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Bush declared September 11 Patriot Day, and each year of his presidency Obama declared it both Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. In both cases his religion drove decision-making that should have been informed by concern for fellow citizens. As governor, for example, he tried to legalize discrimination against gay citizens and failed to act promptly to halt an HIV outbreak. We document too many instances when he either acted against fellow citizens with heedless regard for their rights or failed to act to ease or avert suffering. Finally, I fear, Pence’s heart is frozen too. The frozen exterior deflects concern that he may not be sufficiently loyal and hides whatever he truly feels. Throughout his life Pence has cultivated a blandly pleasant exterior that finds its ultimate expression in the way he gazes at Trump when they’re together. In my mind, the frozen man also speaks to his rigidity, his appearance, his way of speaking, and his demeanor. Like all of us, Pence reveals more than he may realize as he speaks. He first used it to indicate that he was a Reaganite who never changed and then found himself in Congress in the year 2000 determined to revive the Reagan way. MD’A: He calls himself the frozen man to make an even greater claim to the origins of the American ideal. JB: Can you talk a bit about Pence’s self-characterization as “the frozen man”? The Republican element represents the political vehicle through which conservative Christian values will be applied. “Christian conservatives” thereby represent the origins of Americanism and exist today as a remnant that is entitled to set the standard. Similarly, the label “conservative” is used to indicate that something of tradition is being preserved.
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For all their complaints about identity politics, those who belong to this subculture are powerfully attached to this identity. Extremists in this camp would add the word “white” to make the tribal group even smaller and more animated by a sense of shrinking power. MD’A: A great many Americans are comfortable with the idea that this is a “Christian nation,” and even more would be slow to ask what this claim means. JB: You point out several times in the book how Pence proudly identifies himself as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican in that order.” Why doesn’t that prioritization bother more people? As someone who believes God intends for Americans to exploit nature as fully as possible he would double-down on these policies. Much of the current administration’s agenda on the environment, energy, and the exploitation of public lands is driven by the vice president. However, these goals represent just the start of what Pence would do. Wade, privatization of education, and the elevation of so-called creationism as an alternative to the science behind our understanding of evolution. MD’A: Pence has long pursued the reversal of Roe v. What do you think a president Pence would do beyond what Trump’s already done on these fronts? Humanists and other nonreligious Americans are deeply concerned about this. JB: The book discusses the success libertarians and the Christian Right have had in portraying themselves as victims in an alternate reality, which has allowed them to mask their ambition to push predatory capitalism and Christian supremacy. While it’s clear that Pence is appalled by many aspects of Trump’s personality and character, he’s so keen to protect his own status-and eager to maintain the Trump base-that he would leave no trace of his true sentiment. Michael D’Antonio: We’re certain that the vice president did not sit at a keyboard to write the column, but it’s quite likely that members of his staff participated. Jennifer Bardi: First, I’ve got to ask: Is Mike Pence the author of the anonymous New York Times op-ed?
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(And in some cases the wealthy elite and conservative Christians are one in the same.) In the following email exchange, I had the opportunity to ask D’Antonio about this shadow presidency and how we can get more people to see past the bland to recognize what Pence’s zealotry could mean. At the same time he’s painted as a religious zealot, laser focused on becoming president to usher in a regressive, biblically ordained government while still satisfying big business and the wealthy elite that helped get him where he is. In their new book, The Shadow President: The Truth about Mike Pence, journalists Michael D’Antonio and Peter Eisner do a very thorough job characterizing the vice president’s carefully crafted blandness-someone who’s thoughtful, concise, and pious, a family man with good hair and silent strength (right out of Trump’s “central casting”).