Mike Pence proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that when Cheeto dislikes someone, that someone may not be a decent human being

At least Pence can lump himself in with Jeff Bezos.

In this one area. anyway.

From CBSNews, emphasis added by me -

Transcript: Former Vice President Mike Pence on "Face the Nation," August 27, 2023

NANCY CORDES: We want to turn now to politics and former Vice President Mike Pence, who joins us from Indiana this morning. Mr. Vice President, thank you so much for being here.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Thank you, Nancy. Thanks for having me on.

[snip]

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, there's no place in America for racially inspired violence. And I condemn what occurred in Jacksonville in the strongest possible terms. That wasn't a criminal act. That was an act of evil. And- but I- and our prayers are with the families who lost loved ones and those that are injured, cared, and I prayed this morning for them. And as a Marine Corps family, we also prayed for the families of our Marines that were lost and injured in the Osprey crash. We believe in prayer at our house, Nancy. But- but look, I- this issue of mass shootings is one that I think we need leadership in this country, afresh. I will tell you that I believe that the- there's a series of steps that we can take. Providing law enforcement with the support that they need. Ending this- this long experiment of defunding the police by the American left. I think we need to provide federal funding to provide armed guards at all of our public and private schools. We need a commitment to institutional health care in this country that I've called for many months ago. But at the end of the day, I also believe that justice delayed is justice denied. And I'm calling for an expedited federal death penalty for anyone engaged in a mass shooting like took place in Jacksonville or frankly, like the shootings that took place at- at a baseball park and at a football game. We- we've got to send a message to anyone that has evil in their hearts, that there is no chance for them to spend the rest of their life behind bars. That they're going to meet their fate in months, not years. And I believe- I believe expedited due process of federal death penalty for those that engage in the kind of mass shootings that claim lives in Jacksonville. Yesterday is an idea whose time has come.

Nothing about eradicating institution racism in all of society, especially in, but not exclusively so, in police departments.

On the other hand, maybe expediting imposition of capital punishment for mass shootings will open people up to the idea of expediting capital punishment for mass treason.

Caveat: I'm personally opposed to capital punishment.

Cheeto may have wanted his VP dead, but Pence learned something from him

Of course, that something is "how to be shameless while lying," but at least his time around Cheeto wasn't a complete waste.

Cheeto still wanted him dead, though.

OK.  Pence may have learned something else from Cheeto - loyalty to one's own interests is paramount, and he seems to be attempting to avoid an admission of engaging in treasonous activity.

This story is about former AZ governor Doug Ducey as well.

From Politico -

Pence says ‘no pressure involved’ in calls to governors following 2020 election

Former Vice President Mike Pence called former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey following the 2020 election, but “there was no pressure involved,” he said in an interview airing Sunday.

Pence’s comments followed a report in the Washington Post that former President Donald Trump pushed Pence to make a call to Ducey to urge him to find evidence that would help Trump overturn the state’s presidential results.

[snip]

According to the Post’s report, Trump also called Ducey, prodding the Republican governor to find enough fraudulent votes to help overturn his narrow loss to Joe Biden in the state.

Since Ducey’s refusal to overturn the state’s election results in 2020, he has been a political punching bag for Trump, who has called him a “RINO” — Republican in Name Only — and “one of the worst Governors in America.” But Ducey, who has since left office after reaching his term limit, has stood by his decision, saying he was “loyal to the Constitution and the law.”

Ducey's loyalty is to money, and always has been.

Cheeto has a rather self-serving, and one way, definition of "loyalty"

He expects "loyalty" (his definition) from others, but he doesn't exhibit any loyalty, or even simple humanity, toward others.

From The Hill, via Yahoo! -

Trump: ‘Very disloyal’ if Pence, other Cabinet members run in 2024

Former President Trump said he would find it “very disloyal” if former Vice President Mike Pence or other members of his former Cabinet sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, seeking to send a warning to a number of figures weighing potential White House bids.

“Many of them have said they would never run if I run, so we’ll see if that turns out to be true,” Trump said Friday during a brief phone interview with Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade. “I think it would be very disloyal if they did, but that’s OK, too.”

Apparently, to him, campaigning for a nomination that he wants is "disloyal."

Killing, on the other hand, doesn't bother him.

From Slate, dated 11/12/2021 -

Trump Says Rioters Wanting to Kill Mike Pence on Jan. 6 Was “Common Sense”

Donald Trump was banned from the major social media services after the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. On that day, instead of de-escalating the situation, he used Twitter to denounce then Vice President Mike Pence because Pence, in his capacity presiding over the Senate, had refused to overturn election results. Some of Trump’s supporters, while they were breaching Capitol security, chanted “Hang Mike Pence.” It was a loud and sustained chant, and not just one or two people—you can see a video here. One eventually found Pence’s seat on the Senate dais and left a note reading, “It’s only a matter of time, justice is ­coming.” (According to the Washington Post, this person later told law enforcement that Pence is a “child-trafficking traitor.”)

At least he's consistent.

From NBC, dated 6/18/2021 -

Trump digs in on Central Park 5: 'They admitted their guilt'

The president, who once called for the five to get the death penalty, offered no apology even though the convictions were vacated.

He called for them to get the death penalty after they were arrested and their criminal convictions were later vacated, but President Donald Trump on Tuesday wasn't offering any apologies to the so-called "Central Park Five."

"Why do you bring that question up now? It's an interesting time to bring it up," Trump told a reporter who asked if he would apologize to the five who were wrongly convicted of beating and raping a jogger in New York's Central Park in 1989.

Their convictions, based on confessions they said were coerced, were vacated in 2002, after DNA evidence linked a serial rapist to the brutal crime. The city later agreed to a $41 million settlement with the four black men and one Latino man, all of whom who were 16 or younger at the time of their arrest.

Circular firing squad: Pence and Trump campaign in AZ for opposing slates

From CNN -

The proxy fight between Trump and Pence continues with Arizona rallies

Former President Donald Trump and former vice president Mike Pence held dueling events Friday in Arizona, turning the state's upcoming Republican primary for governor into a proxy fight between the two former allies as they inch toward what could be a 2024 showdown.

The Arizona race is the latest test of Republican voters' priorities, as they decide between a candidate who has built her campaign around Trump's election lies and one who more closely reflects Pence's desire to steer the GOP's focus away from relitigating 2020 and toward conservative policies.

Pence attended two events Friday with Karrin Taylor Robson, the former Arizona Board of Regents member who has become the GOP establishment favorite in the governor's race and is endorsed by term-limited Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.

[snip]

Trump, meanwhile, campaigned with a slate of candidates who have parroted his lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 election -- led by Kari Lake, a former local television news anchor who Ducey said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" is "misleading voters with no evidence."

Also part of that Trump ticket are Senate candidate Blake Masters, who is seeking to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in a race that is crucial in the battle for control of the Senate, as well as secretary of state contender Mark Finchem and attorney general hopeful Abe Hamadeh.

My guess is that neither side really objects to the circular nature of their firing squad...so long as the people who disagree with them are hit first.

Also, it's probably no accident that neither side invited Congressman Ronny Jackson, a former doctor to Cheeto.  He probably wouldn't hit the other side, as his aim would be a little off.

From The Daily Beast on July 18, 2022 -

[snip]