but goodie — Here’s a statement from the fly the landed on Pence’s head. Funny stuff – I hadn’t seen that before. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942/40 "2022-06-13T04:59:49Z")
Hahahaha. Hahahaha. HAHAHAHAHA…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH excuse me… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA [COUGH] HaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pence-said-im-not-getting-in-that-car/965942.md?page=1)