Trump and Pence Stand By Promise to Utilize Torture

If one wants to see a prime example of the hypocrisy and, in my view, evil that is emblematic of right wing Christians, look no farther than Vice-President elect Mike Pence.   Pence is vitriolic in his opposition to abortion and LGBT rights, but has no problem with slashing the social safety net and leaving millions without health care or other life saving assistance.  Worse yet, as he reaffirmed today, he's perfectly fine with the use of torture.  Never mind that it is a violation of both U.S. law and international law, including the Geneva Conventions, under which Nazi and Japanese military figures who authorized torture were tried and executed.  Think about it - Trump has promised to authorized torture and make himself worthy of a death sentence and execution under international law.  And 81% of evangelical Christians voted for this man.  I'm sorry, but Pence - and Trump - is a foul, hypocrisy ladened individual who ought to be a pariah among decent people.  Those who voted for him are no better in the final analysis.  The Washington Post looks at Pence's reaffirmation of the use of torture.  Here are excerpts:

In his first round of Sunday show interviews since the election, Vice President-elect Mike Pence did not rule out the possibility that President-elect Donald Trump could reinstate water boarding as an interrogation technique during his administration.

On CBS Sunday, “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson brought up Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his comments Saturday at the Halifax International Security Forum. At a panel discussion there, McCain vehemently insisted that any attempt to bring back water boarding, which simulates drowning, would be quickly challenged in court, the Associated Press reported.

Dickerson pointed out to Pence that Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), whom Trump plans to nominate as director of the CIA, supports Trump's position that perhaps water boarding should be reinstated.

Dickerson then played a clip of McCain's remarks at the Halifax summit from Saturday.

“I don’t give a damn what the president of the United States wants to do or anybody else wants to do. We will not waterboard. We will not torture,” McCain said, emphasizing certain words with a point of his finger, to applause. “My God, what does it say about America if we're going to inflict torture on people?”

Pence seemed unfazed after he watched the video. . . . Trump said during the campaign that he would reinstate the use of waterboarding against terrorism suspects — a practice that Congress made illegal after its use during the George W. Bush administration.

Torture is banned under U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions. 

At a rally last November in Columbus, Ohio, Trump promised to reinstate waterboarding and perhaps other methods of torture beyond it.

“Would I approve waterboarding? You bet your ass I would — in a heartbeat,” Trump said as the crowd cheered. “And I would approve more than that. Don't kid yourself, folks. It works, okay? It works. Only a stupid person would say it doesn't work.”  Trump repeated “It works” multiple times.

Trump doubled down on his pledge to bring back waterboarding at another rally a few months later in South Carolina, as well as in several interviews throughout the campaign.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of Trump's many opponents during the Republican presidential primary race, followed Pence on “Face the Nation” and said he agreed with McCain.  “We should telegraph to the world that we're better than this,” Paul told Dickerson.

Cry Babies Trump and Pence Can Dish It Out But Can't Take It

Donald Trump has a well documented history of saying whatever he wants, often in the most vulgar of ways.  For eight years Trump felt free to say any and all kinds of lies about Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Mike Pence has waged a decades long war against those who do not accept his hate and fear and fairy tale based religious beliefs. Now, they want everyone to give them respect and deference.  They can dish it out and mistreat others, but as demonstrated last night and today, they sure can't take it when other Americans exercise their right of freedom of speech and call out Pence for the nasty bigot that he is.  Neither Trump nor Pence has even been sworn into office yet and already the cry baby temper tantrums and conniption fits are on display.   What prompted Trump and Pence's rage is that the cast of the hit Broadway show, Hamilton, addressed Pence's documented bigotry and homophobia.  Many in the audience booed Pence and made their contempt for the man known.  Here's what the cast said:

“We, sir, we are the diverse America, who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” . . . “But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us,” Dixon [who plays Aaron Burr] added, while gesturing to the musical’s diverse cast and to the audience. 

Trump - and Pence - needs to get his head out of his narcissistic and ego mad ass and understand that for as long as he is in office many of us will never respect him and will speak out loudly voicing our displeasure with him as a man and condemning his policies when they are deemed misguided.  If he can't take the heat and criticism of the presidency, he needs to resign now and do all of us and the world a favor.  Ditto for Mr. Pence.

A piece in the Washington Post reminds of Pence's horrible treatment of LGBT Americans.  Here are article highlights:

Although the Broadway cast’s message was directed broadly at what would be an administration under Trump’s presidency, Pence himself has a political track record that has been excoriated by the LGBT community. Last year, as governor of Indiana, Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act after the federal courts ruled that same-sex marriage bans in states were unconstitutional. Under the new state law, Indiana business owners could cite their religious beliefs if they didn’t want to participate in same-sex weddings. Opponents said it amounted to allowing discrimination based on sexual orientation. A week later, after facing boycotts and widespread condemnation from rights groups, Pence signed an amendment clarifying that the law could not be used to discriminate against the LGBT community.

He has a “0%” rating from the Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit group that calls Pence “notoriously anti-LGBTQ” when he was chosen to be Trump’s running mate. Republican Chrys Kefalas outlined Pence’s anti-LGBT record in a guest column for The Washington Post:

During his public career, Pence has been an outspoken opponent of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. In Congress, he opposed efforts to encourage foreign governments to decriminalize homosexuality and sought to block the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. As a governor, he stood against not only marriage equality, but civil unions as well. He also opposed a law prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace and signed one opening the door to wide-ranging discrimination against these residents of his own state under the guise of religious liberty.

None of this was lost on the audience, who greeted Pence’s arrival to his prime orchestra seat with a mix of cheers and boos, according to the AP.