As the Mueller investigation inexorably grinds
on, the possibility of impeachment continues to be discussed. Many on the left
welcome this result and believe that the consequent elevation of Mike Pence to
the presidency would be preferable to the current Trumpian state of affairs.
Personally, I’m not so sure. Although Mr.
Pence looks and sounds presidential, there’s no guarantee that he would be a good
choice. After all, he is a self-declared evangelical Christian and could be
more dangerous than Donald Trump.
For some reason, Americans are loath to
carefully examine a presidential candidate’s religious beliefs. There was a
time when one’s faith could be fatal to one’s political aspirations,
particularly prior to the 1960 election of John F. Kennedy as America’s first
Catholic president.
However, once Kennedy assured the nation
that “the separation of church and state is absolute” and that “no Catholic
prelate would tell the president how to act”, everyone seemed satisfied that
his religion no longer was an issue. Since then, there has been a wealth of
presidential candidates of varying faiths including a Mormon, a Quaker, a
Baptist, a Greek Orthodox and even another Catholic and few, if any, voters
have considered that an issue of importance.
Contrary to JFK’s assertion, if a
presidential candidate is devoutly religious, I seriously doubt that he or she
can clearly separate matters of faith from matters of governance. It may not
have been a major problem for Kennedy since he did not seem overly concerned
about following the tenets of Catholicism. But where someone is a devout
believer and his faith is unorthodox at best, there could definitely be a
problem.
In the case of Mike Pence, the issue is
particularly troubling because Mr. Pence is strongly guided by his faith, a
faith that could lead to disastrous consequences for the country. Already we
have seen evidence of how his evangelical beliefs have affected his governance
such as voting to defund Planned Parenthood, voting to block the repeal of
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and, while governor of Indiana, signing that state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act and a
severely restrictive anti-abortion law.
What’s worse, however, is how Pence’s
faith could affect America’s foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East.
As a devout evangelical, Pence no doubt believes in the second coming of Christ
and possibly even the rapture. Now some might say what’s wrong with that since
that’s just his personal religious belief and many religions have peculiar
articles of faith.
What’s wrong with that is that Pence’s
faith directly affects his position on Israel. Given that evangelicals believe
that the formation of the state of Israel was foretold in the Bible and that it
is a precursor to the end times and the eventual second coming of Christ
followed by a thousand-year reign of peace, it is likely that a President Pence
would do everything in his power to promote that end.
He has already made it crystal clear that
he unconditionally supports Israel including recognizing Jerusalem as its
capital and reducing America’s foreign aid to the Palestinians. Remember, this
is a man who refuses to dine alone with a woman other than his wife and has, in
the past, quoted scriptures in support of different policy arguments. Given
that, it seems quite likely that the Bible’s apocalyptic predictions would
guide his foreign policy as president.
Mike Pence thinks Jesus “tells him to say
things.” In other than an evangelical Christian context, such a statement would
be delusional. Even then, for the rest of us, it is seriously troubling. What
if he’s one of those nutty evangelicals who feel divinely guided to hasten the
end of the world as we know it?
Given that possibility, I’d seriously
think twice before hoping for Donald Trump’s impeachment. For now, it’s
probably better to keep the crazy but uber-secular Trump in the White House and
just hope for the best.
