VP Pence Used AOL Email For Govt. Business -And It Got Hacked (VIDEO)

Lock him up?

There seems to be a universal maxim coming from the GOP these days. Outrage — visceral anger even — at the actions of politicians has got absolutely nothing to do with any actual crime.

And everything to do with who perpetrated it.

Take animated commercial for vanilla flavored Twinkies Vice President-Mike Pence for example.

Last September, he blasted then presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her use of private email servers. In his view, her use of them disqualified her from becoming President.

She was, as far as he was concerned, the most dishonest candidate since Richard Nixon. Pence went on to tell NBC news that:

“What’s evident from all of the revelations over the last several weeks is that Hillary Clinton operated in such a way to keep her emails, and particularly her interactions while Secretary of State with the Clinton Foundation, out of the public reach, out of public accountability.” 

It’s no surprise really.

Clinton’s use of a private email server was, after all, one of the GOP’s favorite attack points. Chants of ‘lock her up’, became a hallmark of Trump rallies despite the fact that the FBI investigation concluded that there had been no criminal wrongdoing.

Not that the GOP faithful cared.

Indeed, just last week, Pence was barking at thunderclouds again:

“The FBI last summer concluded that Hillary Clinton having classified documents on that private server was ‘extremely careless. And I guess today, I don’t know if you heard, today they announced that they had not changed that conclusion.”

You’ve Got Fail

If we were to step back for a moment and try to take an objective position then it would stand to reason that if Clinton’s use of private emails somehow — in Pence’s mind — disqualified her for the presidency then surely — if it turned out that he had done the same thing — he must disqualify himself from the vice presidency?

Which is why these latest revelations must be so upsetting. Why they must be causing the kind of internal dissonance fart that would find lesser men sitting on the toilet, doubled over in pain.

Because it turns out that whilst Governor of Indiana, he used a private email account as a matter of routine. Furthermore, not only did he use the account to conduct public business he also used it to discuss sensitive matters – including homeland security issues.

And his AOL account was hacked on at least one occasion.

Lock him up?

Suspicion Haunts The Guilty Mind

Now, were Pence an honorable man governed by an internal logic, he would do the right thing.

He would admit that Clinton’s emails were a distraction – a talking point designed to rally the swivel-eyed conglomerate of GOP mouth breathers into a paroxysm of tribal vengeance.

Stepping up to the plate, he would inform the nation that after much soul-searching and no short order of butt-clenching he had come to a conclusion. He had realized that if Clinton is unfit for office then so too must he be.

Like an anti-LGBTQ rights evangelical preacher caught in a public lavatory wearing nothing but a 6-foot tall Belgian bricklayer called Lucas, he would admit his hypocrisy, step down as Vice President and slink back into the corners of history as yet one more, laughable, derisory figure in Trump’s entourage.

And if he did not…

If he chose to stay on as the lone tent-peg in Trump’s dangerously sagging pavilion. If he clung to the office like a cat on the side of an unexpectedly airborne hot air balloon basket.

Well, then his base would force him to let go. No?

Their outrage that their candidate was guilty would overwhelm them. The thought that he too had engaged in the kind of nefarious activity that just last summer had them frothing at the mouth like epileptic weasels would be overwhelming.

Pence would be shamed into leaving office.

Common Pence

None of that is going to happen for three main reasons.

To begin with, there is a salient point to consider.

The use of private emails is a pretty dumb thing to do.

But it really doesn’t — as Pence claimed — disqualify you from office. It’s probably not even something that you should go to prison for except perhaps in cases of extreme negligence. If it was there would be very few people on Capitol Hill that were not currently incarcerated if reports of how widespread the activity is are true.

Secondly, the GOP base simply could not care less what people on their ‘team’ get up to. The most important thing in their mind is that they win. The methodology employed to do so has been pre-rubber stamped in their subconscious since the day they first paid attention to a Fox news alert.

What’s good for the Goose is most definitely not good for the gander as far as Republicans are concerned.

And lastly, most importantly of all, stories surrounding Trump-camp collusion with Russia has made email scandals seem trivial in comparison. As questions surrounding potentially treasonous activity mount, few will note Pence’s hypocrisy.

Which is fine.

Because at this point it doesn’t matter which political scandal brings Trump and his cronies down.

As long as they fall, few of us could care less if they lock him up or not.

Watch Pence admonish Clinton for doing something he knew he was also doing.

 

Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.

I'm a full- time, somewhat unwilling resident of the planet Earth. I studied journalism at Murdoch University in West Australia and moved back to the UK where I taught politics and studied for a PhD. I've written a number of books on political philosophy that are mostly of interest to scholars. I'm also a seasoned travel writer so I get to stay in fancy hotels for free. I have a pet Lizard called Rousseau. We have only the most cursory of respect for one another.