Joe Biden ought to give Bill Belichick’s unwanted Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mike Pence. He deserves it.
It is the highest civilian award a president can present. Biden has one, his is the last of the 123 that President Barack Obama gave out during his eight years in office. So, maybe Pence can be Biden’s first one.
The award is presented to people for meritorious contributions to the security or interests of the country, for work toward world peace, or for significant public or private endeavors.
Belichick last week turned down the award following a wild mob smashing its way into the Capitol and shutting down Congress. Pence at the time was presiding as Congress voted on accepting the Electoral College tally of the presidential election.
Belichick, who throws words around like draft choices, did not say that he personally declined the honor, but that “the decision has been made not to move forward with the award.” He did not say who made the decision. For sure it was not Tom Brady.
Pence, 61, the outgoing vice president, did not win any Super Bowls, like Belichick and the New England Patriots. He did something bigger.
He upheld the U.S. Constitution and won the respect of millions of Americans.
He did so when he rejected pressure, both private and public, from Donald Trump — as well as from the attack on the Capitol — to overturn the results of the “rigged” presidential election that made Joe Biden the new president.
While Pence, a former member of Congress and former governor of Indiana, was loyal to Trump for the four years of Trump’s controversial presidency, in the end Pence proved to be more loyal to the country.
But the way Trump treated Pence during Trump’s last days in office clearly showed that loyalty to Trump was a one-way street — he demanded loyalty but did not return it.
Instead, he put forward a false scenario wherein Pence had the power to reject contested Electoral College votes and declare Trump the winner of the election despite objections from Pence that he could not do so. Biden has 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232.
Beginning days before Pence was scheduled to preside over Congress’ ratification of the Electoral College votes, Trump pushed the phony notion that Pence could turn the vote around and save his presidency.
“I hope that Mike Pence comes through for us,” Trump said at his earlier rally in Georgia, a week before the vote. “He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.”
Then Trump tweeted, “The vice president has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” That, however, is not the case.
Trump, in his enthusiastic remarks to his followers outside the White House on Jan. 6, said, “All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president.”
He added, ‘So, I hope Mike has the courage to do what he has to do.”
Pence did show courage, but it was the courage to stand up to Trump rather than be used by him.
Those and subsequent comments by Trump were blamed for inciting some of his followers to storm Congress, which led to Trump’s second impeachment by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic House.
It should be noted that Pence earlier rejected Pelosi’s attempt to get Pence to initiate the 25th amendment, which with cabinet approval would have removed Trump as unfit and replaced him with Pence, making Pence president for a week or so.
Before that, Pence earlier had just told Trump and the Congress that he was powerless to alter the Electoral College vote.
Pence said his role as presiding officer was largely ceremonial.
“Vesting the vice president with unilateral authority to decide presidential contests would be entirely antithetical” to the Constitution, Pence said.
Outside of Pence, hardly any other politician looks particularly good in any of this.
So, give Pence the medal. Better still, give it to the family of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick. He was the cop who died following his role in protecting Congress from the mob. Pence would approve. Belichick, too.
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January 20, 2021 at 05:29PM
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Pence should get top honors for loyalty to country - Boston Herald
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