So, what about Mike Pence? When and what did he know and/or do?
goddamn do I want to see him implicated in all this too.
For better or worse, I suspect Pence is a boy scout. I think he's probably genuinely horrified at the things his administration is doing, but has just enough lust for power to overcome his moral objections.
I think Pence is probably the patsy, the one guy in the white house who is NOT happy to embrace criminal activity, the one everyone else avoids, or changes the subject when he enters the room.
Why is he still there? My guess is that his hardcore religious views have convinced him that worshiping this particular false idol is part of a larger plan. A plan to cover the country with his particular flavor of Christianity, like a smothering wet blanket on a hot day. You know the plans of the religious right, I don't need to spell them out for you. They are all about denying your freedoms and invading your personal liberties, but only because a 4000 year old book says so, not because Obama is a secret Kenyan muslim.
The great irony of Mike Pence is the great irony of the American evangelical movement, so long a promoter of "family values", teetering on the precipice of obsolescence, saved from eternal irrelevance by the rise of a serial philander con man without a spiritual bone in his body. They yoked their proverbial horse to this sinner/savior in the hopes of a miracle, and when Trump descended from the mountain top with his commandments to lie and cheat and steal, they swallowed hard and said "Yes, Sir!" Now they sit patiently, wallowing in their own self-aware hypocrisy, trying to eek out a few policy victories here and there in exchange for their souls. It was the only bargain they could make.
And Pence will fall hardest of all, I think. He's the sacrificial Christian, the Job asked to endure an onslaught of misery and suffering that would test even the most pious man. And he's nailing it! When Trump defends Nazis, Pence stepped up and assured the nation Trump has accepted Jesus into his heart. When Trump needs someone to criticize protesting NFL players, Pence gladly shouldered the burden and flew to a game just so that he could walk out. He has debased himself and his faith at every turn, and no one escapes that kind of filth without dirtying their insides. The Christian right loves a martyr, and I think they're happy Pence has volunteered.
In some ways the specter of President Pence is terrifying, because it would make the US a legitimate theocracy. He respects no law but the bible. On the other hand, he appears to be a principled and effective politician with a clearly articulated world view and a record of forcing his views into the public sphere, none of which is true for Trump. Whether the country would be better off with an effective administration implementing disastrous policies, or disastrous government failing to implement any policies at all, is a question I hope to leave unanswered.